PurposeThis study aimed to uncover the themes and types of information shared among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an online community and to elucidate the relationship between them.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing Houyi Crawler software, this study initially gathered 8,575 posts from the designated "Autism Bar" section within Baidu Tieba, a popular Chinese online community, after which 3,673 relevant posts were retained. The posts underwent rigorous qualitative analysis using open coding to precisely identify the themes and subthemes related to information sharing among parents of children with ASD.FindingsFirst, the study identified 10 major themes and 37 subthemes that encapsulated the intricate nature of information sharing among Chinese parents of children with ASD in an online community. Second, these parents predominantly shared experiential information rich in cognitive-affective insights, although other types of information such as facts and descriptions were also shared to a lesser degree. Third, a specific correlation was identified between themes and types of information shared within this community.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to characterize empirically the themes and types of information shared by parents of children with ASD through examining the articulations of online discussants.

Purpose This conceptual paper develops a framework for explaining how human–AI interaction unfolds in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) environments and why the same interaction can support cognitive enhancement in some cases yet contribute to cognitive atrophy in others. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a distributed cognition perspective, the paper treats human–AI interaction as a coupled cognitive system rather than an isolated individual act. It integrates distributed cognition, the gulf of envisioning and research on cognitive affordances to trace how representations move across the user, interface, AI and external representations. Findings The framework models interaction as a five-phase cycle: intent envisioning, representation externalization, generative reasoning, outcome assessment and cognitive update. It identifies three recurrent gaps – capability, instruction and intentionality – as structural points where representational coordination may break down. Divergent cognitive outcomes depend not only on output quality but also on whether the human-AI interaction supports the completion of the full cognitive cycle. Originality/value The contribution is not a new standalone theory, but a synthesis that re-specifies common interaction difficulties as system-level problems of representational coordination. This provides a clearer basis for analyzing design, evaluation and longer-term cognitive consequences in GenAI-mediated information interaction.

Purpose Information creation is a crucial yet long-neglected research theme in Library and Information Science (LIS). This study aims to review the research on information creation and to understand the current state of research on this topic. Design/methodology/approach Following a systematic review process, this study examines 49 research articles related to the theme of information creation. Findings Regarding activity themes, information creation research demonstrates an almost equal emphasis on information creation activities in both work and everyday life contexts. Information creation activities in the work context focus more on the application of professional knowledge and the demonstration of functional value, while those in the everyday life context reflect more on individuals' proactive fulfillment of life needs, emotional experiences in hobbies, and the building of social relationships. In terms of context, information creation is influenced by internal situational factors such as cognition, emotion, and motivation, as well as external situational factors such as social and technological tools. Theoretical frameworks most commonly applied in information creation research are practice theory and meaning construction theory. However, in general, the theoretical application in information creation research remains sparse. In terms of research methods, qualitative research predominates, with interviews, content analysis, and observation being the most frequently used techniques. Research limitations/implications First, the search criteria used in this study have certain limitations. Second, the scope of research on information creation is broad, and this study focuses on a limited scope, excluding related fields such as data, knowledge, and archives. Future research on information creation should expand its coverage of research subjects, focus on foundational theoretical research and interdisciplinary integration, and leverage emerging technologies to promote the development of information creation research. Originality/value This study systematically reviews the research landscape in the field of information creation, reveals its research gaps, and suggests future development directions, providing new theoretical and practical references for further research in this area.

