This research assessed website management and development practices across the United Kingdom university library sector. As a starting point, the design and features of this group of websites was recorded against criteria drawn from the extant literature. This activity established core content and features of UK library websites as: a search box or link for searching the library catalogue, electronic resources or website; a navigation column on the left and breadcrumb trail to aid information location and website orientation; homepage design was repeated on library website sub-pages; university brand elements appeared in the banner; and a contact us link was provided for communication with library personnel. Library websites conformed to 14 of the 20 homepage usability guidelines examined indicating that web managers were taking steps to ensure that users were well served by their websites. Areas for improvement included better navigation support (sitemap/index), greater adoption of new technologies and more interactive features. Website management and development practices were established through national survey and in-depth case studies. These illustrated the adoption of a team approach to website management and development; formal website policy and strategy were not routinely created; library web personnel and their ability to build effective links with colleagues at the institution made a valuable contribution to the success of a library website; corporate services and institutional practices played an important part in library website development; library staff were actively engaged in consultations with their website audience; and a user focused approach to website development prevailed. User studies and metric data were considered in the website evaluation and development process. However, there were some issues with both data streams and interpreting metric data to inform website development. Evaluation and development activities were not always possible due to staff/time shortages, technical constraints, corporate website templates, and, to a lesser extent, lack of finance.

Orientador: Cássia Regina Bassan de Moraes / Resumo: Em vista de sua complexidade, projetos de software são, comumente, desenvolvidos em equipes. Esta atividade requer a busca, uso e compartilhamento de informação e conhecimento, além do aprendizado e atualização constante das habilidades profissionais. São empregadas metodologias de projetos que enfatizam a produtividade e restringem processos considerados burocráticos, como a documentação. A documentação, contudo, é imprescindível para comunicar informações de projetos e compreender o código-fonte, visando sua adaptação e manutenção. Portanto, é relevante investigar o comportamento informacional dos desenvolvedores de software, verificando as barreiras para a satisfação de suas necessidades informacionais. Deste modo, os objetivos do presente estudo são: estudar o comportamento informacional dos referidos profissionais quanto à busca, seleção, uso, reuso e compartilhamento de informações e conhecimentos, salientando a influência da cultura organizacional. A hipótese apresentada é que a maior intensidade de uso da Internet por estes profissionais, evidenciada na literatura científica, resultaria da indisponibilidade de informações e conhecimentos registrados, na organização. Outra hipótese é que a rotina acelerada afetaria, por restrições de tempo, o compartilhamento de informações, essencial ao trabalho em equipe. Portanto, realizou-se um estudo de casos múltiplos com abordagem qualiquantitativa em uma empresa de desenvolvimento de software do município de Marília, São Paulo,... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In face of their complexity, software projects are commonly developed in teams. This activity requires the search, use and sharing of information and knowledge, as well as learning and constant updating of professional skills. Project methodologies that emphasize productivity and restrict processes considered bureaucratic, such as documentation, are employed. The documentation, however, is essential for communicating project information and understanding the source code for adaptation and maintenance. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the information behavior of software developers, verifying barriers to the satisfaction of their information needs. In this way, the aim of this research is to study the information behavior of these professionals, regarding the search, selection, use, reuse and sharing of information and knowledge, highlighting the influence of organizational culture. As hypothesis, it is stated that the greater intensity of Internet use by these professionals, evidenced in scientific literature, would result from the unavailability of recorded information and knowledge in the organization. Another hypothesis is that the accelerated work routine would affect, by time constraints, the sharing of information, essential to teamwork. Therefore, a multiple-case study with a qualitative approach was carried out at a software development company in Marília city, São Paulo, member of the Associação de Empresas de Serviços de Tecnologia da Informação, and a compa... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A presença constante das imagens fotográficas, na contemporaneidade, evidencia-se em um cotidiano marcado pelo intenso uso da imagem fotográfica, levando a um olhar naturalizado e que, em princípio, não impacta a vida dos sujeitos. A partir da aliança entre o smartphone e o acesso à internet banda larga, nasce a fotografia conectada, da qual é difícil evadir, pois, em todos os momentos do cotidiano, podemos nos expor e nos comunicarmos numa fusão de fala e de imagem. Nos atuais estudos sobre comportamento informacional e práticas informacionais, falta compreensão de como os sujeitos fazem uso das imagens. Neste contexto, do ponto de vista do sujeito, cabe a questão - podemos identificar efeitos positivos ou negativos no uso de imagens fotográficas, na perspectiva da Ciência da Informação? O objetivo geral consistiu em analisar estudos sobre o uso da imagem na Ciência da Informação e, com base em critérios da Ontopsicologia, agregar valor aos estudos das práticas e comportamentos informacionais dos sujeitos frente a imagens fotográficas contemporâneas. O objeto de estudo comportou o uso dessas imagens fotográficas. A pesquisa, de abordagem qualitativa e de natureza interpretativa, baseou-se em três fases: a) identificação de distintas formas de uso das imagens fotográficas, resultando em cinco práticas de uso: I. Imagem conectada; II. Imagem híbrida e reapropriada; III. Imagem e autorretrato; IV. Imagem efêmera; V. Imagem e os valores sociais. Uma vez identificados os usos, propomos: b) a identificação de funcionalidades (positivas ou negativas) no uso das imagens fotográficas. Após essas duas fases, com auxílio da Ontopsicologia, entendemos que o uso de imagens fotográficas e a funcionalidade desses usos devem estar associados à percepção visceral (organísmica) e desenvolvemos: c) um experimento. Neste, utilizamos 09 imagens fotográficas, analisadas por 20 adolescentes, em que objetivamos compreender o uso da percepção visceral com atenção voltada às variações emotivas. Ao analisarmos o uso da imagem fotográfica, concluímos que não podemos enfatizar apenas quais usos os sujeitos fazem da imagem, mas, sim, observar também o que a imagem ocasiona aos sujeitos, sugerindo, nesta pesquisa, portanto, que é a imagem que dá a funcionalidade (positiva ou negativa), e não o uso, isto é, a funcionalidade ou não funcionalidade, antes de tudo, dá-se pela imagem. Para conhecermos a funcionalidade, substancialmente, adicionamos o critério organísmico (visceral) ao critério lógico-racional. Por fim, é importante ainda salientar que o uso da imagem fotográfica conectada traz a característica do uso interativo, isto é, o sujeito se crê ativo na interação por meio das imagens fotográficas, mas é passivo diante da ação dos complexos. / The constant presence of photographic images nowadays is seen in a routine marked by an intense use of photographic images, accounting for a naturalized view upon images and giving the impression that they do not cause any impact on subjects. Since the alliance between the smartphone and broadband internet access, the connected photography comes to be, from which it is difficult to escape because at any moment in our daily life, we may expose ourselves and communicate with each other in a fusion between speech and image. In contemporary researches about information behaviour and information practices, such studies lack the comprehension of how subjects make use of images. In this context, from the subject\'s point of view, a question arises: can we identify the positive or negative effects in the use of photographic images according to Information Science? The main objective consisted in analyzing studies about the use of image in Science Information and according to the criteria of Ontopsychology, aggregating value to the studies about information behavior and information practices of subjects before contemporary photographic images. This research is of qualitative approach and of interpretative nature, focusing in three stages: a) identification of distinct ways of photographic image use, resulting in five practices of image use: I. Connected image; II. Hybrid reappropriated image; III. Image and selfie; IV. Ephemeral image; V. Image and social values. Once the uses were identified, carried out the b) identification of functionalities (positive and negative) in the use of photographic images. After these two stages, with the support of Ontopsychology, it was identified that the uses of photographic images and their functionalities must be associated with visceral perception (organismic perception) and developed c) an experiment. In this experiment, we used 09 photographic images were analyzed by 20 adolescents in which the aim was to comprehend the use of visceral perception with a focus on emotive variations. In analyzing the use of photographic image, rather it was concluded that one cannot emphasize only what uses such subjects make use but as well as to observe what the image causes in the subject hence suggesting, in this research, that it is the image that provides the functionality (positive or negative) and not the use itself, that is, the functionality or the non-functionality comes to be through the image. In order to know substantially the functionality, one must add the organismic (visceral) criterium to the logical and rational criterium. Lastly, it is important to highlight that the use of connected photographic image brings the characteristic of interactive use; the subject sees himself in the interaction through photographic images but becomes passive before the action of complexes.

