Search

Social media's "dark side"—including dis/misinformation and harassment—is increasingly problematic. What strategies do people use to cope with such issues in their daily life? Based on Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC), this study investigated how individuals cope with such issues on Twitter. An online survey, including the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, was used to analyze 800 US adult Twitter users' coping strategies. The study found Folkman and colleagues' 8-strategy grouping applicable to this context. The top coping strategies were Distancing (e.g., "Went on as if nothing had happened"), Self-Controlling (e.g., "I tried to keep my feelings to myself"), and Planful Problem-Solving (e.g., "I made a plan of action and followed it"). Primary and secondary appraisals were associated with most strategies (7 out of 8). Significant demographic differences were found, especially with Twitter usage frequency and gender. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The popularity of social network sites (SNSs) has demonstrated their important role in the digital world, but they have also led to the serious issue of widespread misinformation (defined in this study as inaccurate information in general, be it spread intentionally or not). The widespread misinformation on SNSs can cause misunderstanding, unnecessary anxiety, and even physical damage on users. Moreover, it is a big obstacle that prevents social media from growing into powerful information sources. Research addressing the issue of misinformation can be roughly categorised into three main approaches, namely diffusion analysis, correction and labelling, and user education. However, a gap still exists, since most studies focused primarily on the inaccurate content and the misinformed users. The present study suggests addressing the issue of misinformation from an angle that does not start from the credibility or judgment of the content of misinformation. In this way, a wider population can be targeted: both the intentional and unintentional spreading by the informed and the misinformed. Specifically, the study proposed interventions to address users’ spreading of health-related misinformation on Facebook. The study suggests seeing individual users’ spreading of misinformation on SNS as an information behaviour with underlying motivations weighted heavier than the informational value of the content. Employing social cognitive theory (SCT) as the theoretical framework, three interventions were developed based on the three types of outcome expectation from SCT, namely physical, social, and self-evaluative outcome expectation. Through experiments, the effects of the interventions on user’ negative outcome expectation toward misinformation spreading as well as their spreading of misinformation were investigated. Results showed that the interventions, particularly the one developed based on self-evaluative outcome expectation, were effective in reducing participants’ misinformation spreading. The promising findings yield important knowledge that can direct and encourage further research on the new strategy proposed in this thesis. This study differs from and complements existing studies that focused primarily on the quality of content in SNS messages, together a more comprehensive solution for the spreading of misinformation on SNS may be gained. ​Doctor of Philosophy (WKWSCI)

The burgeoning global popularity of social media is evident in several fields and communities, including the libraries and librarians. In the local context, digital traces of the Public Libraries Singapore (PLS), which is a network of 26 public library branches, can be found on three social media platforms. As of August 2018, the PLS Facebook page boasts the largest social media following in comparison to its Twitter and Instagram accounts. With an emphasis placed on the Facebook page administered by PLS, this exploratory study investigated the general characteristics of its posts and the user engagement of these features. The latter is measured and defined by the number of like, love, haha, wow, sad, angry, comments and share received from the audience. This research adopted a multi-pronged approach, which comprises human coding, computerised text analysis and statistical data processing, to examine the elements in the collected Facebook posts (N = 255). The descriptive statistics of the dataset show that the majority of the Facebook posts was published on weekdays and during the time slots 1201–1500 and 1801–2100. The text analysis indicates that the posts generally displayed a certain level of confidence, formal thinking and emotional tone, but were seemingly lacking in personal touch. In terms of the content presented, book-related recommendation appeared to be a common theme across the samples. The frequent inclusion of visual content in the Facebook posts was also observed. The multiple regression results reveal that certain features of the posts by PLS had statistically significant effects on the reactions garnered from its users. The Facebook posts published on Tuesdays and during 0901–1200 demonstrated a greater tendency to receive like, share and comments. The use of impersonal pronouns, negations and verbs possibly posed an impact on the number of wow gathered. Content types quiz and library design/facility exhibited positive relationships with some of the Facebook engagement indicators. However, the visual content incorporated in the posts did not display any apparent impact on the audience reactions, despite being widely regarded as an essential element to engage users. While this study seeks to offer useful observations from an external perspective, further investigation into the online behaviours of the audience using administrator-limited Facebook page insights is warranted. In addition, a survey on the users’ opinions about the current level of engagement by PLS’ Facebook posts can be conducted to gain a deeper insight into the ways to improve the local public libraries’ social media strategies. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Usage of social networking sites (SNS) and subjective well-being (SWB) or simply wellbeing have been subject of research of many scholars. Current studies about SNS and well-being are mainly focused on activities on SNS such as liking, commenting, and information consumption, and its effect on well-being. However, there are very few studies that investigate whether users talk about topics related to well-being on SNS and if they do, what their sentiments are. SNS and media richness is also another popular topic of research. Current studies about SNS and media richness are mainly focused on the effect of media richness on SNS platform adoption, user engagement, etc. Few studies have explored media richness and sentiments as well as media richness and topics, especially those related to well-being on SNS. This study attempted to find out what are the well-being related topics that users talked about on Instagram and Twitter, including their sentiments about that particular topic and media type used on SNS by conducting a content analysis of their SNS posts. This study also compared the usage between the two SNS by the same users to determine the significance of the observed differences. A total of 44 users with Twitter and Instagram accounts were chosen as the sample of this study. Two coders were trained and then coded the SNS posts on three main aspects: the topic of the post, the sentiment, and media types used. For the topics, the study referenced the topics listed on OECD Better Life Index, with further modification based on multiple pilot testings. The results of this study showed that leisure activities, job, and humour are the most commonly talked about topics on both SNS. Majority of the posts have positive sentiments on most topics on both SNS, and the most popular media type is text and image for Instagram and text only for Twitter. Significant differences between the two SNS are observed on all sentiments, but only on some topics and media types. This study contributed to the knowledge about well-being on SNS as well as media richness on SNS. The study’s practical implication includes ideas to make a more interesting social media content, and potential usage in features and user experience design to enhance social networking sites. Finally, the results of this paper prompt many ideas for future research. For example, future studies could incorporate survey method alongside content analysis to examine the motivations behind choosing certain SNS or media types for different topics and/or sentiment. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The impetus to explore hypertext reading as part of information seeking behavior was borne out of the findings of a study which highlighted many problematic characteristics of the students’ information search process and attributed these tendencies to hypertext reading and multitasking. Other studies have shown that students display a tendency to compromise aspects of information seeking when done in haste and the need for information literacy efforts to be more cognizant of students’ increasingly networked learning environment. This study continues this line of inquiry by exploring students’ hypertext reading behaviour and the use of social media in their learning. Specifically, the research addresses these questions: (1) How do students use social media to find/acquire information for lesson purpose? (2) What is the level of hypertext reading behavior? (3) How is social media use correlated with hypertext reading behaviour? (4) How does experience as a wiki contributor affect students’ hypertext reading behaviour? This study offers insights on how information literacy standards are realised amidst social media use for academic purpose. While past studies have looked at students as mere consumers of information, this time, this study focuses on students as contributors of information on a wiki page to see how this associates with the process of hypertext reading. This is the first time that hypertext reading is studied on a bigger group and within the context of information seeking behaviour. The level of hypertext reading behaviour needs intervention, as seen by the rare occasions students evaluate information based on verification or refrain from being distracted. It is found that students in general frequently use social media for their schoolwork and that the more frequent their use, the more frequently they will conduct certain information literacy practices. In particular, low level of social media use for academic purpose shows less effort in certain evaluation practices. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Limited health literacy (HL) has been proposed to adversely impact health outcomes in people with Type 2 diabetes (T2D), although studies have produced inconsistent findings. This present study aims to synthesize and evaluate the literature evidence on the prevalence, predictors and impact on outcomes of limited health literacy in Type 2 Diabetes. A systematic literature review was conducted through searching of five databases, using terms related to HL and T2D. The study included full text studies that were available in English, which had a population of at least 50 adults with T2D, used a validated measure of HL and reported a prevalence of limited HL (category A) or reported the impact of limited HL on outcomes (Category B). These papers were evaluated for quality by two independent coders and the final selection included a total of 47 articles, of which 29 were in category A, and 36 in category B (with an overlap of 18 articles). Meta-analysis of papers in category A showed that limited HL is common in T2D, with a pooled prevalence of 36.7% (CI 28.3% – 46.0%), and 95% prediction interval of 0.0619 to 0.8371. Analysis of papers in category B showed that limited health literacy was associated with lower education level, older age, lower income level, minority ethnicity and lower language proficiency. Among the primary health outcomes, our review suggests that limited HL is most likely to have an impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and hypoglycaemia, though there were only a few studies on this topic. However, the association between limited HL and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), a measure of glycemic control, was mixed. In terms of secondary outcomes, limited HL was shown to be linked with poorer diabetes knowledge and understanding, reduced communication capacity and diminished self-efficacy. Overall, this review has identified a number of new studies relevant to understanding the role of health literacy in diabetes, though further research is needed to fully elucidate the pathways linking limited health literacy with outcomes. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The Special Education (SPED) industry in Singapore is segregated from the mainstream education system and has long endured a reputation deemed to be less illustrious compared to its counterpart. In recent times, however, the sector has begun to receive more attention from the overseeing ministries in a bid to enhance the quality of education given to students with special needs. Such efforts will entail the provision of proper support for SPED teachers even as they manage the growing demands required of the profession in an increasingly complex information landscape. Given this backdrop, an investigation into the information-seeking behaviour of SPED teachers will contribute towards the planning of their professional development. The objectives of this study involve identifying the information needs of SPED teachers, the types of information sources preferred, the barriers encountered in information-seeking, as well as the level of needs satisfaction with their endeavours. A total of 110 SPED teachers participated in the study by submitting their responses through an online survey questionnaire. The findings of the study indicate that the main information needs of SPED teachers pertain to tasks involving the direct practice of classroom teaching such as lesson planning and classroom management. Accessibility and ease of use are important considerations in the selection of their information sources, which are most frequently derived from colleagues, syllabus documents and website articles. While the use of digital resources is common, print remains the format of choice for information sources. The main barrier to information-seeking encountered by SPED teachers is the lack of available time during working hours, which negatively correlates to the perception of success in meeting their information needs. In general, however, SPED teachers appear to be well satisfied with the selection of information sources in meeting their needs. It is felt that the understanding gained from this study will provide a useful foundation for further explorations on the information behaviour of SPED teachers, as well as the future development of the profession. Master of Science (Information Studies)