Electronic databases allow rural libraries to expand information access beyond the limits of their material collection. How are these libraries to know which databases best meet the needs of their clientele? Research done at the onset of this project revealed no previous studies on the ability of databases to answer real questions. In this study, public library patron questions received by the Arizona State Reference Center were searched on ten different databases recommended in William Katz's Introduction to Reference Work, 6th edition, and available through DIALOG Online Services. Given the limitations and exploratory nature of this study, the results indicate that of the databases tested, the set of Books in Print, Magazine Database, ABI/INFORM, PAIS, and GPO Publications could qualify as a set of databases that would enable rural public library staff to find sources for 90% of the patron requests for information not found within the library.

<p> Big data queries are increasing in complexity and the performance of data analytics is of growing importance. To this end, Big Data on high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure is becoming a pathway to high-performance data analytics. The state of performance studies on this convergence between Big Data and HPC, however, is limited and ad hoc. A systematic performance study is thus timely and forms the core of this research. </p><p> This thesis investigates the challenges involved in developing Big Data applications with significant computations and strict latency guarantees on multicore HPC clusters. Three key areas it considers are thread models, affinity, and communication mechanisms. Thread models discuss the challenges of exploiting intra-node parallelism on modern multicore chips, while affinity looks at data locality and Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) effects. Communication mechanisms investigate the difficulties of Big Data communications. For example, parallel machine learning depends on collective communications, unlike classic scientific simulations, which mostly use neighbor communications. Minimizing this cost while scaling out to higher parallelisms requires non-trivial optimizations, especially when using high-level languages such as Java or Scala. The investigation also includes a discussion on performance implications of different programming models such as dataflow and message passing used in Big Data analytics. The optimizations identified in this research are incorporated in developing the Scalable Parallel Interoperable Data Analytics Library (SPIDAL) in Java, which includes a collection of multidimensional scaling and clustering algorithms optimized to run on HPC clusters. </p><p> Besides presenting performance optimizations, this thesis explores a novel scheme for characterizing Big Data benchmarks. Fundamentally, a benchmark evaluates a certain performance-related aspect of a given system. For example, HPC benchmarks such as LINPACK and NAS Parallel Benchmark (NPB) evaluate the floating-point operations (flops) per second through a computational workload. The challenge with Big Data workloads is the diversity of their applications, which makes it impossible to classify them along a single dimension. Convergence Diamonds (CDs) is a multifaceted scheme that identifies four dimensions of Big Data workloads. These dimensions are problem architecture, execution, data source and style, and processing view. </p><p> The performance optimizations together with the richness of CDs provide a systematic guide to developing high-performance Big Data benchmarks, specifically targeting data analytics on large, multicore HPC clusters.</p>

Survey responses from 1,962 students attending Florida State University during the Spring 2007 semester were analyzed for a preferred sensory learning mode, number and variety of study methods, a match between sensory learning mode and sensory preference within the study habits, and passive versus deep learning processes. The students were found to demonstrate a sensory learning mode preference, but did not report using study habits that matched this sensory mode. Most of the students were found to employ too few study methods to allow for the development of true study strategies, were found to use memorization as a primary study method, and to utilize passive learning rather than deep learning processes. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: October 12, 2007. / College Students, Passive Learning, Study Strategies, Sensory Learning, Learning Mode / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary D. Burnett, Professor Directing Thesis; Norbert M. Seel, Committee Member; Paul F. Marty, Committee Member.