A área da Deficiência é marcada pela multidisciplinaridade e pela influência de aspectos ideológicos e sociais em sua constituição, o que gera desafios para a identificação de perfis de usuários e as maneiras mais adequadas para organizar informações nesse domínio. Este trabalho é um estudo de caso que busca refletir sobre o conhecimento necessário, no âmbito da Ciência da Informação, para solucionar esses problemas. Para isso, foi tomado como objeto de análise a Rede SACI, um serviço referencial de informação sobre Deficiência, buscando enfatizar como foi feita a estruturação do serviço, as características de seus usuários e seus contextos de uso, bem como as alternativas adotadas para organização informacional. Concluiu-se que alguns modelos teóricos para estudos de usuário, como o modelo social de informação (Moore, 2000, 2002), podem ser aplicados com maior propriedade no âmbito da Deficiência. Por outro lado, a exploração mais aprofundada de relações entre termos e categorias, relações de sinonímia e o uso de qualificadores são apontadas como alternativas para a organização da área. São indicadas ainda possibilidades quanto ao desenvolvimento da Deficiência no plano da Web 2.0 e as perspectivas para estudos futuros envolvendo a Ciência da Informação e aspectos existentes na área da Deficiência, como a necessidade de informação para o exercício da cidadania. / The area of Disability is characterized by multidisciplinarity and the influence of ideological and social issues. These factors represent a challenge for the establishment of users profiles and the best ways to organize information in the domain. This work is a case study aiming to know how the Information Science can help to solve such problems. An analysis was made on Rede SACI, a reference information service about Disability, to show how the service was structured, its user characteristics and user contexts, as well as the alternatives adopted by the service for organization of information. We conclude that some theoretical models for user studies, as the social model of information (Moore, 2000, 2002), can be applied in the Disability field. On the other hand, a deeper exploration on the relations between terms and categories, on the synonymic relations, and the use of qualifiers, are pointed as ways for organization in the area. This work points also some possibilities about the development of the Disability field in the context of Web 2.0, and the perspectives for future studies involving Information Science and existing aspects in the area of Disability, as the need of information for citizenship construction.

A área da Deficiência é marcada pela multidisciplinaridade e pela influência de aspectos ideológicos e sociais em sua constituição, o que gera desafios para a identificação de perfis de usuários e as maneiras mais adequadas para organizar informações nesse domínio. Este trabalho é um estudo de caso que busca refletir sobre o conhecimento necessário, no âmbito da Ciência da Informação, para solucionar esses problemas. Para isso, foi tomado como objeto de análise a Rede SACI, um serviço referencial de informação sobre Deficiência, buscando enfatizar como foi feita a estruturação do serviço, as características de seus usuários e seus contextos de uso, bem como as alternativas adotadas para organização informacional. Concluiu-se que alguns modelos teóricos para estudos de usuário, como o modelo social de informação (Moore, 2000, 2002), podem ser aplicados com maior propriedade no âmbito da Deficiência. Por outro lado, a exploração mais aprofundada de relações entre termos e categorias, relações de sinonímia e o uso de qualificadores são apontadas como alternativas para a organização da área. São indicadas ainda possibilidades quanto ao desenvolvimento da Deficiência no plano da Web 2.0 e as perspectivas para estudos futuros envolvendo a Ciência da Informação e aspectos existentes na área da Deficiência, como a necessidade de informação para o exercício da cidadania. / The area of Disability is characterized by multidisciplinarity and the influence of ideological and social issues. These factors represent a challenge for the establishment of users profiles and the best ways to organize information in the domain. This work is a case study aiming to know how the Information Science can help to solve such problems. An analysis was made on Rede SACI, a reference information service about Disability, to show how the service was structured, its user characteristics and user contexts, as well as the alternatives adopted by the service for organization of information. We conclude that some theoretical models for user studies, as the social model of information (Moore, 2000, 2002), can be applied in the Disability field. On the other hand, a deeper exploration on the relations between terms and categories, on the synonymic relations, and the use of qualifiers, are pointed as ways for organization in the area. This work points also some possibilities about the development of the Disability field in the context of Web 2.0, and the perspectives for future studies involving Information Science and existing aspects in the area of Disability, as the need of information for citizenship construction.

