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An analysis of users’ continuous use intention of academic library social media using the WeChat public platform as an example

Por Yuan Meng
An analysis of users’ continuous use intention of academic library social media using the WeChat public platform as an example
Yuan Meng, Hongwei Lin, Weijing Gong, Rui Guan, Li Dong
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

This study aims to discover the factors which influence user satisfaction levels and their continuous use intention (CUI) of academic library social media, and then considers how to promote and improve further work on library social media to reduce user churn and increase user satisfaction.

An updated DeLone and McLean information systems success (D&M ISS) model and the expectation confirmation model for information systems continuance (ECM-ISC) with new variables of emotions are used to examine the factors which influence user satisfaction levels and CUI of academic library social media through 445 questionnaires. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and presented in tables.

The results show that information quality, system quality and emotions affect user satisfaction and CUI, and reveal that emotions can affect that most obviously.

The WeChat public platform is mainly used in China, so the study only focuses on Chinese academic libraries. There are still limitations on the settings of observed variables which cannot cover all the causes of users’ positive and negative emotions. In addition, although the respondents of this questionnaire can represent academic library users, 445 samples are still fairly low in contrast to the great number of academic library WeChat public platform users.

This study integrates ECM-ISC and D&M ISS models, adds positive and negative emotions as new variables, to broaden the application scope of these models, and demonstrates the applicability of these two models in the fields of researching academic library social media, expanding and deepening related theories above. This also provides practical reference for academic libraries on how to improve user satisfaction and CUI of academic library social media and academic library WeChat public platforms, promoting the development of academic library social media.

  • 16 de Novembro de 2023, 00:00

Aggregating distributed KOSs: enriching with meta information and linking to the multilingual KOS registry

Por Ziyoung Park
Aggregating distributed KOSs: enriching with meta information and linking to the multilingual KOS registry
Ziyoung Park
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

This study aims to collect distributed knowledge organization systems (KOSs) from various domains, enrich each with meta information and link them to the multilingual KOS registry, facilitating integrated search alongside KOSs from various languages and regions.

This research involved collecting and organizing KOS information through three primary steps. The initial phase involved finding KOSs from Web search results, supplemented by the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS) and the National R&D Integrated Notification Service. After obtaining these KOSs, they were enriched by structuring contextual meta information using Basic Register of Thesauri, Ontologies and Classification (BARTOC) metadata elements and established dedicated media wiki pages for each. Finally, the KOSs were linked to the multilingual KOS registry, BARTOC, ensuring seamless integration with KOSs from various languages and regions and creating connections between each registry entry and its associated KOS wiki page.

The research findings revealed several insights, as follows: (1) importance of a stable source for collecting KOS: no national body currently oversees KOS registration, underscoring the need for a systematic approach to collect dispersed KOSs. For Korean KOSs (K-KOSs), KONEPS and National R&D Integrated Notification Service are effective data sources. (2) Importance of enhanced metadata: merely collecting KOSs were not enough. Enhanced metadata bridges access gaps and dedicated wiki pages aid user identification and understanding. (3) Observations from multilingual registry uploads: When adding KOSs to a multilingual registry, similarities were observed across languages and regions. Recognizing this, the K-KOSs were linked with their international counterparts, fostering potential global collaboration.

Due to the absence of a dedicated KOS registry agency, the study might have missed KOSs from certain fields or potentially over-collected from others. Furthermore, this study primarily focused on K-KOSs and their integration into the BARTOC registry, which might influence the methods and perspectives on collecting and establishing links among analogous KOSs in the registry.

This research pursued a stable method to detect KOS development and revisions across various fields. To facilitate this, we used the integrated e-procurement and R&D notification system and added meta information to aid in the identification and understanding of KOSs, which includes media wiki pages. Furthermore, link information was provided between the BARTOC registry and the Korean KOS websites and media wiki pages.

  • 13 de Novembro de 2023, 00:00

How technology, organization and environment affected open government data during COVID-19: the moderating role of pandemic severity

Por Xubu Ma
How technology, organization and environment affected open government data during COVID-19: the moderating role of pandemic severity
Xubu Ma, Yafan Xiang, Chunxiu Qin, Huigang Liang, Dongsu Liu
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

With the worldwide open government data (OGD) movement and frequent public health emergencies in recent years, academic research on OGD for public health emergencies has been growing. However, it is not fully understood how to promote OGD on public health emergencies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the factors that influence OGD on public health emergencies.

The technology–organization–environment framework is applied to explore factors that influence OGD during COVID-19. It is argued that the effects of four key factors – technical capacity, organizational readiness, social attention and top-down pressure – are contingent on the severity of the pandemic. A unique data set was created by combining multiple data sources which include archival government data, a survey of 1,034 Chinese respondents during the COVID-19 outbreak and official COVID-19 reports.

The data analysis indicates that the four factors positively affect OGD, and pandemic severity strengthens the effects of technical capacity, organizational readiness and social attention on OGD.

