bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Building competitive advantage through information systems: the organizational information quotient
Authors: Service Robert W. , Maddux Henry S.
Published: December 2004

Information systems (IS) have significant potential for making quantum leaps in productivity, increasing the ability to compete, and maintaining sustainable competitive advantage. However, much of that potential remains to be achieved.

This paper uses dynamic case analysis and survey data to identify the critical success elements found in effective use of IS. These foundational elements are then integrated into a framework for innovatively deploying IS for sustainable competitive advantage. Common pitfalls are examined. Finally, a measure of the effective implementation of IS, information quotient (IQ), is proposed.

Results of this analysis are five fundamental mandates that form the basis for effective and innovative IS deployment for sustainable competitive advantage through advancement of organizational IQ. The IS of the future as prescribed here will promote both environmental responsiveness and strategic cohesiveness by providing internal and external intelligence to information processing.
Mapping the intellectual structure of information retrieval studies: an author co-citation analysis, 1987-1997
Authors: Ding Ying , Chowdhury Gobinda , Foo Schubert
Published: December 2004

Author co-citation analysis (ACA) has been used to explore changes in the intellectual base of the information retrieval (IR) field over two consecutive time periods: 1987-1991 and 1992-1997. Thirty-nine highly cited IR researchers were selected as the research sample. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and clustering techniques (CT) were used to create the two-dimensional maps to display the dynamic intellectual structure of IR, based on scholars citing their work over these two time periods. Factor analysis (FA) has been used to reveal the ‘breadth’ of the authors’ research areas. ACA offers a good technique that contributes to the understanding of intellectual structure in the sciences and possibly in other areas to the extent that those areas rely on formal scholarly communication such as serial publications. Nonetheless, obvious drawbacks exist in ACA. These include the subjective nature of the interpretation of results, the difficulty of readily identifying clusters and the inability to distinguish collaborative research relationships between authors. Thus, ACA by itself is insufficient. However, ACA can be enhanced significantly when combined with FA to give a more accurate and useful picture of the MDS results.
Tracking fast-moving technology: the progress of speech recognition
Authors: Cawkell Tony
Published: December 2004

The speech typewriter or automated secretary, in its fully fledged form, i.e. accepting unrestricted connected text by any speaker, may not happen in this century, if ever. A more circumscribed version of the voice typewriter - for example, a machine that produces first-draft quality for a highly specific topic area and for a speaker who has trained the machine - may be possible in this decade [James Flanagan, 1976].
Who needs publishers?
Authors: Morris Sally
Published: December 2004

Publishers are often confused with printers; in fact, even in the print-on-paper world, they carry out a number of important functions.

Some of these are very practical, such as commissioning, editing, promotion, sales and distribution, as well as the management of typesetting and manufacturing. Some are less tangible, but in many ways more significant - understanding the market through editorial market research, selecting and collecting content, quality (and, perhaps surprisingly, quantity) control, providing the identifiable ‘envelope’ in which content resides, the publisher’s own ‘brand’ (not to be overestimated), making information as retrievable as possible and providing aids to navigation. Few of these functions disappear with electronic publishing and, in fact, some become much more complex.

These functions add considerable value to published information, and specialist commercial organisations are best placed to carry them out; however, these will not necessarily be established publishers in the future.
A new explanation of the negative binomial law and the Poisson law with regard to library journal circulation data
Authors: Lafouge Thierry , Guinet Eric
Published: December 2004

This paper presents a mathematical model using probability in order to explain the case of library circulation data. In particular, we model the distribution of use of the articles according to their distribution in scientific journals. We have already undertaken similar work with a geometrical law [6]. The ‘no use’ of articles is an important aspect of the question of data flow. When the weight of ‘no use’ became important, we obtained a result which appears quite surprising: the distribution of used articles is a geometrical distribution too. What follows is an investigation of whether the model of Poisson and negative binomial distributions are valid.
What is the hybrid library?
Authors: Oppenheim Charles , Smithson Daniel
Published: December 2004