Correct functioning is the most important requirement for any system. Nowadays there are a lot of threats to computer systems that undermine confidence in them and, as a result, force a user to abandon their use. Hence, a system cannot be trusted if there is no proper security provided. Firewalls are an essential component of network security and there is an obvious need for their use. The level of security provided by a firewall depends on how well it is configured. Thus, to ensure the proper level of network security, it is necessary to have properly configured firewalls. However, setting up the firewall correctly is a very challenging task. These configuration files might be hard to understand even for system administrators. This is due to the fact that these configuration files have a certain structure: the higher the position of a rule in the rule set, the higher priority it has. Challenging problems arise when a new rule is being added to the set, and a proper position, where to place it, needs to be found. Misconfiguration might sooner or later be made and that will lead to an inappropriate system's security. This brings us to the usability problem associated with the configuration of firewalls. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify existing firewall usability gaps and to mitigate them. To achieve the first part of the objective, we conducted a series of interviews with system administrators. In the interviews, system administrators were asked about the problems they face when dealing with firewalls. After having ascertained that the usability problems exist, we turned to literature to get an understanding on the state-of-the-art of the field and therefore conducted a systematic literature review. This review presents a classification of available solutions and identifies open challenges in this area. To achieve the second part of the objective, we started working on one identified challenge. A set of usability metrics was proposed and mathematically formalized. A strong correlation between our metrics and how system administrators describe usability was identified. / Network security is an important aspect that must be taken into account. Firewalls are systems that are used to make sure that authorized network traffic is allowed and unauthorized traffic is prohibited. However, setting up a firewall correctly is a challenging task. Their configuration files might be hard to understand even for system administrators. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify firewall usability gaps and to mitigate them. To achieve the first part of the objective, we conduct a series of interviews with system administrators. In the interviews, system administrators are asked about the problems they face when dealing with firewalls. After having ascertained that the usability problems exist, we conduct a systematic literature review to get an understanding on the state of the art of the field. This review classifies available solutions and identifies open challenges. To achieve the second part of the objective, a set of usability metrics is proposed and mathematically formalized. A strong correlation between our metrics and how system administrators describe usability is identified. / HITS, 4707

Two-dimensional geometric textures are the geometric analogues of raster (pixel-based) textures and consist of planar distributions of discrete shapes with an inherent structure. These textures have many potential applications in art, computer graphics, and cartography. Synthesizing large textures by hand is generally a tedious task. In raster-based synthesis, many algorithms have been developed to limit the amount of manual effort required. These algorithms take in a small example as a reference and produce larger similar textures using a wide range of approaches. Recently, an increasing number of example-based geometric synthesis algorithms have been proposed. I refer to them in this dissertation as Geometric Texture Synthesis (GTS) algorithms. Analogous to their raster-based counterparts, GTS algorithms synthesize arrangements that ought to be judged by human viewers as “similar” to the example inputs. However, an absence of conventional evaluation procedures in current attempts demands an inquiry into the visual significance of synthesized results. In this dissertation, I present an investigation into GTS and report on my findings from three projects. I start by offering initial steps towards grounding texture synthesis techniques more firmly with our understanding of visual perception through two psychophysical studies. My observations throughout these studies result in important visual cues used by people when generating and/or comparing similarity of geometric arrangements as well a set of strategies adopted by participants when generating arrangements. Based on one of the generation strategies devised in these studies I develop a new geometric synthesis algorithm that uses a tile-based approach to generate arrangements. Textures synthesized by this algorithm are comparable to the state of the art in GTS and provide an additional reference in subsequent evaluations. To conduct effective evaluations of GTS, I start by collecting a set of representative examples, use them to acquire arrangements from multiple sources, and then gather them into a dataset that acts as a standard for the GTS research community. I then utilize this dataset in a second set of psychophysical studies that define an effective methodology for comparing current and future geometric synthesis algorithms.

