This thesis discusses the possibilities to visualise the presentation layer of a search engine on a mobile device in an alternative way. Previous work in the area has shown that the use of text-based-lists can be problematic when accessed on a device with a limited display. In the scope of the thesis and in order to tackle the current problems when displaying the results a literature review was carried out. The findings of the review formed the basis for a requirement definition on which a mock-up was developed. The mock-up was then evaluated and tested during a usability test where a number of users got to experience the alternative presentation layer that uses a visualisation technique called tree- map. The results from the test show that the mock-up could be seen as a alternative to the current presentation of results. The mock-up also shows that a future implementation could also include the use of categories and sorting of information in order to provide content with a meaning.

<p>Information technology is rapidly changing and companies are amending to the inevitable changes. Recently, the traditional Internet has started to evolve into a 3D Internet, thereby challenging companies into becoming more active in virtual worlds in order to keep up with the latest technology. In this thesis, the virtual world environment is highlighted from a v-business perspective to emphasize on potential opportunities and problems businesses face when entering virtual worlds. Moreover, the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds is discussed, based on interviews with companies that are active in virtual worlds jointly with observed phenomenon identified in the literature study. Since Second Life is one of the largest and most recognized virtual worlds up to present, having a resemblance with the real world, this virtual world has been selected to pose as an example in this thesis. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this research is to answer the following research questions:</p><p>* What kind of value has v-business added to companies operating in virtual worlds and what kind of impact has it had?</p><p>* What kind of complexities and restrictions have companies experienced with v-business in virtual worlds, and why have these occurred?</p><p>* What does the future look like for v-business in virtual worlds considering opportunities and problems related to such a business approach?</p><p>Consequently, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, by investigating what opportunities and problems companies face in such a virtual setting, along with their predictions about its future development. Based on these findings an outline of the prospects of v-business will be developed.</p><p>Given that the area of this particular study is not yet broad in terms of research, the research has been conducted through an inductive approach using a qualitative method. Seven companies have been interviewed for this research and a majority of the company respondents have been interviewed through real-time communication using Skype.</p><p>The outcome of this research implies that there is great potential for v-business in virtual worlds, hence adding additional value to companies’ positioning on a yet unique environment. A number of possibilities have been identified where communication was identified as a major opportunity. In contrast, there are also current problems where technical restraints and comprehension problems were especially emphasized. However, in spite of some problems, companies report that they are in general very positive about the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, which is one of the reasons as to why we conclude that there is definitely a future awaiting for doing business in virtual worlds.</p>

René Schneider setzte das derzeit stark diskutierte Konzept einer "Bibliothek 2.0" in Bezug zur Geschichte und den aktuellen und möglichen Weiterentwicklungen des Web. Im Vordergrund standen dabei Werkzeuge des Web 2.0 (Folksonomies, RSSFeeds, Widgets, Mash-Ups) und deren Realisierungen im bibliothekarischen Kontext sowie der Zusammenhang zwischen dem sog. Web 3.0 oder SemanticWeb und der Sacherschliessung. Anschliessend wurde die Sacherschliessung als Schnittstellenproblem, d.h. aus der Perspektive der Gestaltung benutzerfreundlicher Oberflächen betrachtet und es wurde erörtert, inwieweit der Einsatz von Web 2.0- und Web 3.0-Technologie zur besseren Vermittlung des informationellen Mehrwerts der Sacherschliessung führen kann. René Schneider als Visionär: Für ihn ist das Internet eine große Bibliothek und alle ihre Nutzer sind ihre Bibliothekare.

Informacinės technologijos besivysto sparčiu tempu, paslaugos vis labiau keliasi į internetinę erdvę, kuriasi paslaugų internetas. Ilgą laiką Lietuvoje paslaugos internete nebuvo labai populiarios, tačiau jau įgavo pasitikėjimą. Populiarėjant paslaugoms turi pasitempti paslaugų kūrėjai ir tiekėjai. Jie stengiasi siūlyti kokybiškas ir patrauklias paslaugas. Antrosios kartos paslaugų žiniatinklį tuoj papildys semantikos įvedimas – trečios kartos, semantinis žiniatinklis. Semantinio žiniatinklio ir semantinių web servisų sąvokos labai svarbios interneto vystymosi raidoje. Semantinis žiniatinklis kardinaliai pakeis žiniatinklio bei paslaugų internete supratimą. Projektuojama sistema puikiai atitinką pokyčius ir numatomą ateitį paslaugų interneto verslo sektoriuje. Semantiniai web servisai gali būti pritaikomi tiek galutiniams vartotojams tiek verslo poreikiams. Sistema gali būti naudojama versle, panaudojant sistemos išvedimo rezultatus kitiems verslo procesams kaip įvedimo duomenis. Pagrindiniai darbo tikslai – remiantis ankstesniuose tiriamuosiuose darbuose įgyta patirtimi išanalizuoti Lietuvos elektroninio verslo rinką, išanalizuoti semantinių web servisų aplinką, kūrimo įrankius, suprojektuoti semantinio web serviso prototipą, bei pabrėžti jo naudą ir konkurencinio pranašumo įgijimo galimybes. / Information technologies are developing very fast, services are moving to the internet. For a long time online services in the Lithuania hasn’t been very popular but now are quite popular. The popularity of services makes developers and providers to strive. They are trying to offer high quality and great services. The second generation web will be soon complemented with the semantic – the third generation semantic web. In evolution of the internet, semantic web and semantic web service definitions are very important. Semantic web will dramatically change the understanding of web and the services on the Internet. This system is well suited to the expected future changes for services on the Internet in the business sector. The semantic web services can be applied to end users and business needs. The system output can be used for other business processes like data entry. Main goals of my job – to adapt the experience from previous jobs about semantic web technologies, analyze Lithuanian e-business market, the semantic web services environment, tools for services creation, design a semantic web service prototype and highlight competitive advantage opportunities.

Submitted by João Arthur Martins (joao.arthur@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-12T18:41:00Z No. of bitstreams: 2 TESE Eduardo Oliveira.pdf: 5192726 bytes, checksum: 74657d726dbecc7f408d2bd34161750f (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-12T18:41:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 TESE Eduardo Oliveira.pdf: 5192726 bytes, checksum: 74657d726dbecc7f408d2bd34161750f (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-27 / Apesar da grande oferta de ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem (AVA) no mercado, estes comumente não tratam seus estudantes de maneira personalizada. Consequentemente, muitas vezes não há incentivo para a construção e o compartilhamento efetivos do conhecimento, o que gera problemas de desmotivação, baixo rendimento e evasão. Os conteúdos de cursos virtuais disponibilizados em AVA também não costumam ser disponibilizados em outros ambientes Web, de maneira distribuída. O conhecimento é geralmente centralizado em um único AVA. Diferente do que acontecia há alguns anos atrás, o aluno que estuda a distância hoje está muito mais familiarizado com os recursos da internet (em suas várias plataformas e redes sociais) e está melhor acostumado a trabalhar/interagir com outras pessoas (pelo próprio uso das redes sociais). Além disto, uma característica marcante desta nova geração de estudantes é sua mobilidade. Com esta mudança de paradigma, fica ainda mais difícil de fazer os estudantes de cursos virtuais se interessarem por um AVA tradicional, onde as interfaces não estão adequadas às suas necessidades e principalmente, muitas vezes as ferramentas colaborativas não permitem que este aluno estabeleça relações com os demais colegas, a exemplo do que acontece naturalmente nas redes sociais. Como forma de incentivar o aprendizado distribuído e sensível a contexto na Internet, neste trabalho propõe-se o framework i-collaboration 3.0. O framework busca, por meio do uso de um agente inteligente, apoiar a interoperabilidade entre diferentes ambientes Web, a consolidação de dados distribuídos de estudantes nestes diferentes ambientes, a personalização e a adaptação de conteúdos de aprendizagem e, a sensibilidade a contexto. Para verificar se o framework era de fato interessante, foi realizado um experimento a partir do Sistema Social Web Learning (SWL), desenvolvido sobre o framework proposto. Neste experimento, vinte e nove estudantes interagiram com o SWL durante dois meses, para estudar conteúdos de Introdução a Programação I. Os participantes interagiram com o agente inteligente, receberam dicas personalizadas do agente e utilizaram o Twitter, o Gtalk e o MSN como ambientes de aprendizagem (estes ambientes Web foram integrados ao SWL). Os resultados obtidos neste experimento indicaram que o framework de colaboração inteligente contribuiu para a promoção da interação entre os estudantes do sistema e conteúdos educacionais nestes. Em outras palavras, o framework de colaboração inteligente atendeu as expectativas a que se propôs, auxiliando e motivando os estudantes de maneira atrativa, distribuída e personalizada em busca do aprendizado.

Information technology is rapidly changing and companies are amending to the inevitable changes. Recently, the traditional Internet has started to evolve into a 3D Internet, thereby challenging companies into becoming more active in virtual worlds in order to keep up with the latest technology. In this thesis, the virtual world environment is highlighted from a v-business perspective to emphasize on potential opportunities and problems businesses face when entering virtual worlds. Moreover, the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds is discussed, based on interviews with companies that are active in virtual worlds jointly with observed phenomenon identified in the literature study. Since Second Life is one of the largest and most recognized virtual worlds up to present, having a resemblance with the real world, this virtual world has been selected to pose as an example in this thesis. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this research is to answer the following research questions: * What kind of value has v-business added to companies operating in virtual worlds and what kind of impact has it had? * What kind of complexities and restrictions have companies experienced with v-business in virtual worlds, and why have these occurred? * What does the future look like for v-business in virtual worlds considering opportunities and problems related to such a business approach? Consequently, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, by investigating what opportunities and problems companies face in such a virtual setting, along with their predictions about its future development. Based on these findings an outline of the prospects of v-business will be developed. Given that the area of this particular study is not yet broad in terms of research, the research has been conducted through an inductive approach using a qualitative method. Seven companies have been interviewed for this research and a majority of the company respondents have been interviewed through real-time communication using Skype. The outcome of this research implies that there is great potential for v-business in virtual worlds, hence adding additional value to companies’ positioning on a yet unique environment. A number of possibilities have been identified where communication was identified as a major opportunity. In contrast, there are also current problems where technical restraints and comprehension problems were especially emphasized. However, in spite of some problems, companies report that they are in general very positive about the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, which is one of the reasons as to why we conclude that there is definitely a future awaiting for doing business in virtual worlds.

The Semantic Web has ushered in a vast repository of openly available data across various domains, resulting in over ten thousand Knowledge Graphs (KGs) published under the Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud. However, the exploration of these KGs can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, compounded by issues of availability and duplication across distributed and decentralized databases. Addressing these challenges, this thesis investigates methods for improving information retrieval over Linked Data (LD) through conceptual approaches facilitating access via formal and natural language queries. First, RDFSlice is introduced to efficiently select relevant fragments of RDF data from distributed KGs, demonstrating superior performance compared to conventional methods. Second, a novel distributed and decentralized publishing architecture is proposed to simplify data sharing and querying, enhancing reliability and efficiency. Third, a benchmark for evaluating ranking functions for RDF data is created, leading to the development of new ranking functions such as DBtrends and MIXED-RANK. Fourth, a scoring function based on Term Networks is proposed for interpreting factual queries, outperforming traditional information retrieval methods. Lastly, user interface patterns are discussed, and an extension for semantic search is proposed to improve information access in the face of the vast amounts of data available on the LOD cloud. These contributions collectively address key challenges in accessing and utilizing RDF data, offering insights and solutions to facilitate efficient information retrieval and exploration in the Semantic Web era.

<p>Den här semantiska webben. Syftet är att undersöka hur den semantiska webben påverkar sökmotorer på webben. Detta sker genom en undersökning av tio olika sökmotorer där nio är semantiskt sådana och den tionde är den mest använda sökmotorn idag. Studien är genomförd som både en deskriptiv och kvantitativ studie. En litteraturundersökning har också genomförts om den semantiska webben och sökmotorer. Slutsatserna av den här studien är att den semantiska webben är mångfacetterad med dess definitioner, och att resultatet kring hur konkreta sökmotorer tillämpar semantiska webbprinciper kan variera beroende vilken sökmotor man interagerar med.Nyckelord: Semantic web, Semantiska webben, Semantik, Informatik, Web 2.0, Internet, Search engines, Sökmotorerthat relates to the semantic web. Therapporten behandlar definitioner av begrepp som är kopplade till denDen här semantiska webben. Syftet är att undersöka hur den semantiska webben påverkar sökmotorer på webben. Detta sker genom en undersökning av tio olika sökmotorer där nio är semantiskt sådana och den tionde är den mest använda sökmotorn idag. Studien är genomförd som både en deskriptiv och kvantitativ studie. En litteraturundersökning har också genomförts om den semantiska webben och sökmotorer. Slutsatserna av den här studien är att den semantiska webben är mångfacetterad med dess definitioner, och att resultatet kring hur konkreta sökmotorer tillämpar semantiska webbprinciper kan variera beroende vilken sökmotor man interagerar med.</p> / <p>This report deals with the definitions and terms main purpose has been to investigate how the semantic web affects search engines on the web. This has been done through an investigation consisting of ten different search engines. Nine of these search engines are considering being semantic search engines, and the last one being the most used one on the web today. The study is conducted as a descriptive and quantitative study. A literature review has also been implemented by the relevant sources about the semantic web and search engines. The conclusions drawn where that the semantic web is multifaceted with its definitions and that the result of how concrete search engines implements semantic web principles can vary depending on which search engine one interacts with.</p>

<p><!--[if !mso]> <object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object><mce:style><! st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } --></p><p>Traditional education have for long been remaining without major changes made to the actual system. Up until very recently, there has been reluctance towards making fundamental and dramatic changes to the system, but as societies change and develop by mirroring on past experiences, new minds and new ways of thinking emerge suggesting changes and new developments. Consequently, new educational approaches such as e-learning and virtual learning have emerged.</p><p>Lately, technology has been transforming and developing than ever before and the demand for modifying accordingly to new technology has become a prerequisite for all industries and institutions. Already with e-learning, a derived concept is worthy of notice. Authenticity, meaning validity and accuracy, has been imposed as one major issue when it comes to e-learning, and also v-learning.</p><p>The main goal of this thesis is to present answers and suggestions to the following research questions:</p><p>Ø  What value does a virtual education method create for the students?</p><p>Ø  What implications are there for an education through Second Life and what is the significance of such an environment?</p><p>Ø  What are the main auxiliary instruments or tools that enhance authenticity and the achievement of high presence in a virtual environment?</p><p>This research adopted an inductive approach using a qualitative research. The characterizations of knowledge used were descriptive knowledge, normative knowledge, explanatory research and evaluating research for the respective research questions. As a result of collaborating with Kalmar University, Sweden’s first Second Life course <em>“Oral Production” </em>was observed and to intensify the results, an interview was held with the course’s lecturer. The results were thereon analyzed and scrutinized based on the Empirical Findings, Theoretical Framework – consisting of mainly pedagogical theories and of articles concerning virtual learning environments.</p><p>The conclusion of this research entails the answers for the research questions. An education via a virtual environment is a development of e-learning, which is an enhancement of a traditional physical education. All students are persuaded to be active and participate in learning, which also promotes interconnectedness between students and teacher. Students can do role-playing and do presentations without feeling embarrassed about their “real” identities being represented. Main auxiliary instruments include virtual presentation boards, audio to communicate with each other and the avatar to direct the speech. Additionally, to enhance high presence in a virtual environment, involving all students with creative exercises seems to be another means in achieving high presence in a virtual environment.</p><p> </p>

René Schneider setzte das derzeit stark diskutierte Konzept einer "Bibliothek 2.0" in Bezug zur Geschichte und den aktuellen und möglichen Weiterentwicklungen des Web. Im Vordergrund standen dabei Werkzeuge des Web 2.0 (Folksonomies, RSSFeeds, Widgets, Mash-Ups) und deren Realisierungen im bibliothekarischen Kontext sowie der Zusammenhang zwischen dem sog. Web 3.0 oder SemanticWeb und der Sacherschliessung. Anschliessend wurde die Sacherschliessung als Schnittstellenproblem, d.h. aus der Perspektive der Gestaltung benutzerfreundlicher Oberflächen betrachtet und es wurde erörtert, inwieweit der Einsatz von Web 2.0- und Web 3.0-Technologie zur besseren Vermittlung des informationellen Mehrwerts der Sacherschliessung führen kann. René Schneider als Visionär: Für ihn ist das Internet eine große Bibliothek und alle ihre Nutzer sind ihre Bibliothekare.