Progress in Web-based decision support technologies

World Wide Web technologies have transformed the design, development, implementation and deployment of decision support systems. This article reviews and summarizes recent technology developments, current usage of Web-based DSS, and trends in the deployment of such systems. Many firms use the Web as a medium to convey information about DSS products or to distribute DSS software. The use of Web-based computation to provide product demonstrations or to deploy DSS applications for remote access remains less common. The academic literature on Web-based DSS is largely focused on applications and implementations, and only a few articles examine architectural issues or provide design guidelines based on empirical evidence.     

User satisfaction from commercial web sites: The effect of design and use

We empirically investigated the effect of user-based design and Web site usability on user satisfaction across four types of commercial Web sites: online shopping, customer self-service, trading, and publish/subscribe. To this end, a Web-based survey questionnaire was assembled, based on previously reported instruments for measuring user satisfaction, usability, and user-based design. Three hundred and fifty-nine respondents used the questionnaire to rate a collection of 20 popular commercial Web sites.Data collected were analyzed to test four hypotheses on the relationships among the attributes examined. The Web site attributes were also plotted on bi-dimensional perceptual maps in order to visualize their interactions. The two techniques yielded the same result, namely that trading sites are the lowest rated and that online shopping and customer self-service sites should serve as models for Web site developers. These findings are especially useful for designers of electronic commerce (EC) Web sites and can aid in the development and maintenance phases of Web site creation.     

The impact of Web quality and playfulness on user acceptance of online retailing

We investigated the effect of playfulness on user acceptance of online retailing and tested the relationship between Web quality factors and user acceptance behavior. A survey of 942 users of Web-based online retailing was conducted to test our model.     

Is Web-based instruction popular in psychology? A national survey

To date, there has been sparse research on the extent of use of online (Web-based) instructional approaches in academic Psychology. This survey reports the findings of a national survey (N = 207) of Chairs of Psychology departments on the didactic use of online instruction. Although the respondents expressed positive views regarding Web-based pedagogy, the actual implementation by psychology faculty of online instruction was reported by Chairs as being somewhat negligible. Previous studies have found that that the major drawback to the use of online teaching is the lack of formal training in computer technology on the part of psychology instructors (e.g., Vodanovich, S. J., & Piotrowski, C. (2001). Journal of Instructional Psychology, 28, 253–255). The implications of embracing Web-based didactic approaches for the field are discussed.     

Short Web-based versions of the perceived stress (PSS) and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) Scales: a comparison to pencil and paper responses among Internet users

This study reports results from a format comparison between Web-based and pencil and paper questionnaires measuring two well-validated measures of psychological distress among 530 frequent Internet users studying at an on-line University (Open University of Catalonia, UOC). A four-item version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and a seven-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CESD) were randomly administered in Web-based and pencil and paper format. Internal consistency analyses showed that these two brief versions were reliable for on-line assessment. Also, no differences in Cronbach αs were found between formats. Exploratory as well as multigroup factor analysis techniques showed that factor structures were invariant across formats. Overall, results revealed that respondents did not bias their responses in the Web-based condition. As these findings suggest, when familiarity with technology is high among respondents and sample procedures are followed to maximize control for potential participants, Web-based and paper and pencil formats are virtually equivalent, as in the two brief measures of psychological distress used in this study.     

What users want in e-commerce design: effects of age,education and income

Preferences for certain characteristics of an online shopping experience may be related to demographic data. This paper discusses the characteristics of that experience, demographic data and preferences by demographic group. The results of an online survey of 488 individuals in the United States indicate that respondents are generally satisfied with their online shopping experiences, with security, information quality and information quantity ranking first in importance overall. The sensory impact of a site ranked last overall of the seven characteristics measured. Preferences for these characteristics in e-commerce sites were differentiated by age, education and income. The sensory impact of sites became less important as respondents increased in age, income or education. As the income of respondents increased, the importance of the reputation of the vendor rose. Web site designers may incorporate these findings into the design of e-commerce sites in an attempt to increase the shopping satisfaction of their users. Results from the customer relationship management portion of the survey suggest that current push technologies and site personalization are not an effective means of achieving user satisfaction.     

What users want in e-commerce design: effects of age,education and income

Preferences for certain characteristics of an online shopping experience may be related to demographic data. This paper discusses the characteristics of that experience, demographic data and preferences by demographic group. The results of an online survey of 488 individuals in the United States indicate that respondents are generally satisfied with their online shopping experiences, with security, information quality and information quantity ranking first in importance overall. The sensory impact of a site ranked last overall of the seven characteristics measured. Preferences for these characteristics in e-commerce sites were differentiated by age, education and income. The sensory impact of sites became less important as respondents increased in age, income or education. As the income of respondents increased, the importance of the reputation of the vendor rose. Web site designers may incorporate these findings into the design of e-commerce sites in an attempt to increase the shopping satisfaction of their users. Results from the customer relationship management portion of the survey suggest that current push technologies and site personalization are not an effective means of achieving user satisfaction.     