Many disciplines spend considerable resources studying behavior. Tools range from pen-and-paper observation to biometric sensing. A tool's appropriateness depends on the goal and justification of the study, the observable context and feature set of target behaviors, the observers' resources, and the subjects' tolerance to intrusiveness. We present two systems: Viz-A-Vis and Tableau Machine. Viz-A-Vis is an analytical tool appropriate for onsite, continuous, wide-coverage and long-term capture, and for objective, contextual, and detailed analysis of the physical actions of subjects who consent to overhead video observation. Tableau Machine is a creative artifact for the home. It is a long-lasting, continuous, interactive, and abstract Art installation that captures overhead video and visualizes activity to open opportunities for creative interpretation. We focus on overhead video observation because it affords a near one-to-one correspondence between pixels and floor plan locations, naturally framing the activity in its spatial context. Viz-A-Vis is an information visualization interface that renders and manipulates computer vision abstractions. It visualizes the hidden structure of behavior in its spatiotemporal context. We demonstrate the practicality of this approach through two user studies. In the first user study, we show an important search performance boost when compared against standard video playback and against the video cube. Furthermore, we determine a unanimous user choice for overviewing and searching with Viz-A-Vis. In the second study, a domain expert evaluation, we validate a number of real discoveries of insightful environmental behavior patterns by a group of senior architects using Viz-A-Vis. Furthermore, we determine clear influences of Viz-A-Vis over the resulting architectural designs in the study. Tableau Machine is a sensing, interpreting, and painting artificial intelligence. It is an Art installation with a model of perception and personality that continuously and enduringly engages its co-occupants in the home, creating an aura of presence. It perceives the environment through overhead cameras, interprets its perceptions with computational models of behavior, maps its interpretations to generative abstract visual compositions, and renders its compositions through paintings. We validate the goal of opening a space for creative interpretation through a study that included three long-term deployments in real family homes.

A presença constante das imagens fotográficas, na contemporaneidade, evidencia-se em um cotidiano marcado pelo intenso uso da imagem fotográfica, levando a um olhar naturalizado e que, em princípio, não impacta a vida dos sujeitos. A partir da aliança entre o smartphone e o acesso à internet banda larga, nasce a fotografia conectada, da qual é difícil evadir, pois, em todos os momentos do cotidiano, podemos nos expor e nos comunicarmos numa fusão de fala e de imagem. Nos atuais estudos sobre comportamento informacional e práticas informacionais, falta compreensão de como os sujeitos fazem uso das imagens. Neste contexto, do ponto de vista do sujeito, cabe a questão - podemos identificar efeitos positivos ou negativos no uso de imagens fotográficas, na perspectiva da Ciência da Informação? O objetivo geral consistiu em analisar estudos sobre o uso da imagem na Ciência da Informação e, com base em critérios da Ontopsicologia, agregar valor aos estudos das práticas e comportamentos informacionais dos sujeitos frente a imagens fotográficas contemporâneas. O objeto de estudo comportou o uso dessas imagens fotográficas. A pesquisa, de abordagem qualitativa e de natureza interpretativa, baseou-se em três fases: a) identificação de distintas formas de uso das imagens fotográficas, resultando em cinco práticas de uso: I. Imagem conectada; II. Imagem híbrida e reapropriada; III. Imagem e autorretrato; IV. Imagem efêmera; V. Imagem e os valores sociais. Uma vez identificados os usos, propomos: b) a identificação de funcionalidades (positivas ou negativas) no uso das imagens fotográficas. Após essas duas fases, com auxílio da Ontopsicologia, entendemos que o uso de imagens fotográficas e a funcionalidade desses usos devem estar associados à percepção visceral (organísmica) e desenvolvemos: c) um experimento. Neste, utilizamos 09 imagens fotográficas, analisadas por 20 adolescentes, em que objetivamos compreender o uso da percepção visceral com atenção voltada às variações emotivas. Ao analisarmos o uso da imagem fotográfica, concluímos que não podemos enfatizar apenas quais usos os sujeitos fazem da imagem, mas, sim, observar também o que a imagem ocasiona aos sujeitos, sugerindo, nesta pesquisa, portanto, que é a imagem que dá a funcionalidade (positiva ou negativa), e não o uso, isto é, a funcionalidade ou não funcionalidade, antes de tudo, dá-se pela imagem. Para conhecermos a funcionalidade, substancialmente, adicionamos o critério organísmico (visceral) ao critério lógico-racional. Por fim, é importante ainda salientar que o uso da imagem fotográfica conectada traz a característica do uso interativo, isto é, o sujeito se crê ativo na interação por meio das imagens fotográficas, mas é passivo diante da ação dos complexos. / The constant presence of photographic images nowadays is seen in a routine marked by an intense use of