The influence of Taylor’s paper, Question-Negotiation and Information-Seeking in Libraries

This study uses bibliometric analysis and citation context analysis to identify the influence of the main concepts embedded in Taylor’s 1968 classic article entitled Question-Negotiation and Information-Seeking in Libraries. This study analyses articles published between 1969 and 2010 which cite Taylor’s article. The results show that Taylor’s article on a question-negotiation model is increasingly visible and its influence is not limited to the discipline of library and information science. Of the 14 cited concepts identified, the concept of “four levels of information needs” was cited most (31.7%), followed by “question negotiation” (20.5%) and “other concepts relating to information needs” (17.9%). The results indicate an increasing trend in the citations of “four levels of information needs” and this concept also received the most attention from information retrieval research. A decreasing trend was evident for the concept of “question negotiation” and this concept was frequently cited by reference service researchers. In addition, among the 10 citation functions, “related literature” was dominant (30.8%). Both “evidence” and “views” were in second place with the same percentage (18.7%), followed by “terms” (9.2%) and “background information” (7.2%). A decreasing trend was identified in the top three citation functions, whereas an increasing trend was observed in the “term” and “background information” functions.     

Questioner or question: Predicting the response rate in social question and answering on Sina Weibo

With the noted popularity of social networking sites, people increasingly rely on these social networks to address their information needs. Although social question and answering is potentially an important venue seeking information online, it, unfortunately, suffers from a problem of low response rate, with the majority of questions receiving no response. To understand why the response rate of social question and answering is low and hopefully to increase it in the future, this research analyzes extrinsic factors that may influence the response probability of questions posted on Sina Weibo. We propose 17 influential factors from 2 different perspectives: the content of the question, and the characteristics of the questioner. We also train a prediction model to forecast a question's likelihood of being responded based on the proposed features We test our predictive model on more than 60,000 real-world questions posted on Weibo, which generate more than 600,000 responses. Findings show that a Weibo's question answerability is primarily contingent on the questioner versus the question. Our findings indicate that using appreciation emojis can increase a question's response probability, whereas the use of hashtags negatively influences the chances of receiving answers. Our contribution is in providing insights for the design and development of future social question and answering tools, as well as for enhancing social network users’ collaboration in supporting social information seeking activities.     

A program for machine-mediated searching

A technique of online instruction and assistance to bibliographic data base searchers called Individualized Instruction for Data Access (IIDA) is being developed by Drexel University. IIDA assists searchers by providing feedback based on real-time analysis while searches are being performed. Extensive help facilities which draw on this analysis are available to users. Much of the project's experimental work, as described elsewhere [1–3], is concerned with the process of searching and the behavior of searchers. This paper will largely address itself to the project's computer system, which is being developed by subcontract with the Franklin Institute's Science Information Services.     

Representation of legal knowledge for conceptual retrieval

The law is a near perfect application area for knowledge representation. Legal knowledge representation is needed in conceptual legal information retrieval systems and in legal reasoning systems. We review the knowledge representation aspects of four such systems: Waterman and Peterson's Legal Decisionmaking System, Hafner's Legal Information Retrieval System, McCarty's TAXMAN, and the deBessonet representation of the Louisiana Civil Code (CCLIPS).     

基于SVM的在线医疗信息服务质量关键影响因素研究

【目的/意义】通过识别影响在线医疗信息服务质量的敏感因素,为互联网在线医疗信息服务企业实现技术与服务创新提供理论与实践依据,进而提升用户在线医疗信息服务质量。【方法/过程】以问卷调查法与专家访谈法等为基础融合信息增益理论分析各影响因素与在线医疗信息服务质量高低的关联程度,进而以提取的关键影响因素构建在线医疗信息服务质量关键影响因素模型,最后通过SVM构建在线医疗信息服务质量预测模型。【结果/结论】影响在线医疗信息服务质量的20个关键影响因素集中在信息生态的四个重要维度,即信息、信息任、信息技术与信息环境四个维度上,模型88.43%的预测精准度说明SVM对在线医疗信息服务质量具有可靠的预测能力。     

Retrieval performance and information theory

This paper challenges the meaningfulness of precision and recall values as a measure of performance of a retrieval system. Instead, it advocates the use of a normalised form of Shannon's functions (entropy and mutual information). Shannon's four axioms are replaced by an equivalent set of five axioms which are more readily shown to be pertinent to document retrieval.The applicability of these axioms and the conceptual and operational advantages of Shannon's functions are the central points of the work.The applicability of the results to any automatic classification is also outlined.     

