Abstract: A task of primary importance for social network users is to decide whose updates to subscribe to in order to maximize the relevance, credibility, and quality of the information received. To address this problem, we conducted an experiment designed to measure the extent to which different factors in online social networks affect both explicit and implicit judgments of credibility. The results of the study indicate that both the topical content of information sources and social network structure affect source credibility. Based on these results, we designed a novel method of automatically identifying and ranking social network users according to their relevance and expertise for a given topic. We performed empirical studies to compare a variety of alternative ranking algorithms and a proprietary service provided by a commercial website specifically designed for the same purpose. Our findings show a great potential for automatically identifying and ranking credible users for any given topic.

Abstract: The goal of this study is to understand how consultants' information seeking from human and digital knowledge sources is influenced by their relationships with both types of knowledge sources and the characteristics of the knowledge domain in which information seeking takes place. Grounded on and extending transactive memory theory, this study takes a multidimensional approach to predict consultants' information seeking based on expertise recognition, source accessibility, peer information-seeking behaviors, knowledge complexity, and codifiability. Using data collected from 110 consultants across 9 project teams from 2 multinational consulting firms, this study found that consultants' information seeking from human knowledge sources was mostly driven by the expertise and accessibility level of their team members, whereas their information seeking from digital knowledge repositories was strongly influenced by how much information the digital knowledge source had and whether colleagues with whom they had strong social communication ties were seeking information from the digital source. Finally, knowledge complexity had a negative influence on consultants' information seeking from digital knowledge repositories, but knowledge codifiability had no significant effects on information seeking from either knowledge source. This study demonstrates the importance and viability of using a multidimensional network approach to advancing transactive memory theory to study consultants' information-seeking practices. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract: We address the issue, in cognitive agents, of possible loss of previous information, which later might turn out to be correct when new information becomes available. To this aim, we propose a framework for changing the agent's mind without erasing forever previous information, thus allowing its recovery in case the change turns out to be wrong. In this new framework, a piece of information is represented as an argument which can be more or less accepted depending on the trustworthiness of the agent who proposes it. We adopt possibility theory to represent uncertainty about the information, and to model the fact that information sources can be only partially trusted. The originality of the proposed framework lies in the following two points: (i) argument reinstatement is mirrored in belief reinstatement in order to avoid the loss of previous information; (ii) new incoming information is represented under the form of arguments and it is associated with a plausibility degree depending on the trustworthiness of the information source.

Abstract: Using survey data from statewide political party convention delegates in four states, I investigate whether and how gender stereotypes influence nomination choice. I examine whether gaining candidate information from different sources differentially influences gender stereotypes and the likelihood of supporting both a female and a male nominee. I argue that information sources outside a candidate's control—delegates' discussions with other delegates—versus sources candidates can control (e.g., campaign contacts and personal contact with the candidate) work against female candidates' nomination. Specifically, when delegates learn about candidates via the most controlled sources, they will be more likely to view the candidates as possessing both masculine and feminine traits and issue competencies. As a result, they should be more likely to support the candidate. In contrast, information from sources outside candidate control functions differently for male and female candidates: These sources confirm delega...

Abstract: People with mental disorders often report unmet medicine information needs and may search for information on medicines from sources including the Internet, telephone services, books and other written materials. This study aimed to identify and describe the sources of medicines information used by people with and without mental disorders. A cross sectional postal survey was mailed to a nationally representative sample (n = 5,000) of Finns aged 15–64 years in spring 2005. Completed responses were received from 3,287 people (response rate 66%), of whom 2,348 reported using one or more sources of medicines information during the past 12 months. Of those who reported one or more sources of medicines information, 10% (n = 228) reported being diagnosed with or treated for a mental disorder. The main outcome measures were the sources of medicines information used by people who did and did not report being diagnosed with or treated for a mental disorder. Among respondents with and without a mental disorder, physicians (83 vs. 59%), pharmacists (56 vs. 49%) and patient information leaflets (53 vs. 43%) were the most common sources of medicines information. After adjusting for age, gender, level of education, working status and number of chronic diseases, respondents with mental disorders were more likely to use patient information leaflets (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.06–1.98) and the Internet (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.02–2.64) as sources of medicines information than respondents without mental disorders. The results indicate that physicians and pharmacists are the most common sources of medicines information among people both with and without mental disorders. However, patient information leaflets and the Internet were more commonly used by people with mental disorders. There may be an opportunity for clinicians to better exploit these sources of medicines information when developing medicines information services for people with mental disorders.

