• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.87-109
• /
• 2022

Previous studies have found that the use or development of theory in library and information science (LIS) research is comparatively low and may be trending downward. LIS has also been criticized for relying on theories imported from other disciplines rather than applying or developing theories from within. The theory of information worlds, a social information behavior theory originally introduced in 2008, represents a newer LIS theory whose level of adoption is understudied. This study features a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research articles which cited or used the theory of information worlds from 2008 to early 2022 to identify trends related to levels of theory use, publication venues, author affiliations, countries, and collaborations, as well as research methods, topics, and populations. Findings suggest that both awareness and use of the theory of information worlds are positively trending, though at slower rates for higher levels of theory use, such as full applications of the theory to guide the collection and analysis of empirical data. The theory has also been used by researchers from around the world and across disciplines, most often with mixed and qualitative methods. While the growth of a new LIS theory is promising, the authors echo calls for increased use and development of the theory of information worlds, and other LIS theories more broadly, and as more interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.54-64
• /
• 2019

A theory of public knowledge is offered for the purposes of defining more clearly its role in information systems and classification schemas. Public knowledge is knowledge intended to be available for use in a public system. It is knowledge accessible to the public or knowledge in the public arena as opposed to the other seemingly multitudinous ways to describe knowledge. Furthermore, there are many different public arenas or small worlds. Public knowledge, irrespective of these different arenas, has four important overlying characteristics: It is consensual, it does not imply complete truth or certainty, it is autonomous, and it has a constant renewal of old knowledge with new knowledge. Each of these attributes has been culled from a study of the works of Patrick Wilson, Karl Popper, and John Ziman.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.425-447
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to introduce the Theory of Information Worlds which analyzes information behaviors in the social perspective. This study analyzed dissertations using the theory to provide the understanding of the theory and suggest theoretical implications. The theory was developed by Burnett and Jeager in 2008, and since then it was applied in 14 dissertations. Key concepts of the theory include social norms, social types, information value, information behavior, and boundaries. These concepts are intervened in the process of creation and control of behavior through interaction each other. Qualitative research was adopted in more research rather than quantitative research; especially interview and content analysis were applied. It is expected that the spectrum of information behavior research in Korea is broaden and deeper through this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.83-108
• /
• 2019

This study investigated South Korean citizens' political communication and deliberation through Twitter during the 2014 General Election, focusing on influential opinion leaders' political information behaviors. Individual semi-structured interviews were administered with 13 opinion leaders using the multiple interview modes of email interviews, Skype interview and face to face interviews. Through the analytical lens of the theory of Information Worlds, the chosen social types and social norms of opinion leaders impacted their political information behaviors, including how they assessed, shared, exchanged, or avoided information, and, in turn, created boundaries between and around their information worlds that allowed for both conflict and synergy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Language and Information Conference
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.42-53
• /
• 2007

Looking back the history of formal treatment of linguistics, we cannot disregard the contribution of possible world semantics. Intensional logic of Montague semantics, DRT (Discourse Representation Theory), mental space, and situation theory are closely related to or compared with the notion of possible world. All these theories have commonly clarified the structure of belief context or uncertain knowledge, employing hypothesized worlds. In this talk, I firstly brief the pedigree of these theories. Next, I will introduce the recent development of modal logic for the representation of (i) knowledge and belief and (ii) time, in which belief modality is precisely discussed together with the accessibility among possible worlds. I will refer to BDI (belief-desire-intention) logic, CTL (computational tree logic), and sphere-based model in belief revision. Finally, I will discuss how these theories could be applied to the further development of analyses of natural language.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.223-266
• /
• 2020

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are played by millions of people around the world. Within MMORPGs, players explore, solve mysteries, craft items, battle against dungeon or raid bosses, or compete against other players, all while using a variety of information and information behaviors. Role-players in MMORPGs develop identities and engage in interactive storytelling with other role-players as their characters. An ethnographic approach combining overt participant observation and engagement, semi-structured interviews, and artifact collection was used to explore and describe the social information behaviors of role-players through the lens of the theory of information worlds. The social types evident in the role-playing community in WildStar, a science fantasy-themed MMORPG, are closely interrelated to and differentiated by social norms and information values that dictate acceptable characters, stories, character actions, and appropriate lore sources as well as how to role-play without violating the boundary between in- and out-of-character information worlds. Role-players maintained the in-character and out-of-character boundary using a set of specific information behaviors to enable engaging and immersive role-playing experiences. Implications of the findings for the theory of information worlds as well as potential applications of role-playing and MMORPGs are also discussed.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.6-16
• /
• 2015

