1.
Information Practices of Immigrants Nadia Caidi Faculty of Information University of Toronto Health Nexus Workshop, March 30, 2009.

2.
Is this information seeking?

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Or is it really more like this…

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Examples of Information Seeking and Use (from Donald Case) <ul><li>Buying products </li></ul><ul><li>Finding information in a library </li></ul><ul><li>Betting on a horse </li></ul><ul><li>Finding the law </li></ul><ul><li>“ I want to know more about cancer” </li></ul>Information seeking and use are: “… common and essential behaviors….basic to human existence.” (Case)

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Key Questions in Information Seeking and Use <ul><li>What is information? </li></ul><ul><li>What is an information need? </li></ul><ul><ul><li>(Taylor, 1968) Information need focuses on purposive action. Action is taken to address uncertainty, confusion. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>What counts as information/knowledge for whom and in what context? </li></ul><ul><li>How do people find information? </li></ul><ul><li>What does the information seeking process look like? </li></ul><ul><li>What are the barriers or gaps to finding information? </li></ul><ul><li>How can we (as information providers) design info retrieval systems that enable users to find what they need? </li></ul>

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Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS) <ul><li>Previously user studies focused on task-based activities </li></ul><ul><li>But individuals require and seek information on a daily basis in order to manage their daily lives (Savolainen, 1995) </li></ul><ul><li>ELIS is often habitual, non rational, and has multiple goals </li></ul><ul><li>Everyday information practices: info seeking, use, and sharing </li></ul>

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Information Poverty (Chatman, 1996) <ul><li>Information seeking may be problematic for vulnerable populations in economic poverty </li></ul><ul><li>Information poor lack necessary resources (adequate social networks, skills, etc.) that enable everyday information seeking </li></ul><ul><li>Information poverty concepts: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Insider/outsider dichotomy </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Deception, secrecy, risk-taking </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Situational relevance </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Social norms, worldview, social types, information behavior in certain communities </li></ul>

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Information Needs of Immigrants <ul><li>Orienting information seeking </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Refers to daily media habits that individuals engage in </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Purpose: to monitor everyday events through various sources, such as media. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Practical (or problem-specific) information seeking </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Solving of individual problems or performing specific tasks </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>More episodic in nature; varying times to completion, etc. </li></ul></ul>

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Barriers to Orienting info seeking <ul><li>Information overload </li></ul><ul><li>Where to get access to info </li></ul><ul><li>Language issues </li></ul><ul><li>Credibility of information retrieved </li></ul><ul><li>Emotional stress </li></ul><ul><li>Social isolation </li></ul>

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Barriers to Problem-Specific information seeking <ul><li>Identifying and accessing relevant human sources </li></ul><ul><li>Slowness of bureaucratic process </li></ul><ul><li>Unfamiliarity with overall system </li></ul><ul><li>How or where to seek help… </li></ul>

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Pathways and Sources <ul><li>Social networks </li></ul><ul><li>Gatekeepers </li></ul><ul><li>Formal sources </li></ul><ul><li>ICTs </li></ul><ul><li>Ethnic media </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an important role in the shifts taking place within immigration by: </li></ul><ul><li>changing the nature and frequency of migrants’ contacts with source countries (i.e., relatively rapid, easy and inexpensive) </li></ul><ul><li>providing new types of cultural consumption and production such as online newspapers, newsgroups, chat rooms, and access to home country internet sites </li></ul><ul><li>shifting employment seeking practices and opportunities through distance education, job searching capabilities, online government and settlement information, and transnational entrepreneurial opportunities </li></ul>

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<ul><ul><li>On average, people who have migrated to Canada spend more time online than people who were born in Canada </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>People who have migrated to Canada have higher levels of engagement with content-producing social activities on the web such as using blogs, wikis, and social networking sites (‘social media’) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>People who have migrated to Canada are more likely to use the internet in public spaces </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>(Canadian Internet Project (CIP), Zamaria and Fletcher, 2007) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Where language spoken at home differs from official languages, internet users are significantly more likely to be heavy (one hour of internet use per day) computer users (Veenhof, 2006) </li></ul></ul>