PurposeThis study explores how users negotiate the limitations of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) systems through tactical practices and how these practices contribute to the dynamic shaping of affordances within constrained system environments. The research aims to reveal the co-evolutionary mechanisms between user agency and technological affordances in everyday information practices.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on in-depth interviews with 20 active GenAI users in China, the study collected 193 Affordance Enactment Episodes. A six-stage thematic analysis was conducted to trace users' interaction trajectories, integrating de Certeau's theory of everyday practice and Leonardi's relational affordance theory to construct a spiral model of user-GenAI interaction.FindingsThe study identifies five core information practices in which users perceive, encounter constraints, and actualize GenAI affordances through various tactics such as iterative prompting, role-setting, and cross-tool integration. It further reveals a three-stage evolution of user tactics-from initial exploration to proficient integration-accompanied by a deepening understanding of GenAI's systemic boundaries. Affordances are shown to be relational and emergent, produced through user agency rather than inherent to the technology.Originality/valueBy bridging everyday practice theory and relational affordance theory, this study contributes a novel analytical framework for understanding user-GenAI interaction. It highlights affordance actualization as a dynamic, user-driven process shaped through tactical engagement with system constraints, offering implications for AI literacy, human-AI collaboration, and user-centered system design.

Purpose- Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has transformed how we work and communicate; however, polarised opinions on it exist. This study examined how users perceive the benefits of GAI in their everyday lives and systematically categorised these perceived outcomes. The influence of demographic factors on users' perceptions was assessed across different life domains. Design/methodology/approach-Data were collected through an online survey of 886 GAI users. The analysis included exploratory factor analysis to categorise perceived benefits and non-parametric tests to identify demographic differences. Reliability was assessed using multiple coefficients. Findings- The analysis identified four distinct categories of GAI benefits: education and work, everyday activities, social relations and leisure time. Education and work and everyday activities had the highest overall benefit perceptions (>80%). However, users reported experiencing these benefits "sometimes" more than "often", particularly in professional contexts. Significant demographic variations were observed: women perceived greater benefits in education and work, younger users (under 34) reported more benefits across all domains compared to those aged 45 and above, and higher education levels correlated positively with most domains except everyday activities, for which an inverse relationship was noted. Practical implications- The findings offer valuable insights for GAI developers aiming to prioritise user-centred design and for policymakers crafting inclusive regulatory frameworks that address diverse user needs. Originality/value- This study provides the first systematic categorisation of the benefits of GAI use in everyday life, extending beyond traditional output-focused evaluations. It uniquely applies De Certeau's concepts of "strategies" and "tactics" to understand how GAI benefits users across diverse life domains.

Considering the growing prevalence of online health communities, online forums are vital channels through which people living with HIV/AIDS seek information. This study seeks to explore the fundamental information needs of Chinese people living with HIV/AIDS within online forums. Through qualitative analysis, this study identified themes and sub-themes of information needs from 1333 posts published on a Chinese HIV/AIDS forum. Chi-square tests were employed to analyze the correlation between the level of information needs and the vocabulary type (emotional and cognitive words) used to express information needs. The information needs of Chinese people living with HIV/AIDS were divided into four themes: social life, treatment, basic AIDS knowledge, and examination and diagnosis. Under “social life” and “basic AIDS knowledge,” the frequency of formal information enquiries was higher than that of conscious information enquiries, while the converse was found under “treatment” and “examination and diagnosis.” Furthermore, among the four themes, the frequency of emotional and cognitive words usage at the conscious level was significantly higher than that at the formal level. These findings reveal how online HIV/AIDS communities can tailor their information services to more effectively assist Chinese people living with HIV/AIDS.

A deep understanding of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is crucial not only for technological development but also for formulating effective risk response strategies. However, previous studies have mainly focused on how individual factors affect GAI risk perception while the technical functions and features that are the root causes of user concerns regarding GAI remain unclear. To address this gap, the current study, grounded in affordance theory, explored how perceived affordances of GAI influenced user risk perceptions across six dimensions: information, security, technical, social, ethical, and legal. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted on a survey of 1,031 GAI users to examine the impact of interactivity, agency, and security affordances on these risk dimensions. The results indicate that higher perceptions of affordances such as bandwidth, synchrony, and transparency are significantly associated with lower risk perceptions across all dimensions. Notably, women reported higher perceived risks than men in most categories, whereas age and GAI usage experience did not significantly affect these perceptions. These findings highlight the importance of enhancing user control, transparency, and privacy protections in GAI system design to effectively mitigate perceived risks. This study contributes to the literature by providing a multidimensional analysis of risk perception in the context of GAI, offering practical insights for the development of inclusive, transparent, and user-centered artificial intelligence systems.

