Dissemination of information and visibility of the European Higher Education Area through the websites of Spanish universities: a longitudinal metric analysis, 2007–2012

This paper draws on the findings from previous research work to present the UNIWEEES tool, designed to evaluate the quality of university websites that provide information about the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), already a reality, and the way they disseminate this information. This tool includes seven criteria (visibility, authority, updatedness, accessibility, dissemination of information, quality assessment, and navigability), further divided into 29 subcriteria that include 60 indicators. A peer-to-peer expert unified evaluation methodology was followed. Findings are presented here, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the information provided about the EHEA by the websites of Spanish universities and their dissemination strategies, in particular through their evolution along the last 5 years. Conclusions highlight a number of best practices identified and provide some guidelines to improve the evaluated aspects and dimensions, thus strengthening the role played by the university websites as quality information sources for the scholar community and the society.     

Information provided by Spanish university websites on their assessment and quality processes

We analyze and evaluate the information provided by Spanish public universities on the web about their assessment and quality processes with the aim of detecting aspects for improvement and identifying best practices in universities that could act as a benchmark for the rest of the sector. A tested model/template incorporating a set of criteria and indicators is used to determine the quality of this information. The strengths and weaknesses of institutional websites are analyzed at both individual level and as a whole; the possible relation between website quality and the characteristics of the universities is also examined.     

The use of an algorithmic approach for the assessment of research quality

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of quantitative parameters for assessing the quality of research carried out at universities. In the UK, university departments are now subject to regular investigations of their research standing. As part of these investigations, a considerable amount of quantitative (as well as qualitative) information is collected from each department. This is made available to the panels appointed to assess research quality in each subject area. One question that has been raised is whether the data can be combined in some way to provide an index which can help guide the panels' deliberations. This question is looked at here via a detailed examination of the returns from four universities for the most recent (1992) research assessment exercise. The results suggest that attempts to derive an algorithm are only likely to be helpful for a limited range of subjects.     

Rasch techniques for detecting bias in performance assessments: an example comparing the performance of native and non-native speakers on a test of academic English

The use of common tasks and rating procedures when assessing the communicative skills of students from highly diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds poses particular measurement challenges, which have thus far received little research attention. If assessment tasks or criteria are found to function differentially for particular subpopulations within a test candidature with the same or a similar level of criterion ability, then the test is open to charges of bias in favour of one or other group. While there have been numerous studies involving dichotomous language test items (see e.g. Chen and Henning, 1985 and more recently Elder, 1996) few studies have considered the issue of bias in relation to performance based tasks which are assessed subjectively, via analytic and holistic rating scales. The paper demonstrates how Rasch analytic procedures can be applied to the investigation of item bias or differential item functioning (DIF) in both dichotomous and scalar items on a test of English for academic purposes. The data were gathered from a pilot English language test administered to a representative sample of undergraduate students (N= 139) enrolled in their first year of study at an English-medium university. The sample included native speakers of English who had completed up to 12 years of secondary schooling in their first language (L1) and immigrant students, mainly from Asian language backgrounds, with varying degrees of prior English language instruction and exposure. The purpose of the test was to diagnose the academic English needs of incoming undergraduates so that additional support could be offered to those deemed at risk of failure in their university study. Some of the tasks included in the assessment procedure involved objectively-scored items (measuring vocabulary knowledge, text-editing skills and reading and listening comprehension) whereas others (i.e. a report and an argumentative writing task) were subjectively-scored. The study models a methodology for estimating bias with both dichotomous and scalar items using the programs Quest (Adams and Khoo, 1993) for the former and ConQuest (Wu, Adams and Wilson, 1998) for the latter. It also offers answers to the practical questions of whether a common set of assessment criteria can, in an academic context such as this one, be meaningfully applied to all subgroups within the candidature and whether analytic criteria are more susceptible to biased ratings than holistic ones. Implications for test fairness and test validity are discussed.     

