Open Data

Open data is freely usable, reusable, or redistributable by anybody, provided there are safeguards in place that protect the data’s integrity and transparency. This book describes how data retrieved from public open data repositories can improve the learning qualities of digital networking, particularly performance and reliability. Chapters address such topics as knowledge extraction, Open Government Data (OGD), public dashboards, intrusion detection, and artificial intelligence in healthcare

A Typology Of Online Window Shopping Consumers

Consumer online shopping behaviors are well attended in the IS and marketing literature. Yet, there is another group of individuals who spend a lot of time online but do not purchase anything. This online window shopping phenomenon is intriguing to both scholars and marketers yet it is less studied and little understood. Questions such as what the online window shopping consumers do during their visits, how to differentiate their activities and how to design marketing strategies to stimulate them to buy are all essential and beg for investigation. To address this gap, we propose a typology of online window shopping consumers based on the Consumer Information Processing Model, then empirically validate and refine the typology using a set of clickstream data. The final typology contains four main types of online window shopper consumers: 1) promotion finders, 2) social & hedonic experience seekers, 3) information gatherers, and 4) learners & novices. This study extends consumer online behavior research in both e-commerce and social commerce by focusing on the specific group of consumers who only do online window shopping. Besides theoretical contributions, the findings also provide marketers and businesses with valuable references for designing targeted marketing strategies or promotional activities for online window shopping consumers

View-based user interfaces for the Semantic Web

This thesis explores the possibilities of using the view-based search paradigm to create intelligent user interfaces on the Semantic Web. After surveying several semantic search techniques, the view-based search paradigm is explained, and argued to fit in a valuable niche in the field. To test the argument, numerous portals with different user interfaces and data were built using the paradigm. Based on the results of these experiments, this thesis argues that the paradigm provides a strong, extensible and flexible base on which to built semantic user interfaces. Designing the actual systems to be as adaptable as possible is also discussed

Integration of distributed terminology resources to facilitate subject cross-browsing for library portal systems

With the increase in the number of distributed library information resources, users may have to interact with different user interfaces, learn to switch their mental models between these interfaces, and familiarise themselves with controlled vocabularies used by different resources. For this reason, library professionals have developed library portals to integrate these distributed information resources, and assist end-users in cross-accessing distributed resources via a single access point in their own library. There are two important subject-based services that a library portal system might be able to provide. The first is a federated search service, which refers to a process where a user can input a query to cross-search a number of information resources. The second is a subject cross-browsing service, which can offer a knowledge navigation tree to link subject schemes used by distributed resources. However, the development of subject cross-searching and browsing services has been impeded by the heterogeneity of different KOS (Knowledge Organisation System) used by different information resources. Due to the lack of mappings between different KOS, it is impossible to offer a subject cross-browsing service for a library portal system. [Continues.

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

A new framework for a technological perspective of knowledge management

Rapid change is a defining characteristic of our modern society. This has huge impact on society, governments, and businesses. Businesses are forced to fundamentally transform themselves to survive in a challenging economy. Transformation implies change in the way business is conducted, in the way people perform their contribution to the organisation, and in the way the organisation perceives and manages its vital assets – which increasingly are built around the key assets of intellectual capital and knowledge. The latest management tool and realisation of how to respond to the challenges of the economy in the new millennium, is the idea of "knowledge management" (KM). In this study we have focused on synthesising the many confusing points of view about the subject area, such as: a. different focus points or perspectives; b. different definitions and positioning of the subject; as well as c. a bewildering number of definitions of what knowledge is and what KM entails. There exists a too blurred distinction in popular-magazine-like sources about this area between subjects and concepts such as: knowledge versus information versus data; the difference between information management and knowledge management; tools available to tackle the issues in this field of study and practice; and the role technology plays versus the huge hype from some journalists and within the vendor community. Today there appears to be a lack of a coherent set of frameworks to abstract, comprehend, and explain this subject area; let alone to build successful systems and technologies with which to apply KM. The study is comprised of two major parts: 1. In the first part the study investigates the concepts, elements, drivers, and challenges related to KM. A set of models for comprehending these issues and notions is contributed as we considered intellectual capital, organizational learning, communities of practice, and best practices. 2. The second part focuses on the technology perspective of KM. Although KM is primarily concerned with non-technical issues this study concentrates on the technical issues and challenges. A new technology framework for KM is proposed to position and relate the different KM technologies as well as the two key applications of KM, namely knowledge portals and knowledge discovery (including text mining). It is concluded that KM and related concepts and notions need to be understood firmly as well as effectively positioned and employed to support the modern business organisation in its quest to survive and grow. The main thesis is that KM technology is a necessary but insufficient prerequisite and a key enabler for successful KM in a rapidly changing business environment.Thesis (PhD (Computer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2010.Computer Scienceunrestricte

