Journal of Digital Information (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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252 research outputs found
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Critical Feature Method - A Lightweight Web Maintenance Methodology for SMEs
No full textSecurity threats, dynamic business environments and the ambiguous multi-jurisdictional arrangements governing Internet businesses often impose urgent change demands on businesses operating on the Internet - demands which are not well handled by existing Web development approaches. The paper proposes a lightweight Web maintenance methodology for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which is designed to effectively handle urgent change requests such as emergency situations that are common to Web systems. The methodology involved analysing the Web maintenance states and classifying these into three distinct states. The proposed process can be integrated with the normal evolution of Web systems. The methodology is underpinned by: a set of core values that emphasise collaboration between chief developer and the business executives; minimal feedback loops; close involvement of business executives; and rapid design focusing on identified critical features. Two rapid prototyping approaches are proposed as part of the methodology. The Critical Feature Matrix and Normal Feature Matrix are introduced to replace the onerous conventional documentation
Experiences of Educators Using a Portal of Aggregated Metadata
No full textThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Project sought to test the viability of a search portal containing aggregated metadata for cultural heritage resources harvested using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Metadata was collected from 39 providers, including museums, archives, libraries, historical societies, consortiums, and digital libraries. Some resources existed in digital formats, such as .JPG images. Other resources were analog objects and were represented digitally through the metadata. The paper documents a pilot user test with a small group of K-12 teachers-in-training. The users were asked to use the portal to locate primary source materials for use in the classroom. The results highlight the challenges posed by aggregations of heterogeneous metadata for both users and service providers. Areas for further investigation and approaches for more in-depth studies are suggested
End-User Quality of Experience Oriented Adaptive E-learning System
No full textIn the context of new devices and with a variety of network technologies that allow access to the Internet, the providers of e-learning materials have to ensure that the users have a positive experience using their e-learning systems and they are happy to re-use them. Adaptive Hypermedia research aims to provide personalised educational material that ensures a positive learning experience for the end-users. However, user experience is dependent not only on the content served to them, but also on the user perceived performance of the e-learning system. This leads to a new dimension of individual differences between Web users: the end-user Quality of Experience (QoE). We have proposed a solution for Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (AHS) that provides satisfactory end-user QoE through the use of a new QoE layer. This layer attempts to take into account multiple factors affecting QoE in relation to the delivery of a wide range of Web components such as text, images, video, audio.
The effectiveness of our QoE layer has been tested in comparison to a standard educational AHS and the results of these tests are presented in this paper. Different educational-based evaluation techniques such as learner achievement analysis, learning performance assessment, usability survey and correlation analysis between individual student performance and judgment on system usability were applied in order to fully assess the performance of the proposed QoE layer. Results of the tests showed that the use of the QoE layer brought significant improvments in terms of user learning performance, system usability and user satisfaction with the personalised e-learning system while not affecting the user learning achievement
Supporting Software Development in Virtual Enterprises
No full textThis paper presents recent developments in a distributed semantic hypertext framework called DHT that supports software development projects within virtual enterprises. We show how hypertext functionality embodied in DHT solves the practical problems of project coordination. These include collaborative data sharing in a virtual enterprise of distributed teams, integrating existing tools and environments, and enacting software processes to coordinate development activities for teams across wide-area networks.In particular, we describe how software process enactment can be achieved within a virtual enterprise without centralized mechanisms. This is when the process description is represented as a user-navigable hypertext graph the nodes of which associate process steps, staff roles and associated tools with designated software products. Overall, these capabilities provide support for coordinating software development projects across a virtual enterprise of teams connected via the Internet
Hypernews and Coherence
No full textThis essay seeks to illuminate certain fundamental aspects of textual and cognitive coherence in the production and reading of hypertexts in general and hypernews in particular. A division into intranodal, internodal and hyperstructural coherence helps to clarify concepts and also seems to reflect certain distinctive features of hypertext as a concept representing a linguistic level above the text level. Likewise, van Dijk\u27s conceptual distinction between macro- and superstructures proves to be useful for demonstrating how axial and networked hyperstructures respectively may maintain, strengthen or weaken various forms of textual coherence
zetoc: a Dublin Core Based Current Awareness Service
No full textzetoc is a current awareness service for UK Higher and Further Education providing Z39.50 access to the British Library\u27s Electronic Table of Contents database of journal articles and conference papers. The zetoc database, updated daily, may also be searched via a World Wide Web interface. An alerting service provides tables of contents by email for new journal issues when they are loaded. The current version of zetoc is Z39.50 Bath Profile compliant and can provide Dublin Core records encoded in XML in answer to Z39.50 search requests. An enhanced version of zetoc, currently a prototype under development, will hold the data within an XML repository, using Dublin Core as the basis of the metadata schema. This paper describes the encoding of bibliographic records for journal articles and conference papers in Dublin Core, and the interoperability between Dublin Core and other bibliographic standards.