photographic images, accounting for a naturalized view upon images and giving the impression that they do not cause any impact on subjects. Since the alliance between the smartphone and broadband internet access, the connected photography comes to be, from which it is difficult to escape because at any moment in our daily life, we may expose ourselves and communicate with each other in a fusion between speech and image. In contemporary researches about information behaviour and information practices, such studies lack the comprehension of how subjects make use of images. In this context, from the subject\'s point of view, a question arises: can we identify the positive or negative effects in the use of photographic images according to Information Science? The main objective consisted in analyzing studies about the use of image in Science Information and according to the criteria of Ontopsychology, aggregating value to the studies about information behavior and information practices of subjects before contemporary photographic images. This research is of qualitative approach and of interpretative nature, focusing in three stages: a) identification of distinct ways of photographic image use, resulting in five practices of image use: I. Connected image; II. Hybrid reappropriated image; III. Image and selfie; IV. Ephemeral image; V. Image and social values. Once the uses were identified, carried out the b) identification of functionalities (positive and negative) in the use of photographic images. After these two stages, with the support of Ontopsychology, it was identified that the uses of photographic images and their functionalities must be associated with visceral perception (organismic perception) and developed c) an experiment. In this experiment, we used 09 photographic images were analyzed by 20 adolescents in which the aim was to comprehend the use of visceral perception with a focus on emotive variations. In analyzing the use of photographic image, rather it was concluded that one cannot emphasize only what uses such subjects make use but as well as to observe what the image causes in the subject hence suggesting, in this research, that it is the image that provides the functionality (positive or negative) and not the use itself, that is, the functionality or the non-functionality comes to be through the image. In order to know substantially the functionality, one must add the organismic (visceral) criterium to the logical and rational criterium. Lastly, it is important to highlight that the use of connected photographic image brings the characteristic of interactive use; the subject sees himself in the interaction through photographic images but becomes passive before the action of complexes.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-19T11:50:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Marcia Feijao de Figueiredo.pdf: 670092 bytes, checksum: 9e74d9a792d645a7db5a5318f4206f86 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29 / Presents a literature review on the criteria those scientists to make judgments and validate imagetic information found during process web seeking. Describes the processes that occurred since the beginning of modern society which took place in research communities with rules and standards developed internally, the result of sub-cultures , and the images that are of interest of these users, the epistemic function. Uses inputs from the postphenomenology to explain the use of technology as a mediator for the production and access to knowledge of man. Identifies the components of seek and selection of imagetic information: the web, information seeking, the judgment criteria chosen for analysis, namely, quality of information, cognitive authority and credibility and the categories that are related literature. Analyzes the main features observed in the use of criteria for image and as Habermas understands the validation of objects symbolic of a community. Demonstrates a true story through the use of images supposedly plagiarized research in communities with different themes and how their validation differs from textual information. / Apresenta uma revisão de literatura sobre os critérios que pesquisadores utilizam para julgar e validar informações imagéticas encontradas durante um processo de busca na web. Descreve os processos que ocorreram, desde o inicio da sociedade moderna, em comunidades de pesquisa, com regras e normas desenvolvidas internamente, fruto de sub-culturas e a inserção das imagens que são de interesse desse tipo de usuários, com suas funções epistêmicas. Utiliza aportes da Pós-Fenomenologia para explicar o uso de tecnologias como elemento mediador para a produção e o acesso do homem ao conhecimento. Identifica os componentes da busca e seleção da informação imagética: a web, a information seeking, os critérios de julgamento escolhidos para análise, a saber, Qualidade da informação, Autoridade cognitiva e Credibilidade e as categorias que se relacionam na literatura. Analisa os principais aspectos observados no uso de critérios para validação da imagem e como Habermas compreende a validação de objetos simbólicos por uma comunidade. Demonstra, através de um caso verídico o uso de imagens supostamente plagiadas em comunidades de pesquisa com temas diferentes, como sua validação se difere da informação textual.