This study provides theoretical insights regarding how to improve OGD during public health emergencies, which can guide government efforts in sharing data with the public when dealing with outbreak in the future.

  • 3 de Novembro de 2023, 00:00

Enhancing health-care data integration via automated semantic mapping

Por Julaine Clunis
Enhancing health-care data integration via automated semantic mapping
Julaine Clunis
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

This paper aims to delve into the complexities of terminology mapping and annotation, particularly within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It underscores the criticality of harmonizing clinical knowledge organization systems (KOS) through a cohesive clinical knowledge representation approach. Central to the study is the pursuit of a novel method for integrating emerging COVID-19-specific vocabularies with existing systems, focusing on simplicity, adaptability and minimal human intervention.

A design science research (DSR) methodology is used to guide the development of a terminology mapping and annotation workflow. The KNIME data analytics platform is used to implement and test the mapping and annotation techniques, leveraging its powerful data processing and analytics capabilities. The study incorporates specific ontologies relevant to COVID-19, evaluates mapping accuracy and tests performance against a gold standard.

The study demonstrates the potential of the developed solution to map and annotate specific KOS efficiently. This method effectively addresses the limitations of previous approaches by providing a user-friendly interface and streamlined process that minimizes the need for human intervention. Additionally, the paper proposes a reusable workflow tool that can streamline the mapping process. It offers insights into semantic interoperability issues in health care as well as recommendations for work in this space.

The originality of this study lies in its use of the KNIME data analytics platform to address the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in terminology mapping and annotation. The novel workflow developed in this study addresses known challenges by combining mapping and annotation processes specifically for COVID-19-related vocabularies. The use of DSR methodology and relevant ontologies with the KNIME tool further contribute to the study’s originality, setting it apart from previous research in the terminology mapping and annotation field.

  • 2 de Novembro de 2023, 00:00

Information systems success in libraries: a meta-analysis of ISSM and future direction

Por Irfan Ali
Information systems success in libraries: a meta-analysis of ISSM and future direction
Irfan Ali, Nosheen Fatima Warraich
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the information system success model constructs including information quality (IQ), system quality (SysQ) and service quality (ServQ) with user satisfaction (US) and intention to use (IU).

A meta-analysis approach was used to achieve the objectives. For this purpose, the PRISMA-P guideline was used, and a search strategy was designed to search in three indexing databases including Google Scholar, Scopus and LISTA.

The findings of this research revealed that IQ, SysQ and ServQ are positively related to US and IU regarding library systems. The strength of the relationship between IQ and IU, IQ and US, ServQ and US and SysQ and US was high.

This study is a unique addition to the literature, as it provides a collective and comprehensive conclusion regarding different information systems’ (ISs) success in libraries. Therefore, it fills the literature gap. The findings also work as guidelines for system developers, designers and library high-ups to consider IQ, SysQ and ServQ while designing and developing ISs for libraries.

  • 19 de Outubro de 2023, 00:00

Toward a framework for visual nomen

Por L.P. Coladangelo
Toward a framework for visual nomen
L.P. Coladangelo
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

Through examination of the Library Reference Model (LRM) specifications for nomen and the potential challenges visual nomen might present for their description and use in information systems, the purpose of this study was to investigate two questions: (1) how do nonlinguistic or nonalphanumeric signs or symbols act as nomen to identify entities? and (2) what details or attributes are relevant to describe and classify such nomen to integrate them into information systems?

This research was built on an exploratory, qualitative instrumental case study design using multiple (or comparative) cases. Using the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions LRM conceptualization of nomen as the basis, this research explored the similarities and differences between the LRM definition, its attributes and the use of nonlinguistic and nonalphanumeric “strings” for visual nomen to represent a res, moving iteratively between the LRM documentation, visual nomen identified in previous research and additional examples. This study used a constant comparative method to conduct a structured, focused comparison across different cases found in the source survey.

A close review of the history of the development of the nomen entity was made to understand the semiotic relationship between entities and their symbolic representation, how those symbols are then reified to be further classified and described and how such definitions in the LRM offer a path forward for better understanding the role and function of visual nomen. Based on the foundation of the nomen entity and its attributes established in the LRM, this research then looked at visual representations of concepts and entities to suggest a nascent framework for describing aspects of visual nomen which may be relevant to their use and application

This exploratory study of the use of supralinguistic ways of referencing entities delineates novel insights into a potential framework for describing and using visual nomen as a way of labeling or naming entities represented in information systems. By examining the specifications of the nomen entity and its attributes as delineated by the LRM, this study reinforces the applicability of LRM-defined attributes in the use of visual nomen in addition to offering other attributes or dimensions.

  • 18 de Outubro de 2023, 00:00

A game-based augmented reality navigation system to support makerspace user education in a university library

Por Chih-Ming Chen
A game-based augmented reality navigation system to support makerspace user education in a university library
Chih-Ming Chen, Ya-Chu Yang
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

A makerspace has recently been identified as an essential learning field for cultivating students’ creative and thinking abilities. Creating a makerspace service within a university library is vital, as it fosters innovation, interdisciplinary learning, practical skills, entrepreneurship and career readiness while transforming the library into a dynamic centre for hands-on education and collaboration. Nevertheless, the wide-ranging functions and uses of makerspace equipment can potentially lead to a situation where librarians are overwhelmed by their duties due to manpower constraints. Therefore, this study aims to develop a novel game-based augmented reality navigation system (GARNS) based on the Octalysis gamification framework and scaffolding theory to support makerspace user education, hoping to promote learners’ learning motivation and their immersive experience and to enhance the learning performance of makerspace user education.

With a true experimental research method, 24 grade 11 students from a high school in Keelung City, Taiwan, were recruited to participate in the experiment on makerspace user education. Among them, ten students were randomly assigned to the experimental group using the GARNS and the other seven students were randomly assigned to a control group using the Web navigation system. The remaining seven students were assigned to a second control group using the narrative guided tour with a librarian to conduct makerspace user education.

Analytical results show that learners can achieve significant learning effectiveness using the GARNS, Web navigation system or traditional narrative guided tour with a librarian for makerspace user education. There were no significant differences in learning effectiveness and motivation neither between the GARNS group and the narrative guided tour with a librarian group nor between the Web navigation system group and the narrative guided tour with a librarian group. However, there were significant differences in learning effectiveness and motivation in terms of the value and expectation dimensions of learning motivation between the GARNS group and the Web navigation system group, and the GARNS group was significantly better than the Web navigation system group.

The study’s practical implication on makerspace user education is to reduce the manpower of a university library with makerspace services by the proposed GARNS that can offer a practical solution to enhance the learning effectiveness and motivation of makerspace through immersive game-based autonomous learning. Additionally, the study’s theoretical contribution lies in its innovative combination of game-based learning and scaffolding theory, while its practical significance stems from its potential to revolutionize makerspace user education, enhance motivation and performance and influence the broader landscape of educational technology.

This study combines game-based learning with augmented reality tools to develop a novel GARNS, which provides an innovative and effective learning tool suitable for the characteristics of makerspace and contributes to promoting makerspace user education and diversified learning modes. Additionally, most interviewees believed that using GARNS for educating makerspace users could assist them in consistently evaluating, choosing and discovering educational tasks in a library makerspace. This study contributes to promoting the popularization of makerspace user education.

  • 9 de Outubro de 2023, 00:00

A knowledge graph of interlinking digital records: the case of the 1997 Korean financial crisis

Por Haklae Kim
A knowledge graph of interlinking digital records: the case of the 1997 Korean financial crisis
Haklae Kim
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

Despite ongoing research into archival metadata standards, digital archives are unable to effectively represent records in their appropriate contexts. This study aims to propose a knowledge graph that depicts the diverse relationships between heterogeneous digital archive entities.

This study introduces and describes a method for applying knowledge graphs to digital archives in a step-by-step manner. It examines archival metadata standards, such as Records in Context Ontology (RiC-O), for characterising digital records; explains the process of data refinement, enrichment and reconciliation with examples; and demonstrates the use of knowledge graphs constructed using semantic queries.

This study introduced the 97imf.kr archive as a knowledge graph, enabling meaningful exploration of relationships within the archive’s records. This approach facilitated comprehensive record descriptions about different record entities. Applying archival ontologies with general-purpose vocabularies to digital records was advised to enhance metadata coherence and semantic search.

Most digital archives serviced in Korea are limited in the proper use of archival metadata standards. The contribution of this study is to propose a practical application of knowledge graph technology for linking and exploring digital records. This study details the process of collecting raw data on archives, data preprocessing and data enrichment, and demonstrates how to build a knowledge graph connected to external data. In particular, the knowledge graph of RiC-O vocabulary, Wikidata and Schema.org vocabulary and the semantic query using it can be applied to supplement keyword search in conventional digital archives.

  • 3 de Outubro de 2023, 00:00

FUKG: answering flexible queries over knowledge graphs

Por José Félix Yagüe
FUKG: answering flexible queries over knowledge graphs
José Félix Yagüe, Ignacio Huitzil, Carlos Bobed, Fernando Bobillo
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

There is an increasing interest in the use of knowledge graphs to represent real-world knowledge and a common need to manage imprecise knowledge in many real-world applications. This paper aims to study approaches to solve flexible queries over knowledge graphs.

By introducing fuzzy logic in the query answering process, the authors are able to obtain a novel algorithm to solve flexible queries over knowledge graphs. This approach is implemented in the FUzzy Knowledge Graphs system, a software tool with an intuitive user-graphical interface.

This approach makes it possible to reuse semantic web standards (RDF, SPARQL and OWL 2) and builds a fuzzy layer on top of them. The application to a use case shows that the system can aggregate information in different ways by selecting different fusion operators and adapting to different user needs.

