Information Overload

JUDITH B. STROTHER, PhD, is Chair of the Graduate Program in Global Strategic Communication and Professor of Communication at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. She has written three books and several book chapters, in addition to journal articles and conference proceedings.JAN M. ULIJN, PhD, is an early emeritus of the endowed Jean Monnet Chair in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Culture at Eindhoven University of Technology, and currently Professor of the Open University School of Management in the Netherlands. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters and has authored or edited several books.ZOHRA FAZAL is Instructor of Humanities and Communication and a founding member of the Center for Communication Excellence at Florida Institute of Technology. She is currently pursuing her PhD in science education.

• List of Practical Insights from Corporations xvList of Figures xviiList of Tables xixForeword xxiPreface xxviiAcknowledgments xxixA Note from the Series Editor xxxiContributors xxxiiiAbout the Editors xxxvii1 INFORMATION OVERLOAD: AN INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE TO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS 1Judith B. Strother, Jan M. Ulijn, and Zohra Fazal1.1 Definitions, Causes, and Consequences of Information Overload 11.1.1 Definitions of Information Overload 11.1.2 Causes of Information Overload 21.1.3 Consequences of Information Overload 31.2 Perspectives on the Concept of Information Overload 41.2.1 An Information and Time-Management Perspective 51.2.2 A Supplier/Producer/Writer and Client/User/Reader Perspective 51.2.3 An International/Intercultural Perspective 71.2.4 An Innovation Perspective 71.3 Readers of this Book 71.4 Structure of this Book 81.4.1 Section I: Causes and Costs of Information Overload 81.4.2 Section II: Control and Reduction of Information Overload 10References 11SECTION I. CAUSES AND COSTS OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD2 OF TIME MAGAZINE, 24/7 MEDIA, AND DATA DELUGE: THE EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD THEORIES AND CONCEPTS 15Debashis “Deb” Aikat and David Remund2.1 Introduction 162.2 Theory and Concept of Information Overload 162.3 Information Overload as a Twentieth Century Phenomenon 172.4 Evolution of Information and Its Proliferation in Society 212.4.1 The Early Quest for Information and Knowledge (320 BCE–Thirteenth Century) 212.4.2 The Age of Renaissance (Fourteenth–Seventeenth Century) and the Printing Press 222.4.3 The Industrial Revolution (Eighteenth–Nineteenth Century) and Its Information Innovations 232.4.4 The Era of the Mind and the Machine (Twentieth Century) 242.4.5 Internet Boom and Information Explosion of the 1990s 272.4.6 Data Deluge and Information Overload in the Twenty-First Century Digital Age 282.5 Information Overload Concepts 292.5.1 Definitions of Information Overload and Related Concepts 292.5.2 The Context of Information Overload 302.5.3 Causes and Consequences of Information Overload 312.6 Conclusion and Four Lessons Learned 32Acknowledgment 33References 33PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM IBM 393 THE CHALLENGE OF INFORMATION BALANCE IN THE AGE OF AFFLUENT COMMUNICATION 41Paulus Hubert Vossen3.1 Introduction 423.2 Quantitative Aspects of Information Overload 433.3 Qualitative Aspects of Information Overload 453.3.1 Philosophical Perspective: Information in Science and Technology 453.3.2 Political Perspective: Information in Modern Society and a Global World 463.3.3 Economic Perspective: Information as a Commodity on the Market 473.3.4 Societal Perspective: Information as the Glue Between Communities 483.3.5 Psychological Perspective: Information as a Basis for Knowing and Acting 493.3.6 Ecological Perspective: Information as a Prerequisite for Living Creatures 503.4 Conclusion 513.5 A Call for Fundamental Research 52References 53PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM XEROX 55Xerox Takes on Information Overload 55Identifying the Problem 55Sharing Information 56Sorting Information 57Cutting Through the Clutter 