Information To Users Research Articles

Normative or Confirmative: Effects of Information Quality and Redundancy in Decision Support Systems.

The study investigates users' tendency to access decision support (DS) systems as a function of the correlation between the DS information and the information users already have, the ongoing interaction with such systems, and the effect of correlated information on subjective trust. Previous research has shown inconclusive findings regarding whether people prefer information that correlates with information they already have. Some studies conclude that individuals recognize the value of noncorrelated information, given its unique content, while others suggest that users favor correlated information as it aligns with existing evidence. The impact of the level of correlation on performance, subjective trust, and the decision to use DS remains unclear. In an experiment (N = 481), participants made classification decisions based on available information. They could also purchase additional DS with different degrees of correlation with the available information. Participants tended to purchase information more often when the DS was not correlated with the available information. Correlated information reduced performance, and the effect of correlation on subjective trust and performance depended on DS sensitivity. Additional information may not improve performance when it is correlated with available information (i.e., it is redundant). Hence, the benefits of additional information and DS depend on the information the system and the operator use. It is essential to analyze the correlations between information sources and design the available information to allow optimal task performance and possibly minimize redundancy (e.g., by locating sensors in different positions to capture independent data).

The impact of external auditing on financial information users: field study

This research aims to study the extent to which external auditing affects realizing the objectives of financial information users. This was done through a surveying of the opinions of a sample of the study community in the West Algerian region using a questionnaire. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS26), for descriptive analysis of the Sample individuals as well as a simple linear regression (SLR) model to test hypotheses. The results of the study concluded that there is a positive impact of the role of external auditing in improving the quality of the information system and activating the internal control system aimed at financial information users. This study recommends the essential for external auditors to comply with international auditing standards and quality requirements to improve the practice of the auditing profession and boost it in the future to attain the above-mentioned objectives.

Words to unite nations: The complete United Nations General Debate Corpus, 1946–present

Every year since 1946, the General Debate has taken place at the beginning of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly session. Representatives from all UN member states deliver an address, discussing the issues that they consider most important in global politics, revealing their governments’ positions, and seeking to persuade other states of their perspectives. The annual UN General Debate statements provide invaluable information for scholars of international relations – comparable globally and over time. However, these texts are stored as poor quality images without relevant metadata, preventing researchers from applying data science methods. This paper introduces the complete UN General Debate Corpus (UNGDC). Building on a previous incomplete release of UNGDC, we have extended the corpus to cover the entire 1946–present period, included additional data on all speakers and provided advanced search and data visualization tools on a new website. The complete corpus contains over 10,000 speeches from 202 countries, including historical countries – making it the most comprehensive, unique and accessible collection of global political speeches. We discuss the complete UNGDC, provide relevant information for data users and present illustrative examples of how the corpus can be employed to address key questions in world politics.

Study on the Deficiencies in the Presentation of Financial Statements of Enterprises and Countermeasures for Improvement

This article delves into the current state and inherent deficiencies of corporate financial statement presentation, thoroughly examining issues pertaining to information disclosure, format standardization, comparability, and user orientation. Through a comprehensive analysis of actual cases and literature, the piece highlights the shortcomings in the transparency and decision-utility of existing financial statement presentation. In response to these flaws, the article proffers a series of improvement strategies, encompassing the refinement of information disclosure mechanisms, the enhancement of report format construction, the elevation of information comparability, and the fostering of a user-oriented philosophy. These recommendations aim to elevate the overall quality of financial statements, augmenting their transparency and utility in the market, thereby furnishing enterprises, investors, and regulatory bodies with more accurate and dependable informational support.