Introduction. This study aims to reveal the similarities and differences in the information needs of users with physical and mental illnesses in an online health community from cognitive and emotional dimensions. Method. Based on the CMDD dataset, the study employed the LDA topic model to identify information need topics and the TextBlob method to analyse the emotional tendencies of users when expressing information need topics. Analysis. This study employs LDA topic modeling, TextBlob for sentiment analysis, and independent sample T-tests as statistical methods to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the research question. Results. The study found that the information need topics of both types of users focused on Medical Procedures, Emotional Support, Social Life, Disease Rehabilitation, Treatment Plans, and Medication Guidance. Over time, the information needs of both types of users regarding Medical Procedures showed similar trends. Additionally, users with mental illnesses exhibited more negative emotional tendencies when expressing each information need topic. Conclusions. The information needs of users with physical and mental illnesses differ significantly both cognitively and emotionally. It suggests that online health communities should provide customised and personalised information services to users based on their illness characteristics, as well as enhance emotional support for users with mental illnesses in the future.

Purpose - This systematic literature review aims to elaborate on the research progress and features of information source preferences to help other researchers attain a more comprehensive understanding of the field.Design/methodology/approach - Following a systematic review protocol, 139 research articles from 11 academic databases were analyzed.Findings - Overall, five separate results were obtained: first, information source horizon theory is the main theoretical foundation of information source preferences research, while other theories have been applied less. Second, information source preference research has strong context sensitivity and involves health, work, consumption, learning, survival and development and emergencies. Third, preference criteria can be summarized into three categories: information characteristics, user characteristics, needs characteristics and corresponding specific criteria. Fourth, information source preferences are influenced by both internal and external factors, including five specific aspects, namely demographics, the user's cognition, the user's affection, capital and contextual factors. Fifth, this field is dominated by quantitative methods and an information horizon mapping method could be applied more.Originality/value - This study is the first to reveal the general picture of information source preferences. It also elaborates on the characteristics of this field and presents potential development directions.

Purpose To reveal the emotions and information needs expressed by Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an online forum, and their relationship. Design/methodology/approach The 10,062 data were from “Yi Lin”, China’s largest online forum for ASD. Open coding identified parents’ emotions and information needs, and a chi-squared test explored the correlation. Findings First, parents’ emotions were categorized into four themes: emotions about coping with their child’s care, emotions about the parents’ own behavior, emotions about social support with other parents and emotions about anticipating the future. Parents’ overall emotions were negative (72.47%), while the tendency of emotions varied among the four themes. Second, five information needs topics were expressed: intervention and training of ASD, parenting experiences, schooling issues, social interaction and support and future development. Different information needs topics contained different themes of emotions. Third, the tendency of emotions and expression of information needs were significantly correlated. Negative emotions had a statistically significant correlation in expression of information needs. Originality/value This study reveals the relationship between the emotions and information needs expressed by parents of children with ASD. The ASD forum could develop emotional support modules and functions for parents and facilitate emotional communication between parents.

PurposeThis study constructed an information search process model based on costs and benefits to reflect different information search processes under different decisions from a behavioural economics perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a deductive approach to conceptualise the costs, benefits, and uncertainties of the information search process. Subsequently, we constructed an information search process model based on the costs and benefits using graphical reasoning, loss aversion theory, bounded rationality theory, the satisficing theory of behavioural economics, and the uncertainty changes of information search process.FindingsThe model revealed four types of user behaviours in the information search process: (1) avoiding search at the initiation of the search process; (2) exiting in the middle of a search; (3) stopping at the point of satisficing; and (4) continuing the search until experiencing physical discomfort.Originality/valueThe model constructed in this study treats the information search as a process based on costs and benefits with uncertainty. This model integrates information search avoidance and stopping into an information search process model. The model identifies users’ bounded rationality by evaluating ideal and real situations. Moreover, the model explains relative and absolute information overloads and the area beyond the user’s bounded rationality. These findings could help improve users’ information literacy and optimise information systems.