This approach is more general than similar previous works in the literature and provides a specific way to represent the flexible restrictions (using fuzzy OWL 2 datatypes).

  • 25 de Setembro de 2023, 00:00

Factors influencing the adoption of public mobile libraries in China: a stimulus–response perspective

Por Yizhi Liu
Factors influencing the adoption of public mobile libraries in China: a stimulus–response perspective
Yizhi Liu, Yi Fu, Zihan Liang, Yu Liu
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the intention to use public mobile libraries and enhance the quality of mobile library services to attract and retain users.

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 391 valid users in China. Based on the stimulus–response theory and user individual characteristics, a model was developed to examine the factors influencing the intention to use public mobile libraries. The model was tested using statistical software, such as SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0.

The results indicate that technological factors, content factors, individual factors and psychological factors significantly influence the intention to use public mobile libraries. The impact of system quality and perceived ease of use in technological factors is relatively balanced. Among content factors, information quality is the most significant, while information literacy has a greater influence compared to subjective norms in individual factors. In psychological factors, perceived matching and perceived pleasure both positively influence usage intention, while perceived cost has a negative impact.

Firstly, this study only investigates users’ intention to use, but intention does not necessarily equate to actual usage behaviour (King and He,2006). Future research can introduce new variables to explore users’ adoption and continuous usage behaviours. Secondly, this study does not differentiate between different types of mobile library users. Future research can consider different user types, such as potential users and current users, to investigate the similarities and differences in their willingness to adopt mobile library services. Thirdly, this study is primarily cross-sectional. Future research can consider longitudinal studies to provide more in-depth insights into user behaviour.

This paper identifies external and internal stimulus factors and conducts a comprehensive investigation into the factors influencing the intention to use public mobile libraries, thus providing generalizable research findings. Unlike previous studies, this research introduces the information literacy variable, enriching the model of factors affecting users' intention to use mobile libraries and yielding more comprehensive conclusions. Consequently, the study aims to be grounded in the actual usage ideas and intentions of diverse user groups, constructing a model that highlights factors influencing the intention to use public mobile library services.

From a social perspective, this study offers four implications for improving the utilization of public mobile libraries. Firstly, it is crucial to integrate digital resources, enhance information quality in public mobile libraries and improve platform usability. Secondly, adopting a user-oriented approach is essential to improve the service level of public mobile libraries and stimulate residents’ participation. Thirdly, efforts should be made to strengthen user information literacy and increase information utilization. Fourthly, top-level design improvements, effective promotion efforts and user behaviour guidance are essential for the success of public mobile libraries.

This study contributes to the improvement of public mobile library services and the advancement of modern public cultural services by identifying the key factors that drive the intention to use such services. The findings have practical implications for promoting high-quality development and enhancing the popularity of public mobile libraries.

  • 20 de Setembro de 2023, 00:00

A five-year department-based electronic usage data analysis on electronic journal access, library training courses, and scholarly publications

Por Chia-Chang Huang
A five-year department-based electronic usage data analysis on electronic journal access, library training courses, and scholarly publications
Chia-Chang Huang, Ching-Jung Chung, Yi-Ting Wu, Po-Ting Hsu, Jen-Feng Liang, Ying-Ying Yang, Jie Chi Yang
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a digital medical library, including department-based electronic journal access, library training course participation and scholarly publications.

The data on full-text electronic journal access, participants of library training courses and scholarly publications were exported from a digital medical library database during 2017–2021. In addition, electronic journal access and library training courses were divided into high-level and low-level groups, while scholarly publications were divided into physician and non-physician groups.

The scholarly publications had a positive correlation to library training courses and electronic journal access. Furthermore, scholarly publications showed a significant difference between the high-level and low-level electronic journal access groups but not between the high-level and low-level library training course groups. Scholarly publications and electronic journal access had positive correlations for both the physician and non-physician groups. Scholarly publications and library training courses, and electronic journal access and library training courses had positive correlations only in the non-physician group.

The importance of electronic journal access for scholarly publications is suggested based on the findings of the present study. The training courses held by the medical library had a positive effect on scholarly publications for the non-physician group.

The current study provides insights relevant to the electronic journal access of library-supported scholarly publications among medical departments. These results can serve as a reference for medical library development planning and decision-making in the future.

  • 14 de Setembro de 2023, 00:00

Multidimensional knowledge discovery of cultural relics resources in the Tang tomb mural category

Por Ying Gao
Multidimensional knowledge discovery of cultural relics resources in the Tang tomb mural category
Ying Gao, Qiang Zhang, Xiaoran Wang, Yanmei Huang, Fanshuang Meng, Wan Tao
The Electronic Library, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.-

Currently, the Tang tomb mural cultural relic resources are presented in a multi-source and heterogeneous manner, with a lack of effective organization and sharing between resources. Therefore, this study aims to propose a multidimensional knowledge discovery solution for Tang tomb mural cultural relic resources.

