The mediating effect of website quality on Internet searching behavior

The study investigates the mediating effect of website quality on Internet searching behavior. The research model incorporates three dimensions, namely (1) Internet attitudes of the Internet users, (2) website quality, including the system quality, service quality and information quality, and (3) Internet searching behavior demonstrated by the general population of Internet users. A survey instrument was used to gather data to exam the relationships in the proposed model. The collected online surveys (n = 856) are used to test the relationships among the three dimensions expressed in the proposed structural equation model. The results show that website quality has a mediating effect on Internet searching behavior. It is also discovered that there is significant correlation between Internet attitudes and website quality. This study contributes empirical data to the predominantly theoretical literature on Internet searching behavior in general and Internet attitudes and website quality in particular. It is, to a certain extent, common sense that website quality has a positive impact on Internet searching behavior. This paper takes an important step forward by detailing how website quality affects the Internet searching behavior via enhancing the effect of users’ Internet attitudes.     

The clinic-level perspective on mHealth implementation: a South African case study

ABSTRACT

This exploratory investigation presents a case study of the deployment of an mHealth service in established public clinics, and assesses the findings using Activity Theory. We contribute to the limited empirical research on mHealth implementation in established public facilities, and build on work on the use of Activity Theory to frame investigations of ICT4D interventions.

The study investigates the perspective of clinic staff responsible for registering women for a free maternal health messaging service. Open-ended interviews and observation sessions were used to reveal staff experiences of the implementation, and their work practices. Activity Theory analysis was adopted to help interpret the data, and identify likely dynamics leading to these specific practices.

Some themes that emerged were the hierarchical nature of the medical profession and implications for task shifting, the influence of technical design choices on use patterns and issues arising from the developing-country context.     

改进Web应用性能方法及性能测试分析

动态网页的实现机制中,对用户的响应需要内部多个服务器的协作,延长了响应时间.通过对动态网页实现中某些步骤顺序的调整,可以在用户请求之前得到响应数据,当有用户请求的时候,服务器只需把已经生成的静态页面返回给用户即可,响应速度可得到较大的提高.根据软件性能工程理论,对此方法作了性能评价,然后对使用此方法的系统做了对比性的性能测试,根据对测试所得数据的分析,进一步验证了此方法在实际系统中的可行性.     

高选择性拓扑指数和网络上化学结构的检索系统

描述以高选择性拓扑指数EAID为基础构建的结构检索系统。此系统以EAID指数来表征化合物的结构,即每一化合物,运用EAID计算方案得到一个数学的量,以此为基础,来进行化合物结构的检索。由于是一简单数据的比较,所以检索准确快捷,适合于网络传输和交流。现已成功地应用于检索本实验室的结构数据库。另外,文中还介绍了EAID的算法和验证。     

基于Web服务EAMS的性能及安全研究

针对使用Web服务构建EAMS(企业资产管理系统)时的实时交互性能差以及服务通信安全无法保证等问题,提出了基于序列化、数据压缩、数据加密和数字签名等技术的有效解决方案.该系统采用.NET框架的RemotingFormat序列化Web服务传递的数据集并对其压缩传输的方式,解决了实时性交互问题.通过对SOAP消息头的扩展,对SOAP消息进行加密、签名、添加令牌等操作,实现了Web服务通信的端到端的消息级安全.测试结果表明,基于Web服务的EAMS的实时交互性能和服务通信安全得到了有效保障.     

The effect of multiple reference characters on detecting matches in string‐searching algorithms

The effect of multiple reference characters and the condition types on the performance of exact string‐searching algorithms is tested. In order to perform such a test a new algorithm called the Multiple Reference Characters Algorithm (MRCA) is developed. An experiment is performed using English text; the results are compared with the known string‐matching algorithms called Boyer–Moore–Horspool (BMH) and Straight Forward (Naïve). With the MRCA algorithm, the shift distance is increased up to 3m + 1 positions in comparison with exactly one position in the Naïve algorithm and up to m positions in BMH. Furthermore, by using the new algorithm MRCA, the results suggest that the evaluation criteria of the average number of comparisons, the average number of shifts, and the clock time required by BMH are improved up to 73.1%, 64.7%, and 49.6%, respectively. The same evaluation criteria required by Naïve are improved by MRCA up to 98.1%, 98%, and 94.7%, respectively. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of a knowledge-based system on designers' cognitive activities: a study involving professional web designers

