A Wikipedia powered state-based approach to automatic search query enhancement

This paper describes the development and testing of a novel Automatic Search Query Enhancement (ASQE) algorithm, the Wikipedia N Sub-state Algorithm (WNSSA), which utilises Wikipedia as the sole data source for prior knowledge. This algorithm is built upon the concept of iterative states and sub-states, harnessing the power of Wikipedia’s data set and link information to identify and utilise reoccurring terms to aid term selection and weighting during enhancement. This algorithm is designed to prevent query drift by making callbacks to the user’s original search intent by persisting the original query between internal states with additional selected enhancement terms. The developed algorithm has shown to improve both short and long queries by providing a better understanding of the query and available data. The proposed algorithm was compared against five existing ASQE algorithms that utilise Wikipedia as the sole data source, showing an average Mean Average Precision (MAP) improvement of 0.273 over the tested existing ASQE algorithms.     

Identifying the Best Buys in U.S. Higher Education

Which U.S. institutions of higher education offer the best value to consumers? To answer this question, we evaluate U.S. institutions relative to a data envelopment analysis (DEA) multi-factor frontier based on 2000?C2001 data for 1,179 4-year institutions. The resulting DEA ??best buy?? scores allow the ranking of institutions by a weighted sum of institutional characteristics per dollar of average net price. The net price is calculated as tuition, fees, room, and board less per student financial aid. Institutional characteristics include SAT score, athletic expenditures, instructional expenditures, value of buildings, dorm capacity, and student body characteristics. The DEA scores indicate the distance of each institution from the ??best buy?? frontier for the chosen characteristics, providing an objective means of ranking institutions as the best values in higher education.     

Group Projects: Student Perceptions of the Relationship Between Social Tasks and a Sense of Community in Online Group Work

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between specific social tasks and student perceptions of a sense of community during online group work. A survey instrument was developed, piloted, and deployed to 125 students in six different online classes. Results revealed few significant relationships between each of the five social tasks examined and student perceptions of a sense of community during online group work; however, students reported that some social tasks were important. Students seemed to focus more on completing a task for a grade than seeing group projects as part of developing community to enhance learning. This might reflect a lack of understanding by the students of the importance of social tasks to successful group project completion.     

Student-Generated Content: Enhancing learning through sharing multiple-choice questions

The relationship between students' use of PeerWise, an online tool that facilitates peer learning through student-generated content in the form of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and achievement, as measured by their performance in the end-of-module examinations, was investigated in 5 large early-years science modules (in physics, chemistry and biology) across 3 research-intensive UK universities. A complex pattern was observed in terms of which type of activity (writing, answering or commenting on questions) was most beneficial for students; however, there was some evidence that students of lower intermediate ability may have gained particular benefit. In all modules, a modest but statistically significant positive correlation was found between students' PeerWise activity and their examination performance, after taking prior ability into account. This suggests that engaging with the production and discussion of student-generated content in the form of MCQs can support student learning in a way that is not critically dependent on course, institution, instructor or student.     

Gender and Realized Educational Expectations: The Roles of Social Origins and Significant Others

Gender gaps in educational expectations and postsecondary enrollment are well studied, but few scholars have investigated the extent to which students realize or fail to realize their expectations. Even fewer have examined how the likelihood of realizing one’s expectations may differ for men and women. Using 35 years of data, this study examines the role race, social class, and significant others’ influences have played in realizing educational expectations and how these relationships have differed for men and women. It also investigates how group gender differences in these characteristics have contributed to the gap between the proportion of men and proportion of women who have realized their educational expectations via college enrollment. Results show trends in realized expectations by gender over time. Group gender differences explain little of past gaps but returns on students’ characteristics differ by gender, which has been a key explanatory factor for differences between men and women in realizing their expectations. Implications of these findings relative to policy and program initiatives are discussed.     

Bridging the Digital and the Physical User Experience: Analysis of Academic Library Floor Plans

Abstract

In library user experience (UX) literature, physical and digital spaces are often studied separately. In academic libraries, different stakeholders often control and operate the logistics of each set of spaces. Additionally, library UX studies seldom consider the physical experiences of users beyond the borders of library websites or buildings. Our survey of 37?U.S. academic library websites found that 97% had some kind of digital representations of physical spaces – predominantly floor plans. A content analysis of those floor plans found that many were poorly designed, and identified two specific themes: non-accessible content and a lack of comprehensive information to facilitate the user journey. This paper offers several recommendations for building more accessible digital representations of physical spaces for the library website. These trends and recommendations are intended to be instructive for managers of library websites and elucidate larger themes about academic libraries.