This study revealed the orienting information seeking behavior of Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on three aspects: information source horizons, preference criteria, and information-seeking pathways. Data were collected using interviews and the information horizon mapping method. Three findings were identified through qualitative analysis. First, the information source horizons of parents were relatively narrow and primarily focused on social media sources (WeChat public accounts and groups). Second, the source preference criteria that they considered were limited and mainly based on experiential, proactive, and professional aspects in selecting the appropriate sources. Third, the information-seeking pathways consisted of either monitoring a single information source or using up to two sources, without the formation of longer pathways. This study proposes a research framework for the orienting information seeking of parents of children with ASD, providing deeper insights into information seeking, and thus, potentially inspiring studies on information seeking in other groups.

PurposeTo explore the project-specific information-seeking pathways of Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and understand the information seeking in their daily lives.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized the interview, critical incident technique and information horizon mapping to gather data from 27 Chinese parents of children with ASD during project-specific information seeking. These data were then examined using content analysis and descriptive statistics methods.FindingsFirst, the information-seeking pathways of parents of children with ASD show the significant importance of both interpersonal and online sources, characterized by the combined use of multiple types of information sources. Second, information-seeking pathways considerably vary across project contexts. For diagnosis and school selection, parents had fewer pathways and primarily relied on interpersonal sources. Meanwhile, they utilized interpersonal and online sources combined for selecting rehabilitation institutions and methods, with the most information-seeking pathways for rehabilitation methods.Originality/valueThis study presents novel insights into the information-seeking pathways of Chinese parents of children with ASD in seeking project-specific information. It provides valuable references for relevant governments and rehabilitation institutions in building information service platforms, strengthening information quality regulation and providing information resources for parents of children with ASD.

文章旨在揭示用户网络健康信息搜索与健康风险认知偏差之间的关系,以丰富信息行为领域认知偏差的研究成果,并为全面提升人民的健康认知水平提供建议.基于现有研究基础提出相关假设,利用 CGSS2021 数据,运用OLS模型、工具变量法和调节效应模型检验了用户网络健康信息搜索与健康风险认知偏差之间的关系.结果表明,网络健康信息搜索频繁程度显著负向影响健康风险认知偏差,网络健康信息主题搜索强度和网络健康信息搜索效果的调节作用显著.研究结果可为深入探究网络健康信息搜索中健康风险认知偏差的影响机制提供参考,对于发挥网络健康信息搜索的优势、降低用户健康风险认知偏差具有重要的实践意义.

Purpose This systematic literature review aims to elaborate the research progress of information practices to help other researchers attain a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the field. Design/methodology/approach Following a systematic review protocol, 123 research articles from nine academic databases were included in the analysis. Findings Four separate results can be outlined. First, practice theory, social constructionist theory and activity theory are often used as the theoretical basis for the study of information practices. Second, people will engage in specific information practice activities in different external and internal contexts. The external contexts include social and needs contexts. The internal contexts include information source horizons, user's affection and user's cognition. Third, the existing information practice models can be divided into static and dynamic types. These models mainly reflected activities and influencing factors of information practices. Fourth, qualitative methods were the most used in information practice research. Research limitations/implications The field of information practices is a vast, expanding research field. This research will focus only on a specific section, namely concepts, activities, contexts and models. Researchers could contribute to exploring the concepts, components and mechanisms of information practices by combining theories from various disciplines, such as sociology and behavioral science. Originality/value This is the first study to reveal the general picture of information practices. It also elaborates the characteristics of people's information practices and shows the potential development direction for future research.

