Level Of Access To Information Research Articles

Information accessibility as an important global factor in accessible tourism

Research background: The modern tourism industry has undergone many significant changes in recent years, from the increasingly massive use of modern technologies, through the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, to a new trend in the form of increasing domestic tourism. If the tourism businesses wants to succeed in a competitive environment, they should focus on the quality of the information they publish on their websites, social networks or through other sources with greater intensity than before. Information accessibility is an important factor on the basis of which potential clients decide on the purchase of a tourist product. Until now, companies focused primarily on foreign clients now have more room to focus on the much-neglected issue of accessibility for clients with specific needs; on the other hand, companies focused on domestic clients can also expand the range language versions of their information channels. In addition, the fact that the accessibility of tourism businesses not only brings a competitive advantage, but also strengthens the economic potential of the region. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to map the level of information accessibility of tourism companies, primarily gastronomic facilities in the Czech Republic. Methods: Primary data obtained from controlled interviews with representatives of professional associations and operators of monitored facilities and secondary data from publicly available sources were used. Findings & Value added: The paper contains model examples of the state of information accessibility in tourism companies.

Level of Information Accessibility and Adoption of Improved Irish Potato Production Technologies by Farmers in the Northern Agricultural Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria

The study assessed sources of information and Level of Adoption of recommended Irish Potato Production Technologies by Small Scale Farmers in the Northern Agricultural Zone of Plateau state. The multistage sampling procedure was used to draw 150 farmers as study sample. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics used were percentages, mean scores and ranking while the inferential statistics were multiple linear regression models. Results showed that the major sources of information used by farmers were; from Co-farmers, friends/relations (100%) which ranked (1st), extension agents (98.0%) ranked 2nd and mobile phone (58.0%) ranked 3rd. The result of level of adoption revealed that 98.0% adopted cold room system technique, 96.7% adopted the use of herbicides for weeding and 94.0% adopted the fungicide application technique. The factors limiting the adoption of recommended Irish potato production technologies in the study area ranked in order of severity includes; high incidence of pests and diseases (91.3%) ranked 1st, lack of clean and certified seeds (89.3%) ranking 2nd, high cost of fertilizers and herbicides represented 88.7% and ranked 3rd. The farmers were found to engage in high level of adoption of recommended Irish potato production technologies like; Cold room system, use of herbicides for weeding and fungicide application among many other technologies. It was recommended that farmers in the study area should be assisted by the government and relevant stakeholders in the control of pests and diseases, provision of clean and certified seeds at affordable rate and subsidizing of fertilizers and herbicides.

¿Es efectivo el Programa País Carbono Neutralidad?

Estudios previos en materia de programas ambientales voluntarios argumentan que la capacidad de este tipo de instrumentos de política para alcanzar los objetivos que persiguen es, esencialmente, limitada. Además, estos estudios llaman la atención sobre la necesidad de explorar nuevos criterios para la evaluación de este tipo de intervenciones. En respuesta a esta preocupación, este trabajo utiliza el Programa País Carbono Neutralidad, que se implementa en Costa Rica desde el año 2012, como caso de estudio para generar información clave que permita determinar su relevancia y efectividad, y, a la vez, contribuir a la identificación de criterios de evaluación alternativos, que tengan en cuenta aspectos relacionados con el diseño e implementación de este tipo de programas. En particular, este estudio presenta los resultados más importantes de una encuesta realizada a las empresas que participan en el Programa País, a julio del 2016. En general, los resultados de la encuesta indican que el Programa, al día de hoy, presenta un alto nivel de concentración en términos geográficos y del perfil de las empresas participantes, que su implementación se caracteriza por niveles diferenciados de acceso a información, costos y duración de los procesos establecidos en el Programa y que como instrumento de política ambiental parece poco efectivo para motivar una transformación real en las empresas participantes, en términos de su capacidad para reducir emisiones de GEI.

