information seeking as explorative learning

The paper starts with an overview of major problems hindering effective interactions with information retrieval systems. A brief review of models of the interaction taking place during information seeking is then provided with the aim of lying the ground for yet another model based on two levels of interaction: presentation and navigation. The former encompasses interactions with the user interface of the retrieval system, whereas the latter deals with the interaction that users experience with the information resource. It is claimed that this second level of interaction can be framed as an exploratory learning process and that its analysis provides adequate support for designing and evaluating information access systems

Laying the Foundation of Teaching in Digital Era: What Happens to Teachers When Technology Changes Rapidly

Teachers may not always obtain professional training to improve themselves. Frequently, they have to learnby themselves, explore ways by their own, and do some trials and errors. They can be successful or fail.They have to do their own learning journey. This frequently happens when teachers have to work with ICT.The flourish, popularity and reputation of ICT in education seem very appealing, but at the same timeprovide new challenges. The Interactivity, creativity, affection, cognition, speed and transferability featuresof ICT may tempt teachers to use it in their teaching. However, teachers may face difficulty when they haveto change by adopting new technology, but they do not know what to do, where to start and who can or willhappily help them, especially when other teachers are busy with their own works. This indicates that thecoming of ICT bring joy, but also difficulty for teachers. This ICT learning difficulties/challenges areheightened by the nature of ICT which changes and expands rapidly. In this study, I intend to express myreflection on my own teaching practice and my analysis on one of my colleagues teaching experience in ourICT self-learning: what issues we encounter, what we obtain and miss in our learning journey, and whataspects affect our learning. We find that professional help for teachers does not always come when it isneeded. There are many times when teachers should face their teaching field independently (withoutprofessional training). However, we find that embedding ICT into teaching-learning now becomes not onlya trend, but also a need. To do this, teachers should be explorative, adaptive and reflective learners. Thereare many challenges that we have to face during the learning process which relate to teacher, students andenvironment aspects which require us to do exploratory, experiential and social learning. Genuine learningmay come from self-learning on what we need in our teaching practice and observation on whatenvironment provides or not provide for our learning

Laying the Foundation of Teaching in Digital Era: What Happens to Teachers when Technology Changes Rapidly

Teachers may not always obtain professional training to improve themselves. Frequently, they have to learnby themselves, explore ways by their own, and do some trials and errors. They can be successful or fail.They have to do their own learning journey. This frequently happens when teachers have to work with ICT.The flourish, popularity and reputation of ICT in education seem very appealing, but at the same timeprovide new challenges. The Interactivity, creativity, affection, cognition, speed and transferability featuresof ICT may tempt teachers to use it in their teaching. However, teachers may face difficulty when they haveto change by adopting new technology, but they do not know what to do, where to start and who can or willhappily help them, especially when other teachers are busy with their own works. This indicates that thecoming of ICT bring joy, but also difficulty for teachers. This ICT learning difficulties/challenges areheightened by the nature of ICT which changes and expands rapidly. In this study, I intend to express myreflection on my own teaching practice and my analysis on one of my colleagues teaching experience in ourICT self-learning: what issues we encounter, what we obtain and miss in our learning journey, and whataspects affect our learning. We find that professional help for teachers does not always come when it isneeded. There are many times when teachers should face their teaching field independently (withoutprofessional training). However, we find that embedding ICT into teaching-learning now becomes not onlya trend, but also a need. To do this, teachers should be explorative, adaptive and reflective learners. Thereare many challenges that we have to face during the learning process which relate to teacher, students andenvironment aspects which require us to do exploratory, experiential and social learning. Genuine learningmay come from self-learning on what we need in our teaching practice and observation on whatenvironment provides or not provide for our learning

Knowledge representation within information systems in manufacturing environments

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Representing knowledge as information content alone is insufficient in providing us with an understanding of the world around us. A combination of context as well as reasoning of the information content is fundamental to representing knowledge in an information system. Knowledge Representation is typically concerned with providing structures and theories that are used as a basis for intelligent reasoning. For this research however, the author defines an alternative meaning, which is related to how knowledge is used in a given context. Thus, this dissertation provides a contribution to the field of knowledge within information systems, in terms of the development of a frame-of-reference that will support the reader in navigating through the different forms of explicit and tacit knowledge use within the manufacturing industry. In doing so, the dissertation also presents the generation of a novel classification of three forms of knowledge (Structural, Interpretive and Evaluative forms); the development of a conceptual framework which highlights the drivers for knowledge transformation; and the development of a conceptual model which seeks to envelop both the content as well as the context of knowledge (Semiotic as well as Symbiotic factors). This is established through the use of an Empirical, Quantitative case study approach, that seeks to explore an interpretivist view of knowledge representation within two information systems contexts, within two UK manufacturing organisations. The first case study presents how a-priori knowledge assumptions are used in a computer aided engineering decision-making task within a high technology manufacturing company. The second case study shows how knowledge is used within the IT/IS investment evaluation decision making process, within a manufacturing SME. In doing so, both case studies attempt to elucidate the inherent, underlying relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge, via a frame-of-reference developed by the author which defines key drivers for knowledge transformation

