Intermediary's Elicitation and Patron's Retrieval Satisfaction

[[abstract]]An elicitation is a verbal request for information reflecting one's interests, concerns or perplexities in conversation. Elicitation behavior in studies of information retrieval interaction is, in fact, the micro-level of information-seeking behavior in which the user and the intermediary exchange information to fill the gaps in one's internal state of knowledge. This study aims to understand the intermediary's elicitation behavior in terms of linguistic forms, communicative functions (illocutionary force) and utterance purposes (semantic contents) and further to identify the relationship between intermediary's individual differences and search results satisfaction. Research methods include participatory observation, conversation analysis, content analysis and statistical analysis of elicitation frequencies and questionnaires. Our research results successfully identify the three dimensions of intermediary's elicitation behavior and characterize intermediary's inquiring minds and elicitation styles. Further analysis shows that there exists a significant relationship between inquiring minds/elicitation styles and user's relevance judgment of search results.

Search procedures revisited

Search Procedures reflects on a series of studies carried out over a four year period in the late 1970s. It was published at an interesting time for Information Retrieval. Written before Information Retrieval became synonymous with online information seeking it focuses on Information Retrieval within Public Libraries, then the major location for everyday information seeking. While many of his contemporaries focused on information seeking in academic or special library settings, Peter chose instead to focus a setting that was visited by a more diverse set of people with a broader range of information needs

Electronic Publishing: Research Issues for Academic Librarians and Users

published or submitted for publicatio

“Who Needs To Know?”: How Different Aspects Of The User\u27s Situation Are Important For Answering Different Query Types

Prior research has established that various aspects of the user’s situation, collectively called the user model, affect what information is relevant. The purpose of our research is to refine this idea by exploring how different aspects of the user model are salient for different question types. Our methodology follows tradition in studying real intermediary elicitations for clues about what aspects of the user model are important, except that we analyze how this differs across question types. We find that there are more elicitations about the background of the user’s task and about the relevance of particular information for longer-answer questions than for short-answer questions, but surprisingly, no more elicitations regarding the sufficiency of particular information. The practical application of our research is to guide human or automated respondents to focus on the user details that are most important for different types of question

Using the technology enhanced interaction framework for interaction scenarios involving disabled people

This paper focuses on the development of a general interaction framework to help design technology to support communication between people and improve interactions between people, technology and objects, particularly in complex situations when disabled people are involved. The main and sub-components of the framework are described. A tool was developed to provide advice on design and development factors for technological support. Work is now in progress to validate the framework and the tool with expert designers and accessibility experts before evaluating it with technology designers

Virtual Meeting Rooms: From Observation to Simulation

Much working time is spent in meetings and, as a consequence, meetings have become the subject of multidisciplinary research. Virtual Meeting Rooms (VMRs) are 3D virtual replicas of meeting rooms, where various modalities such as speech, gaze, distance, gestures and facial expressions can be controlled. This allows VMRs to be used to improve remote meeting participation, to visualize multimedia data and as an instrument for research into social interaction in meetings. This paper describes how these three uses can be realized in a VMR. We describe the process from observation through annotation to simulation and a model that describes the relations between the annotated features of verbal and non-verbal conversational behavior.\ud As an example of social perception research in the VMR, we describe an experiment to assess human observers’ accuracy for head orientation

An Overview and Tutorial of the Repertory Grid Technique in Information Systems Research

Interest in the repertory grid technique has been growing in the IS field. This article seeks to inform the reader on the proper use and application of the technique in IS research. The methodology has unique advantages that make it suitable for many research settings. In this tutorial, we describe the technique, its theoretical underpinnings, and how it may be used by IS researchers. We conclude by detailing many IS research opportunities that exist in respect to the repertory grid technique

Imaginary relish and exquisite torture: The elaborated intrusion theory of desire

The authors argue that human desire involves conscious cognition that has strong affective connotation and is potentially involved in the determination of appetitive behavior rather than being epiphenomenal to it. Intrusive thoughts about appetitive targets are triggered automatically by external or physiological cues and by cognitive associates. When intrusions elicit significant pleasure or relief, cognitive elaboration usually ensues. Elaboration competes with concurrent cognitive tasks through retrieval of target-related information and its retention in working memory. Sensory images are especially important products of intrusion and elaboration because they simulate the sensory and emotional qualities of target acquisition. Desire images are momentarily rewarding but amplify awareness of somatic and emotional deficits. Effects of desires on behavior are moderated by competing incentives, target availability, and skills. The theory provides a coherent account of existing data and suggests new directions for research and treatment