Taking the Tang tomb murals collected by the Shaanxi History Museum as an example, based on clarifying the relevant concepts of Tang tomb mural resources and considering both dynamic and static dimensions, a top-down approach was adopted to first construct an ontology model of Tang tomb mural type cultural relics resources. Then, the actual case data was imported into the Neo4J graph database according to the defined pattern hierarchy to complete the static organization of knowledge, and presented in a multimodal form in knowledge reasoning and retrieval. In addition, geographic information system (GIS) technology is used to dynamically display the spatiotemporal distribution of Tang tomb mural resources, and the distribution trend is analysed from a digital humanistic perspective.

The multi-dimensional knowledge discovery of Tang tomb mural cultural relics resources can help establish the correlation and spatiotemporal relationship between resources, providing support for semantic retrieval and navigation, knowledge discovery and visualization and so on.

This study takes the murals in the collection of the Shaanxi History Museum as an example, revealing potential knowledge associations in a static and intelligent way, achieving knowledge discovery and management of Tang tomb murals, and dynamically presents the spatial distribution of Tang tomb murals through GIS technology, meeting the knowledge presentation needs of different users and opening up new ideas for the study of Tang tomb murals.

  • 11 de Setembro de 2023, 00:00

Constructing a spatiotemporal situational awareness framework to sense the dynamic evolution of online public opinion on social media

Por Qingqing Li
Constructing a spatiotemporal situational awareness framework to sense the dynamic evolution of online public opinion on social media
Qingqing Li, Ziming Zeng, Shouqiang Sun, Chen Cheng, Yingqi Zeng
The Electronic Library, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp.722-749

The paper aims to construct a spatiotemporal situational awareness framework to sense the evolutionary situation of public opinion in social media, thus assisting relevant departments in formulating public opinion control measures for specific time and space contexts.

The spatiotemporal situational awareness framework comprises situational element extraction, situational understanding and situational projection. In situational element extraction, the data on the COVID-19 vaccine, including spatiotemporal tags and text contents, is extracted. In situational understanding, the bidirectional encoder representation from transformers – latent dirichlet allocation (BERT-LDA) and bidirectional encoder representation from transformers – bidirectional long short-term memory (BERT-BiLSTM) are used to discover the topics and emotional labels hidden in opinion texts. In situational projection, the situational evolution characteristics and patterns of online public opinion are uncovered from the perspective of time and space through multiple visualisation techniques.

From the temporal perspective, the evolution of online public opinion is closely related to the developmental dynamics of offline events. In comparison, public views and attitudes are more complex and diversified during the outbreak and diffusion periods. From the spatial perspective, the netizens in hotspot areas with higher discussion volume are more rational and prefer to track the whole process of event development, while the ones in coldspot areas with less discussion volume pay more attention to the expression of personal emotions. From the perspective of intertwined spatiotemporal, there are differences in the focus of attention and emotional state of netizens in different regions and time stages, caused by the specific situations they are in.

The situational awareness framework can shed light on the dynamic evolution of online public opinion from a multidimensional perspective, including temporal, spatial and spatiotemporal perspectives. It enables decision-makers to grasp the psychology and behavioural patterns of the public in different regions and time stages and provide targeted public opinion guidance measures and offline event governance strategies.

  • 29 de Agosto de 2023, 00:00

Librarians’ perceptions about adoption and uses of the Koha integrated library software in Punjab, Pakistan

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose This study aims to find out the reasons of adopting Koha integrated library software, discovers the problems faced by librarians during its implementation, and gets the perceptions of librarians about the performances of Koha in Punjab, a province of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Survey method was used to collect the data through questionnaire from the purposefully selected sample (N = 66) of university librarians of Punjab, a province of Pakistan. Findings The librarians adopted Koha due to the availability of Web online public access catalog (OPAC), provision of MARC21 standards for cataloging and its free availability. During implementation, the librarians were faced with the problems of lack of technical skills, lack of knowledge about the Linux operating system, shortage of skilled manpower, slow internet speeds and approval from their organization. They highly rated the performance of the cataloguing, circulation, patron and OPAC modules of Koha. Originality/value This research provides a brief picture of librarians’ perceptions about Koha adoption and satisfaction levels. The findings highlighted the issues and problems faced during the implementation of Koha. This study will be helpful for librarians in the selection, implementation and usage of the Koha software in their libraries.
  • 27 de Junho de 2019, 02:44