Keywords: Dublin Core, bibliographic citations, metadata standards, current awareness
What Terms Does Your Metadata Use? Application Profiles as Machine-Understandable Narratives
No full textThe SCHEMAS Registry aims at providing a selected and annotated overview of metadata vocabularies and their use in application environments. Based on harvested metadata in RDF (Resource Description Framework), the registry allows users to explore links between "namespace schemas", which declare standard definitions of metadata terms, and "application profiles". RDF statements about the use or adaptation of namespace terms for particular domains, services, or projects. Where instance metadata does not follow standard namespaces or explicit data models, this style allows implementors to assert an explicit mapping to standard terms. Registering profiles can help harmonize metadata usage in particular domains and, in the longer term, could provide a machine-processable basis for automating crosswalks and conversions
Linking in Context
No full textThis paper explores the idea of dynamically adding multi-destination links to Web pages, based on the context of the pages and users, as a way of assisting Web users in their information finding and navigation activities. The work does not make any preconceived assumptions about the information needs of its users. Instead it presents a method for generating links by adapting to the information needs of a community of users and for utilizing these in assisting users within this community based on their individual needs. The implementation of this work is carried out within a multi-agent framework where concepts from open hypermedia are extended and exploited. In this paper, the entities involved in the process of generating and using "context links" as well as the techniques they employ to achieve their tasks, are described. The result of an experiment carried out to investigate the implications of linking in context on information finding, is also provided
Optimal User-Centered Knowledge Organization and Classification Systems: Using Non-reflected Gray Codes
No full textExisting library classification systems, such as the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system and the Library of Congress Classification system, are generally considered effective at bringing similar documents together. For example, the DDC system is widely used to classify books in libraries and increasingly is being used for online applications, such as browsing Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) and Cooperative Online Resource Catalogs (CORCs), and will probably see increasing use in digital libraries. Based on theoretical considerations, a classification system consistent with the Gray code provides an optimal organizing principle for documents; it can be used to classify knowledge, as can the classification systems commonly used in both paper and digital libraries. What is the relationship between a theoretically optimal Gray code-based classification system and the existing classification systems? We suggest that the non-reflected Gray code provides a basis for ordering documents that is more consistent with existing classification systems than is the more frequently discussed reflected Gray code. This provides both a theoretical basis for existing techniques and a standard by which document organizing systems in digital libraries may be compared, evaluated and improved
Linked Active Content for Digital Libraries for Education
No full textThe goal of the CreateStudio development environment is to catalyze the creation of interactive learning experiences for digital libraries. CreateStudio supports creation of linked active content, which builds on the hypertext paradigm by extending it to support active content. This is done by allowing content to specify a dynamically loaded software viewer and by supporting links that pass messages between different viewers. By promoting separation of content from software, linked active content provides a powerful strategy for creating and organizing collections of active online learning experiences. For example, separating simulations and visualizations from other components enables them to be more easily repurposed to meet the needs of a diverse audience of educators and students. In addition, this strategy leads to an authoring paradigm that supports contributions from a more diverse audience, including especially those who have substantial classroom and pedagogical expertise but lack programming expertise. This is done by building on instructors\u27 familiarity with simple Web design