Cost-effectiveness comparison of manual and on-line retrospective bibliographic searching.

A study to compare the cost effectiveness of retrospective manual and on-line bibliographic searching is described. Forty search queries were processed against seven abstracting-indexing publications and the corresponding SDC/ORBIT data bases. Equivalent periods of coverage and searcher skill levels were used for both search models. Separate task times were measured for question analysis, searching, photocopying, shelving, and output distribution. Component costs were calculated for labor, information, reproduction, equipment, physical space, and telecommunications. Results indicate that on-line searching is generally faster, less costly, and more effective than manual searching. However, for certain query/information-source combinations, manual searching may offer some advantages in precision and turn-around time. The results of a number of related studies are reviewed.     

A design for an online bibliographic database: The DOBIS-LIBIS database

The database to be used with an online bibliographic information system must meet a number of requirements which are often not satisfied by conventional database management systems. Most important of these is the requirement for full authority file control over the indexes to the database. This paper reviews the special requirements of a bibliographic database and shows how they are met in the database system of DOBIS-LIBIS (Dortmund Library System-Leuven Library System).     

Human information seeking: Online searching of bibliographic citation networks

The strategies, heuristics, and tradeoff?s involved in online searching of bibliographic citation networks are discussed. Results from the field of citation analysis are used to describe the mathematical structure of citation networks. An experimental environment called DBASE (Data Base Access and Search Environment) is discussed and its use in two studies of human information seeking behavior considered. Variables examined in these studies included the nature of the search question and the interconnectivity of the data base.     

Computer-aided searching of bibliographic data bases: Online estimation of the value of information

The study presents and synthesizes the results of a series of five experiments on human information-seeking behavior in three different information-seeking environments. The first three experiments utilized a highly-controlled, simulated information-seeking task developed to study human search strategies in citation networks. Emphasis in the fourth and fifth experiments was placed on assessing the value of information for humans in realistic search environments. Subjects search on a topic of their own choice in a data base of fiction in Experiment Four and a data base of technical literature in Experiment Five. After summarizing the experimental results, a conceptual model of how humans value information is presented. The model is then used as a basis for a broad interpretation of the empirical results. Implications of both the empirical and modeling results are considered for the areas of information retrieval logic, system flexibility, retrieval methods, types of aiding, online estimation of information value, and computerizing versus computer-aiding.     

Methods of teaching on-line bibliographic searching: Experience at the College of Librarianship Wales

We have been teaching students about on-line bibliographic searching since 1972. With the help of British Library Research and Development Department funding we have recently extended our teaching in this area and now use services such as Lockheed, System Development Corporation and the British Library's BLAISE. This paper discusses aspects of the design of courses on on-line bibliographic searching, describes various methods we have used to demonstrate searches to students in order to prepare them for undertaking a live search themselves, and compares the relative costs, in terms of system costs and staff time, of these methods. The methods of demonstration involve the playing back of recorded searches on videotape, audio cassettes and digital cassettes as well as live demonstration and may be of interest to other teachers of library and information science students or to those involved in the training of people to carry out on-line bibliographic searching.     

Visualizing millisecond chaotic mixing dynamics in microdroplets: A direct comparison of experiment and simulation

In order to fully explore and utilize the advantages of droplet-based microfluidics, fast, sensitive, and quantitative measurements are indispensable for the diagnosis of biochemical reactions in microdroplets. Here, we report an optical detection technique using two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, with an aligning-summing and non-fitting division method, to depict two-dimensional (2D) maps of mixing dynamics by chaotic advection in microdroplets with high temporal and spatial resolution. The mixing patterns of two dye solutions inside droplets were quantitatively and accurately measured. The mixing efficiency in a serpentine droplet mixer was also quantified and compared with the simulation data. The mapped chaotic mixing dynamics agree well with the numerical simulation and theoretical prediction. This quantitative characterization is potentially applicable to the real-time kinetic study of biological and chemical reactions in droplet-based microfluidic systems.     

Computer terminal memory performance in a resource sharing distributed supercomputing environment

Computer terminal memory performance in a resource sharing distributed supercomputing environment is analysed with Erlang arrivals, synchronous transmission and single server random interruptions through a Bernoulli sequence of independent random variables. A new method to derive a closed expression for data arrivals with Erlangly distributed interarrival times is presented. A simple and easy approach to derive the steady state probability expressions of the terminal memory content process is presented. The memory performance is studied in terms of overflow probability and average queueing delay. The results portrayed on graphs will provide an insight about system response time and performance to the system designers.     