The hybrid library is a term that has entered the parlance of the library and information profession in the past three years. It is viewed as a halfway step towards the fully digital library. In this paper, the history of the concept is outlined, together with the important influence the Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) has had in funding hybrid library projects. A proposed model of the hybrid library was developed and was shown to the eLib hybrid library projects. Reactions to the model were obtained. In addition, the paper reports the results of in-depth discussions with the project staff regarding how the hybrid library will evolve. It is clear that the development of the hybrid library depends more upon cultural shift than technological development. There are differences in view of what can be achieved in the short term and how to go about achieving the aims. There is a clear consensus that the library in a location will remain. The hybrid library is a useful model for how the library will evolve. Although currently confined to higher education, the principles are likely to spread to other types of library and information service.
An adaptive thesaurus employing semantic distance, relational inheritance and nominal compound interpretation for linguistic support of information retrieval
Authors: Byrne Christopher C. , McCracken Stephen A.
Published: December 2004

Presented is a domain specific thesaurus for linguistic support of an information broker. It employs an adaptive semantic distance function based on pathfinder networks and algorithms for automated population by nominal compound interpretation and relational inheritance. Created in support of the National Information Infrastructure Test bed for Diagnostic and Prognostic Maintenance of Equipment and Processes, funded by the US Department of Energy, the thesaurus and information broker were demonstrated through two pilot applications: Internet-based decision support for maintenance and operation of the Eddystone powerplant near Philadelphia, PA, and maintenance of the Allison T-56 engine used in the E2-C naval aircraft. The structure of the thesaurus was formalized to facilitate application in other domains and to further the understanding of thesauri, linguistic support methodologies and automated language processing in general.
The impact of electronic commerce on the publishing industry: towards a business value complementarity framework of electronic publishing
Authors: Scupola Ada
Published: December 2004

The publishing industry, like many other industries, is exploring new markets, new services and new products in response to forces such as advances in information and communication technologies, business strategies such as mass customisation, globalisation and shorter production cycles. This paper focuses on the way in which electronic commerce (e-commerce) technologies are changing and could change the publishing processes, and develops a business value complementarity model of electronic publishing. This model gives a theoretical rationale for, and can be used as a methodology to explore, complementarities between different primary activities and supporting technologies when entering the e-commerce arena in order to maximise profitability and improve the competitive position.
Follow-up study of graduates from the MSc Information Management programme at the University of Sheffield
Authors: Quarmby Katharine L. , Willett Peter , Wood Frances E.
Published: December 2004

This paper reports the principal results from a postal survey (response rate: 62%) of the students graduating from the MSc Information Management programme in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Sheffield in the years 1994-96. The most important conclusions to be drawn from the responses that were received are that: most of the graduates rapidly found employment in librarianship and information science, with the largest single group of students starting work in the industrial or commercial sectors; the most commonly occurring duties are database management and searching for information, with library skills being required for only a small fraction of their duties; the extensive restructurings that have occurred in many organisations have left the graduates largely unaffected; use of the Internet, practical computer skills and database design are the elements of most use in their postgraduate careers.
Academics and the new information environment: the impact of local factors on use of electronic journals
Authors: Pullinger David
Published: December 2004

Academic use of journals is influenced by many factors, e.g. users’ subject disciplines, their roles or level within the university, their local information environment of print and electronic resources, awareness of those resources, and their information needs on a particular day. Super Journal is a project in the Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) researching academic use of electronic journals, the features they value most and the factors that will make electronic journals successful. The project has developed a number of hypotheses about the factors that influence usage and is testing them in a systematic and quantitative way. This paper focuses on articulating the factors to be considered in the impact of the local information environment and early evidence for their importance in the implementation and use of electronic journals.
Chaos theory, economics and information: the implications for strategic decision-making
Authors: Hayward Tim , Preston Judith
Published: December 2004

Traditionally, rational models of decision-making assume perfect information is available to the manager. In reality, the paradox of rationality is that full information relates only to the past; choices for the future must be of limited rationality as the future contains both risk and uncertainty.

An analysis of rationality and uncertainty in relation to decision-making, therefore leads to a consideration of Chaos Theory. Whilst recognising that the future is unknowable, nonetheless, Chaos Theory allows for the possibility of an awareness of a range of future states. In addition, it suggests that complete and accurate information, so necessary for rational decision-making, is unobtainable, and the past is not an accurate guide to the future.

Thus, the terms of reference for strategic management should be changed; conditions must be created whereby effective learning takes place, from which new strategies may or may not emerge. Managers should not problem-solve their way out of chaos, instead, generate bold solutions which integrate all the information. Information is thus activating a process by which strategy can emerge from across all levels of the organisation, to provide at least some structured futures thinking.
The role of electronic reserves in serving and shaping new teaching and learning environments in UK universities
Authors: Dugdale Christine
Published: December 2004

Most UK academic libraries are currently facing increasing demands for scarce resources - often over relatively short timescales. This has arisen from the twin pressures of a growing and changing student population and the introduction of new pedagogic trends. The implementation of electronic reserves, such as the ResIDe Electronic Reserve at the University of the West of England, Bristol, addresses this issue. Electronic reserves, however, are much more than efficient library tools; managed effectively, they are able to support a range of teaching and learning styles.

