Going outside the box: skills development,cultural change and the use of on-line resources

Using an academic library has always been a crucial part of studying in higher education, but this has presented problems for independent learners taking distance education courses. In the past, Open University (UKOU) students were provided with almost everything needed to successfully complete any course. Nowadays, growth in Internet use enables learners to go ‘outside the box’ to locate resources that might be relevant for their studies. Although such resources are increasingly being included as components of UKOU courses, the extent to which students use them varies enormously between courses. Data from a large-scale survey is examined and a number of explanatory factors are considered in an attempt to account for this variability. It is argued that students’ use of on-line ‘external’ resources is closely related to the pedagogic design of courses and to assessment requirements, not merely to the increased availability of information sources on the World Wide Web.     

Patterns of Information Search and Access on the World Wide Web: Democratizing Expertise or Creating New Hierarchies?*1

Will the World Wide Web and search engines foster access to more diverse sources of information, or have a centralizing influence through a ‘winner‐take‐all’ process? To address this question, we examined how search engines are used to access information about six global issues (climate change, poverty, HIV/AIDS, terrorism, trade reform, and Internet and society). The study used a combination of webmetric analyses and interviews with experts. From interviews we were able to explore how experts on these topics use search engines within their specialist fields. Using webmetric analysis, we were able to compare the results from a number of search engines and show how the top ranked sites are clustered as well as the distribution of their connectivity. Results suggest that the Web tends to reduce the significance of offline hierarchies in accessing information – thereby “democratizing” access to worldwide resources. It also seems, however, that centers of expertise progressively refine their specializations, gaining a ‘winner‐take‐all’ status within a narrower area. Some limitations of the winner‐take‐all thesis for access to research are discussed.     

The ‘Privacy Paradox’ in the Social Web: The Impact of Privacy Concerns,Individual Characteristics,and the Perceived Social Relevance on Different Forms of Self‐Disclosure

Given the diffusion of the Social Web and increased disclosure of personal information online, the ‘privacy paradox’ suggests that while Internet users are concerned about privacy, their behaviors do not mirror those concerns. This study investigates the potential influence of privacy concerns, psychological traits, attitudes to the Social Web and age on self‐disclosure. Using an online survey of a representative sample of German Internet users (n = 2, 739), the variety and quality of self‐disclosure as well as access were measured. The findings indicate that privacy concerns hardly impact self‐disclosure, but different variables moderate this relation. Perceived social relevance and the number of applications used proved important. Users' general willingness to disclose is most important when providing sensitive information.     

Who are interested in online science simulations? Tracking a trend of digital divide in Internet use

Although the Internet has become a major source for disseminating educational resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), little is known about the extent to which these resources are being used, their relationship to academic performance, and the type of users accessing these resources online. This study used two innovative tools, Google Trends and Web analytics, to explore interest in and usage of the PhET website, one of the most well-known online science simulation resources. This study found that search interest in the PhET science simulations has been growing continuously since 2005. However, search interest in PhET was positively correlated with academic performance and income, and negatively correlated with the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students. Moreover, Internet users in states with more White students were more interested in the PhET science simulations. Yet Internet users in states with more Black students were less interested in these science simulations. These findings suggest that the way online STEM resources are being used is likely to widen, rather than narrow, the achievement gap. This is the first study to utilize Internet search trend data and Web analytics tools for monitoring Internet use for educational purposes.     

Intercultural Communication on Web sites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Web sites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures

The aim of this study is to explore and identify the strategies used by high‐context cultures in utilizing the Internet—a largely low‐context medium—for communication and marketing purposes. It is hypothesized that individuals in high‐context cultures are more likely to adopt the visual effects offered by the Internet to convey their messages efficiently than their low‐context counterparts. How might high‐context cultures make the most of the potentials offered by the Internet generation of today? Assuming that visual communication is a high priority in the design of high‐context Web sites, how do the visual methods used on Web sites vary according to the communication styles in different cultures? Using Hall’s high‐ and low‐context dimensions as the main parameters, an exploratory analysis of McDonald’s Web sites identified five different strategies by which visual communication is used to support high‐context communication traits.     

The Internet and Anti-War Activism: A Case Study of Information, Expression, and Action

This case study examines how traditional and Internet news use, as well as face‐to‐face and online political discussion, contributed to political participation during the period leading up to the Iraq War. A Web‐based survey of political dissenters (N = 307) conducted at the start of the U.S.‐led invasion of Iraq provides the data used to examine the relationships among informational media use, online and face‐to‐face political discussion, and political participation among the respondents, who were recruited through blogs, discussion boards, and listservs opposing the Iraq war. Analyses reveal that among these respondents, Internet news use contributed to both face‐to‐face and online discussion about the situation in Iraq. Online and face‐to‐face political discussion mediated certain news media effects on anti‐war political participation. The study stresses the complementary role of Web news use and online political discussion relative to traditional modes of political communication in spurring political participation.     

