User relevance criteria choices and the information search process

Relevance judgments occur within an information search process, where time, context and situation can impact the judgments. The determination of relevance is dependent on a number of factors and variables which include the criteria used to determine relevance. The relevance judgment process and the criteria used to make those judgments are manifestations of the cognitive changes which occur during the information search process.Understanding why these relevance criteria choices are made, and how they vary over the information search process can provide important information about the dynamic relevance judgment process. This information can be used to guide the development of more adaptive information retrieval systems which respond to the cognitive changes of users during the information search process.The research data analyzed here was collected in two separate studies which examined a subject’s relevance judgment over an information search process. Statistical analysis was used to examine these results and determine if there were relationships between criteria selections, relevance judgments, and the subject’s progression through the information search process. Findings confirm and extend findings of previous studies, providing strong statistical evidence of an association between the information search process and the choices of relevance criteria by users, and identifying specific changes in the user preferences for specific criteria over the course of the information search process.     

Reflection on the teaching-learning process in the initial training of teachers. Characterization of the issues on which pre-service mathematics teachers reflect

Our aim was to highlight the issues of the reflections of pre-service mathematics teachers in their learning portfolio about the teaching-learning process taking place in a university teacher-training classroom. Category systems were designed which, together with the analysis system used, could provide a method helpful to teacher educators, teachers and to future research. The pre-service teachers showed difficulty in considering themselves as ‘authentic’ mathematics teachers. The study revealed that the preparation of a portfolio can help pre-service teachers learn more about themselves and provide educators insight into how to help pre-service mathematics teachers engage in the teaching-learning process.     

Information literacy self-efficacy: The effect of juggling work and study

Information literacy self-efficacy and academic motivation are both argued to play important roles in student academic development. The former is considered to be a predictor of student academic achievement while the latter is considered a key factor in developing information literacy self-efficacy. Today, many students undertake paid employment in conjunction with their academic studies and little is known about the effect this may have on their information literacy self-efficacy and academic motivation. As such, the relationship between information literacy self-efficacy, academic motivation, and employment has been unexplored. Data were collected via a questionnaire, comprised of existing scales, which was administered to undergraduate business students in an Australian higher education (HE) institution. A response rate of 58% resulted in 585 completed questionnaires. Findings suggest that whether or not students were engaged in paid employment did not appear to influence information literacy self-efficacy, although students in paid employment did exhibit significantly lower intrinsic motivation than students not in paid employment. Additionally, for students not in paid employment a significant relationship was found between amount of time spent on study and information literacy self-efficacy. Of some concern, the small amount of time students reported spending in academic pursuits outside of scheduled classes raises issues regarding the placement of information literacy instruction. For information literacy practitioners this study contributes to awareness regarding the conceptualization of information literacy instruction and its placement in the HE environment.     

Conception, development and implementation of an e-Government maturity model in public agencies

Governments worldwide are encouraging public agencies to join e-Government initiatives in order to provide better services to their citizens and businesses; hence, methods of evaluating the readiness of individual public agencies to execute specific e-Government programs and directives are a key ingredient in the successful expansion of e-Government. To satisfy this need, a model called the eGovernment Maturity Model (eGov-MM) was developed, integrating the assessment of technological, organizational, operational, and human capital capabilities, under a multi-dimensional, holistic, and evolutionary approach. The model is strongly supported by international best practices, and provides tuning mechanisms to enable its alignment with nation-wide directives on e-Government. This article describes how the model was conceived, designed, developed, field tested by expert public officials from several government agencies, and finally applied to a selection of 30 public agencies in Chile, generating the first formal measurements, assessments, and rankings of their readiness for e-Government. The implementation of the model also provided several recommendations to policymakers at the national and agency levels.     

How responsive is E-Government? Evidence from Australia and New Zealand

Governments around the world are increasingly moving toward online service delivery in what is commonly called e-government. There are high hopes for e-government, particularly that the associated technologies provide the scope to make government services more responsive. This article reports on a 2006 study of one aspect of e-government responsiveness, namely, the basic capacity to answer a simple question posted by email. To this end, federal and state agencies in Australia, and central and local government agencies in New Zealand were emailed (n = 273). Data related to locating contact email addresses and subsequent responses was collected. The key finding was that the Australian agencies consistently did not perform as well as their New Zealand counterparts, bringing into question one component of their higher ranking in international e-government studies and also their potential to deliver on the Australian government policy that e-government means more responsive government.     

American Indians and the United States patent and trademark office: The Native American Tribal Insignia database

The tribal insignia of American Indians offer a distinctive view into the history of these people. Recently, as the result of federal legislation, some of these materials have been brought together, for tribes that are either federally or State recognized entities, as part of the database collection maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This article focuses on the history and use of such images; the policy response by the USPTO to the charge by the Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act (1998) to examine the USPTO's specific responsibility to protect such official insignia; and the Office's resulting digital product.     

Designing governance for shared services organizations in the public service

As shared services organizations (SSO) become more popular as a service management and delivery option in government, properly defining and setting up the governance structure continues to be a key success factor. This paper explores the options and issues to consider when selecting and implementing shared services governance including topics such as oversight, accountability, culture, management of resources, and of day-to-day operations. Shared services organizations are increasingly common in private sector companies and the particular challenges involved in the governance of an SSO in a public service context are highlighted and discussed.     

Beyond Section 508: The spectrum of legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites in the United States

In the United States, a number of federal laws establish requirements that electronic government (e-government) information and services be accessible to individuals with disabilities. These laws affect e-government Web sites at the federal, state, and local levels. To this point, research about the accessibility of e-government Web sites has tended to focus on compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Though Section 508 has the most specific guidelines regarding Web site accessibility, it is hardly the only law establishing accessibility requirements for e-government Web sites, and Section 508 does not apply to many sites that may be required to be accessible by other laws. Until assessment of the accessibility of e-government Web sites accounts for all of the relevant laws, the understanding of levels of accessibility and compliance will be incomplete. This article examines the entire spectrum of federal laws that create legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites, analyzing the accessibility requirements that the laws establish and the ways in which each of the laws applies to an e-government Web site. This article also suggests research areas that should be included in future assessments to address the entire range of laws related to the accessibility of e-government Web sites. The issues raised in this article have significant relevance to the design and development of e-government, to the assessment of e-government information and services, and to the inclusion in e-government of the 54 million individuals in the United States with disabilities.     

Philosophy and the museum: An introduction to the special issue

This paper introduces the special issue by explaining the context of the conference at which the papers were originally presented, suggesting some ways of thinking about the intersection of philosophy and museums, and briefly introducing each paper in the collection. In the main body of the paper I look at a recent trend in museum interpretation and argue that it can be understood in terms of a definition of the museum as a space of representation and space of difference. I go on to suggest that this definition allows us to think of the museum as liberating us from certain ways of thinking. The paper as a whole suggests that philosophy can help us to think about museums, and that museums can contribute to philosophical thinking.     

The application of RFIDs in libraries: an assessment of technological, management and professional issues

This paper starts by outlining the technologies involved in RFIDs and reviews the issues raised by their general application. It then identifies their potential application areas within the library sector based on a generic process view of library activities. Finally it highlights the issues that are raised by their application in libraries and provides an assessment of which of these issues are likely to raise ethical concerns for library professionals. The purpose is to provide an overview of the technology within the context of the library process and to highlight issues which may raise ethical concerns for the profession. A second paper will focus specifically on these concerns within the context of the professional obligations of the librarian.