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Many strategies can be used to support the use of research evidence in decision-making. However, such strategies have been understudied in crisis zones, where decision-making may be particularly complex, many factors may influence decision-makers’ use of research evidence, and professional judgements may be particularly relied upon. Using synthesis and qualitative research methods, this dissertation examines the role of research evidence in crisis zones and strategies to support its use in decision-making. First, chapter 2 describes a critical interpretive synthesis, which drew upon a broad body of literature around evidence use in crisis zones to develop a new conceptual framework that outlines strategies that leverage the facilitators and address the barriers to evidence use in crisis zones in four systems, namely the political, health, international humanitarian aid, and health research systems. Second, in chapter 3, the focus narrows, and an embedded qualitative case study design was used to gain a deeper understanding into one of the four identified systems, the political system, and specifically the factors that influenced the use of research evidence in the governmental health policy-development processes for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Ontario. Finally, in chapter 4, a user testing study design was used to zero-in on decision-makers’ experiences with a particular strategy within the health research system, namely an evidence website focused specifically on topics relevant in crisis zones. This dissertation provides a rich understanding of research evidence use by examining knowledge translation strategies in a setting that has been largely unexplored in the broader KT map: crisis zones. The findings from this thesis point to the need for comprehensive strategies to support evidence use in decision-making that draw upon the existing literature and are adapted for crisis zones, which can occur sequentially or simultaneously within or across the four identified systems. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / In humanitarian aid, and specifically in crisis zones, there are many different types of information decision-makers can draw from when making decisions. One specific type of information is research evidence; however, the use of research evidence, and the ways it can inform decision-making in crisis zones, has been understudied. This dissertation addresses this key gap in understanding by: 1) developing a new tool that can help decisions-makers use research evidence to inform their decisions in crisis zones within the political, health, humanitarian aid and health research systems; 2) examining the factors that influence the use of research evidence in the governmental health policy-development processes for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Ontario; and 3) examining the perspectives of decisions-makers around using one way of supporting the use of research evidence — an evidence website — to support evidence-informed decision-making in crisis zones.

The job market, technologies, and work methods have changed significantly. More businesses now lean towards low-code and no-code solutions to simplify web design and development. Companies are training their business professionals to become software developers due to a lack of resources. As a result, many websites are created by non-professionals, so-called citizen developers, using low-code and no-code tools. That raises concerns about whether such websites meet web accessibility standards. This study investigates the phenomena and spans results across three areas: the extent of compliance with accessibility guidelines (1), prevalent accessibility challenges (2), and optimal practices for accessibility enhancement (3). The research involves tasking five individuals with creating websites using different low-code and no-code tools: Wix, Webflow, WordPress.com, Weebly, and Google Sites. Then, the websites are objectively evaluated for accessibility adherence using Google Lighthouse Analytics and WCAG 2.2 criteria assessment. The results are then combined to compare the overall accessibility adherence. The research concludes that websites developed by citizen developers do not meet accessibility standards. Many websites struggle with the fundamental aspects of accessibility that are necessary for pleasant and comfortable use. To improve the situation, web developers—professionals and amateurs—should prioritise accessibility in web development and design. On the other hand, low-code and no-code platforms should try to implement accessibility features in their tools.