Cataloguing practices from creation to use: a study of Cape Town Metropolitan Public Libraries in Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2019.Cataloguing is the process of creating metadata representing information sources such as books, sound recordings, digital video disks (DVDs), journals and other materials found in a library or group of libraries. This process requires the use of standardised cataloguing tools to achieve the bibliographic description, authority control, subject analysis and assignment of classification notation to generate a library catalogue. The well-generated library catalogue serves as an index of a collection of information sources found in libraries that enables the library users to discover which information sources are available and where they are in the library. Such a catalogue should provide information such as the creators’ names, titles, subject terms, standard number, publication area, physical description and notes that describe those information sources to facilitate easy information retrieval. This study sought to investigate cataloguing practices from creation to use in Cape Town Metropolitan public libraries in South Africa with the aim of deepening the understanding of the importance of cataloguing standards in creating bibliographic data for the libraries. The study also sought to address the following research questions: “What skills do the cataloguers of Cape Town Metropolitan libraries possess?”, “To what extent do cataloguers in Cape Town Metropolitan public libraries adhere to international standards when creating records in the online catalogue?”, “How are the cataloguing records created on the system by cataloguers in the Cape Town Metropolitan used within and across the public libraries?”, “How are the new Resource Description and Access (RDA) standards applied in public libraries in the Cape Town Metropolitan to ensure they accommodate entities and attributes as described by the international cataloguing standards?”, “What records quality control measures are used in computerised cataloguing by public libraries in the Cape Town Metropolitan?”, “How effective is the computerised cataloguing system of Cape Town Metropolitan public libraries?”, “What are the challenges experienced by public libraries in the Cape Town Metropolitan in computerised cataloguing?” The study was underpinned by a combination of the IFLA’s Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) and Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD). The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm associated with the mixed methods (MMR) approach where the qualitative aspects were dominant. The study adopted a case study design and data were collected using focus group discussions, face-to-face interviews, questionnaires, and document review methods. The population of the study comprised cataloguers, senior librarians, librarians and library assistants of 10 libraries in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan. Reliability and validity of the instruments were ascertained through a pilot study. The data collected were presented and analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative data were analysed thematically, presented in narrative description, while the quantitative data were coded and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and presented in tables, graphs and charts, where applicable. The findings of the study revealed that although the cataloguers were experienced in their work, some catalogue records did not fully adhere to the cataloguing rules. Furthermore, there were no continuous development programmes in place to update the cataloguers’ knowledge and cope with dynamic changes in the cataloguing fields. In addition, the findings revealed that some catalogue records did not have adequate information descriptions to facilitate effective retrieval of information. The study also found that a peer review mechanism was used to facilitate quality control; the system used for cataloguing did not have all MARC tags and cataloguers experienced some challenges with the use of the cataloguing standards and assigning subject headings for non-roman sources. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that cataloguers did not adhere to international cataloguing standards when creating the catalogue records. A number of recommendations were therefore proffered among them that Cape Town Metropolitan Libraries (CCTML) should consider to improve their catalogue quality control measures. Moreover, cataloguers need adequate skills to enable them to implement and sustain the computerised system for cataloguing and retrieval. The CCTML need policies that provide the guidelines in the application of cataloguing rules and standards. The cataloguing department should consider planning for a re-cataloguing project to modify the records that did not have enough descriptions on the system Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) to improve retrieval

CHORUS Deliverable 2.1: State of the Art on Multimedia Search Engines

Based on the information provided by European projects and national initiatives related to multimedia search as well as domains experts that participated in the CHORUS Think-thanks and workshops, this document reports on the state of the art related to multimedia content search from, a technical, and socio-economic perspective. The technical perspective includes an up to date view on content based indexing and retrieval technologies, multimedia search in the context of mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks, and an overview of current evaluation and benchmark inititiatives to measure the performance of multimedia search engines. From a socio-economic perspective we inventorize the impact and legal consequences of these technical advances and point out future directions of research