Abstract: Many Korean Americans (KAs) suffer high cancer incidence levels and have low cancer screening rates. A significant number of KAs lack adequate information about cancer screening tests. However, little is known about the health information seeking behaviors of KAs. This study examines the types of cancer information searched for, the cancer information seeking experiences, and the awareness of major cancer information sources, such as the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) and the NCI’s Cancer Information Service, among KAs. It also examines associations with demographic characteristics and media use influencing variations in the awareness of cancer information sources. Data for this study were gathered with a cross-sectional, community-based survey (254 KAs). The survey results indicated that KA’s involvement in cancer information seeking is relatively low, and they have somewhat negative experiences in seeking cancer information. In addition, their awareness of cancer information sources was limited. Despite of the heavy use of Korean ethnic media, it did not connect to cancer information source awareness. Rather, use of US mainstream media was significantly related with awareness. Campaigns using the Korean language through partnerships with Korean ethnic media to inform KAs about credible sources of health information appear to be warranted by our findings.

Abstract: Once information retrieval has located a document, and information extraction has provided its contents, how do we know whether we should actually believe it? Fact-finders are a state-of-the-art class of algorithms that operate in a manner analogous to Kleinberg's Hubs and Authorities, iteratively computing the trustworthiness of an information source as a function of the believability of the claims it makes, and the believability of a claim as a function of the trustworthiness of those sources asserting it. However, as fact-finders consider only "who claims what", they ignore a great deal of relevant background and contextual information. We present a framework for "lifting" (generalizing) the fact-finding process, allowing us to elegantly incorporate knowledge such as the confidence of the information extractor and the attributes of the information sources. Experiments demonstrate that leveraging this information significantly improves performance over existing, "unlifted" fact-finding algorithms.

Abstract: A horizontal anomaly detection method includes receiving at plurality of objects described in a plurality of information sources, wherein each individual information source captures a plurality of similarity relationships between the objects, combining the information sources to determine a similarity matrix whose entries represent quantitative scores of similarity between pairs of the objects, and identifying at least one horizontal anomaly of the objects within the similarity matrix, wherein the horizontal anomalies are anomalous relationships across the plurality of information sources.

Abstract: Trust minimizes the uncertainty in the interactions among the information sources. To express the possibly conflicting motivations about trust and distrust, we reason about trust using argumentation theory. First, we show how to model the sources and how to attack untrustworthy sources. Second, we provide a focused representation of trust about the sources in which trust concerns not only the sources but also the information items and the relation with other information.

Abstract: This study is aimed at investigating information behavior of journalists in Kuwait. It attempted to seek answers to questions such as how search for information is initiated, what information sources are preferred and how successful is information finding? Journalists were asked to report critical incidences of information finding related to their recent journalistic assignment through a questionnaire. Analysis of 42 critical incidents indicated that journalistic assignments were in four major areas: political, cultural business, and sports. In most cases, background information was most frequently sought type of information. Internet was the most frequently used information source even though some journalists perceived that information available on the various websites may not be very objective. A follow up study is planned to be carried out to discuss the findings with a selected group of journalists using focus group discussions.

Abstract: A system(s) and method(s) for providing asset, personnel, and travel information accumulation, analysis, and reporting for improved risk assessment and management are disclosed. In various embodiments, risk assessments(s) may be provided and may include receiving intelligence from at least one intelligence source, receiving information about one or more asset(s), and generating a risk assessment report. Various embodiments may include receiving intelligence from at least one intelligence source, receiving asset information, and generating a risk assessment report based on the intelligence and a personnel or employee profile. Further, various embodiments methods and systems may provide travel information to a consumer, by for example, acquiring information from at least one information source, characterizing the acquired information by its pertinence to travel, transforming the characterized travel information into a useable format, applying rules to this transformed travel information in connection with the consumer-specific travel profile, and delivering a report to the consumer.