The Concept of ICT on Agricultural Input Information: a Framework Design

Information is a critical farming input as it serves as a tool to enable farmers to make well-informed farming production decisions such as: best planting time, and best farming practices which in turn contributes to farming higher productivity. Small-scale farmers in developing nations’ rural areas are major contributors to food security in developing nations' rural areas. Given the importance of small-scale farming in developing nations’ rural areas, developing nations' rural small-scale farmers timely access to relevant agricultural information will assist the farmers to make right decisions towards pursuing sustainable, value-added agriculture and long-term growth to ensure developing nations’ rural areas food security. Existing literature reveals that small-scale farmers in developing nation rural areas are disadvantaged by imperfect information to make well informed decisions. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applications in agriculture become the easier way for rural small-scale farmers to access well rounded agricultural knowledge. As a result of ICT, various online platforms and websites that cater to the information needs of small-scale farmers exist. As farmers’ usage of information and ICT tools are influenced by the source and perceived gain from ICT. A model designed to enhance developing nations’ rural small-scale farmers’ uptake of ICT through the understanding of intervening variables of individual characteristics explicated by case studies of selected rural small-scale farmers in Wenchi Municipal Assembly, Ghana is the aim of the current study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 70 participants for the case study. Using open and closed-ended questionnaires, empirical data were collected to determine the intervening variables of the selected farmers' communication. The identified intervening variables in the farmers' seeking of information revealed that the farmers search for information through verbal communication. Thus, the study recommends the use of ICT platforms that promote oral or verbal communications such as automated voice messages to stream agricultural input information to the farmers in the study area to realize an effective utilization of ICT by the farmers to access agricultural input information. The study proposed framework becomes a tool to assist stakeholders concerned with implementing ICT application to enhance rural small-scale farming to gather knowledge to design tailor-made solutions. Key words: Agricultural input information, developing nations, ICT, productivity, rural areas, small-scale farmers

Reproductive Health Information Application Using E-Mobile in Readiness to Face Menarche in Teenage Girls in East Jakarta

Preparedness for menarche can be achieved by providing information and attention to young women when facing menarche so that they will be calmer and ready to welcome the arrival of menarche. The initial survey, conducted by the researchers using an interview method involving four elementary school students who had experienced menarche, revealed that they experienced panic and embarrassment when facing menarche. They did not obtain information on menarche from their parents (mothers). Several findings have shown that their readiness to face menarche is still low. Mothers' awkwardness in providing information directly to young women can be overcome by using media in the form of e-mobiles or the internet. A pre-experiment using a single-group pretest-posttest methodology without a control group is the type of study design that will be used. The study variable was teenage girls' knowledge of reproductive health in preparation for menarche. A t-test was used for data analysis. The study was conducted between March and December 2023. SD Negeri 07 Pagi in the Ciracas District of East Jakarta served as the research site. The study population consisted of female pupils in classes 3, 4, 5, and 6 who had not yet reached menarche. Adolescent reproductive health, young women's preparation for menarche, and views on the usage of menarche information were the topics covered in the questionnaire. The initial readiness variable (pre-test) of young women and the results of the readiness (post-test) of young women after obtaining reproductive health information using the women's menarche information application obtained a Sig. (2-tailed) of 0.000 < α (0.05), as did the Paired T-test of the initial understanding variable (pre-test) of teenage girls with the variable of understanding results (post-test) of teenage girls. Young women's pre- and post-test understandings and readiness differed significantly from one another. They also differed significantly from one another in terms of their initial readiness and subsequent readiness following the use of the menarche information application to obtain reproductive health information.

PubChem 2025 update.

PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is a large and highly-integrated public chemical database resource at NIH. In the past two years, significant updates were made to PubChem. With additions from over 130 new sources, PubChem contains >1000 data sources, 119 million compounds, 322 million substances and 295 million bioactivities. New interfaces, such as the consolidated literature panel and the patent knowledge panel, were developed. The consolidated literature panel combines all references about a compound into a single list, allowing users to easily find, sort, and export all relevant articles for a chemical in one place. The patent knowledge panels for a given query chemical or gene display chemicals, genes, and diseases co-mentioned with the query in patent documents, helping users to explore relationships between co-occurring entities within patent documents. PubChemRDF was expanded to include the co-occurrence data underlying the literature knowledge panel, enabling users to exploit semantic web technologies to explore entity relationships based on the co-occurrences in the scientific literature. The usability and accessibility of information on chemicals with non-discrete structures (e.g. biologics, minerals, polymers, UVCBs and glycans) were greatly improved with dedicated web pages that provide a comprehensive view of all available information in PubChem for these chemicals.