Combining reference point based composite indicators with data envelopment analysis: application to the assessment of universities

In our knowledge society, where universities are key players, the assessment of higher education institutions should meet the new demands of the present complex environment. This calls for the use of techniques that are able to manage this complexity. In this paper, we propose a novel combination of methodologies, jointly using a multi-criteria reference point scheme and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the assessment of universities. This combination allows us to take into account all the aspects regarded as relevant to assess university performance, and use them as outputs in the efficiency analysis. Our findings highlight the convenience to assess the university performance by using both compensatory and non-compensatory schemes. This way, the information provided allows to detect the actions needed to improve the performances of the universities, rather than just giving an overall performance measure. Furthermore, combining the use of composite indicators with the DEA analysis provides a more complete picture of the institutions assessed, allowing universities to check their efficiency and to detect their weaknesses and strengths accordingly. The approach is illustrated using data of 47 Spanish public universities for the academic year, 2016–2017.

     

Foundations of content preparation for the web

The objective of this paper is to develop a model for content preparation of websites. Content preparation describes a process of web design that equally weighs the identification of information requirements with the presentation modes of that information. This paper focuses on what information should be available on the web instead of how the information should be presented. It reviews studies concerning: (a) credibility evaluation of printed media; (b) quality dimensions of information systems; (c) Internet domain-specific information needs. Based on the review, two key figures synthesise the aspects related to content preparation. First, the convergence hierarchy integrates domain-specific components into a general information structure. Second, the conceptual model proposed eight factors for effective content preparation. These factors are site, transaction, company, security, product, customer service, shipping and membership. It highlights specific content elements and yields major implications for a broad range of websites. Primarily, it establishes a foundation for developing methods to evaluate the effectiveness of content preparation for websites. Combining content preparation with usability methods will provide a comprehensive effectiveness evaluation of websites using the ISO 9241–11 (International Organization for Standardization, 1998. ISO 9241–11, Ergonomics requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)–Part 11 Guidance on usability. Geneva: ISO) framework. Also, it could act as a general guide of content preparation for websites.     

Stability Testing in Industry for Worldwide Marketing

Today Stability Tests are an integral part of Industry's Quality Assurance Programme. The stability predictions derived from the results of the Tests; represent a comprehensive assessment of quality, which applies to all batches and includes organoleptic, physicochemical, chemical and where applicable, microbiological criteria

The aim is to describe, from Industry's point of view, what outlay is necessary for stability Testing for worldwide marketing and what degree of confidence lies behind the stability predictions

Along the way from a new drug substance to routine production, 3 phases in Stability Testing can be distinguished

- Preliminary and Stress experiments

- Long term testing

- Follow-up studies

Each phase has its own specific aim. The outlay and scope devoted to each phase must be appropriate to the particular problem. It is shown, which storage conditions are necessary, especially for the worldwide introduction of a drug product, the testing criteria, testing methods, number of batches and samples, duration of study and sequence. Finally the evaluation with the derivation of periods of stability is described     

An analysis of discontinued journals by Scopus

Researchers continually strive to communicate their findings to peers, hoping to receive recognition for their contribution in a not-so-distant future. The prevailing idea of “publish or perish” becomes imperative when researchers are applying for competitive grants or academic promotions. Choosing a suitable journal has become an important issue as thousands of journals are available. One of the aspects considered by researchers is the journal’s indexation status. Scopus continuously evaluates journals submitted by publishers for indexation, and later, to verify if quality is maintained. During this re-evaluation process, some publication concerns may be raised at journal or publisher level. Consequently, Scopus periodically issues a list of discontinued journals. However, not all journals update their websites in order to inform readers that they have been discontinued. This study shows that 56 journals that were discontinued in 2016 currently affirm on their websites that they are indexed by Scopus. In addition, another 20 journals discontinued in 2016, which do not specifically state that they are indexed by Scopus, include a widget from SCImago that may generate confusion about their current indexing situation. For some journals it seems that the emphasis is placed more on the publishing end of the business than the dissemination of research findings. This study shows that regular updates are among the responsibilities that editorial teams must maintain to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information posted on journal websites.     

Automatic classification of academic web page types

Counts of hyperlinks between websites can be unreliable for webometrics studies so researchers have attempted to find alternate counting methods or have tried to identify the reasons why links in websites are created. Manual classification of individual links in websites is infeasible for large webometrics studies, so a more efficient approach to identifying the reasons for link creation is needed to fully harness the potential of hyperlinks for webometrics research. This paper describes a machine learning method to automatically classify hyperlink source and target page types in university websites. 78 % accuracy was achieved for automatically classifying web page types and up to 74 % accuracy for predicting link target page types from link source page characteristics.     