A parser for authority control of author names in bibliographic records

Bibliographic collections in traditional libraries often compile records from distributed sources where variable criteria have been applied to the normalization of the data. Furthermore, the source records often follow classical standards, such as MARC21, where a strict normalization of author names is not enforced. The identification of equivalent records in large catalogues is therefore required, for example, when migrating the data to new repositories which apply modern specifications for cataloguing, such as the FRBR and RDA standards. An open-source tool has been implemented to assist authority control in bibliographic catalogues when external features (such as the citations found in scientific articles) are not available for the disambiguation of creator names. This tool is based on similarity measures between the variants of author names combined with a parser which interprets the dates and periods associated with the creator. An efficient data structure (the unigram frequency vector trie) has been used to accelerate the identification of variants. The algorithms employed and the attribute grammar are described in detail and their implementation is distributed as an open-source resource to allow for an easier uptake.     

A Zipfian model of an automatic bibliographic system: an application to MEDLINE.

A Zipfian model of an automatic bibliographic system is developed using parameters describing the contents of it database and its inverted file. The underlying structure of the Zipf distribution is derived, with particular emphasis on its application to work frequencies, especially with regard to the inverted flies of an automatic bibliographic system. Andrew Booth developed a form of Zipf's law which estimates the number of words of a particular frequency for a given author and text. His formulation has been adopted as the basis of a model of term dispersion in an inverted file system. The model is also distinctive in its consideration of the proliferation of spelling errors in free text, and the inclusion of all searchable elements from the system's inverted file. This model is applied to the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE. The model carries implications for the determination of database storage requirements, search response time, and search exhaustiveness.     

Manufacturing strategy and new venture performance: A comparison of independent and corporate ventures in the biotechnology industry

Little empirical research has compared the manufacturing strategies of corporate and independent new ventures. This study explores these differences with data from the young, science-based biotechnology industry, and examines the performance effects of manufacturing strategy variables including scope, competitive thrust, and capabilities. The results show that the corporate and independent biotechnology new ventures pursue significantly different manufacturing strategies, and that different dimensions of manufacturing strategies affect the performance of corporate vs. independent ventures quite differently.     

网络环境下企业并购的动因与绩效分析

企业并购是市场竞争机制的内在要求,是一种市场行为,在西方市场经济国家已经演进了一百多年。20世纪90年代后期至新世纪初,发生在网络环境下的新一轮并购浪潮已经对世界经济产生了深刻的影响。本文全面分析了本次全球企业并购浪潮的主要动因,并深入探讨了网络环境下企业并购绩效缺乏的内在原因。     

A case analysis of knowledge sharing implementation and job searching in Malaysia

The aim of this research is to consider an analysis through case studies on how knowledge sharing may be successfully implemented. The study will clarify a conceptualisation that provides a new understanding of the relationship between unemployed graduates and the human capital concept. The cases adopted web documentation for the research technique, and an interpretive approach was used as the research paradigm. Two online recruitment agency sites were analysed through qualitative analysis. The connections show how knowledge sharing can be used as a medium to help unemployed graduates to get jobs through online recruitment agencies. High quality candidates must have good soft skills, problem-solving skills and employable value added skills to get the best jobs. The findings will be expressed as qualitative results from the two online recruitment agencies researched as the case studies for the paper. From these case studies, the findings will contribute to the ongoing study on how to implement knowledge sharing among undergraduates after they finished their studies.     

互联网环境下创新信息渠道影响力对比研究

互联网技术的普及和应用导致网络口碑的产生,网络口碑成为继Bass模型中大众传媒和传统口碑之后的一种新兴的创新信息传播渠道,然而目前鲜有文献深入研究网络口碑对创新扩散的影响。本文在Bass模型中两大创新信息渠道基础上,加上网络口碑渠道,对原模型进行改进,改进后的模型可以计算出3种信息渠道的影响力大小。以中国网上购物扩散为例进行实证研究,对网上购物扩散中3种信息渠道所起作用大小进行排序,并分析这种排序产生的原因,最后对创新推广企业提出一些参考建议。     

Foreign direct investment in industrial research and development: A study of German MNCs

This paper reports on the international research and development (R&D) investments of German multinational corporations (MNCs). Based on a detailed empirical survey of laboratory sites established by 49 German MNCs, we examine (i) the level and pace of R&D internationalization, (ii) the motivations and mandates of overseas R&D laboratories, as well as (iii) the strength of the laboratories’ internal and external ties. Participating firms account for about 46% of all German enterprises with international R&D activities and approximately 66% of the nation's privately funded R&D expenditures in 1999. The findings indicate that the timing and organization of German owned overseas R&D investments more closely resemble Japanese or French than US or Swedish firms. Furthermore, in line with prior studies, German MNCs increasingly invest in international R&D for resource as opposed to market-seeking motives. The paper also finds significant differences with regard to the laboratory's mission and its geographical location on one hand, and its internal and external embeddedness, on the other.     

