Collaborative systems for enhancing the analysis of social surveys: the grid enabled specialist data environments

This paper describes a group of online services which are designed to support social survey research and the production of statistical results. The 'Grid Enabled Specialist Data Environment' (GESDE) services constitute three related systems which offer facilities to search for, extract and exploit supplementary data and metadata concerned with the measurement and operationalisation of survey variables. The services also offer users the opportunity to deposit and distribute their own supplementary data resources for the benefit of dissemination and replication of the details of their own analysis. The GESDE services focus upon three application areas: specialist data relating to the measurement of occupations; educational qualifications; and ethnicity (including nationality, language, religion, national identity). They identify information resources related to the operationalisation of variables which seek to measure each of these concepts - examples include coding frames, crosswalk and translation files, and standardisation and harmonisation recommendations. These resources constitute important supplementary data which can be usefully exploited in the analysis of survey data. The GESDE services work by collecting together as much of this supplementary data as possible, and making it searchable and retrievable to others. This paper discusses the current features of the GESDE services (which have been designed as part of a wider programme of ‘e-Science’ research in the UK), and considers ongoing challenges in providing effective support for variable-oriented statistical analysis in the social sciences

The Impact of Interface Quality on Trust in Web Retailers

Web retailing is expected to grow at aggressive rates in future years. One of the most important factors that is slowing down this growth is the lack of trust of potential customers. So, as transactions through the internet develop and mature, success will largely be dependent on gaining and0501ntaining this trust. It has been suggested that the quality of the user interface of the Web site is a determinant of the initial establishment of trust. In this article, we describe a study where 66 subjects were asked to perform some predefined book purchasing task in a series of sites with varying interface quality. We found a strong relationship between interface quality and trust. We also found some components of user interface quality to be more important than others and discuss the implications for Web site design. Le manque de confiance constitue une des barrières les plus importantes à l'adoption et au développement du commerce électronique. Centré sur le commerce électronique de détail, ce travail présente un modèle permettant d'analyser le développement de la confiance du consommateur en fonction des caractéristiques de ce dernier - sa propension - et de la perception qu'il a de certaines caractéristiques du commerçant, soit l'intégrité, l'habilité et la bienveillance de ce dernier. L'utilisabilité de l'interface graphique a été retenue comme étant le facteur-clé en ce qui concerne la perception de ces caractéristiques. Le rôle de chacune des dimensions composant l'utilisabilité a donc été étudié et mis en évidence relativement à la confiance développée par le consommateur.User interface, laboratory experiment, trust, usability, electronic retailing, web design, Interface utilisateur, expérimentation en laboratoire, confiance, b2c, commerce électronique (détail), design de site web

The Cowl - v.37 - n.14 - Feb 2, 1983

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 37 - No. 14 - February 2, 1983. 20 pages

Big data brings new power to open-source intelligence

The story of Eliot Higgins, a blogger who exploits publicly accessible material to piece together important facts about the Syrian conflict, offers a unique insight into the enormous potential of open-source intelligence. Matthew Moran describes how the networked society has spawned new analytical approaches and opportunities

Taking Online Interaction for Granted

The ubiquity of library user familiarity with online searching allows librarians to focus on the social and human considerations of online interaction. Librarians can be leaders in humanizing the net, in improving search engine technology, and in educating the 79% who are still not online

\u3cem\u3eReflections\u3c/em\u3e - Fall 1995

Contents: USCAN Expanded to Include Journal Indexes..... p.1 Dear Readers..... p.1 New Music Library to Be State of the Art..... p.2 South Caroliniana Library Receives Clement Collection..... p.2 CD-ROM and Online Databases USC Columbia Libraries..... p.3 NHPRC Grant..... p.4 National Endowment For The Humanities Grant..... p.4 New Publication Features Libraries\u27 Collections..... p.4 Library Workshops..... p.5 New Faces..... p.