The accelerated development of information technology, especially the rapid growth of the Web, is changing the circumstances and consequently the structures and processes of scholarly communication. Since the Internet as a powerful communication medium has radically improved the efficiency of communication, scholarly communicative activities are increasingly being conducted over the Internet: interacting with peers, searching for information, publishing research results, etc. As a result, there is renewed interest in the study of scholarly communication to see the types of communication that are taking place and the similarities to what we have come to expect from print based communication. New data sources and tools for scholarly communication research are becoming increasing available on the Web as well. These data and tools have opened up the possibility of new topics of inquiry applying new methods leading to new theories (Borgman, 2002; Zhao & Logan, 2002). The present study explores this possibility through an author citation analysis of scholarly communication patterns in the extensible Markup Language (XML) research field using data both from the Web as indexed by Research Index (http://www.researchindex.com) and from print journals as indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)s Science Citation Index (SCI). A series of citation analyses including author visibility analysis and author co-citation analysis have been conducted, and comparisons of results from the two data sources have been carried out controlling for data scope and citation counting method respectively, to identify the similarities and differences between Web-based and print journal-based scholarly communication as revealed by citation analysis and to reveal the capacity of scientific papers published on the Web along with existing citation indexing tools for Web publications as an alternative data source to the ISI databases for citation analysis studies. Meanwhile, publications and characteristics of three groups of highly visible authors have been examined and compared authors highly visible both on the Web and in journals, those only in journals, and those only on the Web, to ascertain the possible contributing factors to the differences identified from the two data sources. Based on these, the present study also explores possible improvements of data sources and tools on the Web and the requirements for a problem solving environment (PSE) for scholarly communication research. XML is one of the most promising research areas and also one of the research fields that has taken an early move to online publishing. Through a series of citation analyses of the XML research field, the present study identifies the ideas and thinkers that have influenced the conceptual development within the field, the sub-areas in this field that appear to be more active, and the interrelationship of the sub-areas and of core researchers. Findings from this study indicate that the XML research field is a coherent research field in which scholars are well interconnected through intellectual and social ties. Researchers in this field are communicating research results heavily on the Web, especially results from studies at the research front. The two groups of XML scholars who actively publish on the Web or in journals share very few publications, and are concerned with different issues. While all study XML related standards or specifications and XML database design and implementation, research on XML applications is a focus only in journals, and research into the Semantic Web and programming for and processing of XML data is better represented on the Web. It appears that while emerging specialties such as the Semantic Web are more visible on the Web, new trends in long-existing specialties such as Software agents are well represented in journals. However, these two groups have similar citing behavior and their collective view of author visibility and the intellectual structure of the research field is very similar as well. This is indicated by the very high correlation between author ranking by number of citations resulting from ResearchIndex and that from SCI when the same citation counting method was used. This is also suggested by the similar relative locations of specialties, to which both groups have contributed, on the maps resulting from Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) of the two data sources. Conclusions can be drawn from the findings that evaluation of scholars and examination of intellectual structures based on the collective view of citers on the Web should be considered as equally valid as those based on citers view in journals, provided the discipline being studied is well-published on the Web. In order to gain a complete picture of the scholarly communication patterns in the XML research field, multiple data sources should be used rather than only the ISI databases or ResearchIndex. These findings also seem to evidence a two-tier system in scholarly communication that is believed by some scholars to be a probable future model of the scholarly communication system (Poultney, 1996; van Raan, 2001). In this model, the first tier is a free space which represents the scholarly enterprise in real time and is most likely to feature free Web-based publications, while the second tier is the world of more formal publications that is most likely to continue to be dominated by journals (van Raan, 2001, p. 61). In other words, in this model, research would largely be initially reported on the Web to obtain priority and fast recognition and then gradually distributed through other more formal channels such as journals to gain formal acceptance. Data sources and tools increasingly available on the Web have opened up the possibility of new topics of inquiry applying new methods leading to new theories. However, they currently do not cover as many disciplines and are not as easy to use as the ISI databases. These are some of the aspects in scholarly communication systems that need to be improved and to which citation analysis can contribute. A well designed problem solving environment (PSE) for scholarly communication research can be a solution. The preliminary exploration of such a PSE in the present study is a start and hopefully will lead to a full discussion in the future. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2003. / Date of Defense: April 21, 2003. / Efficiency Of Communication / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary Burnett, Professor Directing Thesis; Lawrence C. Dennis, Outside Committee Member; Elisabeth Logan, Committee Member; Kathleen Burnett, Committee Member; Benjamin Keith Belton, Committee Member.