ResIDe staff are now examining a much wider and more important role of shaping and supporting more imaginative and innovative teaching and learning initiatives. Working together, librarians and lecturers from the Bristol Business School have developed a new module based upon ResIDe support. Harnessing the technological advantages of an electronic reserve, the module has been designed to develop students’ information technology, presentational, bibliographical, search and evaluation skills, as well as improving and reinforcing their understanding of, and critical approach to, their specialist subject.
Information and culture - the impact of national culture on information processes
Authors: Steinwachs Katarina
Published: December 2004

This paper analyses the impact of culture on information systems by applying findings of existing intercultural research in the area of sociology and management theory to this field. The model developed by the Dutch sociologist, Geert Hofstede, for comparing cultures is used in this work and is applied to the information processes to show the possible impact of culture on the components of the information system: the information producer and the information content, the user of information, the information channel and the information intermediary. The theoretical findings may provide a basis for further practical research to test the hypothesis presented and to develop strategies for future international information work.
What do we know about footnotes? Opinions and data
Authors: Hartley James
Published: December 2004

Background: There is a scattered literature on various aspects of the design, use and information conveyed by foot-notes in academic text that can be considered under the three headings of sociological, psychological and typographical matters.

Aims: The aims of this paper are: (i) to review this literature and (ii) to report the results from a small-scale enquiry into academics’ attitudes to footnotes and endnotes and their positioning in text.

Method: In this enquiry, an eleven-item Likert-type scale was completed by two groups of academics. Group 1 (N = 52) typically reads journal articles with footnotes and Group 2 (N = 57) typically reads articles without them.

Results: The result suggested that, despite wide variations, there were commonalties between these two groups of academics. Most people in both groups were positive towards footnotes and many thought that they could be easily ignored. In addition, most readers preferred footnotes, endnotes and references to be at the ends of the chapters to which they referred, rather than at the end of the book.
Information dimension, information overload and decision quality
Authors: Hwang Mark I. , Lin Jerry W.
Published: December 2004

The impact of information load (both under and overload) on decision quality is an important topic, yet results of empirical research are inconsistent. These mixed results may be due to the fact that information load itself is a function of information dimension. A meta-analysis of 31 experiments reported in 18 empirical bankruptcy prediction studies was conducted to test the effect of two information dimensions: information diversity and information repetitiveness. Results indicated that both information dimensions have an adverse impact on decision quality: provision of either diverse or repeated information can be detrimental to prediction accuracy. The findings have implications for information suppliers and researchers who are interested in improving the quality of human decision making.
Presenting a model for the structure and content of a university World Wide Web site
Authors: Middleton Iain , McConnell Mike , Davidson Grant
Published: December 2004

This paper proposes a model for the structure and content of a university World Wide Web site, by a process of:

(1)identifying who the site is serving and the information needs of these individuals or groups; (2)identifying institutional information needs; (3)relating this data to the content provided; (4)presenting the content in a manner suited to the characteristics and information needs of the target user groups.

Through an analysis of existing UK higher education institution (HEI) Web sites and an extensive literature review, a case is made for a non-static approach to Web design which identifies users and makes extensive use of themes to promote currently relevant information at the top level. The authors propose a link-rich environment which does not rely on user categorisation and exploration of long sequences of links and is not constrained by traditional boundaries between departments. The authors contend that such an approach is yet to be adopted in UK HEIs, but is beginning to occur at HEIs in the USA.
Paper consumption and information media
Authors: von Ungern-Sternberg Sara , von Ungern-Sternberg Claes
Published: December 2004

Global paper consumption and the influence of electronic information media are discussed from the view of information science and the paper industry. Some major market segments for printing and writing papers are analysed in order to obtain a better view of the impact of information technology (IT). The divided world for paper consumption and IT is discussed. Printing on paper seems to survive and coexist with the new media. An important consideration for the paper industry is whether the developing countries will leapfrog the paper phase and adapt to full-scale use of IT. The cost issue will also have a greater influence on people’s information choices than their actual habits. The view in information science is that paper never has been the best medium for many kinds of data and information and that we welcome the multiplicity of means of communication and the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Professional qualities of sci-tech information workers
Authors: Bin Lin
Published: December 2004