Determinants of Financial Information Disclosure Online: Empirical Evidence in Portugal

The rapid advancement of information technology, particularly the Internet, has significantly transformed communication and corporate reporting practices. The evolution of the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has enabled companies to disseminate extensive financial and non-financial information quickly and cost-effectively. Typically published on company websites, this information is accessible to users worldwide. Digital financial reporting has evolved to meet the needs of both information users and companies. The Internet is increasingly the primary channel for companies to share financial information, driven by technological advancements and the growing demand for online company data. However, the rise of technology in financial reporting raises concerns about information overload, potentially diminishing the quality and relevance of economic data. Additionally, managing the costs associated with technology, such as website development, customer relationship management systems, hardware, software, and other digital platforms, is crucial. This study aims to determine the extent of online financial information disclosure among the 150 largest Portuguese companies and identify the factors influencing this disclosure. The research methodology involves content analysis of the websites of 52 of the largest and best-performing companies operating in Portugal, as ranked by Revista Exame, using a predefined disclosure index to evaluate the degree of financial information disclosure on the Internet. The objective is to enhance understanding of the financial reporting practices adopted by major Portuguese companies and identify factors determining the level of disclosure. The results confirm that the disclosure index has an average value of 0.52147 and that there is a relationship between company size and sector of activity and the level of internet financial reporting.

How engaged are you? A forensic analysis of the Oura Ring Gen 3 application across iOS, Android, and Cloud platforms

Wearable devices are becoming increasingly popular, diverse, and accessible. To put it in perspective, in 2022 alone, more than 490 million wearable devices were sold. The diversity of wearables is beneficial to users but poses challenges for mobile forensic investigators. These devices track, utilize, and collect a wide range of user information, generating a wealth of data that can potentially be used or presented in court as evidence. To keep up with these innovations, mobile forensic investigators must continuously monitor and update their knowledge. In particular, smart rings are gaining popularity, with the Oura Ring Gen 3 being one of the most anticipated within the community. This study provides an initial look at the Oura Ring Generation 3 application, known as Oura, from a mobile forensic perspective. The artifacts presented in this article are derived from three different platforms: Android, iOS, and Cloud. The study reveals the exact paths of the data points and their locations. The data uncovered in this study could be significant for digital forensics investigators in various scenarios and inform users about the personal information that is stored. Information such as heart rate, various activities performed, user ID, and other user details could prove valuable in multiple instances.

Understanding patterns of factor influences in motorcycle crashes with fixed objects

Previous research has demonstrated that crashes involving motorcycles and fixed objects often result in severe injuries. However, there is a scarcity of stand-alone studies examining the contributing factors related to this specific type of crash. This study sought to address this gap by analyzing a comprehensive dataset comprising 1,198 crash observations involving motorcycles and fixed objects over a 5-year period (2016–2020) in Massachusetts. By understanding the contributing factors more comprehensively, this study aims to facilitate targeted interventions to mitigate the severity of crashes involving motorcycles and fixed objects, ultimately fostering a safer road environment. Through data conflation, various factors pertaining to driver demographics, driver actions, road features, traffic characteristics, weather conditions, and lighting conditions were considered for this analysis. A novel approach called cluster correspondence analysis (CCA) was employed to uncover underlying patterns associated with these crashes. The insights derived using this unique method will significantly contribute to the limited literature on this topic, providing valuable information for road users and stakeholders to implement policies that enhance overall road safety.