Information retrieval in the workplace: A comparison of professional search practices

Legal researchers, recruitment professionals, healthcare information professionals, and patent analysts all undertake work tasks where search forms a core part of their duties. In these instances, the search task is often complex and time-consuming and requires specialist expertise to identify relevant documents and insights within large domain-specific repositories and collections. Several studies have been made investigating the search practices of professionals such as these, but few have attempted to directly compare their professional practices and so it remains unclear to what extent insights and approaches from one domain can be applied to another. In this paper we describe the results of a survey of a purposive sample of 108 legal researchers, 64 recruitment professionals and 107 healthcare information professionals. Their responses are compared with results from a previous survey of 81 patent analysts. The survey investigated their search practices and preferences, the types of functionality they value, and their requirements for future information retrieval systems. The results reveal that these professions share many fundamental needs and face similar challenges. In particular a continuing preference to formulate queries as Boolean expressions, the need to manage, organise and re-use search strategies and results and an ambivalence toward the use of relevance ranking. The results stress the importance of recall and coverage for the healthcare and patent professionals, while precision and recency were more important to the legal and recruitment professionals. The results also highlight the need to ensure that search systems give confidence to the professional searcher and so trust, explainability and accountability remains a significant challenge when developing such systems. The findings suggest that translational research between the different areas could benefit professionals across domains.     

Institutional entrepreneurship in constructing alternative paths: A comparison of biotech hybrids

This paper investigates how firms adapt their innovation strategies to cope with constraints in national institutional environments. It is a comparative case study of Dutch and British dedicated biotechnology firms focusing on a particular type of strategy, the hybrid model. Patterns of skill accumulation and learning present in the Dutch hybrids are indications of how they use institutional advantages to focus on low-risk innovation and build deeper competences while also pursuing high-risk innovation strategies. The Dutch hybrid model offers insight into how firms comply with the dominant logic of the biotechnology field even when their institutional frameworks encourage the pursuit of low-risk innovation strategies.     

Understanding the effects of a social media service failure apology: A comparative study of customers vs. potential customers

Service failure apologies on social media are a new crisis communication outlet trend used by companies to apologise to affected customers quickly and offer solutions, ultimately to restore customers' trust and brand loyalty. This paper contributes to the nascent literature on companies' social media service failure apologies and fills a gap in the social commerce literature by recognising that due to the open and public nature of social media, these apologies may reach not just affected customers, but also unintended audiences such as potential customers among the general public, which could potentially damage a company's reputation and market share. An online survey administered to 241 customers and 271 non-customers of a famous mobile phone brand, which used YouTube to apologise to its customers for a service failure incident, is used to explore potential behavioural outcomes, after exposure to the apology. Findings confirm that both customers and non-customers of the service provider may become exposed to a social media service failure apology. The hypothesised model predicts behavioural intentions to remain a customer after exposure to the social media service apology better than behavioural intentions to become a customer, even though relationships hold for both groups. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

社会生态环境视域下的政府绩效管理制约因素分析

结合我国目前政府绩效管理存在的不足,从政治,经济和文化3个方面进行了深入分析,探究社会生态视域下影响政府绩效管理的相关制约因素,以期为政府绩效管理研究提供一种新的视角,对实现全面、系统、有效的政府绩效管理提供一定的理论支持。     

Identification of important authors in science: A comparison of two methods of identification

This study examines the problem of identification of important authors in science by examining authors in the area of quantum mechanics. An examination was conducted using two methods of identification. The first method was a bibliometric approach and the second a historical approach. A gamma test of association was employed resulting in a finding of significant association between the ranks of authors. The major conclusion was that, when restricted to the same authors, the two methods of identifying important authors produce a statistically significant number of equivalent names. Discussion of the results and areas for further investigation are included.