Evaluating the Intersection Between WorldCat Local and Student Research

The College of St. Benedict and St. John's University Library have used WorldCat Local as a discovery tool since 2008. After four years of use and numerous anecdotes about the difficulties encountered with this product, a committee was formed to test the tool's usability and effectiveness. Seven female and six male students were asked to find appropriate materials within WorldCat Local for a mock research assignment. The students’ research and thought processes were recorded and studied. The recordings were analyzed by the committee, and the search strategies as well as the materials selected by the students were evaluated and scored. Although the sample size limits generalizability, the videos provided an in-depth look into the students’ research processes and their evaluation of what they found. Students generally fared well when asked to identify suitable books for their research topic, but they encountered many difficulties interpreting article records and identifying appropriate articles. Some WorldCat Local interface features appeared to be either the source of student problems or were not used effectively. Anyone wanting to replicate this study in his or her own evaluation of a discovery tool will want to be aware of the issues encountered in this evaluation of WorldCat Local.     

Choosing Discovery: A Literature Review on the Selection and Evaluation of Discovery Layers

Within the next few years, traditional online public access catalogs will be replaced by more robust and interconnected discovery layers that can serve as primary public interfaces to simultaneously search many separate collections of resources. Librarians have envisioned this type of discovery tool since the 1980s, and research shows that discovery layer functionality and features have already resolved, or will soon remedy, many of the known issues with the traditional online public access catalog. The authors of this article review the literature on discovery, focusing on the evolution from the traditional online public access catalog to newer discovery interfaces, and summarize what has been published regarding the selection and evaluation of these new tools. Based on this review, emerging trends in the acquisition of discovery layers are described, including: the amount of time libraries devote to selection and evaluation, the staff involved and their areas of expertise, which discovery tools were selected to review, the evaluation methods used, and the features and functionality evaluated. The authors conclude with a discussion of the opportunities and concerns for libraries and their patrons related to discovery efforts, and provide direction for future research. While discovery layers are still developing, they show great promise in increasing the use and usability of library resources.     

Improving the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation for Nonnormal Conditions in Structural Equation Modeling

In this study, the authors investigated incorporating adjusted model fit information into the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) fit index. Through Monte Carlo simulation, the usefulness of this adjusted index was evaluated for assessing model adequacy in structural equation modeling when the multivariate normality assumption underlying maximum likelihood estimation is violated. Adjustment to the RMSEA was considered in 2 forms: a rescaling adjustment via the Satorra-Bentler rescaled goodness-of-fit statistic and a bootstrap adjustment via the Bollen and Stine adjusted model p value. Both properly specified and misspecifed models were examined. The adjusted RMSEA was evaluated in terms of the average index value across study conditions and with respect to model rejection rates under tests of exact fit, close fit, and not-close fit.     

Forgetting ACT UP

The struggle over credit for the discovery of penicillin is a powerful case study of the ability of scientific narrative to establish reputation. This paper examines the ways Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey told the story of the discovery and development of penicillin, each providing provenance for the drug and enhanced claims for personal recognition. Fleming's version incorporated familiar narratives of the intervention of chance and divine favor, heroic scientists, and the need to extract good from evil. This account, echoing themes found in British home front stories of the “Blitz,” the Battle of Britain, and the miracle of Dunkirk, appealed to a public imagination already stimulated by a wartime press. By contrast, Florey used a conventional chronology typical of scientific literature to tell his version of the discovery of penicillin, placing his work at the end of a sequence of investigations on antibiotic substances that started in the 19th century. This view of scientific development as building on the work of predecessors was an account of the penicillin story satisfying to an audience of scientific peers. That Fleming is credited in the public mind as the discoverer of penicillin is partially a result of his construction of a narrative of discovery that invited popular participation and appealed to a beleaguered nation at war.     

普适计算中资源发现与交互技术的研究

资源发现与交互技术是普适计算的基础。通过在系统级和应用级分析资源发现与交互技术需要解决的问题,在此基础上对现有的协议进行横向比较分析,包括资源描述、发布、查找、状态质询、选择、交互,以及异构性、安全性、自动配置、QoS等方面。基于比较分析结果提出了目前还没有解决的具体问题。     

从诺贝尔奖现象看科学创造的特征

 通过对1901年至2005年诺贝尔自然科学获奖成果的统计和分析,研究诺贝尔获奖者取得重大科学发现的年龄分布、获奖时间分布、研究周期、获奖周期、师生合作以及机构优势积累等特征,揭示出诺贝尔获奖者获得重大科学发现的中青年现象、长周期现象和“发现之发现”等现象,从中可以揭示出科学创造的某些规律性特征,从而可以为科技管理者制定合理的人才培养政策提供参考。     

基于信息资源视角的创业机会识别过程研究

创业是一个过程,这一过程的起点就是创业机会的发现。本文首先提出对创业机会识别产生影响的有三方面因素：必要的信息资源、创业者的信息分析处理能力、创业者的性格特征和风险倾向性,并以认知科学的理论为基础分析了创业者机会识别过程,建立了基于信息资源视角的创业机会识别过程模型。     

社会网络视角的企业市场机遇发现研究

企业如何利用社会网络理论去发现市场机遇一直是国内外学术界关市场机遇发现的全过程提出社会网络视角的机遇发现分析框架,并从网络的关系、结构和治理机制三个方面来对企业市场机遇发现进行了详细讨论,提出企业在市场机遇发现活动中应当采取的社会网络策略.     

非相关文献知识发现方法在航天科技情报研究中的应用分析

概述了非相关文献知识发现方法的原理以及国内外应用现状,总结了该方法的发现流程以及开发人机交互系统所需要的关键技术,对比分析了非相关文献知识发现方法应用于生物医学领域及航天科技情报研究领域的异同点,人工模拟了用该方法发现新型飞行器隐身技术的知识发现过程,验证了非相关文献知识发现方法用于航天科技情报研究领域的可行性,揭示了规模应用的努力方向.     

基于自然邻点插值的数据处理方法

利用自然邻点方法对离散的中国大陆地区大地热流观测数据和相对均匀的台湾地区重力观测数据进行了插值计算,并与地学中几种常用插值方法进行了比较.结果表明:自然邻点插值方法更适于处理分布不规则的观测数据.