Investigating Characteristics of Media Recommendation Solicitation in r/ifyoulikeblank

Despite the existence of search-based recommender systems like Google, Netflix, and Spotify, online users sometimes may turn to crowdsourced recommendations in places like the r/ifyoulikeblank subreddit. In this exploratory study, we probe why users go to r/ifyoulikeblank, how they look for recommendation, and how the subreddit users respond to recommendation requests. To answer, we collected sample posts from r/ifyoulikeblank and analyzed them using a qualitative approach. Our analysis reveals that users come to this subreddit for various reasons, such as exhausting popular search systems, not knowing what or how to search for an item, and thinking crowd have better knowledge than search systems. Examining users query and their description, we found novel information users provide during recommendation seeking using r/ifyoulikeblank. For example, sometimes they ask for artifacts recommendation based on the tools used to create them. Or, sometimes indicating a recommendation seeker's time constraints can help better suit recommendations to their needs. Finally, recommendation responses and interactions revealed patterns of how requesters and responders refine queries and recommendations. Our work informs future intelligent recommender systems design.

The Use of Information and Communication Technologies Among Generation X in Serbia: A Comparison Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this paper is to examine the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) among Generation X in the years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought significant changes in digital technology usage and accelerated shifts in work, communication, and societal functioning. Generation X, comprising individuals born between the 1960s and 1980s, grew up during a time when digital technologies and the internet were not as prevalent. Given that they now live and work in a digital era, it is crucial to understand how they adapt to the rapid changes driven by digitalization. For this research, microdata from the study "The Usage of Information and Communication Technology by Individuals/Households in the Republic of Serbia" was analyzed for the years 2019 and 2023. Results show a slight increase in internet and computer use, particularly among younger members of Generation X. Additionally, 2023 saw a noticeable rise in online shopping and the use of communication services that gained popularity during the lockdown. Regarding public administration services, respondents in 2023 primarily accessed services related to the pandemic, such as vaccine information and green certificates. However, a significant number of respondents, 49%, did not use public services in either 2019 or 2023, suggesting potential issues with trust or perceived complexity. The main contribution of this paper is a detailed analysis of this group's behavior before and after the pandemic, focusing on ICT use and responses to changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Distinction Between Search and Discovery Systems : A Scholarly Analysis

This comprehensive analysis explores the fundamental distinctions between search and discovery systems in the context of information retrieval and user interaction. The article examines the underlying principles, methodologies, and user experiences associated with each system, elucidating their unique roles in the modern digital landscape. By comparing key aspects such as user intent, interaction models, algorithmic foundations, and evaluation metrics, the article highlights the complementary strengths of these paradigms. The research also investigates emerging hybrid approaches that combine elements of both search and discovery, addressing evolving user expectations and the challenges of information overload. Through this in-depth exploration, the article contributes to the ongoing discourse on the future of information access and informs the development of more effective, user-centric systems capable of meeting diverse information needs in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.

Enhancing Knowledge Sharing on Social Media: The Role of Functionalities in User Engagement and Information Quality

This study investigates functionalities on social media platforms that promote effective knowledge sharing, focusing on information quality and user engagement. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to analyze relevant research. The findings reveal that functionalities like content creation and curation tools, user interaction and feedback mechanisms, community building and gamification elements, and knowledge filtering and recommendation systems all contribute to a positive knowledge-sharing environment. These functionalities empower users to create high-quality content, engage in discussions that refine information, and discover trustworthy sources. The study highlights the potential of social media platforms for knowledge sharing but acknowledges that the effectiveness of functionalities can vary depending on the platform and audience. Future research is recommended to explore the most impactful functionalities in specific contexts and the interplay between functionalities, user behavior, and information quality.