Accelerate proposal generation in R-CNN methods for fast pedestrian extraction

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a novel region-based convolutional neural networks (R-CNN) approach that is more efficient while at least as accurate as existing R-CNN methods. In this way, the proposed method, namely R2-CNN, provides a more powerful tool for pedestrian extraction for person re-identification, which involve a huge number of images and pedestrian needs to be extracted efficiently to meet the real-time requirement. Design/methodology/approach The proposed R2-CNN is tested on two types of data sets. The first one the USC Pedestrian Detection data set, which consists of three sub-sets USC-A, UCS-B and USC-C, with respect to their characteristics. This data set is used to test the performance of R2-CNN in the pedestrian extraction task. The speed and performance of the investigated algorithms were collected. The second data set is the PASCAL VOC 2007 data set, which is a common benchmark data set for object detection. This data set was used to analyze characteristics of R2-CNN in the case of general object detection task. Findings This study proposes a novel R-CNN method that is both more efficient and more accurate than existing methods. The method, when used as an object detector, would facilitate the data preprocessing stage of person re-identification. Originality/value The study proposes a novel approach for object detection, which shows advantages in both efficiency and accuracy for pedestrian detection task. It contributes to both data preprocessing for person re-identification and the research on deep learning.
  • 27 de Junho de 2019, 02:40

Design effectiveness of academic library web sites

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose Academic library websites need evaluation to determine whether users can derive useful experiences while visiting them to perform tasks. This is more so because visiting an academic library website is by voluntary action rather than compulsion as is the case with university, polytechnic and college sites where students must conduct academic transactions that cannot be reasonably avoided. The result of such an evaluation provides signposts for improvement so that academic library websites can continue to be useful to their users. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the structural effectiveness of academic library websites in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The case study, research strategy and survey research approach were adopted for the study. Through a Web search, 14 universities, one polytechnic and one college of education were identified while three academic library websites were selected for the study. The evaluation of the websites was un-moderated and conducted remotely by user participants who were recruited across the three tertiary institutions under study. A five-point scale questionnaire served as the research instrument while data were presented in tables and analyzed using the median score. The Kruskall–Wallis test by ranks was used to test the null hypothesis at a five per cent level of significance. Findings Out of the 20 items presented for assessment, Group 1 and 2 disagreed to 11 (55 per cent) while agreeing on the remaining 9 (45 per cent) on Lib 1 and Lib 2 websites. Group 3 agreed to 11 (55 per cent) while disagreeing on 9 (45 per cent) on the Lib 3 website. The null hypothesis proposed for the study was rejected as the p-value of 0.04 was significant at p < 0.05. This indicated that most of the critical issues pertaining to design effectiveness were perceived to be ineffective. Originality/value The findings from this study call for a review of the design of academic library websites in Nigeria so that users can identify which websites are easier to use.
  • 27 de Junho de 2019, 02:39

Finding “just right” books for children: analyzing sentiments in online book reviews

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose This study is part of a larger research project which aims to investigate whether sentiments in online reviews on children’s books would represent significant factors which are useful for selecting the right books for children. This paper aims to examine whether positive, negative or neutral attitude would be directly associated with the overall ratings of books. Design/methodology/approach The study investigates subjectivity and polarity of online reviews on children’s books such as neutral, positive or negative sentiment. For the investigation of a statistical association between the sentiment values and the rating scores, this study performs correlation analysis. For a clear explanation of the factors affecting the relationships between the sentiment value and the rating score, this study uses the concept-level sentiment analysis of online reviews. Findings The findings of this study demonstrate that there is a weak or low correlation between the sentiment value and the rating score of a book and they are hardly related for most books. The results of this study also uncover key contributing factors that affected the correlations between two variables and made the relationship weak. Research limitations/implications This study increases awareness of the implications of online reviews as user-generated contents for complementing the existing controlled vocabulary. Practical implications This study contributes to improving library catalogs by using latent topics extracted from online reviews which provide additional access points for assisting in the selection of books. Originality/value Although several studies have conducted on online reviews in the domain of business, no research appears to exist on the sentiment analysis of online reviews about children’s books. This study attempts to address the potential and challenges associated with using online reviews to help find the right books for children.
  • 27 de Junho de 2019, 02:36

Design, develop and evaluate an open government data platform: a user-centred approach

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of designing, developing and evaluating a prototype of an open government data (OGD) platform that provided user-centred experiences. Design/methodology/approach Based on the OGD lifecycle, an OGD prototype was created, which involved the system functionality, user interface, standard specification and security mechanism. The main functionalities of the system included data acquisition, data processing and data management. A usability test was conducted following the prototype implementation. Findings The usability test indicated that an OGD platform was desired to help the public to find, access, reuse and share government data effectively and efficiently. Functions, such as visualization, local download and digital watermark should be provided and integrated into the platform. Originality/value This paper provided a complete case study on the design of an OGD platform and a reference for information system developers to design such system in the future.
  • 27 de Junho de 2019, 02:34