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<ul><ul><li>Most people who have recently immigrated to Canada have previous ICT experience and use ICTs with relative ease </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Familiarization with the Canadian information landscape is part of settlement, even for internet-savvy migrants. This includes making sense of newcomer settlement information, learning how to use a computer to apply for a job, and learning how to use online government sources and forms </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Socio-economic conditions of source countries and class of entry are predictors of ICT uptake and use </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Notably, beginner users still exist. Individuals who come to Canada as refugees, in the family class, or as live in care-givers have generally had fewer opportunities for ICT training </li></ul></ul>

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Barriers to Accessing Information <ul><li>Structural barriers </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Insufficient language proficiency </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Learning how the system works </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Limitations arising from one’s status </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Social barriers </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Social isolation </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Communication problems </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Differences in cultural values and understanding </li></ul></ul>

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IMPLICATIONS <ul><li>Information services introduced into a community through outsiders will likely be regarded with suspicion and considered irrelevant to the specific needs of the community </li></ul><ul><li>Credibility of info associated with the reputation of the individual: importance of identifying key person (gatekeeper) </li></ul>

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ADAPTING INFORMATION SERVICES (1) <ul><li>Need to understand how information moves within the group or between groups </li></ul><ul><li>Designing information services that take into account the social, psychological, and cultural factors that influence information seeking </li></ul>

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ADAPTING INFORMATION SERVICES (2) <ul><li>Get to know your community </li></ul><ul><li>Assess the problems experienced by a member of a specific group </li></ul><ul><li>Work with associations and service providers to improve services and attract non-users </li></ul><ul><li>Adapt user interactions, coll. development and delivery of services </li></ul><ul><li>Training staff to work with users </li></ul><ul><li>Implement periodical evaluation of services to members of specific groups </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Difficult to make further generalizations because of the </li></ul><ul><li>heterogeneity of people who are migrating </li></ul><ul><li>multiplicity of languages spoken, cultures experienced </li></ul><ul><li>diversity of technologies involved in online communication </li></ul><ul><li>varieties of online information and related activities </li></ul><ul><li>different stages of settlement create different needs </li></ul><ul><li>Research potential to </li></ul><ul><li>study specific circumstances in which particular ICT practices are employed, and satisfaction with these </li></ul><ul><li>examine information-seeking behaviours of people who do not use the internet </li></ul><ul><li>observe how ICTs are used to achieve particular ends such as finding employment </li></ul><ul><li>explore potential for pertinent pre-migration information </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Current information about credential recognition and average salaries </li></ul><ul><li>Up-to-date average costs for housing and utilities </li></ul><ul><li>Success stories that articulate the benefits of having a patient mindset </li></ul><ul><li>Awareness of the forms of racism within Canada, especially for people who will be visible minorities’ in Canada </li></ul><ul><li>Knowledge about potential areas of residence and neighbourhood amenities </li></ul>

22.
<ul><ul><li>Consider information access and provision as embedded within social activities </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Maintain awareness of online tools as reaching only some of the population of people who have migrated to Canada </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Provide pre-migration information that prepares potential migrants for realities of life in Canada </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Examine individuals’ blogs related to settlement in Canada </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Recognize significance of dynamic, timely information (e.g., what is the significance of global recession for potential immigrants?) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Increase dialogue between people who have recently migrated, researchers, practitioners, and government organizations </li></ul></ul>

23.
<ul><li>Caidi, N., Allard, D., & L. Quirke. (2010). “Information Practices of Immigrants.” Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, vol. 44. </li></ul><ul><li>Caidi, N., Allard, D., & Dechief, D. (2008). Information practices of immigrants to Canada: A review of the literature. Unpublished Report to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. </li></ul><ul><li>Caidi, N., Allard, D., Dechief, D., & Longford, G. (2008). Including immigrants in Canadian society: What role do ICTs play? Unpublished Report to Human Resources and Social Development Canada. </li></ul><ul><li>Dechief, D. (2006). Recent immigrants as an “alternate civic core”: Providing Internet services, gaining “Canadian experiences.” Unpublished Master’s thesis Concordia University. </li></ul><ul><li>Chien, E. (2005). Informing and involving newcomers online: Users’ perspectives of Settlement.Org. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Toronto. </li></ul>

24.
<ul><li>Nadia Caidi </li></ul><ul><li>[email_address] </li></ul><ul><li>Associate Professor </li></ul><ul><li>Faculty of Information </li></ul><ul><li>University of Toronto </li></ul><ul><li>416 978 4664 </li></ul>