The paper suggests extensions to SKOS Core to make explicit where concepts in a knowledge organization system have changed from one version of the system to another.

How can one verify the accuracy of recorded information (e.g., information found in books, newspapers, and on Web sites)? In this paper, I argue that work in the epistemology of testimony (especially that of philosophers David Hume and Alvin Goldman) can help with this important practical problem in library and information science. This work suggests that there are four important areas to consider when verifying the accuracy of information: (i) authority, (ii) independent corroboration, (iii) plausibility and support, and (iv) presentation. I show how philosophical research in these areas can improve how information professionals go about teaching people how to evaluate information. Finally, I discuss several further techniques that information professionals can and should use to make it easier for people to verify the accuracy of information.

Web databases, commonly known as search engines or web directories, are currently the most useful way to search the Internet. In this article, the author draws from library literature to develop a series of questions that can be used to analyze these web searching tools. Six popular web databases are analyzed using this method. Using this analysis, the author creates three categories for web databases and explores the most appropriate searches to perform with each. The work concludes with a proposal for the ideal web database.

Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / Information overload is a critical problem in World Wide Web. Category map developed based on Kohonenâ s selforganizing map (SOM) has been proven to be a promising browsing tool for the Web. The SOM algorithm automatically categorizes a large Internet information space into manageable sub-spaces. It compresses and transforms a complex information space into a two-dimensional graphical representation. Such graphical representation provides a user-friendly interface for users to explore the automatically generated mental model. However, as the amount of information increases, it is expected to increase the size of the category map accordingly in order to accommodate the important concepts in the information space. It results in increasing of visual load of the category map. Large pool of information is packed closely together on a limited size of displaying window, where local details are difficult to be clearly seen. In this paper, we propose the fisheye views and fractal views to support the visualization of category map. Fisheye views are developed based on the distortion approach while fractal views are developed based on the information reduction approach. The purpose of fisheye views are to enlarge the regions of interest and diminish the regions that are further away while maintaining the global structure. On the other hand, fractal views are an approximation mechanism to abstract complex objects and control the amount of information to be displayed. We have developed a prototype system and conducted a user evaluation to investigate the performance of fisheye views and fractal views. The results show that both fisheye views and fractal views significantly increase the effectiveness of visualizing category map. In addition, fractal views are significantly better than fisheye views but the combination of fractal views and fisheye views do not increase the performance compared to each individual technique.

An attempt has been made to promote and optimize the use of the Internet as an information Source among engineering faculty and research scholars of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India. A total of 850 questionnaires and interview schedules were distributed to the faculty and research scholars of NITs in India, 665 questionnaires were duly obtained with a response rate of 78.24%. An attempt has been made to develop an instrument of acceptance of Internet technology known as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) among faculty and Research scholars of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India using the original constructs i.e. Perceived Usefulness as â the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performanceâ , and Perceived Ease of Use as â the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effortâ . Thus, the Perceived Usefulness of Internet Technology, Perceived Ease of use, Experience of using Internet, attitude towards using Internet, Behavioral Intention to use Internet, Perceived Complexity and actual System use using the Internet has been determined and thereby reflecting the Learning Style, Per-ceptions and Emotions of the focus groups. Further the research study encompasses independent vari-ables mainly Designation, Age, Qualification, Teaching and Research Experience and Formal Training of respondents. In this paper, efforts were made to examine the relationship between the variables Use of Internet (UOI) and Level of Satisfaction (LOS), as a two major dependent variables of the research study. The various dimensions included are quantification of these two variables. To evaluate multiple effects, a set of four variables i.e. age, teaching and research experience and level of satisfaction were put to Regression Analysis to see the multiple effects on variable Use of Internet. The variable LOS has emerged as the most affecting the dependent variable that means affecting the dependent variables i.e. Use of Internet. Thus, there is very high correlation between variables, Use of Internet and Level of satis-faction. The co-efficient of correlation is also statistically significant showing high positive correlation, which implies that higher the level of satisfaction, higher will be the use of Internet. This has resulted in coming out with a mathematical â regression model in which the results of regression analysis shows that, the four variables age, teaching and research experience and level of satisfaction put together explains 39 per cent of variance in variable Use of Internet (UOI).