Applying the technology acceptance model to a Spanish City Hall

This paper examines the relative importance and significance of the four technology enablers introduced by Davis (1989) in the technology acceptance model (TAM) (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude towards using and behavioural intention) for use on four different levels of citizen engagement in e-government (null, publish, interact and transact). An extended technology acceptance model (TAM) is developed to test citizen engagement towards online e-government services from a sample of 307 citizens who used the benefits advisor tool within a Spanish City Hall. Although the proposed model follows TAM and explains the intention towards the actual use of e-government by postulating four direct determinants, “A, PU, PEOU and BI” have been considered as parallel processes, meaning that each can have separate influence in different levels of citizen engagement. To achieve this goal, a multinomial logistic regression is developed and tested to confirm the explanatory power of the four technology enablers on the four different levels of e-government. Our findings further suggest that in order to implement e-government, some of the enablers matter more than others to move from one level of citizen engagement to another. The main contribution of the paper is to question the use of existing models which seek to represent the relationship between technology enablers and the adoption of e-government services without considering their impacts on citizens’ engagement. The implications of the findings are discussed and useful insights are provided in relation to policy recommendations geared to create appropriate conditions to build citizens’ engagement intent of use of e-government services.     

Perceived value of online customization experience in China: Concept,measurement, and consequences

People often show their personalities and ideas to others with customized products (e.g., rings, shoes, cups). Online customization delivers special experience and various values to customer. Western scholars focus on online customization experience from either process value or results value. However, this division ignored the entire perception from consumer, and hampered the research development of consumer perceived value's concept, measurement, and consequences. Moreover, might there be difference between Chinese and Westerners? If so, what about them? Four studies with Chinese examine the concept, measurement and consequences of perceived value on online customization experience from the perspective of customer experience. The results show that the Perceived Value of Online Customization Experience (PVOCE) in China is a multi-dimensional construct that includes process and results values, and PVOCE scale has good criterion validity. Therefore, the study can provide theoretical and practical implications for Chinese enterprises to understand and manage customers' online customization experience.     

PPP项目再谈判过程的影响因素内在逻辑研究--基于扎根理论

通过访谈获取原始资料,运用扎根理论编码技术对原始资料进行三步编码。研究得到PPP项目再谈判过程的影响因素,并构建了PPP项目再谈判过程影响机理的概念模型。研究发现：谈判人员属性（包括谈判能力、谈判经验和动机倾向三个范畴及回报谨慎这一衍生范畴）、谈判互动（包括信息分享、谈判策略、谈判结果三个范畴及判断准确性这一衍生范畴）及谈判氛围（包括权利差距和关系两个范畴及屈服这一衍生范畴）是三个主范畴。同时也得到信任是一个中介变量、信息有效性是一个判别准则。     

Discrete analogues of Green's identities through the graph—theoretic field model

In this paper, we derive discrete versions of Green's identities (which appear in the study of potential field theory) as direct consequences of applying Tellegen's Theorem to the Graph—Theoretic Field Model (GTFM) of a field. The procedure herein is in marked contrast to the existing procedures where Green's Identities are derived from the Divergence Theorem by using some strictly mathematical operations. In particular, Green's third identity, which is the starting point formulation for the Boundary Integral Method, is singled out for special attention in terms of its discrete counterpart in the Graph—Theoretic Field Model. The first discrete identity is used to establish certain properties of solutions for the GTFM and a limiting process is applied to the three discrete identities to derive the traditional vector-calculus forms of Green's identities.     