Interpreting and semantically describing Chinese traditional brocade: Xilankapu

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce an interpreting schema and semantic description framework for a collection of images of Xilankapu, a traditional Chinese form of embroidered fabric and brocade artwork. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors interpret the artwork of Xilankapu through Gillian Rose’s “four site” theory by presenting how the brocades were made, how the patterns of Xilankapu are classified and the geometrical abstraction of visual images. To further describe the images of this type of brocade, this paper presents semantic descriptions that include objective–non-objective relations and a multi-layered semantic framework. Furthermore, the authors developed corresponding methods for scanning, storage and indexing images for retrieval. Findings As exploratory research on describing, preserving and indexing images of Xilankapu in the context of the preservation of cultural heritage, the authors collected 1,000+ images of traditional Xilankapu, classifying and storing some of the images in a database. They developed an index schema that combines concept- and content-based approaches according to the proposed semantic description framework. They found that the framework can describe, store and preserve semantic and non-semantic information of the same image. They relate the findings of this paper to future research directions for the digital preservation of traditional cultural heritages. Research limitations/implications The framework has been designed especially for brocade, and it needs to be extended to other types of cultural image. Originality/value The semantic description framework can describe connotative semantic information on Xilankapu. It can also assist the later information retrieval work in organizing implicit information about culturally related visual materials.
  • 26 de Junho de 2019, 07:39

Effect of synchronous web-based teaching combined with visually creative teaching under the background of information science

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose The paper aims to study the effects of the combination of synchronous Web-based teaching with visually creative teaching on art students’ creativity. The twenty-first century is the society of information technology and knowledge-based economy. To cope with the information society, teaching methods would be changed. Traditional chalk and talk can no longer adapt to the changing society. In addition to passing down the tradition, new ideas should also be introduced. In the informational age, the internet becomes an essential living element and synchronous Web-based teaching breaks through the obstacle of space, provides instant and multiple communication channels and creates alternative creativity learning environment. Design/methodology/approach With experimental design, totally, 208 students in Fujian University of Technology, as the research objects, were led to a 15-week (3 hours per week for total 45 hours) experimental teaching. The study uses analysis of variance for discussing the effect of synchronous Web-based teaching on art students’ creativity and further understanding the effect of the combination of synchronous Web-based teaching with visually creative teaching on art students’ creativity. Findings The research results show significant effects of synchronous Web-based teaching on creativity, visually creative teaching on creativity and the combination of synchronous Web-based teaching with visually creative teaching on the promotion of creativity. Research limitations/implications First, the sample size taken in this study was not large enough to fully reflect the results of the study. The survey sample didn’t cover all the major cities in China, which had a small coverage and couldn’t reflect the research situation of the whole country. Second, the evaluation criteria for artistic students’ creativity were too broad. More specific evaluation rules should be set and the creativity standards should be graded to better guide the implementation of art courses and the cultivation of students’ creativity. Practical implications The synchronous Web-based learning environment provides favorable individual thinking space to effectively reduce disturbance among classmates. Synchronous Web-based teaching shares sound, pictures and even films with each other to enrich the learning media. What is more, teachers would be more convenient and fast to deal with materials or handouts or rapidly updating materials and avoiding the loss of handouts. Originality/value This paper studied the effects of the combination of synchronous Web-based teaching with visually creative teaching on art students’ creativity, which was a meaningful and innovative topic. And this study can provide more enlightenment and reference for future education.
  • 20 de Junho de 2019, 12:36

Web 2.0 use in academic libraries of top ranked Asian universities

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose This paper aims to explore recent trends of how Web 2.0 applications were used in 75 academic libraries in Asia through their library websites. Design/methodology/approach The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2016 was considered for this study and out of 200 top universities ranked, 75 universities were selected for data collection. Using a multi-method approach, this study evaluated key design elements, library service platforms and website content of each academic library website, examining their site features, Web 2.0 types and applications. The criteria for selecting the websites were first the website was in English and second had Web 2.0 applications integrated into the main website. For the ranking of websites, a library web service index was developed, benchmarking from these groups – resource discovery tools, Web 2.0 applications, e-resources, mobile applications, library guides, digital reference services and digital inclusion – as indicators. Findings The authors found that over two-thirds of Asian university libraries have deployed one or more Web 2.0 applications, though their popularity and implementation vary greatly. Most widely used Web 2.0 applications are Facebook (61.3 per cent), RSS (53.3 per cent), Twitter (46.7 per cent) and YouTube (37.3 per cent). Instant messaging (5.3 per cent) and podcasting (4 per cent) were least applied. With an average of 44 per cent, the diffusion rate of Web information is moderately high among the majority of the Asian university libraries. Originality/value Many studies explored Web 2.0 applications from developed countries. However, this study attempts evaluating the use of Web 2.0 applications through content, sites and features of academic libraries in Asia, from developing countries perspective.
  • 12 de Junho de 2019, 02:15