Over the last few decades, several usability knowledge-based systems have been developed to provide user interface designers with usability knowledge (e.g. heuristics, usability guidelines, standards). Such systems are intended to assist designers during the design process, and to improve the usability of the user interface being designed. However, the assumption that such systems actually improve the usability of the resulting user interface remains to be demonstrated: virtually no systems have been empirically tested by designers who create products. In order to confirm this assumption, we conducted an experimental study in which professional web designers had to create webpages, either using a knowledge-based system – MetroWeb – or without it. This study was intended to determine the influence of MetroWeb on the professional web designers' cognitive activity, and to find out whether MetroWeb actually assists them to develop a user-centred design. The results show that the web designers did not very often use MetroWeb while designing webpages; however, rather surprisingly, the designers who did use MetroWeb more often exhibited a user-centred activity than those working without MetroWeb. We conclude this paper by discussing these findings, and suggesting future possible ways of research intended to assist designers to adopt a user-centred approach to their activity.     

The effect of email invitation elements on response rate in a web survey within an online community

In the research of online communities and web survey methodology little is known about how elements in email invitations to list-based web surveys can be used to obtain higher response rates. In the present work, we investigated whether making authority, plea for help, and sense of community salient in email invitations determines the response of survey participants. Drawing from both survey methodology and recent research on online communities, this study also tested a hypothesis on the relationship between activity in an online community and survey response. Using a full-factorial experiment based on a simple random sample of 2500 members from the largest online health community in Slovenia, the results support only the hypothesis that plea for help is an effective response-inducing element in email invitations. Furthermore, the results support the hypotheses that online community activity, related to the frequency of visits and number of posts to an online community, are positively associated with response in list-based web survey. Since this study also shows that combining more than one element in email invitations does not necessary improve response rates, web survey research and practice may benefit from future research on this topic.     

The paradox of information systems: strategic value and low status

Information systems (IS) have provided dramatic returns for some organisations. For many others, IS underpin most of their activities. Spending on IS can be very high. Few organisations can function without adequate IS. Yet, there is an apparent paradox in the reliance on information systems and supporting information technologies (IT) on the one hand and the status of the information systems function on the other. While information systems can be critical to an organisation's ability to conduct and develop business, the information systems function is often considered as a secondary activity. To explore the paradox, this paper uses a cultural web model to assess the status of IS and IT activities as evidenced in the literature and through the study of four organisations. These serve to demonstrate the contradiction between the extent to which large organisations appear to rely on information systems and the low status of the information systems function. The implications of this are explored, and it is suggested that IS can be exploited fully only if there is a change in attitude and thereby an increase in status of the information systems function.     

Exploring perceptions of web accessibility: a survey approach

The equality of access – accessibility – is difficult to quantify, define, or agree upon. Our previous work analysed the responses of web accessibility specialists in regard to a number of pre-defined definitions of accessibility. While uncovering much, this analysis did not allow us to quantify the communities’ understanding of the relationship accessibility has with other domains and assess how the community scopes accessibility. In this case, we asked over 300 people, with an interest in accessibility, to answer 33 questions surrounding the relationship between accessibility, user experience (UX), and usability; inclusion and exclusion; and evaluation, in an attempt to harmonise our understanding of web accessibility. We found that respondents think that accessibility and usability are highly related and also think that accessibility is applicable to everyone and not just people with disabilities. Respondents strongly agree that accessibility must be grounded on user-centred practices and that accessibility evaluation is more than just inspecting source code; however, they are divided as to whether training in ‘Web Content Accessibility Guidelines’ is necessary or not to assess accessibility. These perceptions are important for usability and UX professionals, developers of automated evaluation tools, and those practitioners running website evaluations.     

Urban spatial configuration and socio-economic residential differentiation: The case of Tel Aviv

This paper compares the effect of two aspects of a city’s spatial configuration – spatial separation between areas and dissimilarity in spatial integration between areas – on socio-economic residential differentiation in the city of Tel Aviv, Israel. The integration analysis is based on the space syntax methodological–conceptual framework and focuses on Tel Aviv’s core, where the main socio-economic differentiations were identified.     

A web personalizing technique using adaptive data structures: The case of bursts in web visits

The explosive growth in the size and use of the World Wide Web continuously creates new great challenges and needs. The need for predicting the users’ preferences in order to expedite and improve the browsing though a site can be achieved through personalizing of the Websites. Recommendation and personalization algorithms aim at suggesting WebPages to users based on their current visit and past users’ navigational patterns. The problem that we address is the case where few WebPages become very popular for short periods of time and are accessed very frequently in a limited temporal space. Our aim is to deal with these bursts of visits and suggest these highly accessed pages to the future users that have common interests. Hence, in this paper, we propose a new web personalization technique, based on advanced data structures.The data structures that are used are the Splay tree (1) and Binary heaps (2). We describe the architecture of the technique, analyze the time and space complexity and prove its performance. In addition, we compare both theoretically and experimentally the proposed technique to another approach to verify its efficiency. Our solution achieves O(P²) space complexity and runs in k log P time, where k is the number of pages and P the number of categories of WebPages.     