This study examined the effectiveness of the young adult library specialist and the generalist librarian in reference to user satisfaction scores given by young adult clientele and based on their evaluation of their local public library. The performance measure of user satisfaction served to infer the effectiveness of public library service to this clientele. A questionnaire assessed attitudes of young adult library users in two large urban public libraries, one of which employs a young adult specialist and one of which serves this clientele with generalists. The questionnaire collected minimal background data on the respondents, measured satisfaction scores and tested the null hypothesis by way of the Critical Value of Variance Ratio F within the t-Test for Two Independent Samples. / Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusion was reached: a specialist young adult librarian makes a significantly positive difference in user satisfaction scores for the following factors: a feeling of welcome to the young adults who frequent their local public library, use of interlibrary loan, knowledge of hotline information, use of programming and activities, interest in a popular materials collection and enjoyment of related booklists on young adult reading, and knowledge of a area for playing games. A library which employs a young adult librarian is more effective than a library which does not for each of these services. Other findings of this study were that generalist librarians make a significantly positive difference in user satisfaction scores for the following factors: knowledge and interest on the topics of sexuality, sexual and physical abuse, and pregnancy. / The major recommendation of this study is that young adult public library users be provided with a young adult specialist and a room in the public library dedicated to their special needs. These needs include improved collection strength and availability to information related to sexuality, sexual or physical abuse, and pregnancy. / Other recommendations and suggestions for further study are also included. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3400. / Major Professor: F. William Summers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Although there are numerous studies, conferences, and journal articles devoted to the topic of library education, extensive debates remain regarding both the purpose and effectiveness of library education as a tool in helping prepare entry-level professional librarians. A major part of the debate is the question of whether, in general, library schools are meeting the demands of the job market for librarians and information specialists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preparation of entry-level research librarians. It will describe the relationship between formal library education and work in research libraries from the perceptions of entry-level librarians and their supervisors. The main goal of the study is to help library and information studies schools to prepare future research librarians and equip them with in-demand knowledge and skills. The results of the study would be of benefit for administrators and educators at library and information studies schools who are concerned with preparing MLIS students to work in research libraries. In order to answer the five research questions designed for this study, two web based surveys were used to collect data from 45 entry-level research librarians in Florida, and 18 heads of departments at the same libraries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Findings of the study validated 28 required competencies for entry-level research librarians. Perceptions of research librarians indicated that schools of library and information studies in the U.S. have helped their recent graduates, who work in research libraries, in acquiring 64% of the required competencies. In addition, findings indicated that increasing internship requirements and adding more management instruction are the most important methods for library schools to consider in preparing future research librarians. Finally, the study elicited the perceptions of both groups regarding the expected required competencies for entry-level research librarians from 2005 to 2010. Recommendations for library schools regarding the educational preparation of entry-level research librarians are provided. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring, 2003. / Date of Defense: April 14, 2003. / Research Libraries / Includes bibliographical references. / Jane Robbins, Professor Directing Dissertation; Peter Garretson, Outside Committee Member; F. William Summers, Committee Member; Thomas Hart, Committee Member.

Enhancing the representation and relationship of information through ontology is a promising alternative approach for knowledge organization. This improved knowledge organization is vital for collocation of information and effective and efficient searching. This study concerned the testing of user performance when searching an ontology-driven information retrieval (ONTOIR) system that shows explicit relationships among resources. The study explores the possibilities of improving user performance in searching for information. The goal was to examine whether or not ontology enhances user performance in terms of recall and search time. The experiment was conducted with 40 participants to evaluate and compare the differences in user performance (recall and search time) between an ontology-driven information retrieval system and a traditional, thesaurus-driven information retrieval system. Better recall and shorter search time were found when conducting relationship-based queries in an ontology-driven information retrieval system as compared to a thesaurus-based system. . Further studies comparing user performance with a cluster-based search engine and an ontology-driven information retrieval system are needed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: March 31, 2006. / Information Retrieval, Topic Maps, Ontology, Information Organization / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen Burnett, Professor Directing Dissertation; Akihito Kamata, Outside Committee Member; Gary Burnett, Committee Member; Darrell Burke, Committee Member; Kyunghye Kim, Committee Member.