The impact of the online and offline features on the user acceptance of Internet shopping malls

Internet shopping mall has the dual nature of Web-based application system and traditional shopping mall. This paper explores online and offline features of Internet shopping malls and their relationships with the acceptance behaviors of customers. The results from a Web survey of 932 users show that the technology acceptance model (TAM) is valid in predicting the acceptance of the Internet shopping malls and that online and offline features have positive effects on the user acceptance. Both online and offline features have greater effects on the usefulness, attitude, and intention to use than either online or offline features separately. This study provides a domain-specific, integrative approach in evaluating the quality and antecedents of user acceptance for Internet shopping malls.     

基于嵌入式Linux网路监控系统的设计

随着微处理器技术、计算机网络技术的进步,基于嵌入式Web的网络视频监控系统逐渐得到了人们的广泛关注。文章重点研究一种基于Web技术和嵌入式技术相结合的远程监控系统的设计方案,详细分析它的系统结构。在嵌入式Linux操作系统下使用boa作为Web服务器,通过编写CGI程序实现用户使用标准Web浏览器通过服务器站点进行对远程设备的在线访问、控制和管理的过程。     

基于Web应用系统的评测方法和技术

在现有Web服务器的评测方法和技术基础上对Web应用系统进行性能测试的一些研究，主要定义了一套测试基于Web的应用系统的术语和性能指标集，并提出了性能测试的总体方案，对生成工作负载的相关问题也作了简要的说明。     

A Survey and Analysis of the P3P Protocol's Agents, Adoption, Maintenance, and Future

In this paper, we survey the adoption of the platform for privacy preferences protocol (P3P) on Internet Web sites to determine if P3P is a growing or stagnant technology. We conducted a pilot survey in February 2005 and our full survey in November 2005. We compare the results from these two surveys and the previous (July 2003) survey of P3P adoption. In general, we find that P3P adoption is stagnant, and errors in P3P documents are a regular occurrence. In addition, very little maintenance of P3P policies is apparent. These observations call into question P3P's viability as an online privacy-enhancing technology. Our survey exceeds other previous surveys in our use of both detailed statistical analysis and scope; our February pilot survey analyzed more than 23,000 unique Web sites, and our full survey in November 2005 analyzed more than 100,000 unique Web sites.     

Does survey format influence self-disclosure on sensitive question items?

Although there are advantages for use of internet based survey research over other formats, there remains in question whether survey mode influences the data measurement equivalency. While most research exploring survey format finds little or no difference in measurement equivalency, the interaction of sensitive topics and survey modality is not fully understood. Additionally, research suggests gender differences in item response on sensitive topics. The present study examined archival data from a college health survey using both online and paper-pencil survey formats. The interaction was evaluated between gender, survey format, and item sensitivity level. Results indicate that question topic sensitivity has a large effect on missing data, and survey format has a moderate effect. These findings have necessary implications for survey design and outcome interpretations.     

Understanding user requirements and preferences for a digital library Web portal

This article reports the findings of a user study conducted in the context of the TELplus project to gain insights about user needs and preferences for the digital library services offered by The European Library Web portal. The user requirements collection for the Web portal was designed by adopting a comprehensive survey approach. This combined explicit user feedback with implicit usage data so as to provide a more in-depth analysis of user experience with the portal. The analysis conducted shed light on likely motivations for both participant usage and reluctance to use the services provided, leading to more informed decisions on how to refine, improve, and present Web portal services to their future users. The lessons learnt from this case study also contributed to the development of an integrated methodological framework which provided insights for the future design and evaluation of digital library Web portals and services.     

Information systems for enhancing social experience in a conference context: A sensor based approach

We combine Auto Identification and Web technologies in an extensible on-site event support system for enhancing experience of conference organizers as well as participants. Our system enables users to authenticate themselves using RFID badges and to access interactive, Web-based services via a touchscreen PC. The developed services aim at supporting social interactions of participants, and thus validate the promising usage directions of the combination of offline social networks and the online social Web. The main hypothesis of our work is that: ??A sensor based information system can truly enhance social conference experience.?? Technically, we have investigated employment of Web 2.0 technologies in social, sensor and mobile technologies enabled systems at conferences and events. This article gives an overview of the overall system and its evaluation via a user survey and usage log data collected during the Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2010 and similar international conferences, altogether with several hundred participants.     

