It is widely assumed that organisms which evolve resistance to a triazine suffer from a fitness d... more It is widely assumed that organisms which evolve resistance to a triazine suffer from a fitness deficit in the absence of that herbicide. Arguments for this view are examined, and the published evidence is discussed. 2. A simple model is developed to examine the genetics of resistance in triazineresistant plants, based on the assumption that there is a founder effect operating. The model examines the hypothesis that the extent to which plants in the sprayed population are related will increase rapidly under continual selection, even when there is a significant input of genes from non-selected populations. 3. The possible consequences of the above hypothesis on the validity of competition experiments are discussed.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2007
This article reports on the development of a novel method for the analysis of Web logs. The metho... more This article reports on the development of a novel method for the analysis of Web logs. The method uses techniques that look for similarities between queries and identify sequences of "query transformation". It allows sequences of query transformations to be represented as graphical networks, thereby giving a richer view of search behavior than is possible with the usual sequential descriptions. We also perform a basic analysis to study the correlations between observed transformation codes, with results that appear to show evidence of behavior habits. The method was developed using transaction logs from the Excite search engine to provide a tool for an ongoing research project that is endeavoring to develop a greater understanding of Web-based searching by the general public.
A questionnaire was generated from the results of a series of interviews at The City School one o... more A questionnaire was generated from the results of a series of interviews at The City School one of the 27 state secondary schools in Sheffield. In October 2002, it was sent out to 499 Heads of Department at the remaining 26 state secondary schools. Responses were received from 188 teachers, ranging in age from 24 to 60 years old. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gain information about teachers' views of the Internet and its usefulness as an educational tool. Nearly 85% of teachers acquired their Internet skills informally (self-taught, learned from friends/colleagues, etc), rather than on a taught course. Despite this, most of the respondents were confident of their ability to use the Internet, with the most confident users being young teachers of technical subjects. However, there was a widespread perception (particularly amongst women teachers) that students are more competent users of the Internet than are teachers. Older teachers were more likely to feel under pressure to use the Internet than their younger colleagues. Only about a third of teachers agreed with the statement "I often use the Internet with classes." Responses varied significantly according to school and subject. There was strong support, however, for the suggestion that the Internet is a valuable source of learning and teaching materials.
Purpose Internet technology allows millions of people to find high quality medical resources onli... more Purpose Internet technology allows millions of people to find high quality medical resources online, with the result that personal healthcare and medical services have become one of the fastest growing markets in China. Data relating to healthcare search behavior may provide insights that could lead to better provision of healthcare services. However, discrepancies often arise between terminologies derived from professional medical domain knowledge and the more colloquial terms that users adopt when searching for information about ailments. This can make it difficult to match healthcare queries with doctors’ keywords in online medical searches. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To help address this problem, the authors propose a transfer learning using latent factor graph (TLLFG), which can learn the descriptions of ailments used in internet searches and match them to the most appropriate formal medical keywords. Findings Experiments show that the T...
Since the Chinese Rare Book Preservation Plan started in 2007, education and training in preserva... more Since the Chinese Rare Book Preservation Plan started in 2007, education and training in preservation and conservation of library and archival collections have been of increasing concern. Many forms of integrated development have been implemented, including school 1 education, apprenticeships, and professional training. The number of training institutions has doubled, and the level of training has been raised. Some comprehensive universities 2 began to participate in this provision of education and training, and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) was a typical example. At SYSU, the introduction occurred in three stages: leading edge (2001-2003); beginning (2004-2008); and comprehensive development (2009-). Following these stages, SYSU launched a full range of programs offering education and training in preservation and conservation, and has formed the SYSU Model, which relies on the first-level discipline, Science of Library, Information and Archive Management. 3 In the process, it has also developed unique characteristics, such as effective integration of Chinese and Western theories; attaching equal importance to preservation and conservation; and an effective combination of theory and practice.
Home > Journal of Documentation > Volume 65... more Home > Journal of Documentation > Volume 65 issue 4 > Web searching by the general public:... ... Previous article. Icon: Print. Table of Contents. Next article. Icon: . ... Icon: Abstract. Icon: Backfiles. Icon: Print. Icon: Reprints & permissions.