Online system adoption and K‐12 academic outcomes

This study seeks to understand the relationship between K‐12 online system adoption (e.g., Blackboard, Edmodo, WordPress) and school‐level academic achievement ratings. Utilizing a novel approach to data collection via website data extraction and indexing of all school websites in a target state in the United States (n = 732) and merging these data with publicly available data on school academic achievement ratings, this study provides generalizable results of online system adoption on academic achievement ratings for the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 school years. Univariate general linear modelling is used to determine significant relationships between categories of systems (e.g., any, education‐specific, generic, cost, no‐cost, proprietary, open‐source) or specific systems and school academic ratings for each year. The results indicate some general positive effects, but effect sizes remain small and account for 2% or less of variance in ratings. Implications of this study suggest that online system adoption does not impact student academic achievement at a sufficient level to justify adoption that is not meaningfully coupled with other essential factors of school development (e.g., professional development, curricular development), and we propose that decision‐makers should be wary of large‐scale, technocentric attempts to improve schools that are not grounded in generalizable research findings.     

Cheating behaviours,the Internet and Education undergraduate students

This paper describes an illuminative small‐scale study that piloted an initial survey instrument intended to investigate correspondences between 47 undergraduate Education final year students' use of information and communications technology (ICT), including the Internet, and – within the context of their adoption of tactics intended to impress lecturers or to exploit the hidden curriculum – students' engagement in cheating behaviours such as plagiarism. The study disclosed that 0.23 of the sample had reported single instances of cheating behaviours and that 0.21 of the sample had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours. Analysis of data discerned correspondences between these cheating behaviours and personal factors. However, indicators of ICT capability and the Internet did not correlate significantly with cheating behaviours. Those students who had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours were found to rate their ICT capabilities higher than their peers but had a tendency to report less frequent use of the Internet for coursework. Inferences are tentatively drawn for further research and for academic practices.     

Impact of online resources on informal learners: Parents’ perception of their parenting skills

The Internet and Web technology development have opened up new ways for people to communicate, gain new information and increase their knowledge. One particular area of interest is that of using online resources to empower informal learners to increase their knowledge at their own time and space. One could look at an online resource as a public library being brought to the homes of such informal learners. The goal of the study described in this paper was to present evidence of the impact of online resources on such informal learners. In this study, the informal learners were a group of parents with young children aged between 0 and 6, and the knowledge being learned informally was that of their knowledge of and attitudes to their parenting skills. This study used an online parenting portal, KidzGrow Online, to identify if and how an online resource could impact on the group of parents with regard to the time they spent with their children, their own perceived level of knowledge of their children’s development, and the level of their self-confidence in their parenting role. The study showed that after a period of three months, significant differences could be observed between the responses from parents who had access to the online resource and those from parents who did not.     

Webbook for engineers: An interactive information skills programme

First‐year engineering students at the University of Queensland used an interactive webbook to acquire information skills. These helped them search information resources for their projects, which they are required to undertake as part of the subject Introduction to professional engineering. The information skills exercise was an integral part of the project and worth 10% of the overall assessment. The exercises were only available on the Web, allowing the students to enter their answers from home or wherever they had access to the Internet. All answers were marked automatically using a database of all possible answers. Students were able to go back to check their answers. Students were assessed on both their responses to the exercises and also their final bibliography which largely reflected the impact of the webbook. The entire process was evaluated. This paper presents the process and the outcomes of the first‐year engineering project involving use of WWW for information skills instruction. The webbooks can be found at http r//www.library .uq.edu.au/9elO5/     

SuperWeb: research issues in Java-based global computing

The Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, continues to expand at an amazing pace. We propose a new infrastructure, SuperWeb, to harness global resources, such as CPU cycles or disk storage, and make them available to every user on the Internet. SuperWeb has the potential for solving parallel supercomputing applications involving thousands of co-operating components on the Internet. However, we anticipate that initial implementations will be used inside large organizations with large heterogeneous intranets. Our approach is based on recent advances in Internet connectivity and the implementation of safe distributed computing realized by languages such as Java. Our SuperWeb prototype consists of brokers, clients and hosts. Hosts register a fraction of their computing resources (CPU time, memory, bandwidth, disk space) with resource brokers. Clients submit tasks that need to be executed. The broker maps client computations onto the registered hosts. We examine an economic model for trading computing resources, and discuss several technical challenges associated with such a global computing environment. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Usability Testing of Academic Library Web Sites

ABSTRACT

This is a selective annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, and electronic resources relating to the usability assessment or testing of the academic library Web site. It focuses on the library Web site specifics, thus answering a librarian's need for one source of information on the available publications. All journal articles have been written by or for academic librarians. This bibliography embraces the issues of usability testing as a process, its goals, objectives, tools, and methodology. The bibliography is grouped by the following topics: background information, tools and methodologies, case studies, dedicated Web sites, and samples of presentations.     