Abstract: The question of how consumers hunt for information when making choices has been raising curiosity of psychologists and marketing experts for a long time. Over sixty different determinants that affect the external information search were discussed. In this paper, we focus on the product characteristics, rather than consumer ones. More specifically, we focus on how the type of good (product or service) affects the information search. Goods are divided into utilitarian, used for their practicality (eg, a screwdriver or PC), and hedonic goods, used for their pleasure value (eg, chocolate or vacation). For the purposes of this paper empirical study was conducted on a sample of 61 students. Respondents were given the task to simulate purchase decision making process for utilitarian good (laptop) and hedonic good (vacation) during which they have recorded all encountered information sources. The results revealed that consumers who buy hedonic goods use the same number of information sources, regardless of time pressure. When they have more available time they devote more time but only to selected sources. They mostly use marketing-dominant sources. On the other hand, in case of utilitarian products, consumers use the same amount of time, regardless of time pressure, but are seeking information from more sources

Abstract: It is argued that to evaluate an information source (e.g., a Wikipedia article), it is necessary to relate the content of that source to an interpretation of the state of knowledge at the research front (which is typically developing dynamically). In the research literature, there is a controversy about the effect of screening programs for breast cancer. This controversy is used to compare the value of Wikipedia with Encyclopedia Britannica and two Danish encyclopedias as information sources. It is argued that this method of examining information sources is preferable to other methods which have been suggested in the literature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract: Past studies on a person's choice of information sources have shown mixed results because of a lack of understanding of the 'context' surrounding information seeking that impacts a person's choice of an information source. The Contextual Identity Framework combines three conflicting views of context to try and define its boundaries in information behavior. However, it is not clear in which of these three views of context would 'information source' fit. Would it be part of the shared context or contextual stereotype or both? Also, prior studies have often muddled the distinction between sources and channels, and between sources and source types. They have not been comprehensive in classifying types of information sources, especially with the advent of new media. To help address these gaps, this theoretical study proposes: 1) a classification of information source types; 2) a workflow of interaction among different possible elements of context; and 3) the placement of information source within the context of information seeking behavior as defined by the Contextual Identity Framework. The frameworks should help us better understand information sources in relationship to the context of information seeking behavior, and help lend greater rigor to empirical studies relating to a person's choice of information sources. It would also benefit designers of search systems paving the way for the possible information seeking systems that take the context of search into consideration.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the processes of seeking information online and evaluating this information. We hypothesized that individuals’ social network, in-out group categorization, and cultural proclivity would influence their online information-seeking behavior. Also, we tested whether individuals differentiated information values based on the information source. A total of 78 students from two universities in different geographical regions of Singapore participated in a collaborative information-seeking exercise using a computer-mediated collaborative system. The information-seeking data were analyzed with multivariate p* network analysis. The findings of this study showed that interpersonal social networks, in-out group distinctions, and individuals’ cultural proclivity significantly affected the information exchange process between different groups. However, it was found that individuals did not differentiate the values of information according to whether the source of the information was within their social network or school.

Abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to explore health information sources accessed by people with schizophrenia and the level of trust invested in themMethod: A cross-sectional survey was performed comparing the responses of 71 adults with schizophrenia (recruited from both community and inpatient settings) with 238 general practice attendees on their use of television, radio, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, family and friends, and doctor to obtain information on health matters, and their levels of trust in these sourcesResults: People with schizophrenia most commonly reported using a doctor, family and friends, and television to obtain information on health matters However, compared with general practice attendees, they gained less health information from doctors and the Internet, and had less trust in doctors Within-group analysis revealed that in people with schizophrenia: living alone increased the likelihood of obtaining health information from television; a higher level of education increa

Abstract: Objective: With Web 20, the variety of information sources for parents of paediatric psychiatric patients has increased dramatically Information use theory suggests newer sources supplement rather than supplant traditional sources of health information This study sought to determine the use and value of traditional and emerging sources of information and whether the subjects had access to highly valued sources of information Methods: One hundred parents indicated the use and value of six sources of information on the child’s symptoms, diagnoses and treatment The data were analyzed to determine if significant relationships existed between type of source and the use and value of the information sources Results: Ninety-four percent of the subjects had access to the Internet and almost half of those reported using the Social Web Eighty-five percent had at least one high-value information source The psychiatrist in the clinic, the Internet and the primary care physician were the most highly used and valued sources Conclusion: Use of digital information sources was greater than found in other studies of similar populations This use appears to complement rather than supplant more traditional sources Further studies are needed to see if the negative impact of lack of Internet access is replicated

Abstract: This paper studies the Internet as an information source for research scholars and PG students of the Science faculty, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India. A structured questionnaire is distributed to the research scholars and the PG students of Science Faculty, AMU. The study shows Internet-based information sources are more useful than print sources. This study also indicates the Internet is most satisfactory source of information. There are many related studies on the use of Internet but this study is the first of its kind within the specific user community and specific geographical area.

