Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / This paper presents a framework for knowledge discovery and concept exploration. In order to enhance the concept exploration capability of knowledge-based systems and to alleviate the limitations of the manual browsing approach, we have developed two spreading activation-based algorithms for concept exploration in large, heterogeneous networks of concepts (e.g., multiple thesauri). One algorithm, which is based on the symbolic Al paradigm, performs a conventional branch-and-bound search on a semantic net representation to identify other highly relevant concepts (a serial, optimal search process). The second algorithm, which is based on the neural network approach, executes the Hopfield net parallel relaxation and convergence process to identify â convergentâ concepts for some initial queries (a parallel, heuristic search process). Both algorithms can be adopted for automatic, multiple-thesauri consultation. We tested these two algorithms on a large text-based knowledge network of about 13,000 nodes (terms) and 80,000 directed links in the area of computing technologies. This knowledge network was created from two external thesauri and one automatically generated thesaurus. We conducted experiments to compare the behaviors and performances of the two algorithms with the hypertext-like browsing process. Our experiment revealed that manual browsing achieved higher-term recall but lower-term precision in comparison to the algorithmic systems. However, it was also a much more laborious and cognitively demanding process. In document retrieval, there were no statistically significant differences in document recall and precision between the algorithms and the manual browsing process. In light of the effort required by the manual browsing process, our proposed algorithmic approach presents a viable option for efficiently traversing largescale, multiple thesauri (knowledge network).

Poster paper / The services that are provided in a library are at various levels and varieties. Library automation services such as computerized OPAC, e-mail based reference service etc., are be-ing provided. Also, Web based services like Web Opac, E-Journals, CD-ROM Collection search, Bibliographical database services such as Engineering village 2, Compendex, Chemi-cal Abstract, Web of science, are being provided.

Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / The problems of information overload and vocabulary differences have become more pressing with the emergence of the increasingly popular Internet services. The main information retrieval mechanisms provided by the prevailing Internet WWW software are based on either keyword search or hypertext browsing. Keyword search often results in low precision, poor recall, and slow response time due to the limitations of indexing and communication methods, controlled language based interfaces, and the inability of searchers themselves to articulate their needs fully. Hypertext browsing, on the other hand, allows users to explore only a very small portion of a large Internet information space. A large information space can also potentially confuse and disorient its user and it can cause the user to spend a great deal of time while learning nothing specific. This research aims to provide concept-based categorization and search capabilities for Internet WWW servers based on selected machine learning and parallel computing techniques. Our proposed approach, which is grounded on automatic textual analysis of Internet documents, attempts to address the Internet search problem by first categorizing the content of Internet documents and subsequently providing semantic search capabilities based on a concept space approach. As a first step, we propose a multi-layered neural network clustering algorithm employing the Kohonen self-organizing feature map to categorize the Internet homepages according to their content. The category hierarchies created could serve to partition the vast Internet services into subject-specific categories and databases. After individual subject categories have been created, we propose to generate domain-specific concept spaces for each subject category. The concept spaces can then be used to support concept-based information retrieval, a significant improvement over the existing keyword searching and hypertext browsing options for Internet resource discovery. As Internet information space continues to grow at the present pace, we believe this research would shed light on potentially robust and scalable solutions to the increasingly complex and urgent information access and sharing problems that are certain to emerge in the future Internet society.

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This thesis reports a research work whose objective was to derive a grounded model of the user education domain, which was identified as pertaining to subject librarians' expertise, using a knowledge elicitation approach in the field of agricultural sciences. The knowledge elicitation framework adopted was that which sees knowledge acquisition as a process of modelling expertise, and the models derived as qualitative in nature. Accordingly, the main methodological approach involved was based on qualitative research and use of grounded theory methods. The research design was divided into three studies, all based on interview data. The research started by studying the role of subject librarians in academic libraries in the UK (Study One), which identified the area of user education for further study. Study Two proceeded to elicit information seeking practices and user education processes from academics and librarians. Finally, Study Three elicited information seeking practices of students who were engaged in library research. A model of the user education domain in the field of agricultural sciences in a Brazilian university was derived from the combination of the analysis of Study Two and Three. The model describes the library research process of individuals as happening in discipline specific contexts, influenced by the world at large. The process takes place through a series of information-seeking tasks and task-related strategies, which are employed to search external knowledge sources and satisfy an information need. During this interaction, internal knowledge sources are used and modified according to the tasks and strategies being carried out. If these internal knowledge sources are deficient for effective use of external knowledge sources, mediation strategies by an expert can help readjust the information-seeking process and alter the state of related internal knowledge sources The model proposed is used to derive recommendations for the design of user education programmes, subject librarians' work, and domain modelling using grounded theory.