Exploring the effect of heuristic factors on the popularity of user-curated ‘Best places to visit’ recommendations in an online travel community

In online travel communities, ‘Top-K best places to visit’ recommendations are gaining more attention from travelers due to their ubiquitous access to the Internet, but little empirical effort has been made to investigate what factors lead to the popularity of user-curated ‘best places to visit (BP2V)’ recommendations. This research therefore aims to identify and validate the heuristic factors affecting the popularity of BP2V recommendations. Based on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) of persuasion, we derive recommender-related (i.e., recommender's identity disclosure, reputation, experience, and location of residency) and recommendation-related (i.e., number of places recommended, helpfulness rating, number of comments added, and length of recommendation) heuristic characteristics of BP2V recommendations and investigate their impact on recommendation popularity. In addition, this study examines the moderating effect of destination category (i.e., attractions, food, shopping, and activities) on the relationship between heuristic characteristics and the popularity of BP2V recommendations. Our empirical results, which were based on 565 ‘best places to visit in the U.S.’ recommendation postings from Qyer.com, a major online travel community in China, suggest that recommender's identity disclosure, reputation, number of places recommended, helpfulness rating, and length of recommendation are positively associated with recommendation popularity. We also found that the relationships between heuristic factors and the popularity of BP2V recommendations are contingent on destination category. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge on online travel communities and HSM and provide valuable implications for general travelers and managers in the tourism and hospitality industry.     

Keyword length and matching options as indicators of search intent in sponsored search

Sponsored search is an online advertising channel that has gained momentum worldwide. The key challenge is deciding on the types of keywords to bid on and matching options to utilise for the keywords. In this paper, we address this problem by providing a broad analysis on how the various traffic search metrics (length, CTR, average cost per click (CPC), average position, and quality score) influence the bidding results as the keyword matching option becomes broader, that is, from exact, to phrase to broad. Drawing on the shopping goals theory, we also establish the profile of the metrics associated with a more focused search intent across the matching options. Using a random sample of keywords selected from 9 640 keywords that online advertisers have bid on, spanning a variety of markets, the results indicate that as the matching option becomes narrower, that is, from broad to exact, the keyword traffic metrics increase in general, except for cost, which does not differ significantly across the matching options. Longer keywords, which are typically associated with a more focussed search intent, generate more clicks and have a higher quality measure on average across all matching options. The longer keywords are cheaper for the exact match option, but more expensive for the other matching options. The results are inconclusive with regard to the position that longer keywords occupy on a results page across the matching options. Thus, the narrower matching options and longer keywords matching those that a customer would typically use to search for a company's goods and services need to be targeted to ensure higher visits to a company's website.     

Ensuring technical competency for management of research-focused organizations

Does a national research-focused organization need a technically competent leader? This study provides preliminary answers to that question using a natural experiment underway at the Department of Energy (DOE): a leader with significant high-level management experience superior to that of his predecessors, but no relevant technical experience was appointed to run the vast scientific research operation. The following hypothesis is proposed: A major risk of allowing technically-unqualified leadership is that an amateur can be more easily manipulated by special interests against the best interests of the nation. The hypothesis is tested by technically analyzing three case studies on proposals from the Secretary of Energy. The results show 1) requests for budget cuts undermining DOE's mission, 2) requests for redundant studies wasting DOE resources, and 3) counter-productive recommendations derived from a misrepresentation of the studies' results, which indicate technical competence is important for DOE leadership. These preliminary results indicate technical competency is important for leaders running organizations that oversee research. Finally, a potential policy safe guard to the risks of extreme technical incompetence is provided, which can be applied to either independent- or politically-appointed bureaucrats.     