This paper discusses aspects of the basic professional qualities of sci-tech workers in China. It analyses and discusses professional qualities at three levels: knowledge, technique and morality. Finally, the paper stresses the key influences of technique and morality; in particular, with regard to a successful career for sci-tech workers in China.
Legal issues for information professionals, Part V: Freedom of information
Authors: Blackstock Marlene A. , Oppenheim Charles
Published: December 2004

Reports the results of a survey of library and information science (LIS) staff in public libraries and the private sector on understanding of, and attitudes towards, freedom of information (FoI) legislation. The paper describes the background to UK FoI legislation and how the proposed UK legislation fits into the pattern of laws in other countries. The survey demonstrates that many LIS staff are unsure about the proposed law and many do not seem to be aware of the likely implications of the proposed law on their workload. There is also a lack of awareness of the increased career opportunities that FoI may bring to the profession. The paper concludes with some recommendations, both for the implementation of any law and for the profession regarding its response to the proposed law.
Citations and knowledge claims: sociology of knowledge as a case in point
Authors: Budd John M.
Published: December 2004

Citation analysis is frequently used as a means of examining the formal communication practices in a number of disciplines. The present study employs citation analysis to investigate knowledge claims in the literature on the sociology of knowledge. The purpose of this project is to determine if there are epistemic foundations for authors’ citation of previous work. A total of 70 journal articles are examined and the citations in those articles are classified according to the epistemic uses of the cited work. The approach used here is inherently individualistic, with the aim of investigating the relationship between citing and cited works in the sense of contextual, knowledge-based justification for an author’s arguments or propositions.
Another fine MeSH: clinical medicine meets information science
Authors: O’Rourke Alan , Booth Andrew , Ford Nigel
Published: December 2004

Introduction: evidence-based medicine (EBM) requires clinicians to tackle patient management by making more systematic use of databases like MEDLINE and using more sophisticated search strategies, to optimise the retrieval of relevant papers.

Aim: to collect empirical data on genuine requests for information and search strategies.

Methods: collection of literature search requests for staff using computerised biomedical databases at the libraries in district general hospitals, teaching hospitals and a research unit; the ‘intervention’ of introducing a common structured form explicitly asking about the patient/intervention/outcome/comparison axis; comparison of the structured and unstructured forms for completion of these four components; coding of the requests, using a modified Scott Richardson classification.

Results: the structured form promotes the use of components from the EBM anatomy and increases the total number of these in each search.

Conclusion: building prompts, like an EBM anatomy, into request forms improves the precision of literature searching without impairing recall. For clinical problems, rather than educational environments, the Scott Richardson classification needs modification.
Records management practices in small and medium-sized enterprises: a study in North-East England
Authors: Webster Berenika M. , Hare Catherine E. , McLeod Julie
Published: December 2004

A survey study of 300 enterprises in North-East England yielded new information on the records management procedures in small and medium-sized enterprises. The survey showed that companies with more formalised management structures took a more organised approach to records management, and companies with various formal policies paid more attention to records management. Records management practices seemed to be independent of company size and industrial sector.
Searching Institute for Scientific Information databases at the Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information, Cologne
Authors: Alloro Giovanna , Ugolini Donatella
Published: December 2004

The aim of the paper is to illustrate the retrieval methods used to count the number of citations in the Institute for Scientific Information online databases (SciSearch and Social Sci-Search) made available by the Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information host computer.

Citation analysis is a bibliometric measure increasingly applied to evaluate the publication quality of individual scientists or research groups. Therefore, it is very important to know, and to use correctly, the search methods made available to retrieve the number of citations.

Different search methods and their specific features and limits are discussed, and practical problems in working with the online citation indices are described, highlighting the pivotal role of information specialists to make accessible, and to better use, the database data and the retrieval techniques, thus providing vital information to institutions and research activity.
An investigation of the impact of information and communication technologies in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Adam Lishan , Wood Frances
Published: December 2004

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have been in use for over three decades in different settings in Africa, but the impact of ICT on users in the region is not well documented. This paper attempts to examine the impact of ICT in sub-Saharan Africa, based on a study using a grounded theory approach. It was aimed at understanding users within their ICT applications context. Four main aspects of the impact of ICT were identified: ‘Actual impact’, ‘Potential impact’, ‘Constraints’ and ‘Actions centred around users and their reactions’. The research indicates that an understanding of ICT users’ iterative and adaptive behaviour and their day-to-day pains in coping with problems of ICT in the local context is necessary for impact assessment.