The effects of usability and web design attributes on user preference for e-commerce web sites

This study examines the relationships among perceived usability before actual use, task completion time, and preference, and the effects of design attributes on user preference for e-commerce web sites. Nine online bookstore web sites were used by ten participants. Results indicate: (1) pre-use usability and task completion time were correlated; (2) the relationship between pre-use usability and preference was greater than that of task completion time and preference; (3) design attribute assessments after actual use were highly intercorrelated; and (4) organizational structure and layout had a greater effect on user preference than aesthetic aspects, such as color and typography. These findings can be used to construct a conceptual framework for understanding user preferences and to develop design guidelines to yield more highly preferred e-commerce web sites. Also, the methodology in this study can be applied to other computerized-applications.     

Modelling methods for web application verification and testing: state of the art

Models are considered an essential step in capturing different system behaviours and simplifying the analysis required to check or improve the quality of software. Verification and testing of web software requires effective modelling techniques that address the specific challenges of web applications. In this study we survey 24 different modelling methods used in web site verification and testing. Based on a short catalogue of desirable properties of web applications that require analysis, two different views of the methods are presented: a general categorization by modelling level, and a detailed comparison based on property coverage. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

汉语分词系统中的信息集成和最佳路径搜索方法

复杂的汉语分词系统中，各种信息的有效集成是系统实现的关键。本文介绍了分词系统ＳｅｇＴａｇ中信息集成方法，并讨论了信息集成结构中的两种最佳路径搜索方法。最后，我们给出实验结果和结论。     

Eighth graders’ web searching strategies and outcomes: The role of task types,web experiences and epistemological beliefs

This study reported an investigation of eighth graders’ (14-year-olds) web searching strategies and outcomes, and then analyzed their correlations with students’ web experiences, epistemological beliefs, and the nature of searching tasks. Eighty-seven eighth graders were asked to fill out a questionnaire for probing epistemological beliefs (from positivist to constructivist-oriented views) and finished three different types of searching tasks. Their searching process was recorded by screen capture software and answers were reviewed by two expert teachers based on their accuracy, richness and soundness. Five quantitative indicators were used to assess students’ searching strategies: number of keywords, visited pages, maximum depth of exploration, refinement of keyword, and number of words used in the first keyword. The main findings derived from this study suggested that, students with richer web experiences could find more correct answers in “close-ended” search tasks. In addition, students with better metacognitive skills such as keyword refinement tended to achieve more successful searching outcomes in such tasks. However, in “open-ended” tasks, where questions were less certain and answers were more elaborated, students who had more advanced epistemological beliefs, concurring with a constructivist view, had better searching outcomes in terms of their soundness and richness. This study has concluded that epistemological beliefs play an influential role in open-ended Internet learning environments.     

基于Web的防火墙的设计与实现

为了充分利用现已成熟的技术，达到方便配置防火墙系统的目的，采用了以Web页面访问来架构防火墙的方式。首先对这种方式进行了初步探索，综合了防火墙技术与Linux平台下的Web编程技术；由此阐述了基于Web的防火墙的设计思路与实现方法，实现两种技术的综合运用；最后，对商业化方面存在的问题进行了初步探究。     

基于SVM和统计的搜索引擎的设计

随着网络的发展,以及用户应用的不断变化,通用的搜索引擎已不能应对各种不同的检索请求.面向主题的搜集系统是针对一个主题,一类网页的搜集系统,即只搜集整个网络的一个特定子集.对目前采用的各种搜集算法进行了研究和评估,确定了一套面向主题的搜集算法.该算法是基于原有搜索引擎实现的,能够有效、准确的进行同主题搜索,根据实现的结果说明基于SVM和统计的面向主题搜集系统的优势所在及其发展的可能性.     

一个基于数据库的Web Cache的设计与实现

介绍了一个基于数据库的Web Cache的设计与实现，构架于Jigsaw Web服务器运行环境，缓存的数据用数据库系统管理，使用UML描述了分析和设计过程。对方案的性能进行了分析，并与文件系统管理缓存数据的实现方案进行了比较，最后介绍了该方案的一个扩展应用。