Inspiring and Informing Citizens Online: A Media Richness Analysis of Varied Civic Education Modalities

Public deliberation on the Internet is a promising but unproven practice. Online deliberation can engage large numbers of citizens at relatively low cost, but it is unclear whether such programs have substantial civic impact. One factor in determining their effectiveness may be the communicative features of the online setting in which they occur. Within a Media Richness Theory framework, we conducted a quasiexperiment to assess the civic outcomes of interventions executed online by nonprofit organizations prior to the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The results assess the impact of these interventions on issue knowledge and civic attitudes. Comparisons of the interventions illustrate the importance of considering media richness online, and our discussion considers the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

View management in multimedia databases

Abstract. Though there has been extensive work on multimedia databases in the last few years, there is no prevailing notion of a multimedia view, nor there are techniques to create, manage, and maintain such views. Visualizing the results of a dynamic multimedia query or materializing a dynamic multimedia view corresponds to assembling and delivering an interactive multimedia presentation in accordance with the visualization specifications. In this paper, we suggest that a non-interactive multimedia presentation is a set of virtual objects with associated spatial and temporal presentation constraints. A virtual object is either an object, or the result of a query. As queries may have different answers at different points in time, scheduling the presentation of such objects is nontrivial. We then develop a probabilistic model of interactive multimedia presentations, extending the non-interactive model described earlier. We also develop a probabilistic model of interactive visualization where the probabilities reflect the user profiles, or the likelihood of certain user interactions. Based on this probabilistic model, we develop three utility-theoretic based types of prefetching algorithms that anticipate how users will interact with the presentation. These prefetching algorithms allow efficient visualization of the query results in accordance with the underlying specification. We have built a prototype system that incorporates these algorithms. We report on the results of experiments conducted on top of this implementation. Received June 10, 1998 / Accepted November 10, 1999     

Effect of interactivity on learner perceptions in Web-based instruction

The capacities of the Internet provide a flexible platform for learning that has overcome the limitations of time and space. To compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication in online education, interactivity design has become an important factor affecting online learning. This study examines how different levels of interactivity in Web-based instruction (WBI) influence learners’ perceptions of using WBI systems with a comprehensive interaction design. Three WBI systems were developed with low, medium, and high levels of interactivity, and the effect of interactivity on learners’ perceptions was investigated in a real class. The findings suggest a relationship between the interactivity level and learners’ attitudes, learning, and satisfaction, but not perceived interactivity. The results indicated that the learners required a certain amount of mental effort to access the system initially; however, repeated exposure to the WBI systems increased their ability to operate the systems, which in turn increased the similarity of the interactivity perceptions of the three groups. Although the learners felt no differences in the interactivity toward the end of the 6-week class owing to familiarity with the system, the benefits of higher interactivity remained. This indicates that learners’ interactivity perceptions may change as their experience increases, but different interactivity designs do indeed influence their performance and attitudes in learning.     

Mediating roles of self-presentation desire in online game community commitment and trust behavior of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), which allow simultaneous participation of several gamers, have attracted a great deal of attention recently. Since MMORPGs can be categorized as a type of online community, the behavior of MMORPGs users needs to be considered as the general behavior in online communities. However, previous studies of online communities did not pay enough attention to MMORPGs, in which users can express themselves by interacting actively through games and game avatars. Understanding the characteristics of MMORPGs as online game communities where users communicate and interact will allow games to be vitalized and users to be immersed in games in a more positive way. Hence, using self-presentation theory and social identity theory, this study examined the factors influencing self-presentation desire and the mediating role of self-presentation desire examined in terms of trust of and commitments to online game communities. The results showed that the interactivity in the spaces of MMORPGs had the biggest impacts on self-presentation desire; personal innovativeness and game design quality also was influential. The results also indicated that self-presentation desire caused trust of online games and eventually led to even stronger commitments to gamers.     

A Multifaceted Tool for a Complex Phenomenon: Coding Web‐Based Interactivity as Technologies for Interaction Evolve

Analysis of interactivity in Web sites is an important extension of a long tradition of analyzing content of media messages. But both interactivity and online analysis of content and features offer unique challenges to researchers. This study develops and tests a tool for measuring interactivity in the context of health‐related Web sites. The tool was flexible enough to distinguish among multiple types of interactivity and powerful enough to show differences in interactivity based on domain type. Thus, it should have a relatively long life as a multifaceted tool for the tough job of measuring interactivity online.     