The constructionist behaviour in which individuals, organisations, professionals and groups map their world and situation, and the complex action and interaction between them, imposes the structure of ICT use. This paper discusses the impact of ICT in the context of its use and the concrete circumstances of the individuals involved and the tasks undertaken, together with historical and environmental perspectives.
CD-ROM services in Ethiopia: a survey
Authors: Tefera Teklemichael , Wood Frances , Ford Nigel
Published: December 2004

This study seeks to ascertain the use in Ethiopia in 1997 of CD-ROM databases. Analysis of data recorded in 15 questionnaires (responses were obtained from 89% of libraries believed to use CD-ROMs) on the use of CD-ROM products indicated that academic libraries in Ethiopia use CD-ROM databases to a greater degree than other types of library responding to the survey (47% academic, 27% research and development, 27% non-government). Medline was the main CD-ROM product used. It was available in 40% of the libraries. Funding for CD-ROM services has been haphazard and is often based on projects and donations. Now, the issue of sustainability is crucial. In addition to input from the Government, long-lasting project preparation, integration of CD-ROMs into existing library budgets, cooperative subscriptions to databases and the sharing of CD-ROM data in a networked environment are recommended.
Barriers to the use of patent information in UK small and medium-sized enterprises. Part I: Questionnaire survey
Authors: Hall Matthew , Oppenheim Charles , Sheen Margaret
Published: December 2004

A survey was carried out of a large number of UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises to assess their use of, and attitudes towards, patents and patent information. Use of patent information is closely linked to use of the patent system for protection purposes. There appears to be little correlation between attitudes towards patents and patent information and educational background or with the type of industry the company was active in. The use of intermediaries, such as patent agents, to carry out patent searches appears at times to create as many barriers as it over-comes. The general approach of Patent Offices, that failure to use patent information is dangerous and that the way to overcome this is to make patent information easier or cheaper to use, may be misguided. The situation appears to be more complex. Small and medium-sized enterprises should not be treated as a single homogeneous group and, arguably, such companies do use patent information in the most appropriate way.
Through the Net to freedom: information, the Internet and human rights
Authors: Brophy Peter , Halpin Edward
Published: December 2004

The new tools of information and communication play an increasingly important role in many organisations, providing new opportunities and new challenges. The human rights world, for which good quality information is a prime requisite and information management is a vital skill, is equally faced with the opportunities and threats of these tools in promoting and protecting human rights. Human rights organisations have been quick to adopt the Internet and it is having a great number of impacts upon their work, creating change, providing new means of campaigning and challenging abuses of human rights. Yet technology also introduces new barriers to human rights activity: issues of censorship, regulation and control are fundamental to this work.
Paradigms for abstracting systems
Authors: Pinto María , Gálvez Carmen
Published: December 2004

The ever-growing amount of documents (electronic or other) has increased the value of abstracts, and abstracting systems and services, as instruments for concentrating and supplying relevant information. Ongoing research in different disciplines, with abstracting as the common subject matter, points to the usefulness of the paradigm concept. This perspective would provide the coherence necessary not only for the processes of abstracting but also for the products and services derived. We identify and describe four paradigms (communicational, physical, cognitive and systemic), comprising the most significant lines of investigation in this area, in order to offer a ‘state of the art’ analysis that may prove helpful for future research studies.
European Survey of Information Society (ESIS): the Portuguese experience
Authors: Correia Ana Maria R. , Costa Maria Alexandre
Published: December 2004

As we approach the millennium, our society is undergoing profound and rapid changes as a result of the development of the information superhighways. These changes are evident in the economic, social, cultural and political aspects of our society.

Governments, all over the world, are seeking the most appropriate responses to this situation, responses which will bring maximum advantage for their countries through the introduction of information strategies and policies to shape the development of information societies.

In this context, the Information Society Project Office (ISPO), at the European Union, decided to compile an inventory of European Information Society projects and actions to support the decision-making process for Information Society initiatives. The initial development period was set at two years, starting in February 1997.