Access to information and the role of environmental assessment registries for public participation

International practice shows an increasing use of web-based Environmental Assessment (EA) registries or project websites to provide public access to information. In support of statutory public participation, registries inform when to participate and provide relevant documents and the continued availability of information. However, what constitutes good practice in this field? This article proposes a framework for assessing good practice in providing access to information via registries. Based on performance indicators for an ‘ideal’ registry, the framework allows evaluation in the review categories: framework conditions, notice of projects, provision of documents, accessibility of information and ongoing information regarding the status of the environmental assessment. An explorative case study analysis applies the framework and presents results on the performance of international practice examples.     

对重点出口产品开展标准信息服务的思考

在东北老工业基地的振兴中,吉林省重点出口产品的标准化工作存在哪些问题?对标准信息服务有哪些需求?希望能得到什么样的方式来获得标准信息服务?针对上述情况,我们从标准信息服务的内容、方式、方法及手段等方面,围绕重点出口产品的需要,通过"标准信息服务网络平台",基于实现标准信息服务的及时化、个性化、互动化等更为先进的服务理念和手段,提出了改进和完善的措施,由此促进出口产品企业的快速发展。     

Investigation into the Quality of the Kinematographic Image

In a previous series of papers the results were published which the authors obtained in their investigation into different aspects of the problem of quality of the kinematographic image. The present paper considers this problem as a whole.

In evaluating the quality of the kinematographic image the following criteria are used: tone rendering, image sharpness, resolution in small-size details, and graininess. These criteria cannot give full evaluation of image quality. as the latter depends, to a considerable extent, on other conditions which determine its emotional effect. In other words, satisfactory values for the above listed quantitative criteria are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for obtaining high quality kinematographic images. In addition, the image should be evaluated as visually good.

The investigation is confined to the above four quality criteria, assuming that the problem, so for as kinema engineering is concerned. is that of obtaining a high quality imafe in the technial meaning of the term, i.e.. an image transmitting the maximum perceptible amount 0 information on the subject. The realization of these possibilities by the producer, cameraman, actor, etc., is not considered.

The values of quality criteria for any of the successive stages of kinematographic images fmaster negative, Intermediate positive, duplicating film. screen positive) should be based first on a precise knowledge of their contribution to the screen image, and secondly-on the lows correlating their values on the screen with those in preceding images.     

Patents as technological information in Latin America

This study shows the importance of patents as a source of technological information in Latin America. We studied the industrial property offices’ websites and the kind of patent information available such as laws, gazette, statistics, cost, forms, and contacts. We found at the USPTO and PCT websites the quantity of patent applications from applicants in Latin American countries filed in these offices. Brazil and Mexico in particular provide information on their websites to anyone interested in filing patent applications, searching patents and using patents as a source of technological information. This work shows that the quantity of patent applications is only slowly increasing in Latin America. Thus, each one of the 21 countries of Latin America needs to have a policy of dissemination of the importance of the patent system as a source of technological information to increase research and innovation in their countries.     

Improving quality assessment of composite indicators in university rankings: a case study of French and German universities of excellence

Composite indicators play an essential role for benchmarking higher education institutions. One of the main sources of uncertainty building composite indicators and, undoubtedly, the most debated problem in building composite indicators is the weighting schemes (assigning weights to the simple indicators or subindicators) together with the aggregation schemes (final composite indicator formula). Except the ideal situation where weights are provided by the theory, there clearly is a need for improving quality assessment of the final rank linked with a fixed vector of weights. We propose to use simulation techniques to generate random perturbations around any initial vector of weights to obtain robust and reliable ranks allowing to rank universities in a range bracket. The proposed methodology is general enough to be applied no matter the weighting scheme used for the composite indicator. The immediate benefit achieved is a reduction of the uncertainty associated with the assessment of a specific rank which is not representative of the real performance of the university, and an improvement of the quality assessment of composite indicators used to rank. To illustrate the proposed methodology we rank the French and the German universities involved in their respective 2008 Excellence Initiatives.     

