Abstract People search for information and experiences and seek meaning as a common reaction to new life challenges. There is little knowledge about the interactions through which experiential information is acquired, and how such interactions are meaningful to an information seeker. Through a qualitative content analysis of 992 posts in an online forum, this study investigated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual (LGBTQIA+) individuals' online information interactions and meaning‐making with peers during their life transitions of identity construction. Our analysis reveals LGBTQIA+ people's life challenges across three transition stages (being aware of, exploring, and living with a new identity). Three main types of online peer interactions were identified within: cognitive, affective, and situational peer interactions. We found that online peer interactions are not only a type of information source that LGBTQIA+ individuals use to acquire understanding about themselves but a unique space for transformation learning and meaning‐making where they share self‐examination and reflection, conduct assessments and assumptions, and obtain strength and skills to initiate and adapt life transitions. The findings have theoretical contributions to the development of information behavior models of transitions and practical implications on providing information services that support LGBTQIA+ individuals' meaning‐making during the life transition.

Seeking online health information may reinforce the anxiety of those who are already overly anxious about their health. This study explored how people with health anxiety may behave differently in terms of their attentional biases when seeking health information online. We conducted an eye-tracking experiment with 17 participants in the high health anxious group and 17 participants in the low health anxious group, who performed three types of information-seeking tasks (factual, interpretive, and exploratory) on a Chinese health website. We observed that both groups mainly allocated their attention to the stages of evaluating the list of search results and synthesizing information to make health decisions. They showed similar attention tracks at the earlier search stages and health anxiety was found to associate with attentional biases towards certain website stimuli. However, the high health anxious group showed more active eye movements than their low health anxious counterparts. Attentional biases from the high health anxious group mainly occurred at the later stage of processing rather than the initial orientation stages. As for task types, the high health anxious group presented more extensive attentional biases when performing the interpretive task, compared to the explorative and factual tasks. The findings provide novel insights into the attentional biases of people with health anxiety as they search online for health information, which have implications on designing more effective information interventions for vulnerable groups of health information consumers. The findings can also help clinicians interpret patients’ anxiety-related sensations and provide intervening recommendations for clients in use of online health information.

Abstract While there is a considerable amount of interest in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) in the Indigenous communities, it remains limited to those who can afford it and have the skills and knowledge to implement the technology and access appropriate digital tools. Hence, Indigenous communities are continually stigmatized as marginalized, leading to a cultural misrepresentation of histories that affects the continuing information disparity between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, particularly the insufficient technology infrastructure designed for traditional users. In this article, ICT4D was conceptualized as a digital platform to support Senior Ngarrindjeri Elder Aunty Ellen Trevorrow in continuing her practice of weaving and storytelling throughout the pandemic. In this context, the community‐based participatory research (CBPR) principles within the structure of video ethnography were qualitatively designed to implement the ICT4D project culturally and ethically. Video recordings, image data, transcriptions, and the Ngarrindjeri ICT4D Pondi (Murray Cod) framework were embedded to justify the findings and the aim of illustrating Aunty Ellen's knowledge‐sharing process to online learners. Likewise, the results demonstrate the positive and negative impact of COVID‐19 on the continuity and orality of Aunty Ellen's cultural stories and practices. The future continuity of Aunty Ellen's knowledge ought to consider the inconsistency of technological infrastructure in regional areas, her waning health, and the interconnectedness of oral expertise, which often pose challenges. This study is a small step toward a better understanding of the value of oral knowledge; emphasizing the creation of e‐learning weaving instructional videos is valuable for future digital management of Indigenous knowledge relevant to LIS.

In order to efficiently provide demand side management (DSM) in smart grid, carrying out pricing on the basis of real-time energy usage is considered to be the most vital tool because it is directly linked with the finances associated with smart meters. Hence, every smart meter user wants to pay the minimum possible amount along with getting maximum benefits. In this context, usage based dynamic pricing strategies of DSM plays their role and provide users with specific incentives that help shaping their load curve according to the forecasted load. However, these reported real-time values can leak privacy of smart meter users, which can lead to serious consequences such as spying, etc. Moreover, most dynamic pricing algorithms charge all users equally irrespective of their contribution in causing peak factor. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a modified usage based dynamic pricing mechanism that only charges the users responsible for causing peak factor. We further integrate the concept of differential privacy to protect the privacy of real-time smart metering data. To calculate accurate billing, we also propose a noise adjustment method. Finally, we proposeDemandResponse enhancingDifferentialPricing (DRDP) strategy that effectively enhances demand response along with providing dynamic pricing to smart meter users. We also carry out theoretical analysis for differential privacy guarantees and for cooperative state probability to analyze behavior of cooperative smart meters. The performance evaluation of DRDP strategy at various privacy parameters show that the proposed strategy outperforms previous mechanisms in terms of dynamic pricing and privacy preservation.11.A preliminary version has been published by 2020 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2020), June, 2020, Dublin, Ireland entitled Differentially Private Dynamic Pricing for Efficient Demand Response in Smart Grid.

