Search,Serendipity, and the Researcher Experience

ABSTRACT

Lettie Conrad reported on the findings of original research on academic user experience with serendipitous discovery in scholarly research. This research has been released as the fourth installment of a series about discoverability as part of the SAGE White Papers. This research was designed to examine how students and faculty seek content beyond the search box. The researchers being studied take advantage of unplanned or unexpected content discoveries such as selecting a link in an e-mail alert, following a trail of citations within an important paper, or making use of recommendations. The study found that researchers decide to follow recommendations, either machine generated or from an acquaintance, based on a combination of perception of relevance to the field of study, access to the recommended article, and trust in the provider. SAGE has used these findings to enhance its products to better showcase content to users and then help them to more readily make sense of it.     

Modellbasierte Entwicklung eingebetteter Fahrzeugsoftware bei DaimlerChrysler

Steigende Softwareumf?nge und die damit einhergehende Komplexit?tssteigerung erfordern neue Herangehensweisen an die Entwicklung eingebetteter Fahrzeugsoftware. Als Reaktion auf diese Herausforderungen vollzieht sich seit einigen Jahren ein Paradigmenwechsel von der klassischen Programmentwicklung hin zu modellbasierten Techniken. Der Beitrag gibt einen überblick über den Einsatz modellbasierter Entwicklungstechniken bei DaimlerChrysler und zeigt aktuelle Forschungsschwerpunkte auf. The growing amount of software and attendant rise in complexity demand new approaches to the development of embedded vehicle software. For some years now, a paradigm change from classical program development to model-based techniques has been taking place in reaction to these challenges. This paper provides an overview of the application of model-based development techniques at DaimlerChrysler and presents the main foci of current research.

CR Subject Classification D.2.1,D.2.2,D.2.3,D.2.5,D.2.10,I.6.4,I.6.5     

University science students as curriculum planners,teachers, and role models in elementary school classrooms

Project SEARCH (Science Education and Research for CHildren) is an outreach program designed to teach science and to foster positive attitudes toward science. Through the project, university science students bring activity-based learning, plus materials and content expertise, to local classrooms and after-school programs. Using observations, surveys, and interviews, we examined the experiences of these students as curriculum planners, teachers, and role models for the children. We found that teachers value the enthusiasm and the resources provided by the SEARCH students. Children were engaged in the activities and looked forward to the students' visits. They also see them as positive and diverse models for the role of scientist. But there were often problems in the areas of preparation, scheduling, and communication, and the classroom activities often replicated traditional didactic lessons. The SEARCH experience highlights both the value of providing diverse and challenging experiences for children, and the need for dialogue and reflection on those experiences. Despite several concerns, the SEARCH model is one that deserves expansion and further study as it is extended into new settings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34 : 69–88, 1997.     

Adopting E-Readers with a Purpose: Surveying Users to Develop a Recreational Reading Kindle Lending Program

Studies have shown that students and faculty have reservations about the performance and usability of e-readers in an academic setting. However, incorporating e-readers on college campuses for recreational reading purposes has proven to be quite popular. These trends held true in a study conducted by librarians at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Students, faculty, and staff were surveyed on their use of and familiarity with e-books, e-readers, and tablet devices with e-reader functionality. Information gathered from this survey resulted in the launch of a pilot Kindle lending program focused exclusively on promoting recreational reading.