Electronic Survey Methodology: A Case Study in Reaching Hard-to-Involve Internet Users

Using the Internet to conduct quantitative research presents challenges not found in conventional research. Paper-based survey quality criteria cannot be completely adapted to electronic formats. Electronic surveys have distinctive technological, demographic, and response characteristics that affect their design, use, and implementation. Survey design, participant privacy and confidentiality, sampling and subject solicitation, distribution methods and response rates, and survey piloting are critical methodological components that must be addressed.

In this article, quality criteria for electronic survey design and use based on an investigation of recent electronic survey literature are presented. The application of these criteria to reach a hard-to-involve online population-nonpublic participants of online communities (also known as "lurkers")-and survey them on their community participation, a topic not salient to the purpose of their online communities is demonstrated in a case study. The results show that a hard-to-reach audience can be reached using the quality criteria that are most important for reaching these types of audiences. The results suggest how the use of some criteria may conflict and what researchers may experience when conducting electronic surveys in an online culture in which people are not tolerant of intrusions into online lives.     

Videolization: knowledge graph based automated video generation from web content

Web content nowadays can also be accessed through new generation of Internet connected TVs. However, these products failed to change users’ behavior when consuming online content. Users still prefer personal computers to access Web content. Certainly, most of the online content is still designed to be accessed by personal computers or mobile devices. In order to overcome the usability problem of Web content consumption on TVs, this paper presents a knowledge graph based video generation system that automatically converts textual Web content into videos using semantic Web and computer graphics based technologies. As a use case, Wikipedia articles are automatically converted into videos. The effectiveness of the proposed system is validated empirically via opinion surveys. Fifty percent of survey users indicated that they found generated videos enjoyable and 42 % of them indicated that they would like to use our system to consume Web content on their TVs.

     

EWS-Based Management Application Interface and Integration Mechanisms for Web-Based Element Management

Web-based network element management provides an administrator with the ability to configure and monitor network devices over the Internet using a Web browser. The most direct way to accomplish this is to embed a Web server [Embedded Web Server (EWS)] into a network device, and use that server to provide a Web-based management user interface constructed with HTML, graphics, Java and other features common to Web browsers. In this paper we present EWS-based management application interface mechanisms for use between embedded management applications and embedded Web servers. We propose a guideline for choosing an efficient interface mechanism, which is based on the characteristics of management information and Web documents. A Web-based management user interface through embedded Web servers has many advantages such as ubiquity, platform independence and user-friendliness. In order to be truly useful, a Web-based management user interface must have a low development cost and a short development time. We provide effective integration mechanisms for each interface. We validate these mechanisms by implementing them in an Internet router.     

基于Web的嵌入式设备监控模型的设计与实现

研究并实现了一种基于Web技术的嵌入式没备监控模型,使管理者可以通过Internet利用Web浏览器完成对现场设备的远程访问、监控和维护等操作,实现了异构设备之间的跨平台互访。对TCP／IP协议进行约简,实现了一个thin TCP／IP协议栈,为嵌入式设备提供了网络接口,实现了与Internet的无缝连接。嵌入式没备网关将TCP／IP协议与嵌入式设备监控协议之间的格式进行转换,实现了远程用户对现场设备的透明访问,具有智能化和远程管理的特点。通过对该模型性能的测试,结果表明基于Web的远程监控方式可以满足监控任务的需要,而且能有效降低监控运行维护成本、提高运行维护效率,具有实际应用价值。     

“I plan to be a 10”: Online literacy and lesbian,gay, bisexual,and transgender students

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people use computer mediated communication (CMC) in a variety of ways as they come to understand their sexual identity and begin to identify with larger communities. A Web-based survey gathered 75 responses from Web users who supplied information about their online experiences as LGBT people. They report using online resources to serve many functions in the coming out process: They gather information, try out new ways of self-expression, and an find audience of like-minded people with whom they interact. Online resources were reported as most useful for obtaining basic information, for offering the ability to express oneself on LGBT issues and as a LGBT person, and for connecting with a larger LGBT community. The ways people find, use, and interact with these resources are examples of online literacy, a set of skills that may parallel traditional academic literacies but which may be used in different ways and to different ends.     

An Examination of Library World Wide Web Sites at Medium-Sized Universities

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a study of World Wide Web (Web) Sites for 133 academic libraries serving medium-sized universities. Each library Web site was examined, and all of the features were recorded. The study identified 31 core components which were present in over 50 percent of the libraries surveyed. The study indicated that: the navigational and design aspects of library Web sites should be improved; materials should be placed on the sites only if they will be accessed and utilized by the user community; and libraries could profit by making greater use of online tutorials and virtual tours to supplement regular bibliographic instruction.