This article proposes an interwoven three-part framework for conceptualizing and analyzing the role of information in human activities, melding the cognitive and affective domain of the individual, the collective domain of the social, and the domain of signification and communication practices, focusing on the ways in which individual characteristics, social context and interaction, and signification and representation work together to form information behavior. The article presents an overview of each of these three domains and discusses the ways in which they are intertwined. It argues that considering the three domains in relation to each other offers a holistic framework within which to consider the ways in which information - needs, behavior, creation, and use - depends simultaneously on all three. It concludes by offering a brief discussion of the implications of the framework for information services, including (but not limited to) libraries.

• Journal of KIISE:Computer Systems and Theory
• /
• v.35 no.12
• /
• pp.552-559
• /
• 2008

Computing technologies are extending the means by which people communicate. Especially, virtual worlds have recently become successful, due to rapidly improving Information Technologies. Chat is a crucial function in current virtual worlds. We need a realistic and efficient communication framework for multi-agents participating in a virtual world. The main contribution of our work is twofold. First, we propose a realistic communication framework which enables 'Complete Talk' and 'Partial Talk' in terms of spatial relationships between avatar agents. Second, our system reconstructs a dialogue graph which maintains all transcripts in the form of directed graphs with temporal(dialogue sequences) and spatial information(physical positions) about communicating agents.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.6-27
• /
• 2016

There has been a growing interest and enthusiasm for the application of virtual worlds in learning and training. This research proposes a design framework of a virtual world-based learning environment that integrates two unique features of the virtual world technology, immersion and interactivity, with an instructional strategy that promotes self-regulatory learning. We demonstrate the usefulness and assess the effectiveness of our design in the context of information security learning. In particular, the information security learning module implemented in Second Life was incorporated into an Introduction to Information Security course. Data from pre- and post- learning surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning module. Overall, the results strongly suggest that the virtual world-based learning environment enhances information security learning, thus supporting the effectiveness of the proposed design framework. Additional results suggest that learner traits have an important influence on learning outcomes through perceived enjoyment. The study offers useful design and implementation guidelines for organizations and universities to develop a virtual world-based learning environment. It also represents an initial step towards the design and explanation theories of virtual world-based learning environments.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.131-159
• /
• 2023

Recently, amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic shifting towards an endemic phase, there has been a rise in discussions and debates about the future of the metaverse. Simultaneously, major metaverse platforms like Roblox have been launching services integrated with generative AI, and Apple's mixed reality hardware, Vision Pro, has been announced, creating new expectations for the metaverse. In this situation where the outlook for the metaverse is divided, it is crucial to diagnose the metaverse from an ecosystem perspective, examine its key ecological features, driving forces for development, and future possibilities for advancement. This study utilized Wang's (2021) Information Ecology Theory (IET) framework, which is representative of ecosystem research in the field of Information Systems (IS), to derive the Metaverse Industrial Ecosystem (MIE). The analysis revealed that the MIE consists of four main domains: Tech Landscape, Category Ecosystem, Metaverse Platform, and Product/Service Ecosystem. It was found that the MIE exhibits characteristics such as digital connectivity, the integration of real and virtual worlds, value creation capabilities, and value sharing (Web 3.0). Furthermore, the interactions among the domains within the MIE and the four characteristics of the ecosystem were identified as driving forces for the development of the MIE at an ecosystem level. Additionally, the development of the MIE at an ecosystem level was categorized into three distinct stages: Narrow Ecosystem, Expanded Ecosystem, and Everywhere Ecosystem. It is anticipated that future advancements in related technologies and industries, such as robotics, AI, and 6G, will promote the transition from the current Expanded Ecosystem level of the MIE to an Everywhere Ecosystem level, where the connection between the real and virtual worlds is pervasive. This study provides several implications. Firstly, it offers a foundational theory and analytical framework for ecosystem research, addressing a gap in previous metaverse studies. It also presents various research topics within the metaverse domain. Additionally, it establishes an academic foundation that integrates concept definition research and impact studies, which are key areas in metaverse research. Lastly, referring to the developmental stages and conditions proposed in this study, businesses and governments can explore future metaverse markets and related technologies. They can also consider diverse metaverse business strategies. These implications are expected to guide the exploration of the emerging metaverse market and facilitate the evaluation of various metaverse business strategies.