A user-centric approach to identifying best deployment strategies for language tools: the impact of content and access language on Web user behaviour and attitudes

The number of Web users whose first language is not English continues to grow, as does the amount of content provided in languages other than English. This poses new challenges for actors on the Web, such as in which language(s) content should be offered, how search tools should deal with mono- and multilingual content, and how users can make the best use of navigation and search options, suited to their individual linguistic skills. How should these challenges be dealt with? Technological approaches to non-English (or in general, cross-language) Web search have made large progress; however, translation remains a hard problem. This precludes a low-cost but high-quality blanket all-language coverage of the whole Web. In this paper, we propose a user-centric approach to answering questions of where to best concentrate efforts and investments. Drawing on linguistic research, we describe data on the availability of content and access to it in first and second languages across the Web. We then present three studies that investigated the impact of the availability (or not) of first-language content and access forms on user behaviour and attitudes. The results indicate that non-English languages are under-represented on the Web and that this is partly due to content-creation, link-setting and link-following behaviour. They also show that user satisfaction is influenced both by the cognitive effort of searching and the availability of alternative information in that language. These findings suggest that more cross-language tools are desirable. However, they also indicate that context (such as user groups’ domain expertise or site type) should be considered when tradeoffs between information quality and multilinguality need to be taken into account.     

美国德州大学文献保护与修复课程体系分析——兼论Preservation与Conservation的中文译法

通过调查分析美国档案与文献保护专业排名首位的德州大学奥斯汀分校信息学院的文献保护与修复课程,介绍其所开设的17门课程的教学内容,总结整体课程体系的4个特点：内容全面、结构合理,层次分明、承接有序,理论与实践并重,保护与修复分明。兼而论及Preservation与Conservation两个专业术语的中文译法。     

提升新时代弘扬科学家精神专题展览质效的探索——以中国科技馆“我愿以身许国——喜迎二十大·王淦昌生平事迹展”为例

科学家精神体现在一代代科学家科学报国、科学强国的生动事迹中。如何把科学家的事迹梳理、挖掘出来,通过展览展品讲好科学家故事、大力弘扬科学家精神,使这一宝贵精神财富在薪火相传中彰显时代价值,是做好弘扬科学家精神专题展览的重要议题。本文以中国科技馆“我愿以身许国——喜迎二十大·王淦昌生平事迹展”的实践为例,探讨如何在策展阶段提升展览“硬实力”,在开展阶段提升展览“软实力”,从而达到展览的教育目标,为新时代提升弘扬科学家精神专题展览质效提供借鉴和启示。