The Freshness of Web search engines’ databases

This study measures the frequency in which search engines update their indices. Therefore, 38 websites that are updated on a daily basis were analysed within a time-span of six weeks. The analysed search engines were Google, Yahoo and MSN. We find that Google performs best overall with the most pages updated on a daily basis, but only MSN is able to update all pages within a time-span of less than 20 days. Both other engines have outliers that are quite older. In terms of indexing patterns, we find different approaches at the different engines: While MSN shows clear update patterns, Google shows some outliers and the update process of the Yahoo index seems to be quite chaotic. Implications are that the quality of different search engine indices varies and not only one engine should be used when searching for current content

Framework to Automatically Determine the Quality of Open Data Catalogs

Data catalogs play a crucial role in modern data-driven organizations by facilitating the discovery, understanding, and utilization of diverse data assets. However, ensuring their quality and reliability is complex, especially in open and large-scale data environments. This paper proposes a framework to automatically determine the quality of open data catalogs, addressing the need for efficient and reliable quality assessment mechanisms. Our framework can analyze various core quality dimensions, such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, scalability, and timeliness, offer several alternatives for the assessment of compatibility and similarity across such catalogs as well as the implementation of a set of non-core quality dimensions such as provenance, readability, and licensing. The goal is to empower data-driven organizations to make informed decisions based on trustworthy and well-curated data assets. The source code that illustrates our approach can be downloaded from https://www.github.com/jorge-martinez-gil/dataq/.Comment: 25 page

Demand for Pasture-Raised Livestock Products: Results from Michigan Retail Surveys

Pasture-raised livestock production offers opportunity for product differentiation and enhanced sustainability. Shopper surveys at three Michigan retail locations measured consumers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding pasture-raised livestock products, and willingness to pay for pasture-raised milk and beef. The shoppers associate pasture-raised products with attributes important to purchase decisions. The shoppers express willingness to pay, on average, about 35% more for pasture-raised milk and beef. Informational messages appear to have no effect on these responses. We suggest pasture-raised is a viable marketing strategy and recommend premium pricing strategies and promotion based on verifiable health benefits.animal welfare, consumer demand, pasture-raised livestock products, sustainability, Tobit, willingness to pay, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

User Perception of the U.S. Open Government Data Success Factors

This quantitative correlational study used the information systems success model to examine the relationship between the U.S. federal departments\u27 open data users\u27 perception of the system quality, perception of information quality, perception of service quality, and the intent to use open data from U.S. federal departments. A pre-existing information system success model survey instrument was used to collect data from 122 open data users. The result of the standard multiple linear regression was statistically significant to predict the intent to use the U.S. open government data F(3,99) = 6479.916, p \u3c0.01 and accounted for 99% of the variance in the intent to use the U.S. open government data (R²= .995), adjusted R²= .995. The interdependent nature of information quality, system quality, and service quality may have contributed to the value of the R². Cronbach\u27s alpha for this study is α=.99, and the value could be attributed to the fact that users of open data are not necessarily technical oriented, and were not able to distinguish the differences between the meanings of the variables. The result of this study confirmed that there is a relationship between the user\u27s perception of the system quality, perception of information quality, perception of service quality, and the intent to use open data from U.S. federal departments. The findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by enabling the solving of problems in the healthcare, education, energy sector, research community, digitization, and preservation of e-government activities. Using study, the results of this study, IT software engineers in the US federal departments, may be able to improve the gathering of user specifications and requirements in information system design

