Extreme Sport and Information: Initial Findings of Technical Cave Diver’s Information-Seeking Behaviours
Abstract
Using the participatory, arts-based information world mapping (IWM) method, this study investigated the information-seeking behaviors of cave divers before, during, and after cave dives. Cave diving is considered an extreme sport, in which technical divers trained in overhead environments penetrate flooded cave systems. 20 participants were interviewed using the IWM technique and semi-structured open-ended questions. Verbatim clean transcriptions and participant maps were coded using thematic content analysis. Participant data suggests cave divers may be intentionally restrictive in their information-sharing behaviors, choosing vetted contacts willing to reciprocate information exchanges.
Date
May 28, 2025 09:00 ADT — 09:25 ADT
Location
Rowe 1007 and Zoom
Halifax Public Libraries
Toni Beaton (she/her) is the current 2024-25 Lou Duggan Creative Studio Librarian Intern with Halifax Public Libraries. Her educational background includes a BA in Psychology (‘12) and a BEd in Elementary Education (‘14) from the University of Saskatchewan. A recent graduate of the Department of Information Science’s Master of Information program (‘24), Toni was presented with the Louis Vagianos Medal, awarded to the graduating student who “combines the capacity for blending originality with practical thinking and the courage to seek solutions to professional problems outside the mainstream”. Her current research focuses on the information-seeking behavior of technical cave divers, in relation to the field of Human Information Interaction. Co-authored with Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, “Extreme Sport and Information: Initial Findings of Technical Cave Diver’s Information-Seeking Behaviours” highlights the initial findings of qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 20 technical cave divers, using the Information World Mapping technique. You can find Toni’s other scholarly work published in Pathfinder: A Canadian Journal for Information Science Students and Early Career Professionals.
Department of Information Science, Dalhousie University
Stacy Allison-Cassin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, Stacy engages in research related to linked data, and metadata and issues related to equity and justice. Stacy is the co-lead of the Respectful Terminology Platform Project and is currently the chair for the Teaching and Learning community and a member of council of the National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Association, and Indigenous-led association centered in Canada and sits several advisory bodies. A Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, Stacy has with kinship connections to the Georgian Bay Métis community.