PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behavior... more PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third...
PurposeExploring the considerations that guide and influence members of Facebook medical support ... more PurposeExploring the considerations that guide and influence members of Facebook medical support groups to disclose private information.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 293 participants, aged 18–85 years, who answered an online survey, 155 members of Facebook medical support groups and 138 members of other Facebook groups.FindingsMembers of medical support groups attach greater importance to privacy policy, give greater value to privacy and reveal more private information, compared to members of other groups. Members of medical support groups tend to feel that they receive more support and feel that the privacy policy preserves their privacy much more. These feelings are associated with greater self-disclosure of groups' members.Originality/valueThe research insights will help medical support groups' members and admins to put into action the fundamental right to privacy and build a set of rules tailored to their individual and group needs.
The current research aims to explore and analyze the application and use of a wiki, in a knowledg... more The current research aims to explore and analyze the application and use of a wiki, in a knowledge-management academic course. The research focused on the level of collaboration among students and on the kind of interaction that takes take place during the learning process. The database on which this research focused was comprised of wiki pages which were gathered from a knowledge-management wiki course in Israel. To understand the comments directed at each student on the wiki, a thorough content analysis was conducted. The results of the current research reveal that the major part of the interaction that took place on the wiki centered on content-related comments and contained both collaboration among the students and use of deep levels of cognition.
During the 2013 elections in Israel one of the major methods of interaction of the political part... more During the 2013 elections in Israel one of the major methods of interaction of the political parties and their leaders with potential voters was through their Facebook pages. These pages were followed for 50 days preceding the elections. For each page, 30% of the posts on the page were analyzed in terms of their rhetoric and subject. The largest number of the analyzed posts was intended for bonding with the audience, and unsurprisingly politics was the most frequent topic. The findings show that personal posts received the largest number of likes pointing to the personal nature of the elections. Findings were compared with results of analysis of the Facebook pages of the US Presidential candidates. Similarities were found, even though in Israel there is a party system and elections are not personal.
PurposeThe study focuses on adolescents and the influence the big five great personality traits –... more PurposeThe study focuses on adolescents and the influence the big five great personality traits – extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experiences and conscientiousness – on self-disclosure. These personality traits, combined with the ability to cope with stress, determine the degree of threat felt by an individual towards their information, their evaluation of their personal ability to keep their information secure, and their willingness to secure information.Design/methodology/approachFive questionnaires relating to the big five personality traits, self-disclosure, cognitive assessment, self-efficacy and IS awareness were distributed among 157 adolescents.FindingsReadiness for IS. Furthermore, the study showed that the more ostentatiousness, agreeable, goal oriented and open the subjects are, the lower they will evaluate the threat to their information. A relationship was also revealed between the subjects' agreeableness, goal orientation and their information...
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information distributed on social media by gov... more PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information distributed on social media by government ministries. In addition, this study seeks to categorize and identify the characteristics of the highest engaging government social media posts.Design/methodology/approachThis article is based on content analysis to examine the work of Israeli government ministries on Facebook. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze 6,292 posts posted over a six-month period, and a sample of 230 of the most popular posts was analyzed qualitatively.FindingsFindings indicate that government ministries primarily direct and link to internal Facebook pages, with few, if any, referrals to official government websites. In addition, the types of content that generate the highest levels of engagement are classified as operations and events or symbolic acts (e.g. greetings or condolences) and are containing visual content as photos or video clips.Originality/valueThis study contributes ...
PurposeThis study explores faculty members' outputs and citations by gender and academic rank... more PurposeThis study explores faculty members' outputs and citations by gender and academic rank in Israeli academia. The study focuses on the connection between research productivity and underrepresentation of women in academia. To this end, four fields were chosen, each representing a different discipline: Psychology (social sciences), Public Health (health sciences), Linguistics (humanities), and Chemistry (Exact sciences).Design/methodology/approachThe name, the rank and the gender of the researchers were collected from the researchers' websites and those of their departments. The number of publications and citations were retrieved from Scopus.FindingsFindings revealed that there is a significant difference between the median number of men and women in Chemistry concerning publications and citations and in Psychology concerning citations. Moreover, in all four disciplines, females' average number of publications was lower than that of males', and that in three out o...