Healthcare professionals’ cross-organizational access to electronic health records: A scoping review

BackgroundCross-organizational access to shared electronic health records can enhance integrated, people-centered health services. However, a gap remains between these potential benefits and the limited support currently offered by electronic health records. The Valkyrie research project aims to bridge this gap by developing a technical prototype of an architecture to promote healthcare service coordination. ObjectiveTo inform the Valkyrie project, we aimed to evaluate approaches for healthcare professionals’ access to electronic health records across healthcare providers and identify factors influencing the success and failure of these approaches. Materials and methodsUsing the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for scoping reviews, searches were conducted in six research databases and grey literature, without limitations on year or language. Papers selected for full-text review were analyzed, and data was extracted using standardized forms that reflected the population, concept, and context framework and the categorization model used in the qualitative analysis of the barriers and facilitators reported in the included papers. ResultsAmong the 290 identified papers, five were deemed eligible for full-text review. The included papers were heterogeneous in country, year of publication, study setting, implementation level, and access approaches to electronic health records, highlighting various techniques, from federated to centralized, for accessing shared electronic health records. Discussion and conclusionThe review did not identify one single superior access approach. However, a hybrid approach incorporating components from the different approaches combined with emerging technologies may benefit the Valkyrie project. The key facilitators were identified as improved information quality and flexible and easy access. In contrast, lack of trust and poor information quality were significant barriers to successful cross-organizational access to electronic health records. Future research should explore alternative access approaches, considering information quality, user training, and collegial trust across healthcare providers.

A framework for generating recommendations based on trust in an informal e-learning environment

Rapid advancement in information technology promotes the growth of new online learning communities in an e-learning environment that overloads information and data sharing. When a new learner asks a question, how a system recommends the answer is the problem of the learner’s cold start. In this article, our contributions are: (i) We proposed a Trust-aware Deep Neural Recommendation (TDNR) framework that addresses learner cold-start issues in informal e-learning by modeling complex nonlinear relationships. (ii) We utilized latent Dirichlet allocation for tag modeling, assigning tag categories to newly posted questions and ranking experts related to specific tags for active questioners based on hub and authority scores. (iii) We enhanced recommendation accuracy in the TDNR model by introducing a degree of trust between questioners and responders. (iv) We incorporated the questioner-responder relational graph, derived from structural preference information, into our proposed model. We evaluated the proposed model on the Stack Overflow dataset using mean absolute precision (MAP), root mean squared error (RMSE), and F-measure metrics. Our significant findings are that TDNR is a hybrid approach that provides more accurate recommendations compared to rating-based and social-trust-based approaches, the proposed model can facilitate the formation of informal e-learning communities, and experiments show that TDNR outperforms the competing methods by an improved margin. The model’s robustness, demonstrated by superior MAE, RMSE, and F-measure metrics, makes it a reliable solution for addressing information overload and user sparsity in Stack Overflow. By accurately modeling complex relationships and incorporating trust degrees, TDNR provides more relevant and personalized recommendations, even in cold-start scenarios. This enhances user experience by facilitating the formation of supportive learning communities and ensuring new learners receive accurate recommendations.

Student Interest Drives Modernization of Climate Science Curriculum: Engaging with Community Partners Outside the Classroom

Abstract As climate change continues to accelerate, there is a growing need for collaboration between geoscientists and community partners to co-create equitable science-based climate solutions that align with community priorities. However, the curriculum of many geoscience Ph.D. programs focus almost exclusively on physical science knowledge production confined to the academic sphere with little attention to usability or applications of climate information to decision-making. A consequence is that there is often little educational support to train future generations of geoscientists with the skills needed to serve as knowledge brokers and interpret climate information into the context needed for decision-making. To address this, a group of students and faculty at the University of Michigan developed a pilot course to provide hands-on experience engaging with local communities to develop climate solutions. This project involved a collaboration with the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner's Office to discuss their high-priority objectives. The inaugural project involved identifying high-priority locations in Washtenaw County for rain garden development to be used for internal planning purposes. The process of recurring communications with partners played a critical role in tailoring the project to have ongoing use for local government after the course. This project provided a student driven bridge between climate knowledge production, climate science usability and community engagement. This type of formal engagement with community partners provides opportunities to train the next generation of geoscientists to have the skills to engage with practitioners and decision-makers and make climate science more accessible.