This paper reports on preliminary research in an ongoing study of how, and how effectively, membe... more This paper reports on preliminary research in an ongoing study of how, and how effectively, members of the general public search for information on the Web. The focus is query transformation patterns that occur in a search session. Thus, we hope to gain insights into essential generic ...
Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative res... more Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative research on end-users' interactions with web-based search tools in order to demonstrate how the concept of information visibility emerged and how an integrative model of ...
Introduction. This paper reports preliminary research in a primarily experimental study of how th... more Introduction. This paper reports preliminary research in a primarily experimental study of how the general public search for information on the Web. The focus is on the query transformation patterns that characterise searching. Method. In this work, we have used transaction logs from the Excite search engine to develop methods for analysing query transformations that should aid the analysis of our ongoing experimental work. Our methods involve the use of similarity techniques to link queries with the most similar previous query in a train. The resulting query transformations are represented as a list of codes representing a whole search. Analysis. It is shown how query transformation sequences can be represented as graphical networks and some basic statistical results are shown. A correlation analysis is performed to examine the co-occurrence of Boolean and quotation mark changes with the syntactic changes. Results. A frequency analysis of the occurrence of query transformation code...
Introduction: There are two images I would like you to take away from this talk. The first is a c... more Introduction: There are two images I would like you to take away from this talk. The first is a cartoon I saw years ago. A wild-eyed scientist runs excitedly from a lab holding out a test tube and yells “I’ve found a cure for which there is no disease”. The second image is of a pile of bird droppings. The question we’re discussing is “Do researchers need universities?” My answer to that would be, most of the time, no. But I think it’s the wrong question. A better one would be “What kind of research is best left to universities?” Suppose three researchers meet. They quickly discover that they are all doing coffee-related research. The first is looking at differences in coffee-drinking preferences around the EU. The second is testing components of coffee to see if any act in synergy with caffeine to boost stimulation. The third is investigating the rise of coffee houses in 17th Century London.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information and boundar... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information and boundaries. Life depends on boundaries; but in order to survive an organism needs to make decisions based on an interpretation of the environment beyond its boundaries: it therefore needs information. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the evolution of physical, social and cultural boundaries and considers how they have shaped ways in which information is gathered and used. Findings – Several evolutionary developments are reviewed. The paper argues that each one has generated an additional boundary and that each new boundary has affected the information needs within it. The paper argues that all living things use information to help address three fundamental concerns: “Where can the energy needed to stay alive be found?”, “How can it be stored?”, and “How can use of energy be reduced?” Because these questions are fundamental at a biological level they are also fundamental at a soc...
Purpose-The research reported here generated a list of criteria adopted by postgraduate students ... more Purpose-The research reported here generated a list of criteria adopted by postgraduate students when evaluating websites. The analysis presented aims to determine whether metacognition played any part in the evaluation of websites by volunteers. Design/methodology/approach-Forty-eight students participated in the study. They carried out a series of searches designed to bring them into contact with a range of websites, from forums to electronic books. The students were encouraged to "think aloud" as they searched, and to explain their actions and strategies. Search sessions were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to ethnographic content analysis. Findings-A range of evaluation criteria is presented. The criteria were applied at different stages of the search process and demonstrate varying degrees of metacognition. Observations on evaluation processes are also presented. Factors affecting evaluation included the purpose of the search, advice received from lecturers, and the perceived nature of the website. Practical implications-Some volunteers encountered difficulties because of an overly simplistic approach to evaluation. Any training in information literacy skills should aim at equipping students with guidelines to help them assess the credibility of websites, while encouraging them to reflect on the nature of their search task and to apply the guidelines accordingly. Originality/value-The evaluation criteria and processes described in this paper are induced from detailed observations of a large cohort of students. The qualitative nature of the study meant that these observations could be put into the context of the students' own reflections on their choice of website.
Program: electronic library and information systems, 2008
Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative res... more Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative research on end-users' interactions with web-based search tools in order to demonstrate how the concept of information visibility emerged and how an integrative model of ...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report selective findings from a wider study of web-bas... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report selective findings from a wider study of web-based information-seeking behaviour amongst biologists. It aims to describe: aspects of the participants' interactions with web-based search tools; their feelings associated with ...