This paper outlines some of the more important land-marks in the creation and development of an Information Society in Portugal. Analysis of the European Survey of Information Society (ESIS) questionnaire returns is limited to the Portuguese experience and does not attempt to cover the complete survey. These are early days in the development of ESIS; the aim of this paper is to promote awareness and to widen discussion concerning the identification of trends and possible candidates for progress indicators.
Measuring information through topical subheadings of the Medline database: a case study
Authors: Álvarez P. , Pulgarín A.
Published: December 2004

A method is described for measuring research information from thematic references such as headings and subheadings, reflecting different aspects using the Rasch model as the measuring instrument. The information utilised was obtained from the Medline database, searching the journal Anesthesiology, as a case for study, for topical subheadings from 1976 to 1995. An analysis is given of the research information based on 8,069 records. The type of information underlying (or latent in) topical subheadings goes beyond the basic information which is retrieved from the literature, and is measurable as a latent variable in the Rasch model. A measure was obtained for all the topical subheadings referred to by research papers in the journal. Simultaneously, the analysis provides measures for each year, as well as a description of the research trends in the anaesthesiology field. Drug effects had the highest measure of the subheadings searched, followed by pharmacology. The year 1994 accounted for most subheadings and 1978 for the fewest. Pharmacokinetics, epidemiology, ultrasonography, methods, physiology, manpower, supply and distribution, 1992 and 1995 were the misfitting subheadings and years.
Korean international co-authorship in science 1994-1996
Authors: Kim Mee-Jean
Published: December 2004

Research performance in Korea has increased considerably in the past few years, both with regard to relative output of publications and the number of internationally co-authored papers. The purpose of this study is to characterise international scientific cooperation in Korea through the numbers of internationally co-authored papers covered by the Science Citation Index CD-ROM, 1994-1996. A total of 3,627 collaborative papers published in 1,083 scientific journals were selected to analyse papers written in collaboration between Korea and other countries. The data reveal that Korea’s co-authorship level with other countries was relatively high, representing 26.8% of national output. Among the collaborative papers, a large majority of the papers (84%) were authored by researchers at universities, while about 10% came from scientists at government-supported institutes and only 6% from industry. The country with the highest rate of cooperation with Korea is the USA (42%), followed by Japan, Italy, Germany, the UK and France. Considering the strong interaction between Korean and American science, economic and political factors appear to play a strong role in the international co-authorship process. The results show clear variation in levels of international cooperation according to the disciplines: technology, agriculture and earth sciences represent local interests, while physics, chemistry and biology are mainstream subjects.
The change from French to English and its effect upon the impact factor and ranking of the Pasteur journals
Authors: Bracho-Riquelme Rodolfo L. , Pescador-Salas Nazario , Reyes-Romero Miguel Arturo
Published: December 2004

Objective: to determine the effect that the change from French to English had on the impact of the Annales de l’Institut Pasteur.

Theoretical reference: the Pasteur Institute journals have a prestige of over 100 years of existence and eight Nobel Prize winners in physiology and medicine. Changes through time on the impact of these journals can be monitored, as they are included in databases of the Institute for Scientific Information.

Method: a year-by-year analysis from 1974 to 1992 was effected, using simple regression between percentage of articles published in English and (i) their impact factor and (ii) their ranking among journals of the same field.

Results: the overall determination coefficient between the percentage in English and the impact factor was 0.108. By series, the coefficient factor between percentage in English and the journal’s rank among similar publications was 0.178 for Annales de Microbiologie, 0.045 for Annales d’Immunologie and 0.122 for Annales de Virologie.

Conclusions: the change of language did not increase the impact factor of the French journals nor improve their ranking among publications of the same discipline.
Management automation in Saudi Arabia: a case study of a developing country
Authors: Alkahtani M. M. , Meadows A. J.
Published: December 2004

The use of computer-based systems by managers in developing countries is often limited by lack of support. One aspect of such support - financial provision - tends to be less of a hindrance in Saudi Arabia than in many developing countries. The study of Saudi managers presented here shows that there are, consequently, similarities between computer-based activities in Saudi Arabia and the UK. There are also significant differences. Saudi managers tend to be more enthusiastic than their British counterparts about the value of computer-based systems. A factor here is the more recent application of such systems in Saudi Arabia. One drawback is that the national networking infrastructure in Saudi Arabia is less well-developed than in the UK, so that electronic communication external to firms is more limited. This is reflected in the relatively low use of electronic mail made by Saudi managers. Despite the availability of funding in Saudi Arabia, the country still suffers from a computer skills shortage. Consequently, Saudi firms are more dependent than British firms on external advice concerning computer systems and their use. These differences have implications for the development of computer-based systems in other developing countries.
The Ariadne project: an evaluation of a print and Web magazine for library and information science professionals
Authors: Barker Anne L. , Tedd Lucy A.
Published: December 2004

Reports on an evaluation of the Ariadne project, which involved the production, from 1995 to 1998, of a print and Web magazine for library and information science professionals. Ariadne was one of the few Electronic Library projects aimed at providing a service to this community. The results of the survey indicate that Ariadne has filled a gap and has helped to interpret electronic library issues for librarians and information scientists. Following the completion of this project, a Web version of Ariadne continues to be produced by the UK Office for Library and Information Networking on a quarterly basis.
Social exclusion: an international perspective on the role of the State, communities and public libraries in tackling social exclusion
Authors: Pateman John
Published: December 2004

This is the second of two linked papers reviewing social exclusion at an international level and follows from the critique of globalism in the first paper*. The paper applies Miller’s ‘models of communities’ and ‘roles of the State’ (exclusive diversity, voluntary inclusion, required inclusion and inclusive diversity) to economic and political systems in different countries. It then applies different sets of performance indicators to different countries, specifically considering indicators in the areas of literacy, education and libraries. It is argued that social exclusion is best tackled using an approach based on required inclusion or inclusive diversity, rather than on the basis of exclusive diversity or voluntary inclusion. The joint conclusion of both this and the linked paper is that social exclusion cannot be separated from a country’s political system. Social exclusion can therefore only be alleviated, by libraries and other agencies, in emerging economies, capitalist and majority world countries. Recommendations are made.
Information and knowledge in the age of electronic communication: a developing country perspective
Authors: Arunachalam Subbiah
Published: December 2004

The current digital revolution, the fourth information revolution in history after the invention of writing, the book and printing, has serious potential to exacerbate the gulf between the North and the South. As has been observed in the USA, even within an affluent country, with inadequate policy interventions, information technology not only widens the digital divide but also deepens the racial ravine. The implications of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) for science and scholarship and for development are examined. The maldistribution of access to ICTs - telephones, computers, networks, Internet, bandwidth and electronic journals - is bound to make it even more difficult for the developing countries to contribute to, and take advantage of, knowledge in the sciences. These countries will get further marginalised. As suggested by Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, knowledge dissemination structures need to be put in place which are not entirely based on commerce. Innovative models, such as the community access model of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, which attempts to transform the otherwise divisive information technologies into allies in the equity movement, can make a difference to the life of the rural poor. The Swaminathan model emphasises delivering locale-specific knowledge that the people actually need and can use to improve their lot. The model follows a bottom-up approach, involving the user community as partners right from the beginning, emphasises knowledge delivery and uses technology - a hybrid wired and wireless network - only when it is necessary to achieve its major goal of knowledge delivery.
A study of mediated successive searching during information seeking
Authors: Spink Amanda , Griesdorf Howard , Bateman Judy
Published: December 2004

The study of successive searching, or users’ searches in digital environments over time related to the same or evolving information problem, is developing as an area of research. A growing body of studies is beginning to investigate and characterize aspects of the successive searching process. This research draws together areas of information retrieval (IR) research and information-seeking research toward a focus on IR within the context of human information behaviour. Previous studies show that end-users of IR systems and the World Wide Web conduct a series of related or successive searches over time or request successive searches from search intermediaries. This paper provides results from a study that expands our understanding of successive searches conducted for information seekers by intermediaries. The study explored aspects of successive Dialog searches conducted by intermediaries for information seekers. Forty-seven intermediaries conducted as many online searches as requested by their information seekers who were working on a particular information problem. Findings show that information seekers requested a mean of two searches from intermediaries with a range of one to six searches. Successive searches were generally requested by information seekers to extend or expand, or refine the results of previous searches. Most successive searches involved some change in search terms and databases from the previous search. Interestingly, precision did not necessarily increase over successive searches and the percentage of partially relevant items decreased significantly after three searches. The findings have implications for interactive IR models, the design of IR systems and the practice of searching.
Critical comments on Institute for Scientific Information impact factors: a sample of inorganic molecular chemistry journals
Authors: van Leeuwen T. N. , Moed H. F. , Reedijk J.
Published: December 2004