[目的/意义]旨在调查国内外信息实践研究中的基础理论,并揭示这些理论的特征及其对信息实践研究的贡献.[方法/过程]研究采用内容分析法于55篇文献中识别出19个理论,并归纳出这些理论对信息实践研究的贡献.[结果/结论]信息实践研究的基础理论主要源于社会学、哲学、图书情报学、心理学和生态学,且呈现出三个特征:认可实践是社会生活的中心及其对社会生活的塑造,强调信息实践根植于实践和社会建构主义;强调从社会文化视角考察人类的信息实践;不排斥影响信息实践的认知因素,而是将其融入主体能动性中考虑.这些理论对信息实践研究的贡献体现在:在宏观层面确立了信息实践的基本概念和研究进路;在中观层面为信息实践研究的设计与实施提供支持;在微观层面塑造了信息实践的核心研究内容.此外,研究进一步验证了信息实践研究尚未发展出属于自身领域的理论,未来应辩证地融入其他学科以及图书情报学的相关理论,以丰富信息实践的基础理论.

This study aims to systematically reveal the application of behavioural economics theories in information-seeking behaviour research to promote the theoretical development of information-seeking behaviour research. A systematic review method was utilised to collect 92 relevant articles published from 1989 to 2022. The temporal development of these articles, research themes, and the theoretical contributions of behavioural economics theories to information-seeking behaviour research were organised and analysed. The findings are as follows: First, behavioural economics theories have been applied in information-seeking behaviour research for more than30 years and have entered an accelerated development stage. Second, behavioural economics theories are widely adaptable to information-seeking behaviour research. Early behavioural economics theories are applicable to 10 research topics such as information-seeking stopping behaviour and information evaluation, while contemporary behavioural economics theories are applicable to 16 research topics: information-seeking strategies and health information-seeking. Third, behavioural economics theories have produced four contributions to information-seeking behaviour research by revealing the mechanisms underlying information-seeking behaviour, exploring behavioural and cognitive strategies in information-seeking behaviour, interpreting the biases underlying information-seeking behaviour, and constructing theoretical models for information-seeking behaviour.

[目的/意义] 分析Wilson信息行为模型的扩散和影响力，即模型的每个组成元素是如何被其他文献引用，旨在探索用户信息行为研究的跨学科特性。[方法/过程] 采用引文分析和内容分析方法，揭示该模型在时间维度、文献类型、学科维度等的被引情况以及模型概念的共现关系，并利用Gephi进行可视化展示。[结果/结论] 研究发现Wilson信息行为模型的影响力随时间的推移不断增加，并且更倾向于被实证型论文引用。其次，由于该模型采用跨学科视角，其在社会科学、计算机科学和医学等非图书情报领域的影响力非常明显。最后，引用该模型的文献注重对模型内容的探讨，模型的各个方面都进行不同程度的扩散，但缺乏较为深入的分析。

[目的/意义]通过分析国际上发表的涉及情感的用户信息行为模型文献,揭示情感在用户信息行为模型中的作用机制.[方法/过程]采用概念分析法对遴选出的33篇涉及情感的用户信息行为模型文献中情感的概念、情感与认知、情感与行为间的关系进行剖析.[结果/结论]研究发现:第一,用户信息行为模型对于情感的概念化表述有情绪、感觉、情感程序、心境、态度和意图等多种方式.不同模型对于情感的概念化存在不一致的现象,甚至存在相互冲突的观点.第二,用户信息行为模型中情感的作用机制主要体现在情感与认知、情感与行为的复杂关系之中.这种作用机制包括情感对认知的影响、认知对情感的影响、情感对行为的影响和行为对情感的影响4种作用路径.研究提出今后需要依托认知神经科学和心理学中与情感有关的基础理论进一步揭示情感在用户信息行为模型中的作用机制.