bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information‐seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers
Authors: Jamali Hamid R. , Nicholas David
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The study aims to examines two aspects of information seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers including methods applied for keeping up‐to‐date and methods used for finding articles. The relationship between academic status and research field of users with their information seeking behaviour was investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered using a questionnaire survey of PhD students and staff of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London; 114 people (47.1 per cent response rate) participated in the survey.

Findings

The study reveals differences among subfields of physics and astronomy in terms of information‐seeking behaviour, highlights the need for and the value of looking at narrower subject communities within disciplines for a deeper understanding of the information behaviour of scientists.

Originality/value

The study is the first to deeply investigate intradisciplinary dissimilarities of information‐seeking behaviour of scientists in a discipline. It is also an up‐to‐date account of information seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers.
Iranian women in science: a gender study of scientific productivity in an Islamic country
Authors: Mozaffarian Mehrnoush , Jamali Hamid R.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to explore and test gender differences in the authorship of Iranian journal articles.

Design/methodology/approach

A list of articles published by Iranian authors in ISI journals in 2003 was obtained from the Web of Science. The names of authors were searched in a specific database as well as the web to find their first names and hence their gender. The articles were then broken down by gender and subject category. International collaborations of the authors were also investigated.

Findings

The productivity of female authors at the individual level as measured by article per author share was lower than male authors. In total, females accounted for 6 per cent and males for 94 per cent of the articles published in 2003. A chi‐square test showed that female contribution was significantly lower than expected.

Originality/value

The study is the first to investigate gender participation in scientific productivity in Iran and most likely in a Muslim country. The article highlights the need for qualitative studies on the gender aspect of scientific productivity in Muslim countries.
Transition and people with learning disabilities
Authors: Williams Peter
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The paper's purpose is to describe the information content of web sites developed by and for people with learning disabilities around the theme of transition from school to adulthood.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a content analysis approach, in which subject experts evaluate user‐generated content produced as part of a project on inclusion and people with learning disabilities.

Findings

Despite being only one theme of a number pertaining to transition, leisure, entertainment and hobby‐related information dominated the web sites. Other issues elicited included that of writing about one's personal experiences providing limited information of use to others, the key role of carers/supporters in information provision, and some material being too difficult for people with learning disabilities to understand.

Practical implications

The paper shows that for the information service to be valuable and relevant to the target audience, much training and considerable time investment are required for both people with learning disabilities and their supporters. The practice of creating and uploading information on to the web site holds benefits to the creator beyond mere information provision.

Originality/value

The development of information services for people with learning disabilities by the service users themselves is an important innovation. This paper points out how such an inclusive approach could work in the future.
Flickr: a case study of Web2.0
Authors: Cox Andrew M.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The “photosharing” site Flickr is one of the most commonly cited examples used to define Web2.0. This paper aims to explore where Flickr's real novelty lies, examining its functionality and its place in the world of amateur photography. Several optimistic views of the impact of Flickr such as its facilitation of citizen journalism, “vernacular creativity” and in learning as an “affinity space” are evaluated.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a wide range of sources including published interviews with its developers, user opinions expressed in forums, telephone interviews and content analysis of user profiles and activity.

Findings

Flickr's development path passes from an innovative social game to a relatively familiar model of a web site, itself developed through intense user participation but later stabilising with the reassertion of a commercial relationship to the membership. The broader context of the impact of Flickr is examined by looking at the institutions of amateur photography and particularly the code of pictorialism promoted by the clubs and industry during the twentieth century. The nature of Flickr as a benign space is premised on the way the democratic potential of photography is controlled by such institutions. The limits of optimistic claims about Flickr are identified in the way that the system is designed to satisfy commercial purposes, continuing digital divides in access and the low interactivity and criticality on Flickr.

Originality/value

Flickr is an interesting source of change, but can only be understood in the perspective of long‐term development of the hobby and wider social processes. By setting Flickr in such a broad context, its significance and that of Web2.0 more generally can be fully assessed.
A framework for evaluating web sites of public authorities
Authors: Panopoulou Eleni , Tambouris Efthimios , Tarabanis Konstantinos
Published: September 2008

Purpose

In this paper, the aim is to develop a framework for evaluating the web sites of public authorities. The proposed framework consists of four axes: two for assessing the general characteristics and content of the web sites (namely general characteristics and e‐content); and two for assessing specific functionalities addressing their governmental character (namely e‐services and e‐participation).