Towards a semantics representation framework for narrative images

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore a semantics representation framework for narrative images, conforming to the image-interpretation process. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the essential features of semantics evolution in the process of narrative images interpretation. It proposes a novel semantics representation framework, ESImage (evolution semantics of image) for narrative images. ESImage adopts a hierarchical architecture to progressively organize the semantic information in images, enabling the evolutionary interpretation under the support of a graph-based semantics data model. Also, the study shows the feasibility of this framework by addressing the issues of typical semantics representation with the scenario of the Dunhuang fresco. Findings The process of image interpretation mainly concerns three issues: bottom-up description, the multi-faceted semantics representation and the top-down semantics complementation. ESImage can provide a comprehensive solution for narrative image semantics representation by addressing the major issues based on the semantics evolution mechanisms of the graph-based semantics data model. Research limitations/implications ESImage needs to be combined with machine learning to meet the requirements of automatic annotation and semantics interpretation of large-scale image resources. Originality/value This paper sorts out the characteristics of the gradual interpretation of narrative images and has discussed the major issues in its semantics representation. Also, it proposes the semantic framework ESImage which deploys a flexible and sound mechanism to represent the semantic information of narrative images.
  • 12 de Junho de 2019, 02:14

Image needs on social Q&A sites: a comparison of Zhihu and Baidu Zhidao

The Electronic Library, Ahead of Print.
Purpose This study aims to examine why users search for images, how users describe their image needs and what the images are used for by analysing questions obtained from two Chinese social Q&A sites, Zhihu and Baidu Zhidao. Design/methodology/approach A total of 1,402 image questions were collected from Zhihu and Baidu Zhidao. Both quantitative analysis and qualitative content analysis were performed to identify user image needs and the potential differences on the two social Q&A sites. Findings Question-asker’s intention varies in different platforms. Zhihu users asked questions mainly aiming at a promotion of subsequent discussion, whereas users of Baidu Zhidao often did so to seek information. Syntactic attributes were not frequently used in both two sites. Zhihu users were more likely to express subjective evaluations on images (concept, emotion, theme and style) in their questions than users of Baidu Zhidao. In contrast, questions from Baidu Zhidao showed a tendency to more frequently include descriptive metadata (rights, format, size, quality and authenticity) and semantic attributes (generic activity, specific people, fashion and text) of the images than questions from Zhihu. Learning was an important use on social Q&A sites, especially on Baidu Zhidao. In addition, the images were primarily used to trigger emotion or served a persuasive purpose in Zhihu. Practical implications This study contributes to a better understanding of user image search behaviour, and the findings could be used to develop better image services on social Q&A sites. Meanwhile, the image attributes extracted from the questions are conducive to the improvement of image retrieval systems. Originality/value This study explored the features of image needs on social Q&A sites, especially considering image use specified in the question. The difference of image needs between two Chinese social Q&A sites (Zhihu and Baidu Zhidao) was identified.
  • 3 de Junho de 2019, 11:14

Investigation and analysis of research support services in academic libraries

The Electronic Library, Volume 37, Issue 2, Page 281-301, April 2019.
Purpose This paper aims at understanding the current situation of research support services offered by academic libraries in world-leading universities and providing useful implications and insights for other academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach Of the top 100 universities listed in the QS World University Rankings in 2017, 76 libraries were selected as samples and a website investigation was conducted to explore the research support services. The statistical method and visualization software was used to generalize the key services, and the text analysis and case analysis were applied to reveal the corresponding implementation. Findings Research support service has become one of the significant services of academic libraries in the context of e-research and data-intensive research. The research support services can be generally divided into seven aspects, as follows: research data management (62, 81.58 per cent), open access (64, 84.21 per cent), scholarly publishing (59, 77.63 per cent), research impact measurement (32, 42.11 per cent), research guides (47, 61.84 per cent), research consultation (59, 77.63 per cent) and research tools recommendation (38, 50.00 per cent). Originality/value This paper makes a comprehensive investigation of research support services in academic libraries of top-ranking universities worldwide. The findings will help academic libraries improve research support services; thus, advancing the work of researchers and promoting scientific discovery.
  • 3 de Junho de 2019, 10:55

How much of library digital content is checked out but never used?

The Electronic Library, Volume 37, Issue 2, Page 255-262, April 2019.
Purpose This paper aims to identify patterns, trends and potential implications related to post-checkout non-usage (material that is checked out by a user, but subsequently never opened and/or downloaded) of library digital content. Design/methodology/approach A large urban Canadian public library’s data (2013-2017) from Rakuten OverDrive was analyzed. Pending items (items that are checked out, but neither opened nor downloaded) were compared with total checkouts to determine post-checkout non-usage rates. Findings Checkouts and overall rates of post-checkout non-usage of e-books and e-audiobooks have risen significantly and consistently. Juvenile and non-fiction e-books demonstrate higher post-checkout non-usage rates than adult and fiction e-books, respectively. The library spends up to US$10,700 per year on metered access e-books that are never opened by users. This number has grown significantly over the years. Originality/value E-materials in libraries have been growing rapidly, but their current lending models are still largely a direct application of concepts in traditional library services that have developed based on physical materials, such as checkouts, due dates, renewals, holds and wait times. However, e-materials do not have the limitation of physical materials that prevents other users from accessing a checked-out item, which makes many of the traditional concepts no longer applicable. New concepts and lending models should be developed that allow users to access any library e-materials at any time, and are financially functional and sustainable for both libraries and e-content providers.
  • 3 de Junho de 2019, 10:55
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