Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
515453 | Information Processing & Management | 2011 | 13 Pages |
PurposeThe study reported in this paper reviewed the literatures of information science, psychology, sociology, political science, education, and communication science to analyze Compelled Nonuse of Information (CNI). This study of a behavior defined by its absence (i.e., the not using of information) involved the development of a methodology consisting of an iterative performance of a nine-step heuristic leading to a retroductive recognition of absence, here termed RRA.Principal resultsThe study concluded with a hierarchical taxonomy of the mechanisms that compel a person not to use information. The six primary mechanisms are:1.Intrinsic somatic (bodily) conditions2.Socio-environmental barriers3.Authoritarian controls4.Threshold knowledge shortfall5.Attention shortfall6.Information filtering.Major conclusionsThe resultant taxonomy of CNI appears here as a comprehensive checklist with which information workers such as the teacher, librarian, advertiser, politician, or health care professional can respond efficiently and effectively to situations of nonuse of information. For example, a teacher might ask: “Why are students not responding to what I present?” Further, the social implications of any compelled behavior touch the very basis of the social contract, and this paper presents a first step toward understanding the compelled aspects of CNI.
Research highlights► CNI–Compelled Nonuse of Information haunts information science and related fields. ► RRA–Retroductive Recognition of Absence (a methodology) allows study of CNI. ► CNI = somatic (intrinsic bodily + socio-environmental + authoritarian) influences. ► CNI = cognitive (threshold knowledge + attention + filtering) influences. ► The CNI tool permits efficient and effective response to nonuse of information.