“Words Are not just Words; They Carry Experiences Within Them”: Navigating Personal Information Management in Multilingual Contexts

This exploratory study examines the factors that shape personal information management (PIM) in multilingual contexts (MPIM) by investigating how individuals manage personal information in multiple languages. Through conducting 10 semi-structured interviews with voluntary migrants in higher education in the US, New Zealand, and Germany, the study sheds light on the challenges and opportunities of MPIM. The findings suggest that language choice in MPIM is influenced by various factors, including life transitions, contextual factors, affective and identity-related factors, and challenges accompanying MPIM. The results offer new insights into the MPIM experience and suggest potential ways to improve PIM in multi-lingual contexts, such as improving platform design and developing systems that support alphabet recognition and translation to better serve multilingual users’ PIM needs. In conclusion, the study underscores the need for improved MPIM support in platform design and further research on MPIM practices and experiences.

Alon, L., Krtalić, M. (2024). “Words Are not just Words; They Carry Experiences Within Them”: Navigating Personal Information Management in Multilingual Contexts. In: Sserwanga, I., et al. Wisdom, Well-Being, Win-Win. iConference 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14596. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57850-2_25