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed framework is gradually built through a critical analysis of the two relevant domains, web site evaluation and e‐government. The methodology used in the case study includes the construction of an appropriate questionnaire for assessing the framework metrics. The practical use of the framework is demonstrated by means of a case study, namely evaluating the web sites of Greek public authorities at local and regional level.

Findings

The proposed framework presents a more holistic approach to e‐government web site evaluation, while the case study provides some interesting results with regards to the shortcomings of Greek public authority web sites.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed framework could be further enhanced by incorporating an evaluation of the demand site of e‐government. Moreover, a more thorough approach with regard to privacy would have to include metrics to be answered directly by IT security personnel.

Practical implications

The proposed framework can be used for evaluating the web sites of public authorities in a more comprehensive way. As an example, the case study reveals significant results of practical importance by indicating overall progress, aspects that are under‐developed, etc.

Originality/value

This paper provides a novel framework to e‐government web site evaluation that also considers e‐government services and e‐participation. We anticipate that it will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners alike.
Effect of pH and temperature on the performance of zinc anodes for a risk‐based storage tank management approach
Authors: Malik Hassan , Bin Ridzuan , Haruman Esa
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the complex nature of galvanic corrosion and how it is affected by various key factors related to material characteristics and material processing parameters. In particular, this study aims to explore the effect of pH and temperature on the integrity of a system galvanically protected through the use of zinc anodes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved electrochemical testing at 24, 35 and 50°C in acidic and neutral solutions. As the environmental temperature and pH change the corrosion potential, galvanic potential and galvanic current may alter. This could influence the expected life of an anode used to protect processing equipment. Accordingly, the experimental design methodology involved collection of corrosion potential, galvanic current and galvanic potential data for zinc and zinc coupled to steel. This information was then used to calculate the life of zinc anodes at different temperatures and pH.

Findings

Results indicate that changes in pH and temperature can influence the potential of zinc, the galvanic current in a steel couple and the galvanic potential of zinc joined to steel. Calculations based on the accumulation of these data have revealed that at constant pH as the temperature was decreased, the driving potential of the zinc increased. Through further analysis, it was found that as a consequence of changes in driving potential the integrity of a structure may be put at risk due to fluctuations in pH and temperature.

Practical implications

Practically the research can help predict whether the integrity of a structure protected by zinc sacrificial anodes is at risk depending upon changes in pH and temperature.

Originality/value

Previous work was related mainly to galvanic corrosion at one particular pH and temperature. In this investigation, a range of pH and temperature values was used for the application of zinc anodes. The paper will be of value to engineers involved in the design of cathodic protection systems for oil field equipment, where changes in the acidity of the environment may occur due to differing levels of CO2 and H2S entering a structure.
Electrochemical noise analysis of carbon steel in simulated concrete pore solution affected by CO2 and SO2 using wavelet transform
Authors: Reza Allahkaram Saeed , Khodayari Mehdi
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to show that the use of energy distribution plot (EDP), usually employed by researchers to characterize the behavior of electrochemical signals in the framework of wavelet transform, could provide better understanding of the electrochemical behavior of a corroding surface if used along with the plot that is obtained from the standard deviation (SD) of partial signals (SDPS). A partial signal (PS) is obtained by limiting the inverse discrete wavelet transform to one crystal, and hence an SDPS is obtained by computing the SD of the corresponding PS.

Design/methodology/approach

The electrochemical current signals, obtained from two identical working electrodes (carbon steel electrodes) exposed to simulated concrete pore solution, sparged simultaneously with SO2 and CO2 were studied using wavelet transforms.

Findings

The results show two steps of passive oxide layer formation: formation of defective passive oxide layer, and strengthening of the passive oxide layer. The passive oxide layer breakdown where CO2 as well as SO2 are involved occurred at a pH of approximately 11. Both the EDP and SDPS plots should be used, simultaneously, to characterize the processes occurring on the surfaces of the exposed electrodes.

Practical implications

The results that were obtained can be regarded as the basis for better understanding and improvement of the noise analysis method.

Originality/value

This paper studies the corrosion behavior of carbon steel rebar before and after the simultaneous introduction of CO2 and SO2 gases in simulated pore solution, using EDP and SDPS plots obtained from the electrochemical current signals at different pH values.
Influence of potential on the structure and properties of microarc oxidation coating on Mg alloy
Authors: Shu‐hao Deng , Dan‐qing Yi , Zhu‐qing Gong , Yu‐chang Su
Published: September 2008

Purpose

To obtain an optimized microarc oxidation (MAO) coating on magnesium alloy from an environmentally‐friendly electrolyte free of Cr6 +  and PO43− and to investigate the influence of oxidation potential on the morphology, composition, structure, and other properties such as micro‐hardness and corrosion resistance.

