Everyday information practices of ethnic minorities with small populations in Yunnan, China
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Abstract
This paper explores the everyday information practices of ethnic minorities with small populations (EMSP) to identify the conditions that affect their information practices within the context of Chinese culture. A qualitative study was conducted with China’s ethnic minorities, and data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations involving 45 participants. The data were statistically analyzed and processed using three levels of qualitative data coding analysis to identify the conditions that affect their everyday information practices. Findings show that the information needs of EMSP in China are relatively centralized, their sources of information acquisition are relatively fixed, and they do not cross ethnic group boundaries to share information with the outside world. In addition, traditions, customs, lifestyle, and ethnic identity are the conditions that influenced their everyday information practices. These results further the understanding of ethnic characteristics and traditional culture as conditions that can influence everyday information practices.
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Zhu, M., & Liao, X. (2021). Everyday information practices of ethnic minorities with small populations in Yunnan, China. Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 26(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.22452/mjlis.vol26no1.1
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References
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Cibangu, S. K. 2019. Marginalization of indigenous voices in the information age: A case study of cell phones in the rural Congo. Information Technology for Development. Vol. 25, no. 3.
Chatman, E. A. 1999. A theory of life in the round. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 50, no. 3: 207–217.
Chinese Census Office of the State Council (CCSOC). 2010. National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/ tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm.
China State Council. 2017. The strategic plan for promoting the development of ethnic minority areas and ethnic groups with small populations in China. Available at: http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2017/content_5168430.htm.
Cool, C. 2001. The concept of situation in information science. In Williams ME (ed), Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, NJ: Information Today, Vol. 35: 5–42.
Courtright, C. 2007. Context in information behaviour research. In Cronin B (ed). Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Medford, NJ: Information Today, Vol. 41: 273–306.
Creswell, J. W. 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (4th. ed.). London: Sage.
Dankasa, J. 2017. Seeking information in circles: The application of Chatman’s life in the round theory to the information small world of Catholic clergy in northern Nigeria. Journal of Information Science, Vol. 43, 246–259.
Dervin, B. 1998. Sense‐making theory and practice: An overview of user interests in knowledge seeking and use. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 2, no. 2: 36–46.
Dlamini, P., and Ocholla, D., N. 2018. Information and communication technology tools for managing indigenous knowledge in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. African Journal of Library Archives And Information Science, Vol. 28, no. 2: 137-–53.
Du, J. T., and Haines, J. 2017. Indigenous Australians’ information behaviour and Internet use in everyday life: An exploratory study. Information Research, Vol. 22, no. 2. Available at: http://www.informationr.net/ir/22-1/paper737.html
Fisher, K. E., and Naumer, C. M. 2006. Information grounds: Theoretical basis and empirical findings on information flow in social settings. In Spink A and Cole C (eds) New directions in human information behavior. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 93–111.
Fu, R., Zuo, T., and Lenihan, E. 2011. Discourses matter: Chinese ethnic minorities in sustainable development. Sustainable Development, Vol. 19, no. 6: 359–368.
Gordon, A. C., Gordon, M., and Dorr, J. 2003. Native American technology access: The Gates Foundation in four corners. The Electronic Library, Vol. 21, no. 5: 428–434.
Jette, H. 2009. Beyond the search process - Exploring group members’ information behavior in context. Information Processing and Management, Vol. 45, no. 1: 142–158.
Jin, H. and Liang, J. 2015. How should the Chinese government provide information services for Mongol ethnic minority? Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 32, no. 1: 82–94.
Kuhlthau, C. 1991. Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user’s perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 42, no. 5: 361–371.
Larson, J. M. and Lewis, J. 2017. Ethnic Networks. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 61, no. 2: 350–364.
Lilley, S. C. 2008. Information barriers and Maori secondary school students. Information Research, Vol. 13, no. 4. Available at: http://www.informationr.net/ir/13-4/paper373.html.
Lilley, S. 2012. The impact of cultural values on Maori information behaviors. Libri, Vol. 62, no. 4: 377–388.
Liu, C. 2012. The myth of informatization in rural areas: The case of China's Sichuan province. Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 29, no. 1: 85–97.
Lupien, P. and Chiriboga, G. 2019. Use of information and communications technologies by Indigenous civil society organizations in Ecuador. Information Communication & Society, Vol. 22, no. 8: 1029–1043.
Madhu, C. R. and Bernard J. J. 2008. A model for understanding collaborative information behavior in context: A study of two healthcare teams. Information Processing. and Management, Vol. 44, no. 1: 256 – 273.
Meyer, H. W. J. 2009. The influence of information behaviour on information sharing across cultural boundaries in development contexts. Information Research, Vol. 14, no. 1. Available at: http://www.informationr.net/ir/14-1/paper393.html
Mozafari, N. and Hamzeh, A. 2015. An enriched social behavioural information diffusion model in social networks. Journal of Information Science, Vol. 41, no. 3: 273–283.
Savolainen, R. 2008. Everyday information practices: A social phenomenological perspective. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Savolainen, R. 2009. Small world and information grounds as contexts of information seeking and sharing. Library and Information Science Research, Vol. 31, no. 1: 38–45.
Sonnenwald, D.H. and Pierce, L.G. 2000. Information behavior in dynamic group work contexts: interwoven situational awareness, dense social networks and contested collaboration in command and control. Information Processing and Management, Vol. 36, no. 1: 467–479.
Williamson, K. 1998. Discovered by chance: The role of incidental information acquisition in an ecological model of information use. Library and Information Science Research, Vol. 20, no. 1: 23–40.
Wilson, P. 1977. Public knowledge, private ignorance. Greenwood, Westport, CT.
Yeh, N.C. 2007. A framework for understanding culture and its relationship to information behaviour: Taiwanese aborigines' information behaviour. Information Research, Vol. 12, no. 2. Available at: http://InformationR.net/ir/12-2/paper303.html.