[ES] Esta tesis se centra en la variación interlingüística del uso metafórico del lenguaje en sitios web turísticos promocionales en inglés británico, alemán de Alemania y castellano peninsular. A pesar de la importancia económica del turismo y la gran demanda de traducciones en este sector, el número de estudios sobre el uso de las metáforas en la promoción turística todavía es reducido. El volumen de publicaciones sobre la traducción de las metáforas en este campo es aún menor. Por ello, el presente estudio pretende colmar estos vacíos mediante la descripción del uso metafórico del lenguaje en este género para cada lengua, la comparación de los resultados y la exploración de las implicaciones que puede tener la variación observada para la traducibilidad y el proceso de traducción de las metáforas lingüísticas. Con este motivo se compilaron tres corpus comparables de páginas web turísticas promocionales de los países Inglaterra, Alemania y España, así como tres corpus léxicos más pequeños de 20.000 palabras cada uno. En un proceso de dos fases, los corpus léxicos se sometieron primero a un análisis manual exhaustivo que facilitó la identificación de grupos de metáforas con una combinación de dominios fuente y meta problemáticos desde el punto de vista traductológico. Estos grupos se estudiaron en la segunda fase en los corpus grandes mediante la búsqueda de vocabulario de los dominios fuente. El estudio adopta un marco teórico propio de la Lingüística Cognitiva, basándose principalmente en la Teoría de la Metáfora Conceptual. Una de las principales contribuciones de esta tesis doctoral consiste en la adaptación del probado procedimiento para la identificación de metáforas MIP (Pragglejaz, 2007) para su uso en un estudio comparativo de tres idiomas morfológicamente distintos. Además, se elaboró una tipología de esquemas de proyección (mapping schemes) y una descripción de los dominios fuente y meta más adecuados para los estudios y la práctica de la traducción que los ya existentes. Finalmente fue desarrollado una metodología para la determinación de la traducibilidad literal de las metáforas lingüísticas. Los resultados indican que el uso de la metáfora en los sitios web turísticos promocionales en los tres idiomas muestra grandes similitudes respecto a la existencia de diferentes tipos de metáfora y su distribución. Sin embargo, se observan diferencias en sus frecuencias, su realización lingüística preferida y sus principales funciones discursivas. A menudo, la variación interlingüística detectada en el uso de la metáfora se puede relacionar con los estilos claramente distintos de los sitios web promocionales en los tres idiomas. Los datos recopilados en este estudio proporcionan a los traductores datos acerca de qué tipo de metáfora puede o incluso debería ser aumentado o disminuido en un texto para lograr que una traducción suene natural, y como las supresiones debidas a las diferencias morfológicas pueden ser compensadas de la mejor manera, dependiendo de la combinación de idiomas y el sentido de la traducción. / [CA] Aquesta tesi se centra en la variació interlingüística de l'ús metafòric del llenguatge en llocs web turístics promocionals en anglés britànic, alemany d'Alemanya i castellà peninsular. Malgrat la importància econòmica del turisme i la gran demanda de traduccions en aquest sector, el nombre d'estudis sobre l'ús de les metàfores en la promoció turística encara és reduït. El volum de publicacions sobre la traducció de les metàfores en aquest camp és encara menor. Per això, el present estudi pretén satisfer aquests buits mitjançant la descripció de l'ús metafòric del llenguatge en aquest gènere per a cada llengua, la comparació dels resultats i l'exploració de les implicacions que pot tindre la variació observada per a la traduïbilitat i el procés de traducció de les metàfores lingüístiques. Amb aquest motiu es van compilar tres corpus comparables de pàgines web turístiques promocionals dels països d' Anglaterra, Alemanya i Espanya, així com tres corpus lèxics més xicotets de 20.000 paraules cadascun. En un procés de dues fases, els corpus lèxics es van sotmetre primer a una anàlisi manual exhaustiva que va facilitar la identificació de grups de metàfores amb una combinació de dominis font i meta problemàtics des del punt de vista traductològic. Aquests grups es van estudiar en la segona fase en els corpus grans mitjançant la cerca de vocabulari dels dominis font. L'estudi adopta un marc teòric propi de la Lingüística Cognitiva, basant-se principalment en la Teoria de la Metàfora Conceptual. Una de les principals contribucions d'aquesta tesi doctoral consisteix en l'adaptació del provat procediment per a la identificació de metàfores MIP (Pragglejaz, 2007) per al seu ús en un estudi comparatiu de tres idiomes morfològicament diferents. A més a més, es va elaborar una tipologia d'esquemes de projecció (mapping schemes) i una descripció dels dominis font i meta més adequats per als estudis i la pràctica de la traducció que els ja existents. Finalment, va ser desenvolupat una metodologia per a la determinació de la traduïbilitat literal de les metàfores lingüístiques. Els resultats indiquen que l'ús de la metàfora en els llocs web turístics promocionals en els tres idiomes mostra grans similituds respecte a l'existència de diferents tipus de metàfora i la seua distribució. No obstant això, s'observen diferències en les seues freqüències, la seua realització lingüística preferida i les seues principals funcions discursives. Sovint, la variació interlingüística detectada en l'ús de la metàfora es pot relacionar amb els estils clarament diferents dels llocs web promocionals en els tres idiomes. Les dades recopilades en aquest estudi proporcionen als traductors dades sobre quina mena de metàfora pot o fins i tot hauria de ser augmentat o disminuït en un text per a aconseguir que una traducció sone natural, i com les supressions degudes a les diferències morfològiques poden ser compensades de la millor manera, depenent de la combinació d'idiomes i el sentit de la traducció. / [EN] This dissertation focusses on the cross-linguistic variation of metaphorical language use on promotional tourism websites in British English, German of Germany and European Spanish. Despite the economic impact of the tourism industry and the high demand for translations in this branch, only few studies have ventured into metaphor use in tourism promotion so far. Research into metaphor translation in this field is even scarcer. The present study aims to fill these voids by describing metaphorical language use of this register for each language, comparing the results with the other two languages, and by seeking possible implications of the observed variation for the translatability as well as the translation process of metaphor vehicles. For this purpose, three comparable corpora of regional promotional tourism websites from England, Germany and Spain were compiled, as well as three smaller, 20,000-word sample corpora. In a two-step process, the sample corpora first underwent a comprehensive manual metaphor analysis, which helped to identify metaphor groups with a source-target domain combination that is problematic from a translational point of view. These groups were further studied in the large corpora using source-domain vocabulary searches. The study was approached from a Cognitive Linguistics perspective, building mainly on Conceptual Metaphor Theory. One of the main contributions of this dissertation lies in the adaptation of the widely used metaphor identification procedure MIP (Pragglejaz, 2007) for the cross-linguistic comparison of the morphologically different research languages. Furthermore, a typology of mapping schemes and a description of the source and target domains were suggested which suit translation purposes better than existing ones. Finally, a methodology for the determination of the literal translatability of metaphor vehicles was developed. The findings suggest that the metaphor use on promotional tourism websites in the three languages is largely similar with regard to the existence of different metaphor types and their distribution. However, differences can be found in their frequencies, their preferred linguistic realisation and their main discursive functions. The observed cross-linguistic variation in metaphor use can often be related to the markedly distinct styles of the promotional websites in the three languages. The data gathered in this study provide translators with information about which type of metaphor can or even should be reduced or increased in number in order to achieve a natural sounding translation and how morphologically necessary suppressions can best be compensated for, depending on the language pair and translation direction. / Stepins, KV. (2022). A Cross-Linguistic Study of Metaphor Variation in Promotional Discourse of the Tourist Sector in Spanish, English and German: Implications for Translation [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/182290

This qualitative, exploratory dissertation aimed to describe how accessibility, usability, and cognitive load experts explained and experienced the usability and accessibility aspects of the LT department's website pages, information, and digital links. A usability, accessibility, and cognitive load manual examination was conducted with four experts. The usability, accessibility, and cognitive load examination comprised WCAG 2.1 four standards and Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. Transcripts and observational field notes were coded through an iterative process in the analysis tool Dedoose. Two groups and four main categories were discovered using emic and etic coding. The two groups were macro challenges and page with most codes. The four main categories included macro, usability, accessibility, and cognitive load. The findings for accessibility, usability, and cognitive load are discussed. Website recommendations for creating an accessible and usable site and suggestions for future research are provided.