Analyzing the discriminative attributes of products using text mining focused on cosmetic reviews

Consumers evaluate products through online reviews, in addition to sharing their product experiences. Online reviews affect product marketing, and companies use online reviews to investigate consumer attitudes and perceptions of their products. However, when analyzing a review, it is often the case that specific contexts are not taken into consideration and meaningful information is not obtained from the analysis results. This study suggests a methodology for analyzing reviews in the context of comparing two competing products. In addition, by analyzing the discriminative attributes of competing products, we were able to derive more specific information than an overall product analysis. Analyzing the discriminative attributes in the context of comparing competing products provides clarity on analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of competitive products and provides realistic information that can help the company's management activities. Considering this purpose, this study collected a review of the BB Cream product line in the cosmetics field. The analysis was sequentially carried out in three stages. First, we extracted words that represent discriminative attributes by analyzing the percentage difference of words. Second, different attribute words were classified according to the meaning used in the review by using latent semantic analysis. Finally, the polarity of discriminative attribute words was analyzed using Labeled-LDA. This analysis method can be used as a market research method as it can extract more information than a traditional survey or interview method, and can save cost and time through the automation of the program.     

University invention and the abolishment of the professor's privilege in Finland

In 2007 Finland changed ownership rights to inventions from its employees – “the professor's privilege” – to universities. We investigate how this change affected academic patenting using new data on inventors and patenting in Finland for the period 1995–2010. Matched sample panel data regressions using difference-in-differences show that patenting by individuals dropped by at least 29 percent after 2007. Unlike other countries studied, in Finland the reform was known before implementation. Adding the period after announcement to the reform period increases the drop in academic patenting to 46 percent. Our and others’ results call into question whether the European reform of the professor's privilege were good innovation policy.     

Asynchronous performance of hysteresis motor

A simplified model of the hysteresis motor is introduced and analyzed; field analysis is undertaken at hand of Maxwell's stress tensor and Poynting's theorem. The suggested approach provides deeper insight into the power interchange process between stator and rotor.     

A theory for decoupling lossless coupled tapered lines with applications to directional couplers

A simple theory is presented for decoupling a pair of lossless coupled nonuniform transmission lines (CNUTL), with a common return and supporting TEM waves, into two lossless nonuniform transmission lines (NUTL). This theory is independent of the port terminations, symmetry conditions, etc. The method directly relates the line parameters of the lossless CNUTL's to those of the decoupled lines and vice versa; further, the matrix parameters of the CNUTL's as a four-port are explicitly expressed in terms of those of the decoupled lines as two-ports. This theory is then utilized to study the applications of CNUTL's as directional couplers.It is shown that for CNUTL's to behave as a codirectional coupler, each of the decoupled lines should be a proportional line, while for contradirectional coupler action, the two decoupled lines have to be duals of each other. The coupling response of the codirectional coupler is found to be periodic, while the phase shift between coupled and transmitted signals varies linearly with frequency. The coupling response of various contradirectional couplers with smooth transition at one of the ends, for which the decoupled lines are “basic NUTL's with hyperbolic solutions”, are studied in detail. It is shown that all these couplers have a high-pass response and that the CNUTL's with “hyperbolic cosine squared lines” as decoupled lines have the best response of all the CNUTL's considered.     

Frequency limitations of active-R filters using operational amplifiers

Active-R filters are designed using internally compensated operational amplifiers (OA) and resistors only. A one-pole or 6 dB roll off model for the PA's is assumed in these designs. This model is adequate for active-RC filters. However, for active-R filters such an assumption leads to serious accuracy as well as stability problems, thereby limiting the highest operating frequency of these filters to well below their potential maximum. It is shown in this article that a two-pole or 12 dB roll off model more accurately reflects the behaviour of the OA's for the above active-R realizations. A quantitative measure of the limitation imposed by this model on such realizations is also presented. Extensive computer simulation and experimental tests have been carried out that verify closely the theoretical predictions.     

Empirical observations on the session timeout threshold

The World Wide Web is a popular “tool” for companies. It can be used as a method of communication between companies and their customers; it also allows organizations to setup virtual storefronts that can be accessed by customers from all over the world. The ability to understand customers’ behavior is extremely important as companies strive to increase the usability and profitability of their web service. The concept of a session is a popular unit of measurement used to analyze recorded information. However, this concept is currently rather abstract and lacks definition. How we measure a session is a fundamental question for web services utilizing this concept. Currently, this question has no real answer. This paper presents a session timeout threshold model based on empirical observations as an initial answer to this question. The model seeks to provide accurate session data with respect to individual web services.