Territorial intelligence in rural areas: The digitization of non-profit associations through social media

Rural communities are facing the challenge of technological development to address territorial management, by overcoming the digital divide, by introducing digitization in these resilient areas and connecting them. This article thus analyses the relationship that exists between territorial intelligence and development in rural areas through the use of social networks in non-profit associations. The aims are to establish the monitoring and evaluation of social networks in the Local Action Groups (LAGs) of Andalusia and to establish whether the demographic vacuum conditions interactivity.Fourteen indicators have been developed that are linked to social networks, using the LAGs’ websites—Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—as sources. The purpose of all this is to examine the volume of information and the degree of visibility that exists on each of the three platforms. Three indices of interactivity are obtained which are finally included in a cluster analysis.The results show that these associations use social networks more as a means of unidirectional communication with little interaction with society at large. Facebook continues to be the most widely used tool for spreading information in the rural environment. Although the majority of LAGs make an effort to communicate with each other, they should create more synergies. Rural depopulation need not hinder interactivity; a change of mentality is needed, along with the creation of new cultural paradigms for the delivery and use of public services.     

利用 WebGL 技术实现机房动态虚拟装配设计的可视化

本文设计并实现了一个面向机房的动态虚拟装配系统.该系统将传统的三维虚拟装配分解为二维装配和三维可视化两部分.在二维装配阶段,用户只需简单的交互操作就可完成机房的装配,配置结果记录在系统动态生成的配置文件中;在三维可视化阶段,系统根据配置文件可视化装配结果,实现虚拟装配.这种动态虚拟装配的架构有效提高了装配的效率,使装配更简捷、修改更容易.此外,该系统采用 WebGL 技术实现可视化,使得该系统的操作可全部在浏览器端完成,系统的发布和使用更加便捷.     

Effects of new-to-market e-store features on first time browsers

Understanding the effects of website design features on website usage is complicated when buyers differ in their willingness to process information to make decisions. However, it becomes more difficult for a new-to-market e-store with no established familiarity. While extant literature suggests the use of interactivity and personalization features offered by e-stores to reduce consumers’ risk perceptions and improve trustworthiness of such stores, there is little guidance on the level of feature provision required to enhance consumer satisfaction in making product selections from a new and unfamiliar e-store. The authors explore this issue in an online experiment with 273 subjects browsing 4 websites offering identical products but with variable levels of interactivity and personalization features. Findings reveal a positive association between the level of feature provision and browser decision-making outcomes. However, interactivity features are more effective for maximizers, whereas personalization ones are more effective for satisficers.     

Polymer-bound ethylenediamine–borane reagent: A new class of polymeric reducing agent

A polymer-supported ethylenediamine (EDA)–borane reagent was prepared under mild reaction conditions. The reagent was found to be efficient and selective in the reduction of aldehydes to the corresponding alcohols in high yields at room temperature. The polymeric reagent was prepared on a Merrifield resin and on a 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate-crosslinked polystyrene resin (HDODA–PS). HDODA–PS was prepared by suspension polymerization and chloromethylated by a Friedel–Crafts reaction. The preparation of the polymer-bound EDA–borane reagent involves a series of polymer analogous reactions, such as amination of the chloromethyl resin, conversion to amine hydrochloride, and, finally, complexation with sodium borohydride. The reagent exhibited good chemoselectivity in the reduction of aldehydes. The reduction reactions were carried out with a 2 molar excess of the polymeric reagent. In the competitive reduction of a 1:1 molar mixture of benzaldehyde and acetophenone, benzaldehyde was selectively reduced to benzyl alcohol. The spent resin could be recycled by treating with sodium borohydride. The recycled resin was used several times without much loss in chemical reactivity and mechanical stability. The HDODA–PS resin was found to be more efficient than was the Merrifield resin in the preparation of the reagent as well as in the reduction reactions. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 593–600, 2001     

Designing a sustainable stochastic electricity generation network with hybrid production strategies

This paper aims to design a sustainable stochastic electricity production network where fossil fuels-based, biomass-based, and co-firing-based production strategies are simultaneously considered in order to take advantage of all the three production strategies. A multi-objective stochastic mixed integer linear programming model is proposed to achieve economic feasibility, as well as environmental and social benefits under multiple uncertainties. The model is solved by using the improved augmented epsilon constraint method. A case study is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. Pareto optimal analysis is conducted to understand the trade-off between economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability.