8,766 research outputs found
Towards personalization in digital libraries through ontologies
In this paper we describe a browsing and searching personalization system for digital libraries based on the use of ontologies for describing the relationships between all the
elements which take part in a digital library scenario of use. The main goal of this project is to help the users of a digital library to improve their experience of use by means of two complementary strategies: first, by maintaining a complete history record of his or her browsing and searching activities, which is part of a navigational user profile which includes preferences and all the aspects related to community involvement; and second, by reusing all the knowledge which has been extracted from previous usage from other users with similar profiles. This can be accomplished in terms of narrowing and focusing the search results and browsing options through the use of a recommendation system which organizes such results in the most appropriate manner, using ontologies and concepts drawn from the semantic web field. The complete integration of the experience of use of a digital library in the learning process is also pursued. Both the usage and information organization can be also exploited to extract useful knowledge from the way users interact with a digital library, knowledge that can be used to improve several design aspects of the library, ranging from internal organization aspects to human factors and user interfaces. Although this project is still on an early development stage, it is possible to identify all the desired functionalities and requirements that are necessary to fully integrate the use of a digital library in an e-learning environment
e-Consumer Behaviour
Purpose â The primary purpose of this article is to bring together apparently disparate and yet
interconnected strands of research and present an integrated model of e-consumer behaviour. It
has a secondary objective of stimulating more research in areas identified as still being underexplored.
Design/methodology/approach â The paper is discursive, based on analysis and synthesis of econsumer
literature.
Findings â Despite a broad spectrum of disciplines that investigate e-consumer behaviour and
despite this special issue in the area of marketing, there are still areas open for research into econsumer
behaviour in marketing, for example the role of image, trust and e-interactivity. The
paper develops a model to explain e-consumer behaviour.
Research limitations/implications â As a conceptual paper, this study is limited to literature and
prior empirical research. It offers the benefit of new research directions for e-retailers in
understanding and satisfying e-consumers. The paper provides researchers with a proposed
integrated model of e-consumer behaviour.
Originality/value â The value of the paper lies in linking a significant body of literature within a
unifying theoretical framework and the identification of under-researched areas of e-consumer
behaviour in a marketing context
Bridging the gap: building better tools for game development
The following thesis is about questioning how we design game making tools, and how developers may build easier tools to use. It is about the highlighting the inadequacies of current game making programs as well as introducing Goal-Oriented Design as a possible solution. It is also about the processes of digital product development, and reflecting on the necessity for both design and development methods to work cohesively for meaningful results. Interaction Design is in essence the abstracting of key relations that matter to the contextual environment. The result of attempting to tie the Interaction Design principles, Game Design issues together with Software Development practices has led to the production of the User-Centred game engine, PlayBoard
Webs of activity in online course design and teaching
In this study, we followed three faculty members' experiences with designing and teaching online courses for the first time. In order to complete the activity, the faculty members had to work -collaboratively with others across the university. Activity theory provided a framework within which to study faculty members' collaborative activities with members of different activity systems that had different goals, tools, divisions of labor and accountabilities. In concordance with activity theory, such differences led to contradictions, disturbances, and transformations in thinking and work activities. The results of the study have implications for individuals and systems undertaking technology integration in teaching
Usability evaluation of digital libraries: a tutorial
This one-day tutorial is an introduction to usability evaluation for Digital
Libraries. In particular, we will introduce Claims Analysis. This approach
focuses on the designersâ motivations and reasons for making particular
design decisions and examines the effect on the userâs interaction with
the system. The general approach, as presented by Carroll and
Rosson(1992), has been tailored specifically to the design of digital
libraries.
Digital libraries are notoriously difficult to design well in terms of their
eventual usability. In this tutorial, we will present an overview of
usability issues and techniques for digital libraries, and a more detailed
account of claims analysis, including two supporting techniques â
simple cognitive analysis based on Normanâs âaction cycleâ and
Scenarios and personas. Through a graduated series of worked
examples, participants will get hands-on experience of applying this
approach to developing more usable digital libraries. This tutorial
assumes no prior knowledge of usability evaluation, and is aimed at all
those involved in the development and deployment of digital libraries
Browsing while reading: effects of instructional design and learners' prior knowledge
One of the key reasons that multimedia, and particularly hypertext systems, are gaining in importance is that they inspire hopes of optimizing learners' processes of knowledge construction. The present study is concerned with the respective influence of individual learner variables (i.e. particularly domainâspecific prior knowledge) on the use of different design attributes. Thirtyâsix university students worked through a hierarchically structured twoâpart hypertext about the psychology of memory under two experimental browsing conditions (reduced versus free browsing). Results show that deeperâlevel comprehension (i.e. structural knowledge) was predicted by the interaction of experimental condition and prior knowledge, but that simply retaining facts was not. Participants with low prior knowledge performed better on the comprehension test if they had worked on the version with reduced access. Moreover, the version with reduced access helped to reduce feelings of disorientation. The measure of disorientation also appeared to be closely linked with the individual's computer experience, selfâconcept of computer ability and subjectârelated interest. The main implications for educational practice relate to the design of an adaptive multimedia and hypertext learning system and the successful learning with it
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The Collective Building of Knowledge in Collaborative Learning Environments
The intention of this chapter is to investigate how collaborative learning environments (CLEs) can be used to elicit the collective building of knowledge. This work discusses CLEs as lively cognitive systems and looks at some strategies that might contribute to the improvement of significant pedagogical practices. The study is supported by rhizome principles, whose characteristics allow us to understand the process of selecting and connecting what is relevant and meaningful for the collective building of knowledge. A brief theoretical and conceptual approach is presented and major contributions and difficulties about collaborative learning environments are discussed. New questions and future trends about the collective building of knowledge are suggested
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