本研究旨在應用網路計量法，尤其是網頁連引分析法，對我國大學圖書館網站網頁進行測量和分析。一方面、以EXtract URL蒐集大學圖書館網站網路資源之相關數據，並從國家/地區(top-level domain)、單位屬性(Second-level domain)、網域名稱(Domain Name)、一致性資源位址(URL)等四個網域層級，剖析我國大學圖書館網站所蒐錄之「網路資源」的數量、網站類型、網頁內容屬性等，從而比較各大學圖書館網站所連引網路資源的共通性與特殊性；另一方面，採用搜尋引擎A1taiSta檢索並分析這些大學圖書館網站綱頁在網網相連的虛擬世界中，為其他綱頁所連結引用的程度與情形，包括連引次數與網路影響係數的計算，以及連引網頁之語文，並透過跨時研究比較其在前後七個月的兩個時點上被連引情形的消長。 本研究所規範的「網路資源」範疇，乃依圖書館網站組織與呈現網路資源的方式與取向區別為三類，其中以「一般性網路資源」和「參性網路資源」居多，「專題性網路資源」則相對較少。研究結果發現39個大學圖書館網站中提供「網路資源」服務的佔有34個，共收錄了10,144筆網路資源，平均每個圖書館收錄298.35筆，其中靜宜大學圖書館以1,429筆奪得第一。實際上，這些網路資源來自於54個國家/地區網域；4,606個不同的綱域名稱；6,818個不同的網址。若將其網址依國家/地區網域做分析，我國(.tw)網域佔五成以上，而其中又有半數為學術網域所含括；居次者為美國，所佔將近四成，而商業網域又佔有其申四成；若依單位屬性網域做分析，以屬於學術網域的網路資源所佔達四成為最多，其中以我國與美國網域貢獻最多；屬於公司網域緊隨於後，佔有將近三成．，其申以美國與我國綱域貢獻最多。在被連引次數上，國內網站以被連引網頁次數累積達150次的中央研究院為最高，其次為教育部、行政院主計處、國家圖書館等網站；國外網站則以美國國家醫學圖書館與柏克萊數位圖書館SunSITE並列第一。大致上，可將我國大學圖書館網站所連引網路資源歸納為八類，被連引最多的類型是圖書資訊服務，其餘依次為政府機關、學術單位、研究機構、博物館/數位博物館、書店/網路書店、國際組織、其他等。" 外部連引可作為評估圖書館網站對外部網站的影響力之依據；而內部連引則反映了圖書館網站與校園網域內的其他網站的互動。本研究結果顯示，外部連引次數以成大、台大、央大等圖書館次數為領先；內部連引次數則以台大、交大、政大等圖書館居前。以連引數為分子，網頁數為分母所計算出的網路影響係數方面，所有大學圖書館網站的影響係數為0，33，亦即表示我國大學圖書館網站，平均每一個網頁被連引0.33次；外部連引的網路影響係數以逢甲、東華、中正等大學圖書館領先；內部連引的網路影響係數則以東華、南華、世新等大學圖書館居前。另外,在連引網頁的語文方面，我國大學圖書館網站被中文綱頁所連引的數量佔 93.57%；被英文綱頁所連引的數量佔9．46%，其餘語言則佔0、73%。 本研究建議圖書館應透過電腦軟體與人工定期檢閱連引節 點之有效性；並拓展專題性與特藏性網路資源的建置，以期建立各館之不可替代性的網路資源；同時深入連引網站內層之綱頁內容，以一個網頁或一個網頁片段作為一個連引單元，俾能強化其對使用者的實質效益。圖書館也能善用搜尋引擎以調查圖書館網站被內部和外部連引的情形，以自我評估圖書館網站與內、外部網域社群之間的互動和影響。另外，本土性的幾家中文搜尋引擎，加Openfind、Gais等，除應致力於擴展索引涵蓋的版圖興提升穩定性高的檢索結果外，還能豐富其相關檢索功能。 / The purpose of this study is to apply webometrics, especially sitation analysis, to examine and analyze thirty-nine university library websites in Taiwan. On one hand, the study utilized Extract URL to collect data aboutInternet resources of university library websites, and analyzed top-level DNS,second-level DNS, Domain Name, URL, respectively. The similarities and differences of the university library websites among each other were compared based on the analyses of number, types of websites and attributes of web pages of the "Internet resources". On the other hand, the study used AltaVista to retrieve and analyze the web pages of university library websites which interlinked by other web pages in the labyrinthine cyberspace. The Items measured included the numbers of total sitation, external sitation, internal sitation, and self-sitation, as well as languages of linking web pages.Furthermore, the investigation ran through two time spots across seven months to observe the changes of the sitations. The "Internet resources" appeared on the library website were organized into three categories： "general resources" and "reference resources", came out to be the majority, whereas the "specific resources" was the minority. The study found that thirty-four out of thirty-nine university library websites had provided service of Internet resources, and the items of Internet resources were 10,144 in total, from 54 different top-level DNS, 4,606 different Domain Name, and 6,818 different URLs. The average number of Internet resources per library website was 298.35. The Providence University Library earned the first. The analysis of top-level domain showed that the Taiwan was in the majority, and USA got the second. The analysis of second-level domain also found that academic domain earned the first, and business domain was the second. TheInternet resources can be grouped into eight types： library and information services was the first, and the other included government institutions, academic organizations,reseah institutes, museum/digital museum, bookstores/Internet bookstores, international organizations and others. External sitation is seen as an indicator of significance and influence of a site for external websites, and internal sitation may respond interaction and effect between a university library website and other websites in web domain of campus. The findings of study revealed that the external sitations ofNational Cheng Kung Universe Library, National Taiwan University Library and National Central University Library were the first group； and the internal sitations of National Taiwan University Library, National Chengchi