Directional distribution analysis has long served as a fundamental functionality in abstracting dispersion and orientation of spatial datasets. Spatial datasets that describe sensitive information of individuals such as health status and home addresses must be used and shared cautiously to protect individuals' privacy. There is an inherent tension between the need of accurate directional distribution result and the requirement of individuals' location privacy. Plenty of excellent location privacy protection approaches such as geo-indistinguishability can provide strong protection for locations but considerably at the expense of statistical quality of subsequent directional distribution analysis. In this paper, to protect individual location data for directional distribution, we define the geographic feature of community with covariance matrix and then propose ageo-ellipse-indistinguishabilityprivacy notion incorporating this covariance matrix. As an instantiation of metric differential privacy,geo-ellipse-indistinguishabilityguarantees pairwise inputs cannot be distinguishable with the level proportional to privacy budget and Mahalanobis distance between them, given a randomized output. We also present elliptical privacy mechanisms to achieve this privacy definition on the basis of gamma distribution and multivariate normal distribution. We finally evaluate the empirical utility of the proposed mechanism in New York home addresses database. Our experiments demonstrate that under the same privacy level, our proposed elliptical approach can achieve significantly higher directional distribution utility than circular noise function based method.

The research reported in this paper is part of a large study that investigates collaborative information seeking (CIS) and decision making in the context of tourism. The aim of the present paper was to identify gaps and gap-bridging techniques in situated tourism CIS and technology use across the travel stages of trip planning and during the trip. Interview and diary data were collected from 20 free-trip groups of 63 Chinese tourists who traveled from mainland China to Australia during 2018-2019. We identified 8 types of gaps as well as 8 gap-bridging strategies. The results show that tourists demonstrated adaptive CIS behavior over the trip as they solved or compromised the gaps encountered. Suggestions on system design are also discussed to better support tourist information and collaborative practices.

As part of an ongoing project, this paper investigates LGBTQ+ individuals? information behaviour in online communities. Drawing on the perspective of Relationship Motivation Theory (RMT), this study focused on the relatedness needs expressed by LGBTQ+ individuals that motivated them to seek and share information in online communities. Through a deductive thematic analysis of 156 posts to an LGBTQ+ online forum, our analysis reveals three main categories of relatedness needs: needs around being cared about, needs around caring for others and needs to build and maintain relationships. Implications for system design that better afford LGBTQ+ individuals? needs for relatedness are discussed.

Abstract In this opinion paper, we frame a discussion on paradigm shift(s) in the field of information. We believe that in this astonishing historical moment of new directions and new opportunities both the existing paradigms and conceptual models in the field of information can benefit from re‐examination to stay current with the times. We propose a framework articulating key narratives associated with the why, what, how, and who dimensions to discuss paradigm shift(s). The purpose of this opinion paper is to initiate dialogues on ground‐breaking ideas and innovative solutions as well as support research that addresses contemporary challenges in the field of information.

Leisure travelers most often travel in groups with family, relatives or friends. It is argued that tourist information search tends to be more collaborative than a completely individual decision-making exercise. Collaborative information seeking (CIS) deals with collaboration in searching for information. In recent years, social media has been steadily increasing as an important information source for tourists who access social media frequently through their mobile devices. Research has shown that travelers rely more on the suggestions and reviews provided by experienced tourists for their travel planning and decision-making. Tourists undertake social search during which they exploit their social networks/relationships to improve the search process. However, limited research has investigated social media users' behaviors in collaborative search for tourism information. What is the role of social media in supporting of collaborative tourism information search, including collaborative search patterns and strategies in social environments, has remained unknown. This research aims to investigate mobile social media users' behaviors in collaborative search for tourism information. Using the Grounded Theory approach, a conceptual framework of mobile social media users' tourism CIS behavior will be built. Semi-structured in-depth interviews will be employed to collect users' search experiences.