In this paper, empirical data are analysed to show some of the problems involved in the use of the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) impact factors (IFs). Based on earlier work of the authors, and elaborating on some new topics, the paper shows that IFs as defined by ISI have shortcomings which make them inappropriate for the purposes for which people use them: researchers for their publication strategy, policy makers (at different levels) to evaluate research performance, and librarians to evaluate their journal collections. Whereas earlier papers have focused on problems involved with the definitions of the constituting elements of the classical IF and the resulting errors, this paper focuses on the problems related to other characteristics of scientific journals; in particular, the influence of the distribution of papers among document types in a journal, the effects of splitting of journals or changing their names, the measurement of (un)citedness of papers in a journal, and the chosen length of the citation window within the definition of the classical IF. This will raise the fundamental question of whether an indicator, based on only a one- to two-year citation window, will be sufficiently valid to be of any use in analyses of journal and research performance.
Service quality of Internet search engines
Authors: Wang H. , Xie M. , Goh T. N.
Published: December 2004

With the development of information technology, search engines are widely used as tools to find useful information from the Internet. However, most search engines were developed on the basis of technical requirements and without much consideration for the customer’s perspective. The purpose of this study is to consider quality issues of Internet search engines and hence help the designers to improve quality from the customer’s point of view. Based on the service dimensions and factors studied in a previous paper, a series of statistical analyses were carried out. Major problems were studied, together with suggestions for further improvement. Although each search engine has its own strong and weak points, the important quality factors identified in this paper should be very helpful not only to the designers, but also to the users for selecting suitable search engines.
Reviewers’ and editors’ perceptions of submitted manuscripts with different numbers of authors, addresses and funding sources
Authors: Lewison Grant , van Rooyen Susan
Published: December 2004

The results of an experiment are described in which manuscripts submitted to a medical journal were each sent to two reviewers. One was blinded to the details of authorship, addresses and funding acknowledgements; the other was not. The intention was to see whether papers with larger numbers of these parameters would be more favourably reviewed, either because the reviewers were directly influenced by these factors or because the papers were really of higher quality. It turned out that the differences between the reviewers’ marks for each paper were not correlated with the parameters, but that the sums of the two were so correlated. This suggests that the tendency of papers with more authors, etc, to be published in higher-impact journals is actually due to their perceived quality and not to the numbers of authors per se.
Finding Optimal-Path Maps for Path Planning across Weighted Regions
Authors: Rowe Neil C. , Alexander Robert S.
Published: December 2004

Optimal-path maps tell robots or people the best way to reach a goal point from anywhere in a known terrain area, eliminating most of the need to plan during travel. The authors address the construction of optimal-path maps for two-dimensional polygonal weighted-region terrain, terrain partitioned into polygonal areas such that the cost per unit of distance traveled is homogeneous and isotropic within each area. This is useful for overland route planning across varied ground surfaces and vegetation. The authors propose a new algorithm that recursively partitions terrain into regions of similar optimal-path behavior, and defines corresponding “path subspaces” for these regions. This process constructs a piecewise-smooth function of terrain position whose gradient direction is everywhere the optimal-path direction, permitting quick path finding. The algorithm used is more complicated than the current path-caching and wavefront-propagation algorithms, but it gives more accurate maps requiring less space to represent. Experiments with an implementation confirm the practicality of the authors’ algorithm.
Sensor-Based Exploration: The Hierarchical Generalized Voronoi Graph
Authors: Choset Howie , Burdick Joel
Published: December 2004

The hierarchical generalized Voronoi graph (HGVG) is a new roadmap developed for sensor-based exploration in unknown environments. This paper defines the HGVG structure: a robot can plan a path between two locations in its work space or configuration space by simply planning a path onto the HGVG, then along the HGVG, and finally from the HGVG to the goal. Since the bulk of the path planning occurs on the one-dimensional HGVG, motion planning in arbitrary dimensioned spaces is virtually reduced to a one-dimensional search problem. A bulk of this paper is dedicated to ensuring the HGVG is sufficient for motion planning by demonstrating the HGVG (with its links) is an arc-wise connected structure. All of the proofs in this paper that lead toward the connectivity result focus on a large subset of spaces in R3, but wherever possible, results are derived in Rm. In fact, under a strict set of conditions, the HGVG (the GVG by itself) is indeed connected, and hence sufficient for motion planning. The chief advantage of the HGVG is that it possesses an incremental construction procedure, described in a companion paper, that constructs the HGVG using only line-of-sight sensor data. Once the robot constructs the HGVG, it has effectively explored the environment, because it can then use the HGVG to plan a path between two arbitrary configurations.