The present study was a longitudinal analysis of the information needs of Red Angus cattle breeders and their use of networked information services. It was based on two surveys. The first, conducted in 1995--96, polled all 1067 ranches of the Red Angus Association of America. Responses from 192 Red Angus breeders were used to determine the value of different information types and to evaluate perceptions of the greatest barriers to the adoption of network information services. The second survey, mailed to 41 Red Angus breeders in 1998, focused on early adopters and likely users of network services. Responses from 15 breeders were used to evaluate perceptions of the greatest barriers to the effective use of Web-based information services.

The applicability of SERVPERF as a tool for judging the quality of services used by biomedical information professionals was tested using standard statistical procedures. Data was gathered nationally via a combination of electronic and non-electronic forms, from Area Health Education Center (AHEC) information professionals and the results consolidated to provide information for the study. It was determined that SERVPERF was applicable in making judgements about service quality for AHEC information professionals. Their perceptions about service quality tended to have a greater influence than did their level of actual satisfaction on whether or not they planned to use a particular service in the future. There is currently no validated tool available to ascertain the quality of services offered to these valuable members of the rural health care team. This dissertation proposes to provide such a tool, and to serve as a guide or template for other professionals seeking a means to judge service quality in their own disciplines.

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a measurement model for Internet information retrieval strategy performance evaluation whose theoretical basis is a modification of the classical measurement model embodied in the Cranfield studies and their progeny. Though not the first, the Cranfield studies were the most influential of the early evaluation experiments. The general problem with this model was and continues to be the subjectivity of the concept of relevance. In cyberspace, information scientists are using quantitative measurement models for evaluating information retrieval performance that are based on the Cranfield model. This research modified this model by incorporating enduser relevance judgment rather than using objective relevance judgments, and by adopting a fundamental unit of measure developed for the cyberspace of Internet information retrieval rather than using recall and precision-type measures. The proposed measure, the Content-bearing Click (CBC) Ratio, was developed as a quantitative measure reflecting the performance of an Internet IR strategy. Since the hypertext "click" is common to many Internet IR strategies, it was chosen as the fundamental unit of measure rather than the "document." The CBC Ratio is a ratio of hypertext click counts that can be viewed as a false drop measure that determines …

The objectives of this study were (1) to identify and describe task-based documentation; (2) to identify and describe any purported changes in users attitudes when IT migration was preceded by task-based documentation; (3) to suggest implications of task-based documentation on users attitude toward IT acceptance. Questionnaires were given to 150 university students. Of these, all 150 students participated in this study. The study determined the following: (1) if favorable pre-implementation attitudes toward a new e-mail system increase, as a result of training, if users expect it to be easy to learn and use; (2) if user acceptance of an e-mail program increase as expected perceived usefulness increase as delineated by task-based documentation; (3) if task-based documentation is more effective than standard help menus while learning a new application program; and (4) if training that requires active student participation increase the acceptance of a new e-mail system. The following conclusions were reached: (1) Positive pre-implementation attitudes toward a new e-mail system are not affected by training even if the users expect it to be easy to learn and use. (2) User acceptance of an e-mail program does not increase as perceived usefulness increase when aided by task-based documentation. (3) Task-based documentation …