Design/methodology/approach

A constant potential regime was applied to produce the coatings and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscope, X‐ray diffraction, hardness testing and electrochemical methods were used to study coating properties.

Findings

The results clearly show that oxidation potential plays an important role in the formation of coating structure and properties. The MAO coating is smooth and white and consists of two layers. The external layer is loose and porous and enriched in Al and Si. Moreover, the content of Al and Si increase with operated potential. The inner layer is compact and the content of Al and Si are lower than are those of the external layer. The coating is composed of several phases: the main phase is MgAl2O4/MgO, and the minor phase is Al2O3/SiO2 when the potential is higher. The micro‐hardness of the coating obtained a maximum at a potential of 45 V, as does the corrosion resistance.

Originality/value

This paper provides information relating to MAO technology and the morphology, structure and properties of MAO coatings.
Assessing the corrosivity of drilling mud on well casings
Authors: Almisned Omar
Published: September 2008

Purpose

Casing completion is an extremely important part of the process of drilling and completing an oil well. This paper aims to focus on measuring corrosivity caused by drilling mud on casing materials using a simple method.

Design/methodology/approach

In this experimental study a simple method is used to determine the effect of drilling mud on the two widely used casing string materials in the oil industry, carbon steel and J‐55 alloy. The drilling mud was formulated using Saudi local clay deposits, where mud viscosity at different clay concentration was measured to show the effect of clay content on mud apparent viscosity, and select the best formulation. The average weight loss of each type of steel was measured to show the corrosion rates, caused by a drilling mud formulated using collected clay samples. Viscosity measurements are shown.

Findings

Corrosion in dynamic tests is higher than in static tests, and the Saudi clay muds were less corrosive on J‐55 alloy than on carbon steel.

Originality/value

The assessment method is a simple and fast way to predict maximum and minimum corrosion while drilling.
Do “good” food products make others look “bad”?
Authors: Binnekamp Menno , Ingenbleek Paul
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The objective of this study is to examine whether sustainability labels like Fair Trade have a spin‐off effect to mainstream products in the consumer perception: do consumers perceive mainstream products and brands more negatively in the presence of a product with a sustainability label?

Design/methodology/approach

Five scientific experiments were conducted to test the spin‐off effect of products with sustainability labels on evaluations of mainstream products. Experiments vary with respect to product category, label, respondents, and stimuli. Next, a focus group study was conducted to further explain the findings.

Findings

The results show that a spin‐off effect of sustainability labels in the consumer perception is unlikely. None of the experiments shows a significant spin‐off effect, neither directly, nor under the conditions of quality differences between supermarkets, search behaviour of consumers, presence of competing labels, and different involvement categories. Also, a variety of different types of stimuli (scenarios and visual) and research designs (experiments and focus group interviews) did not reveal the hypothesized effect.

Research limitations/implications

The results imply that retailers' fears for a negative spin‐off effect of products with sustainability labels to the rest of the assortment hold little ground. Although the evidence is consistent over different designs, stimuli, contexts, and dependent variables, only a limited range of stimuli‐method combinations is tested.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate the existence of a spin‐off effect from products with a sustainability label to mainstream products.
Consumer satisfaction
Authors: Espejel Joel , Fandos Carmina , Flavián Carlos
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between satisfaction, loyalty and buying intention as perceived by Spanish consumers. The food product object of analysis is the “Olive Oil from Bajo Aragon” with protected designation of origin (PDO).

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, scale development was based on the review of the most relevant literature regarding food marketing and agribusiness. Then, to adapt the scales to the specific context of analysis, in‐depth interviews to a small sample of consumers were conducted, and the information contained in the preliminary scales was also judged by a group of experts in the food sector. After that, data were collected through a structured questionnaire, where the consumer was asked to indicate his/her level of agreement or disagreement with a series of statements based on a seven‐point Likert scale. After the completion of the fieldwork, a depuration process (exploratory and confirmatory analyses of reliability and dimensionality) was performed and, as a result, 223 valid questionnaires were obtained. Finally, a structural equations model was applied to analyze the relationships among consumer satisfaction, loyalty and buying intention.

Findings

The results show that a higher satisfaction leads to greater levels of loyalty and buying intention of the PDO “Olive Oil from Bajo Aragon”. In addition, in this specific context, the importance of consumers' perceptions regarding: the association of a traditional food product with a place of origin, territory, climate and know how of a geographical region; and the strict controls to which products under the protection are submitted by the regulatory councils were highlighted. Both aspects lead the consumer to infer a safety badge and food quality, which helps to develop feelings of satisfaction and loyalty, and a greater predisposition to buy the traditional product again.

