Statistical query expansion for sentence retrieval and its effects on weak and strong queries

The retrieval of sentences that are relevant to a given information need is a challenging passage retrieval task. In this context, the well-known vocabulary mismatch problem arises severely because of the fine granularity of the task. Short queries, which are usually the rule rather than the exception, aggravate the problem. Consequently, effective sentence retrieval methods tend to apply some form of query expansion, usually based on pseudo-relevance feedback. Nevertheless, there are no extensive studies comparing different statistical expansion strategies for sentence retrieval. In this work we study thoroughly the effect of distinct statistical expansion methods on sentence retrieval. We start from a set of retrieved documents in which relevant sentences have to be found. In our experiments different term selection strategies are evaluated and we provide empirical evidence to show that expansion before sentence retrieval yields competitive performance. This is particularly novel because expansion for sentence retrieval is often done after sentence retrieval (i.e. expansion terms are mined from a ranked set of sentences) and there are no comparative results available between both types of expansion. Furthermore, this comparison is particularly valuable because there are important implications in time efficiency. We also carefully analyze expansion on weak and strong queries and demonstrate clearly that expanding queries before sentence retrieval is not only more convenient for efficiency purposes, but also more effective when handling poor queries.     

The American Library Consultant Overseas

Information is a resource for development, which every country, developed or developing, must use to produce a national outlook. Many people view it as a raw material and commodity capable of being exploited for personal gains and for the good of a nation. However, the idea of an information society is not a global phenomenon. While there is a glut of information in developed countries, there is a dearth in developing ones. Against this background of information lag, this article examines the information divide in contemporary societies.     

Testing the mediating role of cognitive responses in the elaboration likelihood model

Cognitive response theories such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) have been criticized for lacking appropriate and rigorous empirical testing. As a result, the ELM in particular has little support for the proposed causal mechanism, cognitive responses, as a mediating variable between messages and attitude change. Using argument quality and source credibility manipulations, this investigation examines several causal models to assess the role of cognitive responses in the ELM. In general, the data supported the ELM's prediction that high quality arguments produce more favorable thoughts and subsequently more attitude change for high involvement receivers. Although a structural equation model supports the mediating role of cognitive responses in the ELM, the data are more consistent with a model derived from Information Processing Theory.     

The Media in General

Millerson, Gerald. Effective TV Production (1976, 192 pp., $8.95, paper)

Robinson, J.F., and P.H. Beards. Using Videotape (1976, 163 pp., $7.95)

A. Arthur Englander and Paul Petzold's Filming for Television (New York: Hastings House, 1976—$19.50)

Dwight V. Swain's Film Scriptwriting: A Practical Manual (New York: Hastings House, 1976—$14.50/7.50)

Walter Herdeg's Film and TV Graphics 2: An International Survey of the Art of Film Animation (Zurich: The Graphis Press [New York: Hastings House], 1976—$28.00)     

Mass Media Production Guides

William Hawes' The Performer in Mass Media in Media Professions and in the Community (New York: Hastings House, 1978—$15.75/8.95)

Robert L. Hilliard, ed. Television Broadcasting: An Introduction (New York: Hastings House, 1978— $15.75/7.95)

Charles Bensinger's The Video Guide (Santa Barbara, Calif.: Video-Info Publications (P.O. Box 1507), 1977— $11.95, paper)

Mike Wolverton's And Now the News (Houston, Tex.: Gulf Publishing Co., 1977— $10.95)

The WAFL Book: A Guide to Film and Video in the Washington, D.C. Area (Washington Area Filmmakers League, P.O. Box 6475, Washington, D.C. 20009 —$5.45, including postage, paper)

David E. Fear's Technical Writing (New York: Random House, 1978—price not given, paper)     

Peer review: still king in the digital age

The article presents one of the main findings of an international study of 4,000 academic researchers that examined how trustworthiness is determined in the digital environment when it comes to scholarly reading, citing, and publishing. The study shows that peer review is still the most trustworthy characteristic of all. There is, though, a common perception that open access journals are not peer reviewed or do not have proper peer‐review systems. Researchers appear to have moved inexorably from a print‐based system to a digital system, but it has not significantly changed the way they decide what to trust. They do not trust social media. Only a minority – although significantly mostly young and early career researchers – thought that social media are anything other than more appropriate to personal interactions and peripheral to their professional/academic lives. There are other significant differences, according to the age of the researcher. Thus, in regard to choosing an outlet for publication of their work, young researchers are much less concerned with the fact that it is peer reviewed.     

Early career researchers: Scholarly behaviour and the prospect of change

Early career researchers (ECRs) are of great interest because they are the new (and biggest) wave of researchers. They merit long and detailed investigation, and towards this end, this overarching paper provides a summary of the first‐year findings of a 3‐year, longitudinal study of 116 science and social science ECRs who have published nearly 1,200 papers and come from 7 countries and 81 universities. ECRs were interviewed in their own languages face‐to‐face, by Skype, or telephone. The study focused on the attitudes and behaviours of ECRs with respect to scholarly communications and the extent to which they are adopting new and disruptive technologies, such as social media, online communities, and Open Science. The main findings include: publishing in high‐impact factor journals is the only reputational game in town; online scholarly communities, and ResearchGate in particular, are gaining ground; social media are beginning to have an impact, especially in the dissemination arena; outreach activities have become more important; libraries are becoming increasingly invisible to ECRs; Open Science is not gaining traction; and more transformational ideas are being expressed, especially in the US and UK.     

Using Consumer Data to Illustrate How the Library Channel Drives Digital Sales

The library channel is often underappreciated as a key part of a publisher’s business strategy. In an age where publishers are constantly seeking new revenue and marketing opportunities, presence in the library—digitally—can yield significant growth. This paper examines the library channel, its business model based on library lending, the performance of eBooks and audiobooks across all subjects, and consumer reading behavior. Digital Book Clubs, a relatively new phenomenon, are also defined and illustrated with examples demonstrating the library’s valuable role in increasing discoverability and ultimately sales.