University Library and National Chiao Tung University Library were the top group.Besides, the Web Impact Factor of university libraries in Taiwan was 0.33. The number of Chinese web pages that linked to university library websites turned out to be 93.57% whereas the number of English web pages was only 9.46%.The number of web pages linked in other language was only 0.73%. Finally, the study suggested that libraries should better use computer software and human aids to check the validity of hyperlinks； and devote library staff's energies into the development of specific Internet resources； further,libraries should link the content of web pages of websites in depth. Libraries should also examine various sitations of self library website to evaluate the interaction and influence of the library website with inside and outside web domain. Local search engines, for instance, Openfind and Gais, should strengthen the scope of index, enhance the stability of searching, and improve the retrieval functions in the filture.

Recommendation systems are information filtering systems that help users effectively and efficiently explore large amount of information and identify items of interest. Accurate predictions of users' interests improve user satisfaction and are beneficial to business or service providers. Researchers have been making tremendous efforts to improve the accuracy of recommendations. Emerging trends of technologies and application scenarios, however, lead to challenges other than accuracy for recommendation systems. Three new challenges include: (1) opinion spam results in untrustworthy content and makes recommendations deceptive; (2) users prefer diversified content; (3) in some applications user behavior data may not be available to infer users' preference. This thesis tackles the above challenges. We identify features of untrustworthy commercial campaigns on a question and answer website, and adopt machine learning-based techniques to implement an adaptive detection system which automatically detects commercial campaigns. We incorporate diversity requirements into a classic theoretical model and develop efficient algorithms with performance guarantees. We propose a novel and robust approach to infer user preference profile from recommendations using copula models. The proposed approach can offer in-depth business intelligence for physical stores that depend on Wi-Fi hotspots for mobile advertisement. / Graduate / 0984 / cchenv@uvic.ca

Diese Arbeit untersucht den Einfluss von Kultur und Sprache auf die Nutzung des Internets. Drei Hauptgebiete wurden bearbeitet: (1) Der Einfluss von Kultur und Sprache auf Nutzerpräferenzen bezüglich der Darstellung von Informationen und Nutzung von Suchoptionen; (2) Der Einfluss von Kultur auf Nutzerpräferenzen bezüglich des Inhaltes von Websiteinformationen; (3) Der Einfluss von Sprache auf die Nutzerzufriedenheit und Sprache als Informationszugangsbarriere Daten aus Logfile-Analysen, Onlinebefragungen und experimentellen Untersuchungen bildeten die Auswertungsgrundlage für die Überprüfung der 33 Hypothesen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass kulturspezifische Denkmuster mit Navigationsmusters und Nutzung von Suchoptionen korrelieren. Der Einfluss von Kultur auf Nutzerpräferenzen bezüglich des Inhaltes von Websiteinformationen erwies sich als weniger eindeutig. Aus den Untersuchungen zum Einfluss von Sprache ging hervor, dass Sprache Web¬sitezugriff und –nutzung beeinflusst. Die Daten zeigen, dass signifikant weniger L1-Nutzer als L2-Nutzer auf eine Website zugreifen. Dies lässt sich zum einem mit dem sprachbedingten kognitiven Aufwand erklären als auch mit der Tatsache, dass Websites unterschiedlicher Sprachen weniger miteinander verlinkt sind als Websites gleicher Sprachen. Im Hinblick auf die Nutzung von Suchoptionen zeigte sich, dass L2 Nutzer mit geringem themenspezifischen Wissen sich signifikant von L1 Nutzern unterscheiden. Schließlich lassen die Ergebnisse auch darauf schließen, dass Zufriedenheit der Nutzer einer Website einerseits mit Sprachfähigkeiten der Nutzer und andererseits mit der wahrgenommenen Menge muttersprachlichen