57Life-Saving Software 58Urban Central Nervous System 584 FROM CAVE WALL TO TWITTER: ENGINEERS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATORS AS INFORMATION SHAMAN FOR DIGITAL TRIBES 61Anne Caborn and Cary L. Cooper 4.1 Introduction: The Dawn of the Information Shaman 624.2 The Magic of Metaphor 644.3 The Audience: The Emergence of Digital Tribes 654.4 Quill to Keyboard: The Writer and New Media 664.5 Helping the Reader: Techniques for the Information Shaman 684.6 The Magic of Hypertext Techniques: Journeys at the Speed of Thought 704.7 Conclusion: The Responsibilities of the Information Shaman 72References 73PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE LIMBURG MEDIA GROUP 75Newspaper Position in The Netherlands 76Managing Information Overload Using an Evolutionary Approach 76A Revolutionary Perspective 775 THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON INFORMATION OVERLOAD 79Jan M. Ulijn and Judith B. Strother5.1 Introduction 805.2 Levels of Culture 815.3 Cultural Patterns of Discourse Organization 825.4 High Context Versus Low Context 835.5 Internationalization Versus Localization 855.5.1 Latin America 865.5.2 Japan 875.5.3 China 875.6 The Effect of Professional Culture 885.7 Japan and U.S. Discourse Structures 915.8 Cultural Issues in Reader Versus Writer Responsibility 925.9 Implications for Engineers and Technical Communicators and Their Corporations 935.10 Conclusion 95References 95PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM A2Z GLOBAL LANGUAGES 996 EFFECT OF COLOR, VISUAL FORM, AND TEXTUAL INFORMATION ON INFORMATION OVERLOAD 103No€el T. Alton and Alan Manning6.1 Introduction 1046.2 Previous Studies of Decorative and Indicative Effects 1066.3 Experiments and Results 1116.3.1 Study One: Restaurant Menu Design 1126.3.2 Study Two: Graph Design and Recall Accuracy 1146.3.3 Study Three: Diagram Design and Recall Accuracy 1166.4 Practical Implications for Engineers and Technical Communicators 1176.5 Conclusion 119References 121PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM APPLIED GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES 1237 COST OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD IN END-USER DOCUMENTATION 125Prasanna Bidkar7.1 Introduction 1267.2 Information Overload 1267.3 Causes of Information Overload 1287.4 Sources of Noise in User Documentation 1297.4.1 Information Content 1297.4.2 Channel 1307.4.3 Receiver 1317.5 Effects of Information Overload on Users 1327.6 The Current Study 1337.6.1 The Survey 1337.6.2 Results and Observations 1337.7 Cost of Information Overload 1357.7.1 Cost Framework 1357.7.2 Scenario 1: Ideal Scenario 1367.7.3 Scenario 2 1367.7.4 Scenario 3 1367.7.5 Scenario 4 1367.7.6 An Example from the User’s Perspective: Denim Corp 1377.7.7 An Example from the Producer’s Perspective: Logistics Corp 1377.8 Conclusion 138References 139PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM HARRIS CORPORATION 141Sources of Information Overload 141Strategies for Dealing with Information Overload 142SECTION II. CONTROL AND REDUCTION OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE8 TAMING THE TERABYTES: A HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH TO SURVIVING THE INFORMATION DELUGE 147Eduard Hoenkamp8.1 Introduction 1488.2 Reducing Information Overload by Being Precise About What We Ask for 1508.2.1 Conversational Query Elaboration to Discover Support Groups 1508.2.2 Constructing Verbose Queries Automatically During a Presentation 1518.3 Steering Clear of Information Glut Through Live Visual Feedback 1528.4 Improving Search Engines by Making Them Human Centered 1568.4.1 Case 1: The Basic Level Category 1588.4.2 Case 2: The Complex Nominal 1628.4.3 Case 3: Exploiting Natural Language Properties 1658.5 Conclusion 167Acknowledgments 167References 168PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE LABORATORY FOR QUALITY SOFTWARE 171References 1739 TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEALING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD: AN ENGINEER’S POINT OF VIEW 175Toon Calders, George H. L. Fletcher, Faisal Kamiran, and Mykola Pechenizkiy9.1 