A collection of quotations, graphics, and links exploring the effects of information overload and other “pathologies of information”.

COVID-19—the disease caused by the novel coronavirus—and the information overload it has caused, has increased worldwide levels of stress and anxiety.

This article reviews the problem and what people can do about it.

The inhibiting effects of information overload on the behavior of online social media users, can affect the population-level characteristics of information dissemination through online conversations.

The article introduces a mechanistic, agent-based model of information overload and investigates the effects of information overload threshold and rate of information loss on observed online phenomena.

Information overload during the current COVID-19 pandemic has caused an “infodemic” in which false news, conspiracy theories, magical cures and racist news are being shared at an alarming rate, with the potential to increase anxiety and stress and even lead to loss of life.

This review highlights some of these challenges and suggests general measures to avoid information overload and infodemic in the connected world of 21st century.

Authors argue that endless access to information during COVID-19 might be making matters worse.

An extensive literature review on the topic of physical and psychological strain experienced by engineering managers (EMs’) revealed a significant gap in understanding the impact of occupational strain on EMs’. This research closes the existing gap by analyzing the impact of psychological occupational strains on EMs’ stress feeling.

Based on Karaseks’ Job demand – Job control model, a research project with 153 German EMs’ was conducted. Therefore, a modified version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire was used to identify relevant strains for EMs’ and to evaluate their impact on EMs’ stress feeling.

The research found out that meaning of work, demands for hidings emotions, emotional demands as well as the possibility for development mainly affect EMs’ stress feeling. Furthermore, this contribution compares these insights with the status quo of occupational strain load for EMs’.

Online or e-tests are an important component of new digital learning approaches.

E-tests enable efficient ways to facilitate the examination process and provide immediate feedback to the students. Also, with students being more and more proficient in applying e-learning methods it can be expected that e-tests are generally higher accepted by students. However, aspects such as perceived stress and negative impacts on the concentration performance of students may arise through an online test environment. In addition, the e-test situation potentially invites academic dishonesty as test results are sometimes visible to others on various monitors and not permitted web-resources might be used.

Aim of the research was to improve effectiveness of university education through enhancing the examination processes in digital teaching approaches. The authors have analyzed three business courses on bachelor and master levels in which e-tests are applied. The students were asked how comfortable they feel with the test situation and how the e-test situation creates stress and potentially limits their performance. Also, students were asked to compare e-tests against traditional ways of exams.

In addition to this, students were surveyed with regards to the possibilities of cheating during an e-test. As a general result, students still prefer slightly paper-based exams but accept and adapt to e-test scenarios. While undergraduate students often feel less stressed than graduate students in e-tests.

An extensive literature review on the topic of physical and psychological strain experienced by engineering managers revealed a significant gap in understanding the impact of occupational strain on EMs.

Online or e-tests are an important component of new digital learning approaches.

E-tests enable efficient ways to facilitate the examination process and provide immediate feedback to the students. Also, with students being more and more proficient in applying e-learning methods it can be expected that e-tests are generally higher accepted by students. However, aspects such as perceived strain and negative impacts on the concentration performance of students may arise through an online test environment. In addition, the e-test situation potentially invites academic dishonesty as test results are sometimes visible to others on various monitors and not permitted web-resources might be used. Aim of the research was to improve effectiveness of university education by enhancing the examination processes in digital teaching approaches.

The authors have analyzed three business courses on bachelor and master levels in which e-tests are applied. The students were asked how comfortable they feel with the test situation and how the e-test situation creates strain and potentially limits their performance. Also, students were asked to compare e-tests against traditional ways of examination. In addition to this, students were surveyed with regards to the possibilities of cheating during an e-test. As a general result, students still prefer slightly paper-based exams but accept and adapt to e-test scenarios. While undergraduate students often feel less strained than graduate students in e-tests.

Executives, especially in the technical work environment, are influenced by different psychological strains at the workplace.

The negative effects on health have been studied in recent years. Predominantly, the effects on physical well-being have been investigated and there are few studies on the effects of chronic psychological strains on information processing and decision-making behaviour.

This paper presents the results of a study that examined the decision-making behaviour of 53 engineering managers. The participants can be divided into three groups according to their chronic psychological occupational strain load (high, medium, low). The decision-making behaviour of the participants was investigated using a quasi-experimental research design. It has been established that the decision-making behaviour at low or high loads is becoming increasingly extreme and unpredictable.