Abstract: Phishing attacks allure users to submit their personal information to fake websites that mimic legitimate websites. Many anti-phishing techniques have emerged in recent years. However, the numbers of phishing attacks are still increasing. Two reasons can be blamed for this situation. First, users have too much trust and confidence on existing anti-phishing tools in general. Second, most users believe that they are foolproof against phishing attacks when anti-phishing tools are deployed. We believe that understanding of anti-phishing tools based on their common features can be the beginning step to address these issues. However, there is no extensive analysis of existing anti-phishing techniques. This paper attempts to classify existing works based on information sources. The classification would not only provide useful information to develop new anti-phishing techniques or improve existing techniques, but also enable our understanding on the limitations of the existing techniques.

Abstract: The Internet becomes one of the most effective communication media in healthcare. This study aimed to evaluate the cancer information sources and the needs of various types of Internet users. We conducted a survey on the National Cancer Information Center website from April 2007 to December 2007. Of the 170,746 visitors, 507 responded to the survey, and the data were analyzed according to self-identified user types. The participants identified themselves as patients (17%), caregivers (32%), healthcare professionals (21%), or general public (30%). Different user groups looked for different cancer information. Totally, 72.1% patients and 82% caregivers wanted the information about treatment, and 71.3% of healthcare professionals and 88.2% of the general public wanted the information related to ‘prevention & diagnosis.’ Healthcare professionals had a higher need for “statistics & research” information compared to other Internet user groups. The Internet was reported as the most common source of cancer information for all user groups. The type of cancer information needed and the usefulness of the information acquired on the Internet varied among the different types of user groups, suggesting that Web-based cancer information should be tailored to each type of user.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and a method for information retrieval and query, which are characterized in that the system and the method are implemented through the following steps: acquiring an index list containing the information under an information source by an index subsystem according to the query information; acquiring indexes by a select list; acquiring the query data of the information source by a selective index; acquiring the information of the information source by a display subsystem according to the query data; and according to the information of the information source, carrying out quick retrieval and query on the information of the information source, and carrying out quick retrieval and query on an associated information source by an associated information source subsystem, wherein, the evaluation information, network information or related software system information and the like of the information source can be acquired by a view subsystem, and the detail information and auxiliary information of the information source can be acquired by a detail information subsystem and an auxiliary information subsystem. The invention also relates to an information issue system and an information issue method which are characterized in that the system and the method are implemented by obtaining options of an information issue subsystem through an information issue port, and then carrying out information issue and issued information deletion on the detail information, index information, address information, abstract information and auxiliary information of the information source according to the options.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a non-transitory computer storage medium, for providing reverse auctions for goods and services in real-time. In one aspect, a method includes storing profile information associated with a plurality of information sources, each source associated with a category. A request for information from a user including information associated with a good or service sought is analyzed to identify information sources as responsive to the request based on a comparison of the good or service sought and each information source's associated category. Responses are solicited from the identified information sources. In response, a set of responses from at least a subset of the identified information sources is received, which are then ranked based on a comparison of the particular response to the request for information, and at least a subset of which are presented to the user based on the ranking.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method and a device for providing adverse effect information of drugs. The method comprises the following steps: extracting at least first information and second information in the basic information of a drug from a drug information source; corresponding the drug to a specific concept related to the drug in a structured specification term system according to the first information and the second information; extracting adverse effect information related to adverse effects of the drug from the drug information source; and corresponding the adverse effect information to the specific concept related to symptoms in the structured specification term system along different paths in at least two classification hierarchical structures related to the symptoms in the structured specification term system. The invention also provides a device corresponding to the method. By utilizing the method and device provided by the invention, the information related to the adverse effects of the drug can be extracted comprehensively, and the information is standardized and specified, which is convenient to integrate, search, calculate and spread the information.

Abstract: The presence (and, sometimes, prominence) of incorrect and misleading content on the Web can have serious consequences for people who increasingly rely on browsing the Web as their information source for topics such as health, politics, and financial advice. In this paper, we identify and collect several page features (such as popularity among specialized user groups) that are currently difficult or impossible for end-users to assess, yet provide valuable signals regarding credibility. We then present visualizations designed to augment search results and Web pages with the most promising of these features. Our lab evaluation finds that our augmented search results are particularly effective at increasing the accuracy of users’ credibility assessments, highlighting the potential of data aggregation and simple interventions to help people make more informed decisions as they search for information online.