Uncertainty is woven into the fabric of human experience. All types of experiences involve some degree of uncertainty. Given the pervasiveness of uncertainty in daily life, individual differences how people think, behave, and feel about uncertainty matters. Some respond to uncertainty with fear and anxiety while others respond to uncertainty with curiosity and interest. The current project focused on two responses to uncertainty: intolerance of uncertainty and curiosity. The three main aims were to examine the relationship between these constructs directly, to investigate their unique contributions to outcomes of wellbeing and general psychological distress, and to examine cognitive appraisals associated with proximate outcomes of worry and interest. A large online adult sample (N = 413) completed self-report measures of IU, curiosity, personality, well-being, and general psychological distress symptoms. Participants also completed a novel vignette-based task of hypothetical future scenarios that varied in degree of uncertainty and pleasantness. IU was inversely associated with only some of the hypothesized curiosity dimensions. After accounting for personality traits, trait IU explained an additional 15% of the variance in general psychological distress, and trait curiosity explained an additional 16% of the variance in wellbeing. Each reflects a small but noteworthy additional contribution to these outcomes. For uncertain situations only, coping potential demonstrated a modest moderation effect of the appraisal of uncertainty on worry and interest, in support of project hypotheses. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

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The focus of the thesis is on how school leavers deal with the flood of information, advice and expectations that are directed towards them at a structurally induced turning point in their lives. With a departure point in Giddens’ claim that people select and interpret information on their own terms as a means of preserving coherent narratives of self-identity, stories of information seeking were examined as a means of gaining insight into how young people living in late modernity face its tensions and dilemmas in the ways in which they seek and use information. The theoretical framework of the study draws on Schutz’ ideas concerning the lifeworld and the social distribution of knowledge, on Bourdieu’s concept of habitus as well as on Giddens’ conceptualisation of the forming of self-identity in late modernity.The study is based on qualitative research interviews with twenty one school leavers during their last year at school and on a minor discourse oriented study of a selection of the information produced by major actors in the careers guidance system. Empirically, accounts of young people’s experiences of their information related activities in relation to study and occupational choice were examined using phenomenological narrative analysis. These accounts were set in relation to discourses in Swedish society concerning work and education.Four approaches to information seeking emerged from participants’ accounts: 1) They use information seeking as a tool in making connections between educational interests and the future labour market 2) They use information seeking both as a tool in finding pathways to occupations and as a means of orienting within an occupational domain 3) Study and career information seeking is put ‘on hold’, and information seeking is associated with planning extended transitions, and 4) Study and career information seeking is avoided as potentially threatening or as meaningless. By considering how approaches are related to the ‘new career’ discourse that comes to expression in study and career related information the study gives insights into the meaning of information for, and of its accessibility to, young people. A greater focus on the development of an information literacy is suggested as a means of better supporting young people in the process of making study and career decisions. / Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig granskning kl. 13.00 fredagen den 5 juni 2009 i sal M404, Högskolan i Borås.

This is the keynote presentation delivered at The Sixth Conference on Problem-Based Learning in Finland: Constructing knowledge in information society, Tampere, 2006 June 6-7. Abstract: Finding information, especially accurate, timely, and relevant information, is increasingly important in nearly all human endeavors. Accordingly, numerous studies have examined the processes information seekers employ, as well as the strategies information providers use to meet their needs. Most models emphasize satisfaction or closure as the criterion for successful completion of an information search; thus the emphasis is on solving a specific problem. But often, information seeking is part of some larger process, which is invisible to the information provider and often unclear even to the seeker. Successful search may lead not so much to eliminating an existing, well-defined problem, as to delineating a new problem within a complex, ill-defined space. This paper examines information seeking from an inquiry, or problem-based perspective, and argues that the fields of information seeking and problem-based learning can benefit from closer dialogue.

During the last twenty years rapid developments in technology have led to changes in the way we work, play and learn. Technology has become an integral part of societyâ s everyday information environment. Children growing up during what has been called the technological or digital revolution have never known a world without instantaneous communication and easy access to vast quantities of information using multiple formats, text types, graphics and multimedia. For the â Net Generationâ (born after 1985) of users and consumers who are surrounded by information, technology is transparent and a part of their social, economic and educational landscape. The terms tech-savvy, web-savvy, Internet-savvy and com-puter-savvy are being used to describe young people in major educational policy documents and population studies worldwide. While educators recognise that their students have a different culture of use when using and seeking information delivered electronically, they struggle to come to terms with the changes the integration of technology brings to the teaching-learning environment. The implications for educators, teacher librarians and librarians being raised in current research on the information seeking of the Net Generation, is whether students have an intuitive/instinctive grasp of how to access and use elec-tronic information or is this just an illusion borne of familiarity with the technology? This paper presents a brief summary of the research and popular literature about the information seeking behavior of the Net Generation and outlines future research to be conducted as part of this thesis. It also proposes a leader-ship role for libraries and their personnel in designing programs to ensure that young people have ade-quate information skills that will enable them to use evolving technologies effectively and efficiently when searching for information.