This is Module 5 of the ICT for Library and Information Professionals (ICTLIP) Training Package for Developing Countries. This Package is intended to provide the knowledge and skills required to deal with the application of ICT to library and information services. It is meant for library and information personnel who may become trainers in the area. The Package has been developed by the UNESCO Asia & Pacific Regional Office with funding from the Japanese Fund in Trust for Communication and Information. It contains six modules: Module 1 - Introduction to Information and Communication Technologies Module 2 - Introduction to Integrated Library Systems Module 3 - Information Seeking in an Electronic Environment Module 4 - Database Design, and Information Storage and Retrieval Module 5 - The Internet as an Information Resource Module 6 - Web Page Concept and Design: Getting a Web Page Up and Running

One of the promises of the information revolution was that it would increase the opportunities for all people to share knowledge. But what if you don't happen to live in a developed country? Subbiah Arunachalam argues that the current lack of access to the internet for scientists in the developing world is creating a new form of poverty - information poverty - which is making it harder for them to stay abreast, let alone catch up with their colleagues in the developed world.

In this dissertation I study bidding behavior in Internet Auction Markets. I focus on practice called "multiple bidding" which occurs when a single bidder places numerous bids throughout the same auction. Multiple bidding appears frequently in the data but the incentives that motivate it are not well understood. In the first chapter I develop a theoretical model in which multiple bidding is an equilibrium behavior by rational bidders. The model has a dynamic auction with two bidders who can search for outside prices while bidding in the auction. Each bidder has a search cost which is her private information. When outside prices are private (independently drawn and identically distributed), then, there is an equilibrium in which bidders with the lower search costs bid only late and always search, while the bidders with higher search costs bid both early and late and search as if they coordinated their search decisions, i.e., the bidder with the lower search cost searches and the other bidder does not. This equilibrium by itself provides an explanation of two frequently occurring bidding patterns (late and multiple bidding). In the second chapter I study experimentally the effect of early bids in dynamic auctions on how bidders search for outside prices. The design has two bidders participating in an ascending clock-auction during which any one of the bidders can pause the auction clock. This I interpret as placing an early bid. Once the auction is paused both bidders can simultaneously search for an alternative outside price. Results indicate that pausing decisions by subjects impact their subsequent searching for outside prices, i.e., whether a subject decides to search or not depends on whether she has paused the auction or not. Subjects behave as if they coordinated their searching decisions: the bidder who pauses the auction also searches with high frequency and the other bidder does not. Because this type of behavior increases both the efficiency and the profitability of the auction we favor the use of policies that promote early bidding in practice, such as, longer auctions and lower public reserve prices.

In this paper we report findings of a study of online participation by culturally diverse participants in a distance adult education course offered in Canada, and examine two of the study’s early findings. First, we explore both the historical and cultural origins of “cyberculture values” as manifested in our findings, using the notions of explicit and implicit enforcement of those values. Second, we examine the notion of “cultural gaps” between participants in the course and the potential consequences for online communication successes and difficulties. We also discuss theoretical perspectives from Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, Genre and Literacy Theory and Aboriginal Education that may shed further light on “cultural gaps” in online communications. Finally, we identify the need for additional research, primarily in the form of larger scale comparisons across cultural groups of patterns of participation and interaction, but also in the form of case studies that can be submitted to microanalyses of the form as well as the content of communicator’s participation and interaction online.

An oft-stated view held by scholars and political observers is that given the unique characteristics of the Internet, the technology offers real opportunities for democratization and political transformation, especially in societies where the basic rights of freedom of expression and the press are constricted by state control. This thesis seeks to challenge this main assumption by examining the impact of the Internet along with the politics surrounding its use in Asia, with specific attention to the cases of China, Singapore and Iran. This thesis postulates that in the cases of certain authoritarian regimes such as China and Singapore, not only has the presence and use of the Internet failed to spawn strong opposition movements, but authorities in these states have cleverly entered the domain of online expression and have utilized the technology to improve governance and control of these societies. The conditions which make it possible for certain states to suppress online activism, and which in turn contributes to the strengthening of authorial control are then clearly identified and delineated. They include, namely: a strong regulatory regime; an effective use of e-governance and the pacification of Internet entrepreneurs. Iran serves as a contrast case to China and Singapore as civil society actors in the Islamic country have demonstrated a clear interest in participating in a struggle against the state by entering and articulating their positions in the virtual space of cyber interaction. The notable absence of stated conditions in Iran, however, clearly shows that a confluence of circumstances is still necessary for regimes to more fully manipulate online spaces. It is not the intention of the thesis to project the notion that China’s infamous “Firewall” is one-hundred percent full-proof or that citizens in these countries are deprived of all access to controversial news and media. The main conclusion that is drawn is that despite the government’s open promotion and dissemination of Internet technology, certain states have managed to strike a precarious balance by also maintaining control of the public agora.