Abstract: Objective: The aims of this study were to examine urban and rural doctors’ information needs and information seeking behaviours; review their use of information channels; sources; information and communication technologies and to assess their information literacy. It was expected that this would inform future efforts that support doctors in their daily care of patients. Methodology: A multi-method approach was used in this study. The main reason for that was to increase understanding gained from the quantitative data by obtaining more in-depth information from qualitative data and to integrate the advantages of both methods. Concurrent triangulation strategy was chosen to conduct the quantitative and qualitative study. An exploratory survey was the research method, and a paper based questionnaire and face to face interviews (along with critical incident techniques embedded in the interview) were the research techniques used to gather data. Results: out of 1029 questionnaires that were distributed 334 (32.46%) were returned. The valid responses were 256 (24.88%). Patient data, disease information, drug information, medical images & lab results, medical complications and guidelines were the main types of doctors’ information needs. Education and clinical practice were the main contexts that give rise to doctors’ information needs. Ambiguity, uncertainty, rare diseases and the multiplicity of options were the motivations for information needs. Updating, answering colleagues/patient questions and writing research papers were the purposes for which information was used. Personal library and human sources were the heavily used channels to access information. Books rather than journals was indicated the top information source. In addition, more than a quarter of urban doctors and 41.5% of rural doctors ranked online databases as the last source to be consulted. The majority of doctors indicated a difficulty in obtaining electronic information particularly from online databases; moreover the majority reported that sometimes they would like to have the search performed by a mediator. The majority demonstrated that they use field search and more than one term, but there was less use of Boolean parameters or truncation in the search strategies. Availability, ease of access and v use, integration in the work environment and information skills were the main types of barrier to using information sources, particularly electronic sources. Summary, the study identified that context, such as clinical work, where a particular task e.g. decision making leads to information needs. These may lead to information seeking behaviour to fulfil the need. However, doctors’ information seeking encountered barriers that hampered the fulfilment of information needs.

Abstract: In this paper, a new source selection algorithm for uncooperative distributed information retrieval environments is presented. The algorithm functions by modeling each information source as an integral, using the relevance score and the intra-collection position of its sampled documents in reference to a centralized sample index and selects the collections that cover the largest area in the rank-relevance space. Based on the above novel metric, the algorithm explicitly focuses on addressing the two goals of source selection; high-recall, which is important for source recommendation applications and high-precision which is important for distributed information retrieval, aiming to produce a high-precision final merged list. For the latter goal in particular, the new approach steps away from the usual practice of DIR systems of explicitly declaring the number of collections that must be queried and instead focuses solely on the number of retrieved documents in the final merged list, dynamically calculating the number of collections that are selected and the number of documents requested from each. The algorithm is tested in a wide range of testbeds in both recall and precision-oriented settings and its effectiveness is found to be equal or better than other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to propose a modal framework for reasoning about signed information. This modal framework allows agents to keep track of information source as long as they receive information in a multi-agent system. Agents gain that they can elaborate and justify their own current belief state by considering a reliability relation over the sources of information. The belief elaboration process is considered under two perspectives: (i) from a static point of view an agent aggregates received signed information according to its preferred sources in order to build its belief and (ii) from a dynamic point of view as an agent receives information it adapts its belief state about signed information. Splitting the notions of beliefs and signed statement is useful for handling the underlying trust issue: an agent believes some statement because it may justify the statement's origin and its reliability.

Abstract: A method for compiling information indicating that an identified user has been in communication with at least one of a plurality of differently located and identified information sources includes using a receiver to receive first information that an identified user has been in communication with at least one of the plurality of differently located and identified information sources, using a receiver to receive second information that the identified user has interacted with the first information, and using a processor to compile the first and second information to determine the relative effectiveness of the identified information source.

Abstract: Methods and systems provide for the distribution of both computer and home entertainment information. Computer and home entertainment audio-visual sources are distributed to displays throughout a house, and any of the sources can be viewed from any of the displays. Computers and televisions are integrated while allowing the computers and the televisions to be located in separate rooms of the house, thereby minimizing the need to co-locate items or to install additional wiring. The computer and home entertainment sources may be located in a single area and distributed to various receivers throughout the house. Multiple users may share any given information source. The entertainment and computer sources are connected to a single information hub that distributes the various source signals to remote receivers. Users may view any of the sources from any receiver in the house, and multiple different users may view different sources from any receivers in the house.