It is widely assumed that organisms which evolve resistance to a triazine suffer from a fitness d... more It is widely assumed that organisms which evolve resistance to a triazine suffer from a fitness deficit in the absence of that herbicide. Arguments for this view are examined, and the published evidence is discussed. 2. A simple model is developed to examine the genetics of resistance in triazineresistant plants, based on the assumption that there is a founder effect operating. The model examines the hypothesis that the extent to which plants in the sprayed population are related will increase rapidly under continual selection, even when there is a significant input of genes from non-selected populations. 3. The possible consequences of the above hypothesis on the validity of competition experiments are discussed.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2007
This article reports on the development of a novel method for the analysis of Web logs. The metho... more This article reports on the development of a novel method for the analysis of Web logs. The method uses techniques that look for similarities between queries and identify sequences of "query transformation". It allows sequences of query transformations to be represented as graphical networks, thereby giving a richer view of search behavior than is possible with the usual sequential descriptions. We also perform a basic analysis to study the correlations between observed transformation codes, with results that appear to show evidence of behavior habits. The method was developed using transaction logs from the Excite search engine to provide a tool for an ongoing research project that is endeavoring to develop a greater understanding of Web-based searching by the general public.
A questionnaire was generated from the results of a series of interviews at The City School one o... more A questionnaire was generated from the results of a series of interviews at The City School one of the 27 state secondary schools in Sheffield. In October 2002, it was sent out to 499 Heads of Department at the remaining 26 state secondary schools. Responses were received from 188 teachers, ranging in age from 24 to 60 years old. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gain information about teachers' views of the Internet and its usefulness as an educational tool. Nearly 85% of teachers acquired their Internet skills informally (self-taught, learned from friends/colleagues, etc), rather than on a taught course. Despite this, most of the respondents were confident of their ability to use the Internet, with the most confident users being young teachers of technical subjects. However, there was a widespread perception (particularly amongst women teachers) that students are more competent users of the Internet than are teachers. Older teachers were more likely to feel under pressure to use the Internet than their younger colleagues. Only about a third of teachers agreed with the statement "I often use the Internet with classes." Responses varied significantly according to school and subject. There was strong support, however, for the suggestion that the Internet is a valuable source of learning and teaching materials.
Purpose Internet technology allows millions of people to find high quality medical resources onli... more Purpose Internet technology allows millions of people to find high quality medical resources online, with the result that personal healthcare and medical services have become one of the fastest growing markets in China. Data relating to healthcare search behavior may provide insights that could lead to better provision of healthcare services. However, discrepancies often arise between terminologies derived from professional medical domain knowledge and the more colloquial terms that users adopt when searching for information about ailments. This can make it difficult to match healthcare queries with doctors’ keywords in online medical searches. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To help address this problem, the authors propose a transfer learning using latent factor graph (TLLFG), which can learn the descriptions of ailments used in internet searches and match them to the most appropriate formal medical keywords. Findings Experiments show that the T...
Since the Chinese Rare Book Preservation Plan started in 2007, education and training in preserva... more Since the Chinese Rare Book Preservation Plan started in 2007, education and training in preservation and conservation of library and archival collections have been of increasing concern. Many forms of integrated development have been implemented, including school 1 education, apprenticeships, and professional training. The number of training institutions has doubled, and the level of training has been raised. Some comprehensive universities 2 began to participate in this provision of education and training, and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) was a typical example. At SYSU, the introduction occurred in three stages: leading edge (2001-2003); beginning (2004-2008); and comprehensive development (2009-). Following these stages, SYSU launched a full range of programs offering education and training in preservation and conservation, and has formed the SYSU Model, which relies on the first-level discipline, Science of Library, Information and Archive Management. 3 In the process, it has also developed unique characteristics, such as effective integration of Chinese and Western theories; attaching equal importance to preservation and conservation; and an effective combination of theory and practice.
Home > Journal of Documentation > Volume 65... more Home > Journal of Documentation > Volume 65 issue 4 > Web searching by the general public:... ... Previous article. Icon: Print. Table of Contents. Next article. Icon: . ... Icon: Abstract. Icon: Backfiles. Icon: Print. Icon: Reprints & permissions.