Studying the impact of profitability, bankruptcy risk, and pandemic on narrative tone in annual reports in an emerging market in the East

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the narrative tone of annual reports is influenced by profitability, bankruptcy risk, and pandemic in the context of Vietnam. The study applies the necessary regression analysis steps such as ordinary least squares (OLS), random effects model (REM), fixed effects model (FEM), and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS). Bootstrapping and System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) methods are used to test the robustness and address endogeneity and dynamic relationships in the data. The findings show that net tones increase while negative tones decrease in companies with high profitability. Companies at risk of bankruptcy use more negative tone and less net tone than companies that are not at risk of bankruptcy. The study also affirms that bankruptcy risk moderates the relationship between profitability and negative tone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies used more positive and negative tones than they did before the pandemic. After the COVID-19 situation stabilized, positive tones were used more, and negative tones were used less than during the outbreak. The research results also recognized that companies do not intend to hide information through impression management when faced with difficult economic conditions. This study has practical implications for investors and information users when considering management disclosures through the narrative tone of annual reports. To our knowledge, this is the first study (1) in an emerging market in the East—where there are fundamental cultural and linguistic differences compared to Western countries, (2) to build a list of Vietnamese words and phrases expressing emotional nuances used in finance and accounting, and (3) refers to the narrative tone of annual reports across different groups of companies.

Academic journal website from the user’s perspective

Professional community recommendations on the content of academic journal websites mostly include criteria for indexing in databases, however these recommendations do not consider the authors’ and reviewers’ perspective on the website contents and design. To address this, we analyzed these recommendations through a survey of 198 Russian academic journal authors and reviewers, using a continuous sampling technique. The survey took place in April and May 2024. The questionnaire was based on the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing by COPE, DOAJ etc. The survey also focused on the journal website content, design, mobile version, and publication strategy of academic journal website users. We analyzed the survey results for two partially overlapping sets of authors who published in journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and Russian Citation Science Index Core, or in journals listed by the Higher Attestation Commission of Russian Federation. The study revealed that both COPE’s recommendations and users of academic websites value information regarding aims and scope of the journal, copyright fees, review policies, timelines for the editorial and publication process, and licensing. However, Russian authors and reviewers put less emphasis on website sections that address ethical principles and authorship criteria. They prioritize having an online editorial office, security certification, scientific journal indexing and abstracting information, additional educational materials, and the ability to customize the website for devices with different screen sizes. We also discuss the importance of HTML meta tags for promoting the journal’s website. The findings of the research may contribute to promotion of Russian academic journals in international databases, improve the efficiency of communication between authors, reviewers and editors, and develop a set of recommendations that complement international publishing conventions.

MetaboScope: a statistical toolbox for analyzing 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra from human clinical studies.

Metabolic phenotyping, using high-resolution spectroscopic molecular fingerprints of biological samples, has demonstrated diagnostic, prognostic, and mechanistic value in clinical studies. However, clinical translation is hindered by the lack of viable workflows and challenges in converting spectral data into usable information. MetaboScope is an analytical and statistical workflow for learning, designing and analyzing clinically relevant 1H nuclear magnetic resonance data. It features modular preprocessing pipelines, multivariate modeling tools including Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Orthogonal-Projection to Latent Structure Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), and biomarker discovery tools (multiblock PCA and statistical spectroscopy). A simulation tool is also provided, allowing users to create synthetic spectra for hypothesis testing and power calculations. MetaboScope is built as a pipeline where each module accepts the output generated by the previous one. This provides flexibility and simplicity of use, while being straightforward to maintain. The system and its libraries were developed in JavaScript and run as a web app; therefore, all the operations are performed on the local computer, circumventing the need to upload data. The MetaboScope tool is available at https://www.cheminfo.org/flavor/metabolomics/index.html. The code is open-source and can be deployed locally if necessary. Module notes, video tutorials, and clinical spectral datasets are provided for modeling.