Resource selection and data fusion for multimedia international digital libraries: an overview of the MIND project

The inspiration for MIND grew out of the problems which users face when they have remote access to thousands of heterogeneous and distributed multimedia digital libraries. A user must know where to search, how to query different media, and how to combine information from diverse resources. As digital libraries continue to proliferate, in a variety of media and from a variety of sources, the problems of resource selection, query formulation and data fusion become major obstacles to effective search and retrieval. The key goal of MIND is to develop a common system for identifying, searching and combining results from multiple digital libraries. MIND, therefore, is investigating methods for resource description and selection (i.e., gathering and updating information about digital libraries to assist in selecting those which are most likely to contain the information sought), query processing (i.e. modifying the terms contained in a query and transforming the query into the local command language), data fusion (i.e., the merging of different data retrieved from different digital libraries) and information visualisation (in particular, the automatic generation of surrogates and presentation of fused retrieved data)

A survey of e-book awareness and usage amongst students in an academic library

This paper reports on an online survey of e-book awareness and usage level in a British academic library. The main objectives of this survey were to: (a) assess students' awareness of the availability of e-books in their academic library; (b) measure the level of e-book usage among the students; and (c) identify the reasons why students do or don't use e-books. A self-selected sampling method was employed to generate a sample of students consisting of undergraduate and postgraduate instructional students registered with the University of Strathclyde for academic year 2005/6. An announcement email was posted to the student web portal for a period of three weeks inviting them to participate in the survey. A total of 1372 of responses were returned representing just under 10% response rate. In general, this survey found that e-book awareness was low as was the level of e-book usage amongst the students: 57% of students were not aware of the availability of e-books from the library and 60% of them had not used an e-book. Non-users commented that e-books were not widely advertised or promoted which has most probably contributed to this lack of awareness and non usage. Despite the low levels of e-book awareness and usage, non e-book users indicated their desire to learn more about e-books

Experiments with document archive size detection

The size of a document archive is a very important parameter for resource selection in distributed information retrieval systems. In this paper, we present a method for automatically detecting the size (ie the number of documents) of a document archive, in case the archive itself does not provide such information. In addition, a method for detecting incremental change of the archive size is also presented, which can be useful for deciding if a resource description has become obsolete and needs to be regenerated. An experimental evaluation of these methods shows that they provide quite acurate information

The WEB Book experiments in electronic textbook design

This paper describes a series of three evaluations of electronic textbooks on the Web, which focused on assessing how appearance and design can affect users' sense of engagement and directness with the material. The EBONI Project's methodology for evaluating electronic textbooks is outlined and each experiment is described, together with an analysis of results. Finally, some recommendations for successful design are suggested, based on an analysis of all experimental data. These recommendations underline the main findings of the evaluations: that users want some features of paper books to be preserved in the electronic medium, while also preferring electronic text to be written in a scannable style

From the visual book to the WEB book : the importance of design

This paper presents the results of two studies into electronic book production. The Visual book study explored the importance of the visual component of the book metaphor for the production of more effective electronic books, while the WEB book study took the findings of the Visual book and applied them to the production of books for publication on the World Wide Web (WWW). Both studies started from an assessment of which kinds of paper book are more suitable for translation into electronic form. Both also identified publications which are meant to be used for reference rather than those which are read sequentially, and usually in their entirety. This group includes scientific publications and textbooks which were both used as the target group for the Visual book and the WEB book experiments. In this paper we discuss the results of the two studies and how they could influence the design and production of more effective electronic books

Experimental study of pop-in behavior of surface flaw-type cracks Final report

Growth behavior of surface-flaw type cracks in titanium alloy

A SCUBA survey of the NGC 2068/2071 protoclusters

We report the results of a submillimeter dust continuum survey of the protoclusters NGC 2068 and NGC 2071 in Orion B carried out at 850 microns and 450 microns with SCUBA on JCMT. The mapped region is ~ 32' x 18' in size (~ 4 pc x 2 pc) and consists of filamentary dense cores which break up into small-scale (~ 5000 AU) fragments, including 70 starless condensations and 5 circumstellar envelopes/disks. The starless condensations, seen on the same spatial scales as protostellar envelopes, are likely to be gravitationally bound and pre-stellar in nature. Their mass spectrum, ranging from ~ 0.3 Msun to ~ 5 Msun, is reminiscent of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Their mass-size relation suggests that they originate from gravitationally-driven fragmentation. We thus argue that pre-collapse cloud fragmentation plays a major role in shaping the IMF.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Letter accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

A qualitative study of primary care professionals’ views of case finding for depression in patients with diabetes or coronary heart disease in the UK

<p>Background Routinely conducting case finding (also commonly referred to as screening) in patients with chronic illness for depression in primary care appears to have little impact. We explored the views and experiences of primary care nurses, doctors and managers to understand how the implementation of case finding/screening might impact on its effectiveness.</p> <p>Methods Two complementary qualitative focus group studies of primary care professionals including nurses, doctors and managers, in five primary care practices and five Community Health Partnerships, were conducted in Scotland.</p> <p>Results We identified several features of the way case finding/screening was implemented that may lead to systematic under-detection of depression. These included obstacles to incorporating case finding/screening into a clinical review consultation; a perception of replacing individualised care with mechanistic assessment, and a disconnection for nurses between management of physical and mental health. Far from being a standardised process that encouraged detection of depression, participants described case finding/screening as being conducted in a way which biased it towards negative responses, and for nurses, it was an uncomfortable task for which they lacked the necessary skills to provide immediate support to patients at the time of diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion The introduction of case finding/screening for depression into routine chronic illness management is not straightforward. Routinized case finding/screening for depression can be implemented in ways that may be counterproductive to engagement (particularly by nurses), with the mental health needs of patients living with long term conditions. If case finding/screening or engagement with mental health problems is to be promoted, primary care nurses require more training to increase their confidence in raising and dealing with mental health issues and GPs and nurses need to work collectively to develop the relational work required to promote cognitive participation in case finding/screening.</p&gt

Geophysical characteristics and crustal structure of greenstone terranes: Canadian Shield

Geophysical studies in the Canadian Shield have provided some insights into the tectonic setting of greenstone belts. Greenstone belts are not rooted in deep crustal structures. Geophysical techniques consistently indicate that greenstones are restricted to the uppermost 10 km or so of crust and are underlain by geophysically normal crust. Gravity models suggest that granitic elements are similarly restricted, although magnetic modelling suggests possible downward extension to the intermediate discontinuity around approx. 18 km. Seismic evidence demonstrates that steeply-dipping structure, which can be associated with the belts in the upper crust, is not present in the lower crust. Horizontal intermediate discontinuities mapped under adjacent greenstone and granitic components are not noticeably disrupted in the boundary zone. Geophysical evidence points to the presence of discontinuities between greenhouse-granite and adjacent metasedimentary erranes. Measured stratigraphic thicknesses of greenstone belts are often twice or more the vertical thicknesses determined from gravity modelling. Explantations advanced for the discrepancy include stratigraphy repeated by thrust faulting and/or listric normal faulting, mechanisms which are consistent with certain aspects of conceptual models of greenstone development. Where repetition is not a factor the gravity evidence points to removal of the root zones of greenstone belts. For one region, this has been attributed to magmatic stopping during resurgent caldera activity