Introduction 1769.2 Information Overload: Challenges and Opportunities 1779.3 Storing and Querying Semistructured Data 1799.3.1 XML as a Data Format for Semistructured Data 1809.3.2 RDF as a Data Format for Semistructured Data 1819.3.3 Remarks on the Use of XML and RDF 1839.4 Techniques for Retrieving Information 1839.5 Mining Large Databases for Extracting Information 1879.6 Processing Data Streams 1909.7 Summary 190References 191PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS, FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 195From Data to Information to Situational Awareness to Decisions 196Transformative Airspace Architecture 197Robust, Agile, and Intelligently Responsive Information-Sharing Architecture 197Next Generation Efforts to Manage Information 198Distributed Decision Making 199System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) 200Shared Situation Awareness and Collaborative Decision Making 201Automation and Information in the NAS 201Summary 201References 20210 VISUALIZING INSTEAD OF OVERLOADING: EXPLORING THE PROMISE AND PROBLEMS OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION TO REDUCE INFORMATION OVERLOAD 203Jeanne Mengis and Martin J. Eppler10.1 The Qualitative Side of Information Overload 20410.2 Causes of Information Overload 20610.3 How Information Visualization Can Improve the Quality of Information and Reduce Information Overload 20810.4 Using Visualization in Practice: Understanding the Knowing–Doing Gap 20910.5 Methods and Context of the Study 21110.5.1 Measures 21110.5.2 Procedure and Analysis 21310.6 Indications of the Knowing–Doing Gap: Visuals Are Valued, but Poorly Used 21410.7 Understanding the Knowing–Doing Gap with TAM 21410.8 Discussion 21610.9 Conclusion 21710.10 Future Research Directions 21810A.1 Appendix 219References 222PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM ALVOGEN 227The Challenges of Information Overload 227Strategies for Dealing with Information Overload 22811 DROWNING IN DATA: A REVIEWOF INFORMATION OVERLOAD WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE VIABILITY OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES 231David Remund and Debashis “Deb” Aikat11.1 Introduction 23211.2 Defining Information Overload within Organizations 23211.3 Evolution of the Information Overload Concept in Organizations 23411.4 Implications of Information Overload within Organizations 23511.4.1 Organizational Implications 23511.4.2 Employee Implications 23711.5 Traditional Strategies for Addressing Information Overload 23811.5.1 Organizational Strategies 23811.5.2 Individual Strategies 23911.6 Strategic Communication Principles: A Viable Solution? 24011.7 Putting Strategic Communication into Practice 24211.8 Further Research 24311.9 Conclusion 243References 243PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE DUTCH EMPLOYERS’ ASSOCIATION 247Acting as an Information Resource 248Focusing on the Added Value of Information 248Co-Creating Added Value in Interaction with Companies 249A Final Observation 250References 25012 BLINDFOLDED THROUGH THE INFORMATION HURRICANE? A REVIEW OF A MANAGER’S STRATEGY TO COPE WITH THE INFORMATION PARADOX 251Arjen Verhoeff12.1 Introduction 25212.2 Decomposing the Information Paradox 25312.2.1 The Control of the Internal Information Process 25312.2.2 The Control of the External Information Process 25412.3 A Framework to Analyze the Information Paradox 25512.3.1 Do Managers Experience Issues Regarding Information? 25712.3.2 Do Managers Use an Information Strategy? 25712.3.3 Do Managers Use a Strategy to Transform Information into Added Value? 25712.4 Illustrating the Framework with Some Dutch Empirical Evidence 25812.4.1 The Importance of an Information Strategy 25812.4.2 Preliminary Survey Among Dutch Managers 25912.5 Discussion and Conclusion: Lessons in Information Strategy 26012.5.1 Discussion 26012.5.2 Methodological Grounding 26112.5.3 Learning Points 26112.5.4 Applied Innovative Directions 26212.5.5 Toward an Innovative Research Agenda 26412.5.6 General Conclusion 264References 265List of References for Boxed Quotations 267Author Index 269Subject Index 275