Practical implications

The results can derive important practical implications when developing marketing strategies. Thus, it can be underlined that PDO should strengthen the consumer satisfaction (affective evaluation), emphasizing the differential characteristics to provide for the organoleptic factors like colour, taste and smell. All these factors increase the experimented feelings by consumers, so it is possible to improve the added value of the food product in order to achieve higher behavioural and attitudinal consumer loyalty. In fact, consumers' attitudes to this kind of products will increase the repurchase intention.

Originality/value

In this paper, the particularities of a traditional food product with PDO and the influence of these particularities on consumer satisfaction, loyalty and buying intention are analyzed. This fact implies a relevant contribution since the literature analyzing simultaneously the concepts of satisfaction, loyalty and buying intention is really scarce in this particular context.
The gateway to a Canadian market‐driven agricultural economy
Authors: Charlebois Sylvain
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured demand chain design framework that can be linked with gateway and corridor management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The model in this paper presents supply and demand thrusts that could leverage Canada's position in international food trade.

Findings

Since a direct correlation exists between the wealth of a nation and how it consumes food, the paper first presents five utilities and several factors that are perceived differently by customers once a nation becomes affluent. Then it presents supply and demand thrusts that could leverage Canada's position in international food trade. Finally, a demand chain design framework is suggested.

Research limitations/implications

The framework is meant to be organically generic and not applied to one specific commodity or market, as all commodities and targeted markets necessitate an idiosyncratic approach. Although it is met to be applicable to topographies that offer logistical challenges such as Canada.

Practical implications

It has been recognized that agriculture and food companies have a long tradition of being commodity‐driven, with an emphasis on production technology, high volumes, and quality consistency. In the context of global hyper‐competitivity, the ability to understand customer needs and adapt to a wider variety of customer situations will become crucial.

Originality/value

Without being specific to a targeted market or commodity, a demand chain management framework for food products is presented which provides an integrative approach for demand chain design based on food marketing practices, and which requires continuous evaluation of perceived utilities by customers.
Impact of consumers' health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception on fish consumption
Authors: Pieniak Zuzanna , Verbeke Wim , Scholderer Joachim , Brunsø Karen , Ottar Olsen Svein
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of consumers' health beliefs, health involvement, and risk perception on fish consumption behaviour in five European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross‐sectional data were collected through a pan‐European consumer survey (n=4,786) with samples representative for age and region in Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Poland. First, the cross‐cultural validity and cross‐cultural differences in health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception in relation to fish have been tested. Next, structural equation modelling (LISREL) was used in order to simultaneously estimate the strength and direction of relationships between health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception in relation to fish consumption.

Findings

Health involvement links up indirectly with subjective health and with total fish consumption, in both cases through increased interest in healthy eating. Interest in healthy eating positively and directly influences fish consumption. Increased risk perception from fish consumption negatively influences consumers' subjective health, as well as consumers' total fish consumption. Finally, subjective health positively relates to satisfaction with life.

Research limitations/implications

This study focused on fish as a product category, and included only a limited number of attitudinal constructs.

Originality/value

This paper provides a unique model relating health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception to fish consumption, which has been tested and validated using a large pan‐European consumer sample.
Analysis of food industry market using network approaches
Authors: Arulselvan Ashwin , Baourakis George , Boginski Vladimir , Korchina Evgeniya , Pardalos Panos M.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to segment the US food industry market through a network representation of the market.

Design/methodology/approach

A tangible technique is implemented to study the structural properties of food industry market. A systematic procedure is described to interpret the US food industry sector market data as a graph, which provides the framework under which the market is studied. The maximum cliques and independent sets are found in the market graph, which provides an efficient way for clustering the financial instruments representing food industry. A statistical analysis on the degree distribution of food industry market graph is also performed to study the properties of the market graph.

Findings

The maximum cliques provided a classification of stocks with similar behaviour. Market graphs were empirically shown to follow the power‐law model. The statistical analysis performed on the food industry market graph corroborated with this observation.

Originality/value

This research is an extension of the work by Boginski, Butenko and Pardalos as an application to the food industry. The study helps in efficient segmentation of the food industry market and provides more insights into the market structure.
The decision to buy organic food products in Southern Italy
Authors: de Magistris Tiziana , Gracia Azucena
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to investigate the consumers' decision‐making process for organically produced foods in Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

A structural equation modelling approach has been used with information provided by a survey conducted in Italy (Naples).