PurposeThe current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and disseminatio... more PurposeThe current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and dissemination of information on social media platforms by Israeli government organizations and agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses the “Case Study” approach, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with directors in charge of the use of social media in government departments.FindingsThe findings indicate that government agencies tend to favor Facebook over other social network platforms, in order to reach the widest possible audience. They do this by adhering to the platform's limitations, such as regularly using sponsored advertising to increase reach and visibility, and also by publishing visual content, such as videos and images, at the expense of text. In addition, the impact of respondents to adopt social media outweighs the use and importance awarded to traditional government websites. A clear preference is evident toward cultivating and strengthening existi...
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2020
The goal of this research study is to examine teenager's and educational staff's attitude... more The goal of this research study is to examine teenager's and educational staff's attitudes towards the issue of information security (IS). The study focuses on teenagers and on educational staff from high schools from varied socio‐economic groups. The goal of this study is to eventually instigate a cultural change in the area of IS, therefore, it is important to understand the motivations behind end users' actions. The research findings indicate a clear connection between students' and teachers' evaluation of their information sources and the threat they feel by information risks. This, in turn affects their willingness to apply IS measures. In addition, the necessity of integration of IS into the educational curriculum emerged, as it constitutes an indispensable skill in the 21st century.
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2019
This paper reports a study of information literacy instructional practices in Israeli academic li... more This paper reports a study of information literacy instructional practices in Israeli academic libraries, conducted to understand the methods and approaches used by academic librarians in their instructional work, and to explore whether their practices have been influenced by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The study used an online survey to gather data, an instrument based on one used successfully in similar surveys in Canada and the United States. The survey was completed by Israeli academic librarians with instructional responsibilities. Findings show that respondents believe that information literacy instruction is a shared responsibility, and that one-on-one instruction is the most-used approach. Results reveal multiple challenges faced by respondents, as well as opportunities for improvement in their instruction.
Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 2016
MOOCs are open, online courses that use information technologies to enhance the learning experien... more MOOCs are open, online courses that use information technologies to enhance the learning experience and attract various people from the entire world. The current study uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), as well as personal characteristics such as learning strategies, cognitive appraisal, and Kuhlthau’s (1991) model of information seeking as theoretical bases for defining factors that may influence students adopting MOOCs in their learning process, as well as describe their feelings during the learning process. The study was conducted in Israel during the 2014 academic year, and used both quantitative and qualitative techniques and involved 102 students who participated in a MOOC as part of the requirements in an offline course. They were requested to keep study diaries. The quantitative analysis revealed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) have a major influence on the intention to enroll in a MOOC. PEOU can be increased by improving the current ...
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2016
The e-book reader revolution is already here. The questions we asked ourselves were: What are the... more The e-book reader revolution is already here. The questions we asked ourselves were: What are the reading preferences of Information Science students at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century? How do different variables, such as relative advantage, comprehension, and learning strategies affect students’ reading preferences? The research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2015 academic year and encompassed 177 Library and Information Science students in an Information Science Department in Israel. Three questionnaires were used: personal details, relative advantage, and learning strategies, and two further questions that focused on reading habits. The study showed students’ preferences for printed materials. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of two personal variables that may affect students’ will to read electronic materials: relative advantage and comprehension.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine participation in online social platforms consisti... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine participation in online social platforms consisting of information exchange, social network interactions, and political deliberation. Despite the proven benefits of online participation, the majority of internet users read social media data but do not directly contribute, a phenomenon called lurking. Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered electronically to 507 participants and consisted of ten sections in a questionnaire to gather data on the relationship between online participation and the following variables: anonymity, social value orientation, motivations, and participation in offline activities, as well as the internet’s political influence and personality traits. Findings Findings show that users with high levels of participation also identify themselves, report higher levels of extroversion, openness, and activity outside the internet, the motivations being an intermediary variable in the relationship between the...
PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behavior... more PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third...
PurposeExploring the considerations that guide and influence members of Facebook medical support ... more PurposeExploring the considerations that guide and influence members of Facebook medical support groups to disclose private information.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 293 participants, aged 18–85 years, who answered an online survey, 155 members of Facebook medical support groups and 138 members of other Facebook groups.FindingsMembers of medical support groups attach greater importance to privacy policy, give greater value to privacy and reveal more private information, compared to members of other groups. Members of medical support groups tend to feel that they receive more support and feel that the privacy policy preserves their privacy much more. These feelings are associated with greater self-disclosure of groups' members.Originality/valueThe research insights will help medical support groups' members and admins to put into action the fundamental right to privacy and build a set of rules tailored to their individual and group needs.
The current research aims to explore and analyze the application and use of a wiki, in a knowledg... more The current research aims to explore and analyze the application and use of a wiki, in a knowledge-management academic course. The research focused on the level of collaboration among students and on the kind of interaction that takes take place during the learning process. The database on which this research focused was comprised of wiki pages which were gathered from a knowledge-management wiki course in Israel. To understand the comments directed at each student on the wiki, a thorough content analysis was conducted. The results of the current research reveal that the major part of the interaction that took place on the wiki centered on content-related comments and contained both collaboration among the students and use of deep levels of cognition.
During the 2013 elections in Israel one of the major methods of interaction of the political part... more During the 2013 elections in Israel one of the major methods of interaction of the political parties and their leaders with potential voters was through their Facebook pages. These pages were followed for 50 days preceding the elections. For each page, 30% of the posts on the page were analyzed in terms of their rhetoric and subject. The largest number of the analyzed posts was intended for bonding with the audience, and unsurprisingly politics was the most frequent topic. The findings show that personal posts received the largest number of likes pointing to the personal nature of the elections. Findings were compared with results of analysis of the Facebook pages of the US Presidential candidates. Similarities were found, even though in Israel there is a party system and elections are not personal.
PurposeThe study focuses on adolescents and the influence the big five great personality traits –... more PurposeThe study focuses on adolescents and the influence the big five great personality traits – extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experiences and conscientiousness – on self-disclosure. These personality traits, combined with the ability to cope with stress, determine the degree of threat felt by an individual towards their information, their evaluation of their personal ability to keep their information secure, and their willingness to secure information.Design/methodology/approachFive questionnaires relating to the big five personality traits, self-disclosure, cognitive assessment, self-efficacy and IS awareness were distributed among 157 adolescents.FindingsReadiness for IS. Furthermore, the study showed that the more ostentatiousness, agreeable, goal oriented and open the subjects are, the lower they will evaluate the threat to their information. A relationship was also revealed between the subjects' agreeableness, goal orientation and their information...
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information distributed on social media by gov... more PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the information distributed on social media by government ministries. In addition, this study seeks to categorize and identify the characteristics of the highest engaging government social media posts.Design/methodology/approachThis article is based on content analysis to examine the work of Israeli government ministries on Facebook. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze 6,292 posts posted over a six-month period, and a sample of 230 of the most popular posts was analyzed qualitatively.FindingsFindings indicate that government ministries primarily direct and link to internal Facebook pages, with few, if any, referrals to official government websites. In addition, the types of content that generate the highest levels of engagement are classified as operations and events or symbolic acts (e.g. greetings or condolences) and are containing visual content as photos or video clips.Originality/valueThis study contributes ...
PurposeThis study explores faculty members' outputs and citations by gender and academic rank... more PurposeThis study explores faculty members' outputs and citations by gender and academic rank in Israeli academia. The study focuses on the connection between research productivity and underrepresentation of women in academia. To this end, four fields were chosen, each representing a different discipline: Psychology (social sciences), Public Health (health sciences), Linguistics (humanities), and Chemistry (Exact sciences).Design/methodology/approachThe name, the rank and the gender of the researchers were collected from the researchers' websites and those of their departments. The number of publications and citations were retrieved from Scopus.FindingsFindings revealed that there is a significant difference between the median number of men and women in Chemistry concerning publications and citations and in Psychology concerning citations. Moreover, in all four disciplines, females' average number of publications was lower than that of males', and that in three out o...