Searching on the Web or Net-surfing is a part of everyday life for many people, but little is known about the brain activity during Web searching. Such knowledge is essential for better understanding of the cognitive demands imposed by the search system and search tasks. The current study contributes to this understanding by constructing brain networks from EEG data using normalized transfer entropy (NTE) during three Web search task stages: query formulation, viewing of a search result list and reading each individual content page. This study further contributes to the connectivity analysis of the constructed brain networks, since it is an advanced quantitative technique which enables the exploration of brain function by distinct and varied brain areas. By using this approach, we identified that the cognitive activities during the three stages of Web searching are different, with various brain areas becoming more active during the three Web search task stages. Of note, query formulation generated higher interaction between cortical regions than viewing a result list or reading a content page. These findings will have implications for the improvement of Web search engines and search interfaces.

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, people are increasingly referring to web information to assist in their travel planning and decision making. Research shows that people conduct collaborative information searches while planning their travel activities online. However, little is known in depth about tourists' online collaborative search. This study examines tourists' collaborative information search behavior in detail, including their search stages, online search strategies, and information flow breakdowns. The data for analysis included pre‐ and postsearch questionnaires, web search and chat logs, and postsearch interviews. A model of tourist collaborative information retrieval was developed. The model identified collaborative planning, collaborative information searching, sharing of information, and collaborative decision making as four stages of tourists' collaborative search. The results show that tourists collaborated by planning their search strategies, dividing search tasks into subtasks and allocating workload, using search queries and URL links recommended by teammates, and discussing search results together. Related personal knowledge and experiences appeared important in trip planning and collaborative information search. During the collaborative search, tourists also encountered various information flow breakdowns in different search stages. These were classified and their effects on collaborative information search were reported. Implications for system design in support of collaborative information retrieval in travel contexts are also discussed.

Users often reformulate or modify their queries when they engage in searching information particularly when the search task is complex and exploratory. This paper investigates query reformulation behavior in collaborative tourism information searching on the Web. A user study was conducted with 17 pairs of participants and each pair worked as a team collaboratively on an exploratory travel search task in two scenarios. We analyzed users' collaborative query (CQ) reformulation behavior in two dimensions: firstly, CQ reformulation strategies; and secondly, the effect of individual queries and chat logs on CQ reformulation. The findings show that individual queries and chat logs were two major sources of query terms in CQ reformulation. The statistical results demonstrate the significant effect of individual queries on CQ reformulation. We also found that five operations were performed to reformulate the CQs, namely: addition, modification, reordering, addition and modification, and addition and reordering. These findings have implications for the design of query suggestions that could be offered to users during searches using collaborative search tools.

Marketing professionals' work activities are heavily reliant on access to and the use of large amounts of quality information. This study aims to examine the information journey experienced by marketing professionals, including task‐driven information seeking, information judgments, information use, and information sharing, from a more contextualized and holistic viewpoint. The information journey presents a more comprehensive picture of user–information interaction than is usually offered in the literature. Using a diary method and post‐diary in‐depth interviews, data consisting of 1,198 diary entries relating to 101 real work tasks were collected over a period of 5 work days. The data were used to ascertain characteristics of the stages of marketing professionals' information journeys as well as the relationships between them. Five stages of the information journey, including determining the need for work task‐generated information, seeking such information, judging and evaluating the information found, making sense of and using the obtained information, and sharing the obtained or assembled information, were identified. The information journey also encompassed types of gaps and gap‐bridge techniques that occurred during information seeking and use. Based on the empirical findings, an information journey model was developed. The implications for information systems design solutions that enable different stages of the information journey to be linked together are also discussed.

This paper investigates how users cognitively coordinate multitasking Web search across different information search problems. The analysis suggests that (1) multitasking is a prevalent Web search behavior including both sequential multitasking (31%) and parallel multitasking (69%); (2) multitasking is performed through a task switching process; and (3) such a process is supported and underpinned by cognitive coordination mechanisms and strategy coordination.

Abstract Limited research has investigated the role of multitasking, cognitive coordination, and cognitive shifts during web search. Understanding these three behaviors is crucial to web search model development. This study aims to explore characteristics of multitasking behavior, types of cognitive shifts, and levels of cognitive coordination as well as the relationship between them during web search. Data collection included pre‐ and postquestionnaires, think‐aloud protocols, web search logs, observations, and interviews with 42 graduate students who conducted 315 web search sessions with 221 information problems. Results show that web search is a dynamic interaction including the ordering of multiple information problems and the generation of evolving information problems, including task switching, multitasking, explicit task and implicit mental coordination, and cognitive shifting. Findings show that explicit task‐level coordination is closely linked to multitasking, and implicit cognitive‐level coordination is related to the task‐coordination process; including information problem development and task switching. Coordination mechanisms directly result in cognitive state shifts including strategy, evaluation, and view states that affect users' holistic shifts in information problem understanding and knowledge contribution. A web search model integrating multitasking, cognitive coordination, and cognitive shifts (MCC model) is presented. Implications and further research also are discussed.