Angebots im Internet korreliert. / This thesis analyses the impact of culture and language on Internet use. Three main areas were investigated: (1) the impact of culture and language on preferences for information presentation and search options, (2) the impact of culture on the need for specific website content, and (3) language as a barrier to information access and as a determinant of website satisfaction. In order to test the 33 hypotheses, data was gathered by means of logfile analyses, online surveys, and laboratory studies. It was concluded that culture clearly correlated with patterns of navigation behaviour and the use of search options. In contrast, results concerning the impact of culture on the need for website content were less conclusive. Results concerning language, showed that significantly fewer L1 users than L2 users accessed a website. This can be explained with language related cognitive effort as well as with the fact the websites of different languages are less linked than websites of the same language. With regard to search option use, a strong mediation effect of domain knowledge was found. Furthermore, results revealed correlations between user satisfaction and language proficiency, as well as between satisfaction and the perceived amount of native language information online.

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of access to and use of library electronic resources and their implications on remote users at the National Open University of Nigeria. Specific objectives were formulated to: find out the different types of electronic resources available in the NOUN Library; investigate academic staffs’ and students’ level of awareness of electronic resources available in the NOUN library; explore the various types of electronic resources used by academic staffs and students of NOUN; find out how academic staffs and students access and use electronic resources in NOUN library; analyze the policies that enable access to and use of electronic resources by academic staffs and students at NOUN; find out the perceptions and attitudes of academic staffs and students toward the electronic resources available in the NOUN library; and identify the challenges associated with access to and use of electronic resources by the academic staffs and students of NOUN. The study adopted a quantitative research approach and survey research method was employed. The study targeted 1,680 population samples of which include 1,513 Students, 140 Academic staffs, and 27 Academic Librarians. Probability (Stratified random and systematic) sampling and nonprobability (purposive) sampling methods were adopted. Two sample frames were used: Students - classified into subgroups (Level) in each selected study centers and Academic staff - classified into subgroups (academic staff/academic librarian). Online (Google form) self-administered closed-ended questionnaire was sent to participants’ email. Data collected were analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). This finding revealed that electronic journals and electronic books are readily available in the NOUN library. Academic staff most likely, interact with the library staff or visit the library to be aware of library electronic resources, however, the students struggled to be aware through personal efforts. NOUN library creates awareness through the email and notice boards. The academic staff and students access and use the library electronic resources for various multidimensional purposes, however, there is a low patronage of these electronic resources by academic staff and students as less than 40% of academic staff and students access and use the library electronic resources. Electricity outage, low internet connectivity speed and high cost of access to internet were presented as challenges encountered while accessing and using electronic resources. Recommendations: the library management should develop awareness programmes that is appropriate for an ODL university community through the use of modern communication tools, and emphasy should be on the use of electronic resources in the university curriculum. / Information Science