The overarching question of this descriptive and interpretive study, was "What motivated youth to read the Harry Potter series?" Defining the focus and parameters of the study were three more specific sub-questions: What are the general reading interests, habits, and attitudes towards reading of the young readers who participated in this study? What factors do the young readers identify as initially attracting them to Harry Potter? What factors do the young readers identify as motivating them to continue to read Harry Potter? A purposive sample of six-hundred-seventy-one readers who responded to a request posted on three online discussion forums completed a web-based survey with results clarified or expanded via semi-structured interviews. The members of this unique-in-time group were born between 1984 and 1990 (18 to 24 years old at the time of the study), grew up in the United States, began reading the Harry Potter before 2000 and read each book as the series was published . The questionnaire administered during Phase One of this mixed methods explanatory model approach addressed the relationship of young readers who grew up with Harry Potter and the factors these readers identified as impacting their motivation to continue reading Rowling's series during the 10 years the books were published. The quantitative and qualitative results of the Phase One influenced the questions asked during Phase Two guided selection of the most appropriate subjects to interview. Phase Two utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews to more fully explore themes and data derived during analysis of Phase One data. Not employed in previous Harry Potter studies, Rosenblatt's reader response theory was drawn on to construct this research, resulting in a wealth of new insights into motivational factors for these avid young readers of Harry Potter. These readers differ from the general population of readers in many ways: they preferred reading adventure and fantasy over horror or science fiction, read for pleasure more frequently, and were more likely to perceive themselves as having strong reading skills. Factors identified as initially motivating this group to read Harry Potter were predominantly extrinsic, with friends most often identified as encouraging them to join the in on the experience. Continued motivation to read was largely found to be intrinsic in nature with personal associations and emotional attachments between readers and the characters, changes in the reading experience as readers matured and as the books became more complex, and strong links between the books and memories of childhood. Findings of this study have several potentially important implications for theory and practice. Theoretically, this study substantiates the validity of reader response theory as a method to understand reading interests, habits, and attitudes of youth. Preferences of enthusiastic readers differed from those of typical young readers. This enables provision of attention-grabbing materials and extends the scope of reading interest research. Finally, this study documents intrinsic motivation as more important than extrinsic motivation, at least in enthusiastic readers. Extrinsic motivators attracted new readers, but the magnitude of intrinsic factors on motivation to continue reading brings into question the widespread and often controversial use of extrinsic motivators for all children in school settings. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: December 11, 2008. / Reading Interests, Reader Response, Reading Motivation, Young Readers, Harry Potter / Includes bibliographical references. / Eliza T. Dresang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Susan Wood, Outside Committee Member; Don Latham, Committee Member; Nancy Everhart, Committee Member.