PurposeThe current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and disseminatio... more PurposeThe current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and dissemination of information on social media platforms by Israeli government organizations and agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses the “Case Study” approach, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with directors in charge of the use of social media in government departments.FindingsThe findings indicate that government agencies tend to favor Facebook over other social network platforms, in order to reach the widest possible audience. They do this by adhering to the platform's limitations, such as regularly using sponsored advertising to increase reach and visibility, and also by publishing visual content, such as videos and images, at the expense of text. In addition, the impact of respondents to adopt social media outweighs the use and importance awarded to traditional government websites. A clear preference is evident toward cultivating and strengthening existi...
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2020
The goal of this research study is to examine teenager's and educational staff's attitude... more The goal of this research study is to examine teenager's and educational staff's attitudes towards the issue of information security (IS). The study focuses on teenagers and on educational staff from high schools from varied socio‐economic groups. The goal of this study is to eventually instigate a cultural change in the area of IS, therefore, it is important to understand the motivations behind end users' actions. The research findings indicate a clear connection between students' and teachers' evaluation of their information sources and the threat they feel by information risks. This, in turn affects their willingness to apply IS measures. In addition, the necessity of integration of IS into the educational curriculum emerged, as it constitutes an indispensable skill in the 21st century.
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2019
This paper reports a study of information literacy instructional practices in Israeli academic li... more This paper reports a study of information literacy instructional practices in Israeli academic libraries, conducted to understand the methods and approaches used by academic librarians in their instructional work, and to explore whether their practices have been influenced by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The study used an online survey to gather data, an instrument based on one used successfully in similar surveys in Canada and the United States. The survey was completed by Israeli academic librarians with instructional responsibilities. Findings show that respondents believe that information literacy instruction is a shared responsibility, and that one-on-one instruction is the most-used approach. Results reveal multiple challenges faced by respondents, as well as opportunities for improvement in their instruction.
Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 2016
MOOCs are open, online courses that use information technologies to enhance the learning experien... more MOOCs are open, online courses that use information technologies to enhance the learning experience and attract various people from the entire world. The current study uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), as well as personal characteristics such as learning strategies, cognitive appraisal, and Kuhlthau’s (1991) model of information seeking as theoretical bases for defining factors that may influence students adopting MOOCs in their learning process, as well as describe their feelings during the learning process. The study was conducted in Israel during the 2014 academic year, and used both quantitative and qualitative techniques and involved 102 students who participated in a MOOC as part of the requirements in an offline course. They were requested to keep study diaries. The quantitative analysis revealed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) have a major influence on the intention to enroll in a MOOC. PEOU can be increased by improving the current ...
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2016
The e-book reader revolution is already here. The questions we asked ourselves were: What are the... more The e-book reader revolution is already here. The questions we asked ourselves were: What are the reading preferences of Information Science students at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century? How do different variables, such as relative advantage, comprehension, and learning strategies affect students’ reading preferences? The research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2015 academic year and encompassed 177 Library and Information Science students in an Information Science Department in Israel. Three questionnaires were used: personal details, relative advantage, and learning strategies, and two further questions that focused on reading habits. The study showed students’ preferences for printed materials. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of two personal variables that may affect students’ will to read electronic materials: relative advantage and comprehension.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine participation in online social platforms consisti... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine participation in online social platforms consisting of information exchange, social network interactions, and political deliberation. Despite the proven benefits of online participation, the majority of internet users read social media data but do not directly contribute, a phenomenon called lurking. Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered electronically to 507 participants and consisted of ten sections in a questionnaire to gather data on the relationship between online participation and the following variables: anonymity, social value orientation, motivations, and participation in offline activities, as well as the internet’s political influence and personality traits. Findings Findings show that users with high levels of participation also identify themselves, report higher levels of extroversion, openness, and activity outside the internet, the motivations being an intermediary variable in the relationship between the...
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