This study evaluates the content coverage of Google Scholar and three commercial databases (Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Bibliography of the History of Art and Art Full Text/Art Index Retrospective) on the subject of art history. Each database is tested using a bibliography method and evaluated based on Péter Jacsó’s scope criteria for online databases. Of the 472 articles tested, Google Scholar indexed the smallest number of citations (35%), outshone by the Arts & Humanities Citation Index which covered 73% of the test set. This content evaluation also examines specific aspects of coverage to find that in comparison to the other databases, Google Scholar provides consistent coverage over the time range tested (1975-2008) and considerable access to article abstracts (56%). Google Scholar failed, however, to fully index the most frequently cited art periodical in the test set, the Artforum International. Finally, Google Scholar’s total citation count is inflated by a significant percentage (23%) of articles which include duplicate, triplicate or multiple versions of the same record.

This thesis presents methods and a system for video search over the internet or the intranet. The objective is to design a real time and automated video clustering and search system that provides users of the search engine the most relevant videos available that are responsive to a query at a particular moment in time, and supplementary information that may also be useful. The thesis highlights methods to mitigate the effect of the semantic gap faced by current content based video search approaches. A context-sensitive video ranking scheme is used, wherein the context is generated in an automated manner.

Thesis (M.A.)(Information Science)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104).

This study employs an eclectic rhetorical-critical approach to examine the Website of the National Alliance, a prominent White-supremacist organization. This study is guided by research questions that ask what rhetorical strategies the National Alliance uses on its Website, and how these strategies might inform how politically-extreme Internet communities socialize new members into their belief systems. The critical analysis shows that the National Alliance desires its audience to become identified with the goals and program of the organization, redefine their notions of "responsibility" to only encompass the White race, and obsessively endeavor to build the foundation for a new White society. This study concludes by defining "socialization value," a proposed rhetorical-critical construct with special relevance to Internet texts. The National Alliance Website possesses a high socialization value, meaning that it is likely to assist the National Alliance in expanding the size of its Internet community. / Department of Communication Studies

The use of the Internet as a medium for education has grown exponentially since the mid-1990s. Institutions of higher education are increasingly offering online access to distance education programmes, especially at postgraduate level. Some see e-learning as offering solutions to many problems traditionally associated with distance education. Research into e-learning at a distance has largely focussed on the effectiveness of differing technologies for the delivery of online courses, the emphasis being upon the technology itself, with few studies examining the student experience of this new phenomenon. It is therefore argued that a gap exists, as the views of distance e-learners at postgraduate level have seldom been paid attention, with their specific and individual needs failing to be addressed. This study aims to rectify this gap by examining postgraduates' experiences of e-learning at a distance. The purpose of the study is to inform the future development of elearning at postgraduate level and help determine how higher education can best support this rapidly expanding group of learners. The research presents a qualitative case study of a group of students studying modules from the University of Salford's MSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health in a virtual learning environment called GOLDPhase, which was specifically designed and developed to facilitate the study. Issues related to the students' heightened awareness of their peers, their sensitivity to tutor feedback, and the learning strategies they adopted are identified and discussed. The findings show that e-learning engendered a range of barriers and enhancements for this group of distance learners. The enhancements were largely computer based and barriers were mostly sociological. The findings have implications for both online teaching and online learning strategies. As distance e-learning is in its infancy the study will increase overall understanding in this area and contribute to the growing body of knowledge.

Thesis (Ed.D. )--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-162) and index.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Computer Science, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Waikato, 2008. / Title from PDF cover (viewed April 3, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-100)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Flinders University, School of Informatics and Engineering. / Typescript bound. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 311-329) Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 39).