A user-centric framework to improve the reusability

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Information Management, specialization in Geographic Information SystemsOpen data has a profound effect in working environments in which information is created and shared at all levels. At the local government level, open-data initiatives have resulted in higher levels of transparency as regards policies. Greater engagement between decision-makers and citizens has changed the way data analysis and evidence are used to support local governance. Initiatives on open data are currently playing an essential role in local governments. However, the current challenge of local open data that authorities are facing has gradually changed from accessibility issues to measures of the impact of the ongoing open-data projects, from more data catalogs to sustainable and increasing levels of reuse of released data, and better reusability of open data. Despite an increasing amount of data being made open, few studies have looked into its level of reusability, and the barriers that hamper the reuse of open geodata from a data consumer’s perspective are an issue that most communities of data users are currently faced with. Some frameworks are showing how the level of maturity in national open-data initiatives is either increasing or decreasing, but there is still a need for a specific framework to guide local data authorities to engage their current users and also help them to move toward a bottom-up approach. This research contributes with three elements in this regard. The first is the current status of the level of reuse of open geodata in cities. This is followed by a taxonomy of the barriers faced by data users in Colombia and Spain, and the third is a set of elements that shape a user-centric framework to help data authorities improve the level of reuse of published open geodata in their ongoing local initiatives. The proposed taxonomy and framework are based on a literature review, an online survey, and a set of participatory workshops conducted in four selected cities (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali in Colombia and Valencia in Spain), with local data authorities and user communities from different backgrounds and with experience in the field of open data. The taxonomy presented in this research highlights a number of issues such as outdated data, low integration of data producers, and difficulty to access data, the most relevant from the data consumer’s point of view being misinterpretation and misuse of released data and their terms of use. Once the barriers had been identified and validated with data users across the selected cities, this research defined the elements included in a conceptual framework that local authorities could use as a guideline to improve the level of reuse in their ongoing open data initiatives. The core elements of this framework are what are defined as ’Impact Enablers’, which consist of three aspects considered by the literature reviewed as relevant to improve the positive impact of current initiatives. These three factors are: A) the requirements of data-user communities; B) open data at city level as a way to promote and engage users; and finally, C) a geographic approach to improving the level of reusability of released data due to its potential to engage more users. The second part of the proposed framework is made up of four connected elements: 1) The complete identification of data-user communities and their needs; 2) The community of reuse as a set of technological tools to promote the reusability of released data; 3) User-focused metadata; and 4) Reuse-focused legal terms. The elements mentioned earlier were compiled and included due to their relevance for data-user communities in the four use cases included in this research. This framework provides a clear path for local data authorities to reshape their current open data strategies so as to include data-user requirements and move toward a bottom-up approach. The research ends with a discussion and some concluding points, in addition to several limitations in the application of our findings. At the end of this dissertation, a roadmap for future research and implementations are presented, taking into account some reflections on the framework

Discovering Data Quality Problems

Existing methodologies for identifying dataquality problems are typically user-centric, where dataquality requirements are first determined in a top-downmanner following well-established design guidelines, orga-nizational structures and data governance frameworks. In thecurrent data landscape, however, users are often confrontedwith new, unexplored datasets that they may not have anyownership of, but that are perceived to have relevance andpotential to create value for them. Such repurposed datasetscan be found in government open data portals, data marketsand several publicly available data repositories. In suchscenarios, applying top-down data quality checkingapproaches is not feasible, as the consumers of the data haveno control over its creation and governance. Hence, dataconsumers – data scientists and analysts – need to beempowered with data exploration capabilities that allowthem to investigate and understand the quality of suchdatasets to facilitate well-informed decisions on their use.This research aims to develop such an approach fordiscovering data quality problems using generic exploratorymethods that can be effectively applied in settings where datacreation and use is separated. The approach, named LANG,is developed through a Design Science approach on the basisof semiotics theory and data quality dimensions. LANG isempirically validated in terms of soundness of the approach,its repeatability and generalizability

Local food systems: concepts, impacts, and issues

Consumer demand for food that is locally produced,marketed, and consumed is generating increased interest in local food throughout the United States. As interest grows, so do questions about what constitutes local food and what characterizes local food systems. What Is the Issue? This study provides a comprehensive literature-review-based overview of the current understanding of local food systems, including: alternative defi nitions; estimates of market size and reach; descriptions of the characteristics of local food consumers and producers; and an examination of early evidence on the economic and health impacts of such systems. What Did the Study Find? There is no generally accepted definition of “local” food. Though “local” has a geographic connotation, there is no consensus on a definition in terms of the distance between production and consumption. Definitions related to geographic distance between production and sales vary by regions, companies, consumers, and local food markets. According to the definition adopted by the U.S. Congress in the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act,the total distance that a product can be transported and still be considered a “locally or regionally produced agricultural food product” is less than 400 miles from its origin, or within the State in which it is produced. Definitions based on market arrangements, including direct-to-consumer arrangements such as regional farmers’ markets, or direct-to-retail/foodservice arrangements such as farm sales to schools, are well-recognized categories and are used in this report to provide statistics on the market development of local foods. Local food markets account for a small but growing share of total U.S. agricultural sales. • Direct-to-consumer marketing amounted to $1.2 billion in current dollar sales in 2007, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, compared with$551 million in 1997. • Direct-to-consumer sales accounted for 0.4 percent of total agricultural sales in 2007, up from 0.3 percent in 1997. If nonedible products are excluded from total agricultural sales, direct-to consumer sales accounted for 0.8 percent of agricultural sales in 2007. • The number of farmers’ markets rose to 5,274 in 2009, up from 2,756 in 1998 and 1,755 in 1994, according to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. • In 2005, there were 1,144 community-supported agriculture organizations, up from 400 in 2001 and 2 in 1986, according to a study by the National Center for Appropriate Technology. In early 2010, estimates exceeded 1,400, but the number could be much larger. • The number of farm to school programs, which use local farms as food suppliers for school meals programs and promote relationships between schools and farms, increased to 2,095 in 2009, up from 400 in 2004 and 2 in the 1996-97 school year, according to the National Farm to School Network. Data from the 2005 School Nutrition and Dietary Assessment Survey, sponsored by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, showed that 14 percent of school districts participated in Farm to School programs, and 16 percent reported having guidelines for purchasing locally grown produce. Production of locally marketed food is more likely to occur on small farms located in or near metropolitan counties. Local food markets typically involve small farmers, heterogeneous products, and short supply chains in which farmers also perform marketing functions, including storage, packaging, transportation, distribution, and advertising. According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, most farms that sell directly to consumers are small farms with less than $50,000 in total farm sales, located in urban corridors of the Northeast and the West Coast. In 2007, direct-to-consumer sales accounted for a larger share of sales for small farms, as defi ned above, than for medium-sized farms (total farm sales of$50,000 to $499,999) and large farms (total farm sales of$500,000 or more). Produce farms engaged in local marketing made 56 percent of total agricultural direct sales to consumers, while accounting for 26 percent of all farms engaged in direct-to-consumer marketing. Direct-to-consumer sales are higher for the farms engaged in other entrepreneurial activities, such as organic production, tourism, and customwork (planting, plowing, harvesting, etc. for others), than for other farms. In 2007, direct sales by all U.S. farms surpassed customwork to become the leading on-farm entrepreneurial activity in terms of farm household participation. Barriers to local food-market entry and expansion include: capacity constraints for small farms and lack of distribution systems for moving local food into mainstream markets; limited research, education, and training for marketing local food; and uncertainties related to regulations that may affect local food production, such as food safety requirements. Consumers who value high-quality foods produced with low environmental impact are willing to pay more for locally produced food. Several studies have explored consumer preferences for locally produced food. Motives for “buying local” include perceived quality and freshness of local food and support for the local economy. Consumers who are willing to pay higher prices for locally produced foods place importance on product quality, nutritional value, methods of raising a product and those methods’ effects on the environment, and support for local farmers. Federal, State, and local government programs increasingly support local food systems. Many existing government programs and policies support local food initiatives, and the number of such programs is growing. Federal policies have grown over time to include the Community Food Project Grants Program, the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, Federal State Marketing Improvement Program, National Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and the Community Facilities Program. State and local policies include those related to farm-to-institution procurement, promotion of local food markets, incentives for low-income consumers to shop at farmers’ markets, and creation of State Food Policy Councils to discuss opportunities and potential impact of government intervention. (WIC is the acronym for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). As of early 2010, there were few studies on the impact of local food markets on economic development, health, or environmental quality. • Empirical research has found that expanding local food systems in a community can increase employment and income in that community. • Empirical evidence is insuffi cient to determine whether local food availability improves diet quality or food security. • Life-cycle assessments—analyses of energy use at all stages of the food system including consumption and disposal—suggest that localization can but does not necessarily reduce energy use or greenhouse gas emissions. How Was the Study Conducted? Existing analyses of local food markets by universities, government agencies, national nonprofit organizations, and others of local food markets were synthesized to evaluate the definition of local foods and the effects of local food systems on economic development, health and nutrition, food security, and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The report’s content relies on data collected through the 2007 Census of Agriculture, as well as other surveys by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the National Farm to School Network, university extension departments, and others, to provide a comprehensive picture of types of local food markets, their characteristics, and their importance over time.Local food systems; farmers’ markets; direct-to-consumer marketing; direct-to-retail/foodservice marketing; community supported agriculture; farm to school programs; Farmers’ Market Promotion Program; food miles; ERS; USDA

Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues

This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. There is no consensus on a definition of “local” or “local food systems” in terms of the geographic distance between production and consumption. But defining “local” based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers’ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Findings are mixed on the impact of local food systems on local economic development and better nutrition levels among consumers, and sparse literature is so far inconclusive about whether localization reduces energy use or greenhouse gas emissions.local food systems, farmers’ markets, direct-to-consumer marketing, direct-to-retail/ foodservice marketing, community supported agriculture, farm to school programs, Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, food miles, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Exploiting Context-Dependent Quality Metadata for Linked Data Source Selection

The traditional Web is evolving into the Web of Data which consists of huge collections of structured data over poorly controlled distributed data sources. Live queries are needed to get current information out of this global data space. In live query processing, source selection deserves attention since it allows us to identify the sources which might likely contain the relevant data. The thesis proposes a source selection technique in the context of live query processing on Linked Open Data, which takes into account the context of the request and the quality of data contained in the sources to enhance the relevance (since the context enables a better interpretation of the request) and the quality of the answers (which will be obtained by processing the request on the selected sources). Specifically, the thesis proposes an extension of the QTree indexing structure that had been proposed as a data summary to support source selection based on source content, to take into account quality and contextual information. With reference to a specific case study, the thesis also contributes an approach, relying on the Luzzu framework, to assess the quality of a source with respect to for a given context (according to different quality dimensions). An experimental evaluation of the proposed techniques is also provide