End User Query Performance: The Interaction of User Characteristics and Information Request Ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals’ abilities to resolve ambiguity in an information retrieval environment. In particular, this research examines the effects on query performance of the interaction of personality characteristics (as measured using the NEO PI-R) with information requests that contained extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that ambiguity affected performance. The results also show that various personality dimensions significantly affect end-users’ abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence end users had in the accuracy of their queries. In addition, the results indicated that, while the personality dimensions affected performance, there was no interaction between the personality dimensions and ambiguity

The effects of user characteristics on query performance in the presence of information request ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals' abilities to compose queries from information requests containing various types of ambiguity. In particular, this research examines the effects of user personality characteristics on query performance in the presence of information requests that contained no extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that personality characteristics significantly affect users' abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness significantly affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence users had in the accuracy of their queries. Although several personality dimensions affected query performance, no significant interactions between personality dimensions and ambiguity were detected. Furthermore, both query complexity and information request ambiguity exhibited greater impacts on query performance than personality characteristics. Hence, organizations should attempt to train users to deal with query complexity and information request ambiguity before modifying their training programs for personality characteristics

Search for a Higgs boson decaying into γ∗γ→llγ\gamma^* \gamma \to ll \gamma with low dilepton mass in pp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV

A search is described for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons, one of which has an internal conversion to a muon or an electron pair (ll gamma). The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The events selected have an opposite-sign muon or electron pair and a high transverse momentum photon. No excess above background has been found in the three-body invariant mass range 120<m[ll gamma]<150 GeV, and limits have been derived for the Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction for the decay H to gamma* gamma to ll gamma, where the dilepton invariant mass is less than 20 GeV. For a Higgs boson with m[H]=125 GeV, a 95% confidence level (CL) exclusion observed (expected) limit is 7.7 (6.4+3.1/-2.0) times the standard model prediction. Additionally, an upper limit at 95% CL on the branching fraction of H to(JPsi) gamma for the 125 GeV Higgs boson is set at 1.5E-3