Pemanfaatan Informasi Teknologi Mangga (Kasus Di Kecamatan Sedong Kabupaten Cirebon)

Mango farmer need a technology to improve the production and the quality of mango. This study was aimed to analyse the factors related to the use of information by mango farmer, the relationship of farmer characteristics, level of information need, and level of information access with the use of information sources by the mango farmer, and to analyze the relationship between the use of information sources and the level of utilization of technology information by the mango farmer. A survey was conducted towards 65 farmers as respondents in Sedong Subdistrict, Cirebon Regency.The results showed that in the use of information sources of mango farmer, a few of information sources were used, the intensity of information access was low and the level of information appropriateness were low and very high. The influential factors towards the use of information sources were age, level of formal and non-formal education, scale of business, level of income, level of information need of cultivation, post-harvest, and marketing, and so level of easiness and affordability to access information. The level of utilization of information were very high to enhance the knowledge, very low to be applicated, and high to be forwarded to others. A very significant possitive correlation was found between the use of information sources and utilization of information.Keywords: utilization of information, mango, information need, information sources

Access to information and international portfolio allocation

We examine whether foreign equity holdings of portfolio investors depend on the level of information accessibility between the investors’ home and host countries. Using a comprehensive data set, alternative measures of information accessibility and robust analytical techniques, we show that differences in access to cross-country information significantly influence investors’ portfolio allocation decisions. Furthermore, the results suggest that for a given level of access to information, investors prefer to invest more in countries with a higher quality of legal/macro-institutions. Finally, the findings also confirm that the implications of information accessibility are more pronounced when markets are turbulent.

Assessing Internet access and use in a medically underserved population: implications for providing enhanced health information services

The relationship between health information seeking, patient engagement and health literacy is not well understood. This is especially true in medically underserved populations, which are often viewed as having limited access to health information. To improve communication between an urban health centre and the community it serves, a team of library and information science researchers undertook an assessment of patients' level and methods of access to and use of the Internet. Data were collected in 53 face-to-face anonymous interviews with patients at the centre. Interviews were tape-recorded for referential accuracy, and data were analysed to identify patterns of access and use. Seventy-two percentage of study participants reported having access to the Internet through either computers or cell phones. Barriers to Internet access were predominantly lack of equipment or training rather than lack of interest. Only 21% of those with Internet access reported using the Internet to look for health information. The findings suggest that lack of access to the Internet in itself is not the primary barrier to seeking health information in this population and that the digital divide exists not at the level of information access but rather at the level of information use.

PREVENTING PIRACY USE INTENTION BY RECTIFYING SELF-POSITIVITY BIAS

Piracy has become a global challenge. In this study, the author proposed to discourage piracy intention by rectifying the self-positivity bias with message framing and information accessibility. Cartoon advertisements conveying either positively or negatively framed messages were produced. Respondents' level of information accessibility of piracy behavior was manipulated. As predicted, using positively framed messages or increasing level of information accessibility can effectively reduce self-positivity bias. Moreover, in a low information accessibility scenario, positive rather than negative message framing is more effective in reducing self-positivity bias in using pirated products. Research implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also addressed.

Change of Venue: Taking Environmental Mutagen Research to the Developing World

The health of a nation could be said to depend upon the public health expertise of its scientists. In the United States and other developed areas of the world, it can be fairly simple to gain access to a variety of useful public health resources. But populations living in less-developed areas of the world often lack such knowledge and public health access. In 1987, two young scientists, William Au of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Wagida Anwar of Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, decided to seek ways to raise the level of access to information and technical expertise regarding environmental health disparities in less-developed regions. With a main goal of encouraging collaborations for growth of scientific knowledge and expertise as well as clinical applications in underserved areas, they focused on organizing an international conference highlighting the latest research and information on environmental mutagens. The fruit of that labor, the International Conference on Environmental Mutagens in Human Populations (ICEMHP) series, has become a boon to the scientific community in developing nations. The next conference, sponsored in part by the NIEHS, is scheduled for May 2007 in Antalya, Turkey. NIEHS scientist Mike Waters, chairman of the ICEMHP International Advisory Board, says the institute has been a key participant in the conference series since its inception, noting that institute scientists have helped with organizing activities, and that NIEHS leaders have contributed personal and financial support. He also points out that the proceedings of the first two conferences were published in the October 1993 and May 1996 issues of EHP Supplements. According to Waters, the mission of the NIEHS lends itself to sponsorship of the ICEMHP series. “[The NIEHS] fosters national as well as international efforts to reduce the burden of environmentally associated disease,” he explains. “This series of conferences certainly has the same objective. It represents an effective means of communicating and extending the NIEHS mission and its research findings to the developing world.” Other past and current sponsors for the conference series include the U.S. CDC, Novartis Pharmaceutical Company, the U.S. Environmental Mutagen Society, the European Environmental Mutagen Society, the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies, the Turkish Society of Toxicology, Research Corporation, and the UTMB Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine.