Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What A User Wants: Redesigning A Library's Web Site Based On A Card-Sort Analysis, Laura Pope Robbins, Lisa Esposito, Christ Kretz, Michael Aloi

Publications

Web site usability concerns anyone with a web site to maintain. Libraries, however, are often the biggest offenders in terms of usability. In our efforts to provide users with everything they need to do research, we often overwhelm them with sites that are confusing in structure, difficult to navigate, and weighed down with jargon. Dowling College Library recently completed a redesign of its web site based upon the concept of usability. For smaller libraries in particular, this can be a challenge. The web site is often maintained by one or two people and finding the time and resources to conduct …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 5, 2008 – October 5, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• Take Pride in America in Southern Nevada wins national Take Pride in America Award for best state program and Senate recognition

• Zia Engineering begins work on Recycling Plan

• Name the Mascot contest drawing interest and support

• Dumping and litter prevention information for Northern Nevada added to web site

• Three events conducted this quarter

• Team reaches milestone of 60 events since inception

• Agreement with Spring Mountain Youth Camp finalized

Baselines Newsletter, No. 3, Fall 2008, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Baselines: The Natural Resources Law Center Newsletter (2007-2011)

No abstract provided.

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V04n3, Autumn 2008, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--A Message from your President

--Comments from the IAS Leadership

--2008-2009 IAS Section Chairs

--One Donation To Help Two Great Causes

--Iowa Junior Academy of Science Celebrating 75 Years of Service

--You are invited to Wiki with IJAS

--Dr. Jay Labov to Speak at IAS Annual Meeting

--Recognizing Great Science

--2008 Iowa Academy of Science Speakers Series Visitor Center, Saylorville Reservoir

--Recognizing Great Science Teaching

La Lucha Por Una Comunidad Sustentable Los Campesinos Tonocote De Breayoj: Manejo De Recursos, Desarrollo Y Elecciones, David Flannelly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A study about the environment and sustainability has to be soley about topics solely relating directly to nature, right? With this preconception in my mind I went off to study an indigenous subsistence farming community in the northwestern region of Argentina. Initially I solely wanted to focus on the management of resources of the community, the trees, water, and animals. Fate had other plans for my indepent study project. I arrived in the community right in the middle of the last week of historical elections for the province and the community. A new political party of farmers and other poor …

Ua35/1 Doers & Deeds Vol. 7, No. 7, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by the WKU Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs to highlight the activities of faculty, staff and alumni.

Improving Beekeeping On Unguja Island, Larken Root

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current practices and methods for improvement of beekeeping on Unguja Island in Zanzibar. Beekeeping has been occurring for many years in Unguja but has retained traditional techniques with little improvement. Improvement can occur in the form of introduction of modern equipment, formation of beekeeping organizations, advancing and diversifying products, and gaining governmental support. Beekeeping is worthy of expansion because of its potential to increase rural income in a sustainable way as well as support conservation of forest areas. The study found that there has so far been little improvement of income …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 50 Number 2, Fall 2008, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

10 - MEET MOUNTAIN By Lisa Taggart. A Q&A with SCU women's basketball coach Jennifer Mountain.

12 - KATRINA AT THREE By Pat Semansky '06. A New Orleans photo essay.

16 - THE MEDDLING PRIEST FROM OZ By Emily Elrod '05. An interview with Australian Jesuit John Brennan, S.J.-lauded as a "national treasure" and an "ethical burr."

18 - 20/20 VISION By Robert M. Senkewicz. How has the presidency of Paul Locatelli, S.J., transformed the University-as a place-and as an idea?

28 - GO WITH YOUR HEART By Francisco Jimenez. An exclusive excerpt from his new memoir, Reaching Out.

32 …

An Ontology-Driven Semantic Mash-Up Of Gene And Biological Pathway Information: Application To The Domain Of Nicotine Dependence, Satya S. Sahoo, Olivier Bodenreider, Joni L. Rutter, Karen J. Skinner, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Objectives: This paper illustrates how Semantic Web technologies (especially RDF, OWL, and SPARQL) can support information integration and make it easy to create semantic mashups (semantically integrated resources). In the context of understanding the genetic basis of nicotine dependence, we integrate gene and pathway information and show how three complex biological queries can be answered by the integrated knowledge base.

Methods: We use an ontology-driven approach to integrate two gene resources (Entrez Gene and HomoloGene) and three pathway resources (KEGG, Reactome and BioCyc), for five organisms, including humans. We created the Entrez Knowledge Model (EKoM), an information model in OWL …

Adapting Ranking Functions To User Preference, Keke Chen, Ya Zhang, Zhaohui Zheng, Hongyuan Zha, Gordon Sun

Kno.e.sis Publications

Learning to rank has become a popular method for web search ranking. Traditionally, expert-judged examples are the major training resource for machine learned web ranking, which is expensive to get for training a satisfactory ranking function. The demands for generating specific web search ranking functions tailored for different domains, such as ranking functions for different regions, have aggravated this problem. Recently, a few methods have been proposed to extract training examples from user clickthrough log. Due to the low cost of getting user preference data, it is attractive to combine these examples in training ranking functions. However, because of the …

Description Logic Reasoning With Decision Diagrams: Compiling Shiq To Disjunctive Datalog, Sebastian Rudolph

Kno.e.sis Publications

We propose a novel method for reasoning in the description logic SHIQ. After a satisfiability preserving transformation from SHIQ to the description logic ALCIb, the obtained ALCIb Tbox T is converted into an ordered binary decision diagram (OBDD) which represents a canonical model for T. This OBDD is turned into a disjunctive datalog program that can be used for Abox reasoning. The algorithm is worst-case optimal w.r.t. data complexity, and admits easy extensions with DL-safe rules and ground conjunctive queries.

Growing Greener: Step By Step, Alexandra Gomes, Laura E. Abate, Laurie Lyons, Hasna Ross

Himmelfarb Library Faculty Posters and Presentations

In 2008, the Green Himmelfarb task force identified areas in which the staff could easily improve the environmental impact of the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library. This poster presentation is a summary of the library's initiative to evolve into a "green library".

Leveraging Social Context For Searching Social Media, Marc Smith, Vladimir Barash, Lise Getoor, Hady W. Lauw

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The ability to utilize and benefit from today's explosion of social media sites depends on providing tools that allow users to productively participate. In order to participate, users must be able to find resources (both people and information) that they find valuable. Here, we argue that in order to do this effectively, we should make use of a user's "social context". A user's social context includes both their personal social context (their friends and the communities to which they belong) and their community social context (their role and identity in different communities).

Impacts Of Information And Communication Technologies On Country Development: Accounting For Area Interrelationships, Robert J. Kauffman, Ajay Kumar

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Single-item composite indices gauge ICT readiness at the country level but do not represent the direct impact of ICTs on a country's development. This paper describes a new approach to measuring the macrolevel impacts of ICTs across a range of development areas. The indirect effects of one area on others is taken into consideration by a simultaneous equation model that permits the inclusion of multiple development areas. The model is applied to data pertaining to four development areas in 64 countries: trade flows, agricultural productivity, R&D, and quality of life. ICT readiness is found to have a positive association with …

Npdes Storm Water Training: Program: Closing Activity Report, Daila Shimek

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report discusses the outcome and evaluation of the training program conducted by the GLEFC and funded by the Ohio EPA’s Office of Environmental Education.

Unlv Magazine, Holly Ivy De Vore, Tony Allen, Barbara Cloud, Erin O'Donnell, Matthew K. Jacobsen, Gian Galassi, Michelle Mouton, Afsha Bawany, Shane Bevell

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: October 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from October 8 and 24, 2008.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Update: October 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Dailly Facilities Updates from October 2008. These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Spatial Analyses And Repletion Of Gargathy Coastal Lagoon, Loreto Herraiz Gomez

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal lagoons and bays vary in shape and size in response to antecedent topography, geologic processes and sea level rise. Variations in shape and environmental conditions of coastal basins are believed to influence the distribution of benthic sub-environments and the exchange of water with the ocean and other adjacent coastal systems. Gargathy Inlet and its coastal lagoon vary spatially from the inlet, where the greatest depths are observed, to the mainland, dominated by shallow intertidal areas, colonized by marsh. Hypsographic and hydro-hypsographic analyses of Gargathy's coastal lagoon were the primary techniques applied to understand the relative distribution of the benthic …

An Agent-Based Combat Simulation Framework In Support Of Effect-Based And Net-Centric Evaluation, Robert Joseph Bowen

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The use of information technologies (IT) and information networks has proliferated in industry as a method to achieve competitive advantage. The U.S. Military and its allies, in recent years, have employed IT to improve the way they conduct operations, speed decision making, and increase the span of control of commanders. This has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way military commanders employ combat units today. These (Information Age) forces no longer have to be able to see each other or even communicate directly in order to synchronize maneuvers. Dispersion is now favored over mass, relying on the IT network …

Modeling Geographic Population Dispersion Utilizing Geospatial Information System Environment Agents In An Agent Based Model, Karl D. Liebert

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

New capabilities in agent based model (ABM) environments are opening the door to the creation of ABM that may incorporate high-quality, real world environment data in the form of Geospatial Information System (GIS) files . In the past, GJS environments were only possible through extensive software development efforts focused on specific model applications.

This thesis explores the value and issues of using GIS data to provide an ABM environment. It examines the ability of ABM development environments (DE) to support GIS environment data. The selected ABM DE is then used to model population behavior in an environment defined by authoritative …

Interagency Science And Research: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Interagency Science and Research Strategy

• The major focus this quarter has been on completing a draft of the SNAP Science and Research Strategy and distributing it for internal and external review.

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 1- September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 10% since June, 2008. The database now contains 5,706 records.
• Website activity decreased, recording an average of 48,361 hits per month, a decrease of 28% from last quarter, with an average of 4,925 pages viewed per month.
• Fall volunteer training has been scheduled.
• Fall events have been scheduled.

Segmenting Brain Tumors Using Pseudo-Conditional Random Fields, Chi-Hoon Lee, Shaojun Wang, Albert Murtha, Matthew R.G. Brown, Russell Greiner

Kno.e.sis Publications

Locating Brain tumor segmentation within MR (magnetic resonance) images is integral to the treatment of brain cancer. This segmentation task requires classifying each voxel as either tumor or non-tumor, based on a description of that voxel. Unfortunately, standard classifiers, such as Logistic Regression (LR) and Support Vector Machines (SVM), typically have limited accuracy as they treat voxels as independent and identically distributed (iid). Approaches based on random fields, which are able to incorporate spatial constraints, have recently been applied to brain tumor segmentation with notable performance improvement over iid classifiers. However, previous random field systems involved computationally intractable …

Ua35/1 Doers & Deeds Vol. 7, No. 6, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by the WKU Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs to highlight the activities of faculty, staff and alumni.

Kernel Density Estimation Of Traffic Accidents In A Network Space, Zhixiao Xie, Jun Yan

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

A standard planar Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) aims to produce a smooth density surface of spatial point events over a 2-D geographic space. However, the planar KDE may not be suited for characterizing certain point events, such as traffic accidents, which usually occur inside a 1-D linear space, the roadway network. This paper presents a novel network KDE approach to estimating the density of such spatial point events. One key feature of the new approach is that the network space is represented with basic linear units of equal network length, termed lixel (linear pixel), and related network topology. The use …

A Faceted Classification Based Approach To Search And Rank Web Apis, Karthik Gomadam, Ajith Harshana Ranabahu, Meenakshi Nagarajan, Amit P. Sheth, Kunal Verma

Kno.e.sis Publications

Web application hybrids, popularly known as mashups, are created by integrating services on the Web using their APIs. Support for finding an API is currently provided by generic search engines or domain specific solutions such as Google and ProgrammableWeb. Shortcomings of both these solutions in terms of and reliance on user tags make the task of identifying an API challenging. Since these APIs are described in HTML documents, it is essential to look beyond the boundaries of current approaches to Web service discovery that rely on formal descriptions. In this work, we present a faceted approach to searching and ranking …

An Assessment Of The Role Of Chimpanzees In Aids Vaccine Research, Jarrod Bailey

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Prior to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)-infected macaques becoming the ‘model of choice’ in the 1990s, chimpanzees were widely used in AIDS vaccine research and testing. Faced with the continued failure to develop an effective human vaccine, some scientists are calling for a return to their widespread use. To assess the past and potential future contribution of chimpanzees to AIDS vaccine development, databases and published literature were systematically searched to compare the results of AIDS vaccine trials in chimpanzees with those of human clinical trials, and to determine whether the chimpanzee trials were predictive of the human response. Protective and/or therapeutic …

Semantics Enhanced Services: Meteor-S, Sawsdl And Sa-Rest, Amit P. Sheth, Karthik Gomadam, Ajith Harshana Ranabahu

Kno.e.sis Publications

Services Research Lab at the Knoesis center and the LSDIS lab at University of Georgia have played a significant role in advancing the state of research in the areas of workflow management, semantic Web services and service oriented computing. Starting with the METEOR workflow management system in the 90's, researchers have addressed key issues in the area of semantic Web services and more recently, in the domain of RESTful services and Web 2.0. In this article, we present a brief discussion on the various contributions of METEOR-S including SAWSDL, publication and discovery of semantic Web services, data mediation, dynamic configuration …

Do Online Reviews Affect Product Sales? The Role Of Reviewer Characteristics And Temporal Effects, Nan Hu, Ling Liu, Jennifer Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online product reviews provided by consumers who previously purchased products have become a major information source for consumers and marketers regarding product quality. This study extends previous research by conducting a more compelling test of the effect of online reviews on sales. In particular, we consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects of online reviews, such as reviewer quality, reviewer exposure, product coverage, and temporal effects. Using transaction cost economics and uncertainty reduction theories, this study adopts a portfolio approach to assess the effectiveness of the online review market. We show that consumers understand the value difference between favorable news and …