OU - Theses

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Browsing OU - Theses by Degree Discipline "Master of Library & Information Studies"

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    The Information-Seeking Behavior of Catholic Women Discerning a Vocation to Religious Life
    (2016-05-13) Hickey, Katherine; Rhinesmith, Colin; Abbas, June; Dean Kyncl, Rhonda
    Approximately 10% of Roman Catholic women will seriously discern a vocation to religious life during their lifetime (CARA, 2009). Spiritual discernment is often characterized by prayer and spiritual direction, but also the acquisition of knowledge and information about religious life. No study to date has sought to understand how women seek out and retrieve information about religious life, nor have assessments been conducted on the quality and relevancy of the information available. Therefore, the current study sought to answer the following research question: “what is the information-seeking behavior (ISB) of Catholic women discerning a vocation to religious life?” using Dervin’s Sense-Making Methodology. A survey was administered online, collecting demographic information, inquiring about the kinds of resources discerners used, the quality of the resources available, and the relationship between online vs. offline resources. Results yielded responses from 124 participants. Findings indicated that digital and print resources were heavily utilized for their ease of access, privacy, and ability to connect with other discerners. Participants indicated that connecting with a person face-to-face and visiting religious sisters produced a kind of knowledge and information that could not be acquired online, suggesting that their ISB was an integration of digital and print resources, and human connection. This study contributes to the literature by intersecting the disciplines of information science, religion, and Internet studies to situate religious information-seeking behavior in context using Sense-Making, and by presenting female discerners’ information needs, thereby equipping practitioners who seek to develop resources for them. Whereas previous literature on this topic has largely yielded demographic information and broad assessments of discernment, this deeper look into ISB ascertains their needs, use of existing resources, and decision-making processes. The study introduces the concept of limited Internet effectiveness in order to better understand the integration of digital versus in-person resources in spiritual religious processes.
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    SCIENCE, ENERGY AND KNOWLEDGE. AN ANALYSIS OF THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE ON THE SYNTHETIC FUELS IN THE 1970S AND 1980S
    (2017-08-01) Gerali, Francesco; Abbas, June; Weldon, Stephen; Van der Veer Martens, Betsy
    Research breeds research. When the environment (politics, human and capital resources, and the demand for the good) is right, research activity compounds itself. The growth rate continues until research activity is at the limiting level which its environment can support. However, what influences the work-flow of the research, and what is the limiting level? Does there really exist a breaking point where the scientist gives up discouraged by the surrounding and overwhelming odds? (Clewell, 1963). This study documents the trend of scientific research on synthetic fuels production technologies between 1972 and 1988. The goal is to understand if the environment has really influenced the research; and, whether it is possible to determinate or not a precise breaking point in the flow of the research. The conclusions reached in this thesis are based on the comparison of historical facts through the lens of a bibliographic study on the contemporary technical-scientific literature available from the Department of Energy.