Support in Finding and Implementing Search Strategies in Digital Libraries

Endbenutzern von modernen Informationssystemen fehlt es oft an strategischem oder prozeduralem Suchwissen. Diese fehlende Suchexpertise führt dazu, dass Benutzer auf ineffiziente und ineffektive Suchtaktiken und Strategien zurückgreifen. Ausgehend von dieser Problemstellung untersucht die Arbeit, wie ein Suchsystem unerfahrene Benutzer bei der Bildung und Durchführung von Suchstrategien für ihr Informationsproblem unterstützen kann. Basierend auf der parametrisierten Beschreibung von Suchsituationen und unter Einsatz bekannter Taktiken, die auf das Suchsystem Daffodil bezogen wurden, wird ein Vorschlagssystem für Suchtaktiken, -strategeme und Suchstrategien beschrieben. Es benutzt die Technik des fallbasierten Schließens, um aus den erfolgreichen Aktionen anderer Benutzer ein angemessenes Vorgehen für die aktuelle Situation des Suchenden vorzuschlagen. Daneben werden auch Vorschläge basierend auf den Suchergebnissen und auf Suchpfaden früherer Benutzer implementiert und untersucht, sowie die Kombination der verschiedenen Vorgehensweisen diskutiert. Zusätzlich zur Umsetzung für Daffodil erfolgte eine zweite Umsetzung für die Websuche mit Google als Erweiterung für den Browser Firefox. In einer zweiteiligen Evaluation des Vorschlagssystems wurden zunächst das grundsätzliche Konzept und die Benutzerschnittstelle mit positivem Ergebnis untersucht. Ein Folgeexperiment konnte die folgenden Hypothesen bestätigen: * Suchende finden mit Unterstützung mehr relevante Dokumente. * Unterstützte Suchende setzen häufiger fortgeschrittene Taktiken oder Werkzeuge ein. * Situativ angepasste Vorschläge helfen auch in späteren Suchen ohne Unterstützung. Im Rahmen des erprobten Lehrkonzeptes des software-realisierten Scaffolding wird das Vorschlagssystem in den größeren Zusammenhang einer geführten Suchunterstützung eingebettet. Anhand einer beispielhaften Aufgabe zeigt die Arbeit eine prototypische Umsetzung des Scaffoldings für die Suche in Daffodil. Dabei wird einem unerfahrenden Suchenden aufgezeigt, wie sich eine Suchaufgabe in Teilprobleme gliedern lässt und wie man die Werkzeuge des Systems zur Planung und Organisation der Suche einsetzen kann. Darüber hinaus wird ein Strategieframework zur Beschreibung und automatischen Umsetzung einfacher Suchstrategeme vorgestellt und in den Scaffolding-Prototypen integriert. Mit Hilfe des modularen Strategiesystems wurde ein Werkzeug implementiert, das eine existierende Dokumentenliste um zu diesen Dokumenten ähnliche ergänzt. Allen vorgestellten Methoden ist gemein, dass mit ihnen ein DL-System unerfahrene Benutzer bei der Bildung und bei der Durchführung einer Suchstrategie unterstützen kann. Die implementierten Werkzeuge und Frameworks erlauben darüber hinaus die Untersuchung weiterer Unterstützungsszenarien.End users of modern information systems often lack the necessary strategic or procedural search knowledge. This missing search expertise leads to the use of ineffectiv or inefficient search tactics and strategies. Based on this problem, this thesis examines different methods to support inexperienced users of a search system in building and executing search strategies for their information problem. Based on the parametrised description of search situations and using well-known tactics, which have been implemented for Daffodil, a recommendation or suggestion system for search tactics, stratagems and strategies is described. It uses the technique of case-based reasoning to suggest next steps for the user based on successful actions of previous users. In addition suggestions based on common search results and search paths have been implemented and are discussed in this thesis. A second implementation of the concept was done for web searching using the Google search engine and the Firefox web browser. A first evaluation of the suggester validated the general concept and the user interface. In a follow-up experiment the following hypotheses were confirmed: * Supported searchers find more relevant documents. * Supported searchers use more advanced tactics and tools. * Situational suggestions lead to better performance in future searches without support. Using the contept of software-realised scaffolding the suggestion system was included in the larger context of guided search support. A prototypical implementation of scaffolding for searching with Daffodil is described. Guided searching can help inexperienced users to divide their search problem in smaller sub tasks and use the tools of the search system to plan and organise their search. A strategy framework for automatically executing simple search strategems has also been integrated into the scaffolding prototype. Using the modular strategies a tool was developed to find additional similar documents for a given list of documents. All the methods described have in common that they can aid inexperienced searchers in building and executing search strategies. The implemented tools and frameworks also allow further research on additional support scenarios

