As employability has become a more visible graduate attribute, it is becoming recognised that a better understanding of information practices in work may enable a smoother transition from university to employment. This paper discusses the current state of workplace information literacy and presents the findings of research into staff experiences of information use in a City insurance firm. A framework previously developed out of phenomenographic research into nursing is employed to draw parallels and highlight differences between insurance workplace and university student terminology. Context-specific hierarchical statements using the language of the participants are developed from coded interview texts. These statements, which are drawn together in illustrative personae, provide a rich and detailed view of the participants’ experience of effective information use. It is suggested that a better understanding of language use in communities of practice would facilitate transition both between and within the communities.

Cluster analysis is a common marketing tool for identifying groups of customers, clients, or consumers similar enough in demographics, behaviors, or attitudes to warrant specialized methods for targeting them with a desired message. We used cluster analysis on data from an integrated pest management (IPM) survey of the general public to categorize groups by their similarities with regard to IPM-related attitudes and behaviors. We describe how we used these data to target critical IPM messages in ways most likely to elicit positive behavior change. The methods we used could be applied in many disciplines to target Extension educational messages to diverse client groups.