Out-of-the-box: Pertinent information. (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: James, Roger
• Is Part Of: Business information review. Volume 32:Number 2(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 90
• Page End: 92
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Business failure -- decision-making -- emotional blindness -- emotional influence -- information behaviour -- information delivery -- information receivers -- information value; Business enterprises -- Information management -- Periodicals; Business information services -- Periodicals; Business -- Information resources -- Periodicals; Information storage and retrieval systems -- Business -- Periodicals; Knowledge management -- Periodicals; 658.403805
• DOI: 10.1177/0266382115592528
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0266-3821

Abstract

Elections are a time at which objective fact vies with opinion and emotion leading up to the decision to vote. In the UK, the recent general election results proved to be a major surprise – one in which the hard data of the opinion polls and the questions asked in the focus groups were at odds with the expressed behaviour of the electorate. Before the pundits 'regroup' and the political groups re-establish their claimed hegemony over our intentions there is much to learn. For information scientists it is to recognize that the 'dark arts' of political campaigning contain many valuable techniques for effective information delivery and many lessons where information is irrelevant.