Online Journalism and the War in Cyberspace: A Comparison Between U.S. and International Newspapers

The 2003 Iraq War was the first military conflict in which online media played a significant role. Traditional news organizations from around the world provided extensive coverage of the conflict on their websites, reaching global audiences and adding new dimensions to traditional war reporting. This study explores how the Internet disseminated news about the war by comparing 26 international newspaper sites (N = 791) and their use of Web‐specific features such as hyperlinks, animations, multimedia content, and interactive elements. By proposing a three‐stage model of online journalism and applying it to the online war coverage, the analysis suggests that online journalism has not yet reached the state of convergence. The differences in online news coverage between the United States and international websites and their implications are also discussed.     

Does the Internet Promote Collaboration and Productivity? Evidence from the Scientific Community in South Africa

International collaboration among scientists has been passionately advocated by many in the developing world. Among the several conditions that support collaboration among members of a dispersed scientific community, Internet technology is crucial. We examine the relationships among electronic communication, collaboration, and productivity in South Africa, a country that has undergone remarkable change in the sphere of science and technology. We surveyed 275 scientists in selected research institutes and universities in the province of KwaZulu‐Natal to address the questions: Is greater use of the Internet associated with international collaboration? Are collaboration and Internet use associated with publication in national and foreign journals? The results show that: (1) Internet use, as measured by time spent on email, is positively associated with collaboration; (2) collaboration is not generally related to publication productivity; and (3) there is little evidence that South African academics benefit from international collaboration. While scientists who use email intensively are slightly more productive, this is not the case for foreign productivity in the case of academic scientists.     

Gratifications and Seeding Behavior of Online Adolescents

Several studies indicate that only a small minority of Web 2.0 users actively participates, while the minority do not contribute at all. This article investigates whether a similar division applies for adolescents' Internet behavior. Using Szuprowicz’ (1995) typology of interactivity, we distinguish different types of user‐generated content (UGC): media, narrative, and metadata UGC. Our results show a 20%–80% division between high‐ and low‐frequency seeders. Furthermore, we utilize the uses‐and‐gratifications paradigm to investigate how these high‐ and low‐frequency seeders differ in their overall gratifications obtained by WWW use. Although the gratifications' rank orders are identical for all groups, their magnitudes differ significantly. Finally, this article focuses on how these WWW gratifications can predict seeding, while controlling for socio‐demographics and usage frequency.     

Towards a data‐driven IoT software architecture for smart city utilities

The Internet of things (IoT) is emerging as the next big wave of digital presence for billions of devices on the Internet. Smart cities are a practical manifestation of IoT, with the goal of efficient, reliable, and safe delivery of city utilities like water, power, and transport to residents, through their intelligent management. A data‐driven IoT software platform is essential for realizing manageable and sustainable smart utilities and for novel applications to be developed upon them. Here, we propose such service‐oriented software architecture to address 2 key operational activities in a smart utility: the IoT fabric for resource management and the data and application platform for decision‐making. Our design uses Open Web standards and evolving network protocols, cloud and edge resources, and streaming big data platforms. We motivate our design requirements using the smart water management domain; some of these requirements are unique to developing nations. We also validate the architecture within a campus‐scale IoT testbed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and present our experiences. Our architecture is scalable to a township or city while also generalizable to other smart utility domains. Our experiences serve as a template for other similar efforts, particularly in emerging markets and highlight the gaps and opportunities for a data‐driven IoT software architecture for smart cities.     

Towards ubiquitous tourist service coordination and process integration: A collaborative travel agent system architecture with semantic web services

With the recent advances in Internet and mobile technologies, there are increasing demands for ubiquitous access to tourist information systems for service coordination and process integration. However, due to disparate tourist information and service resources such as airlines, hotels, tour operators, it is still difficult for tourists to use them effectively during their trips or even in the planning stage. Neither can current tourist portals assist tourists proactively. To overcome this problem, we propose a Collaborative Travel Agent System (CTAS) based on a scalable, flexible, and intelligent Multi-Agent Information System (MAIS) architecture for proactive aids to Internet and mobile users. We also employ Semantic Web technologies for effective organization of information resources and service processes. We formulate our MAIS architecture for CTAS further with agent clusters based on a case study of a large service-oriented travel agency. Agent clusters may comprise several types of agents to achieve the goals involved in the major processes of a tourist’s trip. We show how agents can make use of ontology from the Semantic Web to help tourists better plan, understand, and specify their requirements collaboratively with the CTAS. We further illustrate how this can be successfully implemented with Web service technologies to integrate disparate Internet tourist resources. To conclude, we discuss and evaluate our approach from different stakeholders’ perspectives.