Web-based learning is rapidly expanding as a method of delivery in higher education. Nationally and internationally, more and more graduate degree programs are using this delivery method as a viable alternative to traditional campus based face-to face education. Educators need to examine the extent to which information needs of students are being met in web-based contexts. Because the majority of students enrolled in web-based courses do not live near enough to their host institution to take advantage of traditional information resources, they may not have the same opportunities to meet their information needs. Therefore, careful assessment and examination of student information needs is very critical to provide appropriate student services and to ensure student success. In addition, more research is required to explore the information needs of specific populations, such as multilingual students studying in web-based contexts. This instrumental case study was concerned with culture and information needs of multilingual graduate students in web-based learning contexts. Specifically, it aimed at answering the following research questions: 1) How and in what ways do multilingual graduate students in web-based degree programs perceive that their culture affects the way they meet their information needs in web-based learning contexts? 2) What do multilingual graduate students in web-based degree graduate programs perceive as their information needs? 3) What are the main characteristics and primary uses of information to satisfy multilingual graduate students' needs? The study used the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking by Johnson (1997) as a theoretical foundation. The target population for this study was multilingual students who had partaken in a graduate level web-based learning degree program and/or course. This research employed semi-structured interviews as the primary data gathering technique. The findings of the study indicate that there were two types of factors influencing multilingual graduate students in web-based course contexts: a) factors relating to students' demographics and direct experience with the context and b) factors relating to the context in which web-based courses are delivered, such as course related factors, technical factors, time related factors, and course resource-related factors. Major findings of the study include that certain cultural elements directly affect the ways multilingual graduate students meet their information needs in web-based courses as they pursue their graduate degrees: Language; geographic location; level of education; communication and interaction skills and styles; length of stay in host country; and cultural proximity to culture of host country. Some cultural elements do not affect the students directly; they have indirect effects on the students, such as social class, nation of origin, and age. Finally, race or ethnicity, and gender were reported to have played no direct role in fulfilling their information needs in web-based courses. Other findings of the study include that students perceive that there are three types of information needs: a) information needs of the students relating to the University, b) information needs of the students relating to the program, and c) information needs of the students relating to courses. The participants were asked to characterize the types of information they used and describe all information sources that they utilized to satisfy their needs in web-based courses. Online library resources and course websites were two most often used information sources. Additionally, physical libraries, including the University libraries, local university, public, or community college libraries were used by the participants to meet their information needs. Textbooks and printed materials were among the other most often used information sources by the study participants. Finally, each participant was asked to identify and provide examples of information use activities where they met their information needs in their web-based courses. Students had to fulfill their information needs in three types of activities both synchronously and asynchronously: 1) class discussions individually or collectively; 2) individual assignments; and 3) group projects and assignments. In conclusion, an overview of this instrumental case study, limitations of the study and implications for the theoretical framework and information practices are presented. Recommendations for future research are made. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: August 6, 2004. / Online Learning, E-Learning, Web-Based Learning, Instructional Systems, Distance Learning, Higher Education, Information Seeking, Information Behaviour, Information Behavior, Information Needs, Culture, Information, Information Studies, Multilingual, Graduate Students, Instructional Design, Instrumental Case Study, Library Studies, Language, Anthropology, International Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Kathleen Burnett, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marcy Driscoll, Outside Committee Member; Michelle Kazmer, Committee Member; Gary Burnett, Committee Member.

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to examine the factors inherent in the diffusion of information technology innovation in the school library media center. The introduction of innovation and the diffusion process were observed in a small, rural high school, as were the ways in which the school library media specialist responded to and affected the process. / Empirical data were gathered through observation, interviews, and document analysis and were organized and analyzed using the constant comparative method. A computer software program designed for use in qualitative research was employed in coding and memo writing. / A model illustrating three interactive and interrelated factors evident in the diffusion process was conceptualized. The factors are: facilitating diffusion, supporting diffusion, and shaping diffusion. Ten themes affecting the process and the role of the school library media specialist were manifested within these factors; the themes involved the attitudes and training of the specialist and of the faculty and administration as well as the characteristics of the innovations. Four diffusion-related roles of the professional were identified: change agent, innovator, opinion leader, and monitor. / As a result of the examination and analysis of the data, four assertions related to the role of the school library media specialist and the diffusion of information technology innovation were generated. (1) The professional is critical to the success of the diffusion of information technology innovation. (2) The specialist performs four co-occurring diffusion-related roles in the innovation process. (3) The professional diffuses information technology innovation to the entire school community. The time and effort required varies both with the number of innovations and with their complexity. (4) The established instructional and curricular roles of the school library media specialist will be strongly affected and changed by continuing involvement with information technology innovation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 3914. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.