This paper reports on preliminary research in an ongoing study of how, and how effectively, membe... more This paper reports on preliminary research in an ongoing study of how, and how effectively, members of the general public search for information on the Web. The focus is query transformation patterns that occur in a search session. Thus, we hope to gain insights into essential generic ...
Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative res... more Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative research on end-users' interactions with web-based search tools in order to demonstrate how the concept of information visibility emerged and how an integrative model of ...
Introduction. This paper reports preliminary research in a primarily experimental study of how th... more Introduction. This paper reports preliminary research in a primarily experimental study of how the general public search for information on the Web. The focus is on the query transformation patterns that characterise searching. Method. In this work, we have used transaction logs from the Excite search engine to develop methods for analysing query transformations that should aid the analysis of our ongoing experimental work. Our methods involve the use of similarity techniques to link queries with the most similar previous query in a train. The resulting query transformations are represented as a list of codes representing a whole search. Analysis. It is shown how query transformation sequences can be represented as graphical networks and some basic statistical results are shown. A correlation analysis is performed to examine the co-occurrence of Boolean and quotation mark changes with the syntactic changes. Results. A frequency analysis of the occurrence of query transformation code...
Introduction: There are two images I would like you to take away from this talk. The first is a c... more Introduction: There are two images I would like you to take away from this talk. The first is a cartoon I saw years ago. A wild-eyed scientist runs excitedly from a lab holding out a test tube and yells “I’ve found a cure for which there is no disease”. The second image is of a pile of bird droppings. The question we’re discussing is “Do researchers need universities?” My answer to that would be, most of the time, no. But I think it’s the wrong question. A better one would be “What kind of research is best left to universities?” Suppose three researchers meet. They quickly discover that they are all doing coffee-related research. The first is looking at differences in coffee-drinking preferences around the EU. The second is testing components of coffee to see if any act in synergy with caffeine to boost stimulation. The third is investigating the rise of coffee houses in 17th Century London.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information and boundar... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information and boundaries. Life depends on boundaries; but in order to survive an organism needs to make decisions based on an interpretation of the environment beyond its boundaries: it therefore needs information. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the evolution of physical, social and cultural boundaries and considers how they have shaped ways in which information is gathered and used. Findings – Several evolutionary developments are reviewed. The paper argues that each one has generated an additional boundary and that each new boundary has affected the information needs within it. The paper argues that all living things use information to help address three fundamental concerns: “Where can the energy needed to stay alive be found?”, “How can it be stored?”, and “How can use of energy be reduced?” Because these questions are fundamental at a biological level they are also fundamental at a soc...
Purpose-The research reported here generated a list of criteria adopted by postgraduate students ... more Purpose-The research reported here generated a list of criteria adopted by postgraduate students when evaluating websites. The analysis presented aims to determine whether metacognition played any part in the evaluation of websites by volunteers. Design/methodology/approach-Forty-eight students participated in the study. They carried out a series of searches designed to bring them into contact with a range of websites, from forums to electronic books. The students were encouraged to "think aloud" as they searched, and to explain their actions and strategies. Search sessions were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to ethnographic content analysis. Findings-A range of evaluation criteria is presented. The criteria were applied at different stages of the search process and demonstrate varying degrees of metacognition. Observations on evaluation processes are also presented. Factors affecting evaluation included the purpose of the search, advice received from lecturers, and the perceived nature of the website. Practical implications-Some volunteers encountered difficulties because of an overly simplistic approach to evaluation. Any training in information literacy skills should aim at equipping students with guidelines to help them assess the credibility of websites, while encouraging them to reflect on the nature of their search task and to apply the guidelines accordingly. Originality/value-The evaluation criteria and processes described in this paper are induced from detailed observations of a large cohort of students. The qualitative nature of the study meant that these observations could be put into the context of the students' own reflections on their choice of website.
Program: electronic library and information systems, 2008
Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative res... more Purpose This paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative research on end-users' interactions with web-based search tools in order to demonstrate how the concept of information visibility emerged and how an integrative model of ...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report selective findings from a wider study of web-bas... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report selective findings from a wider study of web-based information-seeking behaviour amongst biologists. It aims to describe: aspects of the participants' interactions with web-based search tools; their feelings associated with ...
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