Using the Internet to teach consumers about quality care

BACKGROUND: The Internet is an important source of health information for consumers. Patients can learn about their diagnoses, review treatments and medications, and locate other health information for themselves and their families. Information about quality care can also be found on the Internet. Few consumers, though, use these Web sites for learning about quality care. SEARCH FOR WEB SITES ON QUALITY CARE: In 2000 the investigators searched the Internet and generated a list of approximately 90 relevant Internet documents under the broad heading of quality health care. They then pared the list to 34, by using the Health Information Technology Institute (HITI) criteria. TESTING OF INTERNET DOCUMENTS BY CONSUMERS: In the second phase of the project, 5 of the 34 Internet documents were tested by a convenience sample of 32 consumers. Most of the participants had experience in using the Internet, although generally not in the area of quality care. They found the Web sites easy to use and indicated that the Internet resources would help them assess the quality of care they receive from physicians, nurses, and others. DISCUSSION: Web sites need to be evaluated to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and current, among other criteria. All patients should understand their health benefits and the importance of making informed decisions about their health care, as well as how quality care is measured, how to use quality reports, how to choose providers and hospitals, how to assess the quality of their own care and be more involved in it, and what they should do when faced with new diagnoses.     

Objective satisfaction assessment using neural nets for balancing multiple objectives

In today's production systems, improving the use of the manufacturing resources and reacting efficiently to disturbances leads to schedules more and more adapted to the considered workshop. A generic software can hardly take into account the specificity of each workshop: in that context, it is not sufficient anymore to provide a feasible schedule, and human expertise becomes necessary in order to improve the provided solution. This improvement requires the definition of synthetic performance indicators allowing us to assess a schedule before choosing improvement actions. Many performance indicators have been defined, however, they are seldom structured in order to supply a complete and progressive assessment framework. We suggest in this paper a parametrable hierarchic structure of performance indicators allowing us to aggregate the degree of satisfaction of elementary objectives, thus allowing the definition of a compromise between these elementary objectives. Neural networks have been tested in order to emulate the expertise involved in the definition of such compromises. Neural networks enable us to express the satisfaction provided by a schedule in a synthetic way, then to describe the satisfaction of the elementary objectives in order to select improvement actions. Using the same indicator values, several aggregation strategies can be considered and stored in order to adapt the assessment phase to the global situation of the workshop (e.g. in the presence of overloads, under loads, rush orders, lateness, bottlenecks, etc.). The implementation of this method in an industrial scheduler, called IO, is in progress.     

浅谈高校教材的选用

高校教材的质量直接影响教学的质量，因此，高校选用教学教材必须本着科学、系统、择优等原则，以此保证教材质量，提高教学质量。     

Assessing the authority of free online scholarly information

Authority generally relates to expertise, recognition of official status of a source, and the reputation of the author and publisher. As the Internet has become a ubiquitous tool in modern science and scholarly research, evaluating the authority of free online scholarly information is becoming crucial. However, few empirical studies have focused on this issue. Using a modified version of Jim Kapoun’s “Five criteria for evaluating web pages” as framework, this research selected 32 keywords from eight disciplines, inputted them into three search engines (Google, Yahoo and AltaVista) and used Analytic Hierarchy Process to determine the weights. The first batches of results (web pages) from keyword searching were selected as evaluation samples (in the two search phases, the first 50 and 10 results were chosen, respectively), and a total of 3,134 samples were evaluated for authority based on the evaluation framework. The results show that the average authority value for free online scholarly information is about 3.63 (out of five), which is in the “fair” level (3 ≤ Z < 4) (Z is the value assigned to each sample). About 41% of all samples collected provide more authoritative scholarly information. Different domain names, resource types, and disciplines of free online scholarly information perform differently when scored in terms of authority. In conclusion, the authority of free online scholarly information has been unsatisfactory, and needs to be improved. Furthermore, the evaluation framework and its application developed herein could be a useful instrument for librarians, researchers, students, and the public to select Internet resources.     

How good are my data?: Information quality assessment methodology.

Quality assurance techniques used in software development and hardware maintenance/reliability help ensure that data in a computerized information management system are maintained well. However, information workers may not know the quality of data resident in their information systems. Knowledge of the quality of information and data in an enterprise provides managers with important facts for managing and improving the processes that impact information quality. This paper presents quality assessment methodology to assist information workers in planning and implementing an effective assessment of their information data and quality. The areas covered include: identifying appropriate information quality indicators; developing assessment procedures; conducting information quality assessments; reporting information assessment results; tracking improvements in information quality.