The impact of concept map visualizations on the information behavior, perceptions of performance, learning and use with novices in the information retrieval context

In examining undergraduate students in the information retrieval environment for the impact of computer generated concept maps, two primary research questions were considered: 1) what is the impact of display type on the novice searcher’s information behavior; and 2) what is the impact of different display types on the user’s perceptions of performance, knowledge and overall use of the system.Sixty participants in this experiment were given hypothetical information needs on two different medical topics (cholesterol, depression). Participants’ explored one of three interactive visualization displays using these medical topics, answered a pre- and post-test instrument and then completed a final questionnaire on their perceptions of the displays. Different types of inferential statistical tests were used to examine the research questions. When appropriate, factorial ANOVAs, mixed between-within ANOVAs, and chi square tests of independence were conducted.Five main findings resulted from this research: 1) for all display types (LIST, SOM, PFNET) there is an increase in the number of participant search terms and in the incorporation of MeSH terminology from the visualizations following exposure to those displays; 2) there is a relationship between the display type and the interface level from which PFNET participants chose terms; 3) searchers’ feelings of confidence, satisfaction, success, and relevance increased across all groups after system interaction; however, pretest feelings of confidence and satisfaction seem to be dependent upon the participant’s self-reported prior knowledge of the search topic; 4) feelings of confidence and satisfaction on the topic participants reported less pre-test knowledge on (cholesterol) shifted to match post-test ratings of confidence and satisfaction on the topic they had more pre-test knowledge on (depression); and 5) participants rated the PFNET system more visually appealing, easier to understand and more likely to be used in the future if given the option. Overall findings suggest that all displays were useful to the participants in this experiment and that the PFNET display was particularly useful for the novice searcher.Ph.D., Information Science -- Drexel University, 200

Knowledge representation within information systems in manufacturing environments

Representing knowledge as information content alone is insufficient in providing us with an understanding of the world around us. A combination of context as well as reasoning of the information content is fundamental to representing knowledge in an information system. Knowledge Representation is typically concerned with providing structures and theories that are used as a basis for intelligent reasoning. For this research however, the author defines an alternative meaning, which is related to how knowledge is used in a given context. Thus, this dissertation provides a contribution to the field of knowledge within information systems, in terms of the development of a frame-of-reference that will support the reader in navigating through the different forms of explicit and tacit knowledge use within the manufacturing industry. In doing so, the dissertation also presents the generation of a novel classification of three forms of knowledge (Structural, Interpretive and Evaluative forms); the development of a conceptual framework which highlights the drivers for knowledge transformation; and the development of a conceptual model which seeks to envelop both the content as well as the context of knowledge (Semiotic as well as Symbiotic factors). This is established through the use of an Empirical, Quantitative case study approach, that seeks to explore an interpretivist view of knowledge representation within two information systems contexts, within two UK manufacturing organisations. The first case study presents how a-priori knowledge assumptions are used in a computer aided engineering decision-making task within a high technology manufacturing company. The second case study shows how knowledge is used within the IT/IS investment evaluation decision making process, within a manufacturing SME. In doing so, both case studies attempt to elucidate the inherent, underlying relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge, via a frame-of-reference developed by the author which defines key drivers for knowledge transformation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Estrategias de búsqueda de información para la generación de conocimiento en la Red

[ES] Las posibilidades informacionales que ofrece Internet están alterando decisivamente las relaciones que mantenemos con la información. Nos encontramos inmersos en una nueva realidad que evoluciona vertiginosamente, ofreciéndonos no solo posibilidades de información sino también enormes oportunidades de aprendizaje. En este sentido, las relaciones de los individuos con la información deberían, mediante los medios disponibles, ofrecerles la capacidad de estar informados, de construir significados y de aprender. Sin embargo, mientras que las posibilidades de estas tecnologías se multiplican exponencialmente, los sujetos siguen teniendo los mismos recursos cognitivos, limitados para operar con la información.[EN] The informational potential of the Internet are altering decisively the relationships we have with information. We are immersed in a new reality that evolves rapidly, offering opportunities not only information but also enormous opportunities for learning. In this sense, the relationships of individuals with information should, through the means available, provide the ability to be informed, to construct meaning and learning. However, while the possibilities of these technologies will increase exponentially, the subjects still have the same cognitive resources, to operate with limited information