Findings

Results indicate that consumer' attitudes towards organic food, in particular towards the health attribute and towards the environment are the most important factors that explain consumers' decision‐making process for organic food products. Moreover, it has been found that larger information on the organic food market, which drives to a higher consumers' organic food knowledge, is important because it positively influences consumers' attitudes towards organic food products. Finally, consumers who try to follow a healthy diet and balanced life are likely to have more positive attitudes towards organic food products and towards the environment, inducing a more likely intention to purchase organic foods.

Originality/value

Findings provide more evidence on consumers' underlying motivations to buy organic food to the already existing evidence in Europe to evaluate the future implementation of the recently approved Regulation (EC) no. 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products. In addition, empirical results would help local policy makers to establish appropriate market strategies to develop the future demand for these products.
Food glycaemic index, satiety and chronic diseases
Authors: Batista S.M.M. , Teixeira E. , de Francisco A. , Assis M.A.A.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This review aims to document the influence of low glycaemic index (LGI) and low glycaemic load (LGL) foods over food satiety, their utilisation in clinical practice, and their importance in the prevention and control of diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiopathies. It also aims to discuss the inclusion of glycaemic index (GI) information in food labels as an important tool for the consumer who wishes to make healthier choices.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive literature search was conducted in the Web of Science, Pub Med and Medline databases, as well as in reference lists from the scientific articles retrieved in the search.

Findings

Most of the articles presented similar results regarding the substitution of high glycaemic index (HGI) foods for low GI ones. In diabetics there was an improvement in the glycaemic and lipid profiles control, and in the obese, weight reduction and reduced cardiovascular complications risk were observed. Foods with higher satiety potential were identified as those with lower GIs, which reduce appetite, cause less glycaemic oscillations in diabetics, and lower caloric intake in the obese.

Originality/value

This revision evidenced the benefits of LGI foods over satiety and palatability, and discussed their effect in the treatment of chronic non‐transmissible diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
Importance of tasting rooms for Canary Islands' wineries
Authors: Alonso Abel D. , Sheridan Lynnaire , Scherrer Pascal
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the tasting room for wineries from a re‐developing Spanish wine region, and identify the challenges winery owners currently face in their pursuit to market their wines through the tasting room.

Design/methodology/approach

Between May and June of 2007 a total of 23 winery owners, managers and wine makers located in the Canary Islands were interviewed from a sample of 61 wineries identified in Tenerife and La Palma islands.

Findings

The findings confirm the vital importance of the tasting room as a marketing, branding, and educative vehicle for the wine product. Overall, wineries focus on the tasting room as a way to advertise and present their wines to visitors and passers by as part of a long‐term strategy, rather than as a way to make direct wine sales.

Research limitations/implications

It is acknowledged that the sample of only 23 participating businesses may not be enough to make generalisations about the impact of the tasting room on wineries of the Canary Islands. However, the sample does provide useful insights into the benefits, issues and challenges of the tasting room in this context.

Practical implications

The findings demonstrate the innovative and proactive spirit of winery management, including the push for quality and educating visitors, as key to survival and success in this very competitive industry. In this process, the role of the tasting room becomes critical to achieve those objectives.

Originality/value

The study provides new insights into the role of the tasting room in a Spanish wine region that has received very limited attention. The exploratory nature of this study also provides an avenue for future studies into an industry that is growing around a region's main income magnet: tourism.
Proximate, mineral and fatty acid composition of fast foods consumed in Bahrain
Authors: Musaiger Abdulrahman O. , Al‐Jedah Jassim H. , D'souza Reshma
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the commonly consumed fast foods in Bahrain with respect to proximate, mineral, sterol composition and their fatty acid profile.

Design/methodology/approach

Foods were purchased from the most frequented fast food outlets in Manama city, the capital of Bahrain. Similar types of foods were pooled into one sample. Proximate composition was determined in duplicate by the standard procedure of the AOAC. Mineral concentrations were determined by using either electro thermal or flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer and fatty acids were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) as per standard procedure.

Findings

Proximate analysis showed a wide variation in the composition and nutritive value. Moisture, fat, protein, carbohydrate and fiber contents ranged from 30.35‐54.02, 8.74‐17.33, 4.41‐18.23 (n×6.25), 12.14‐43.81 and 0.56‐3.43 %w/w respectively. The range in the energy value was between 215.0‐349.0 Kcal/100 g. Most of the foods were rich in sodium, calcium, iron, and zinc being in the range of 4315.0‐7890.9, 337.1‐1893.1, 3.25‐82.26, and 4.88‐22.62 ppm respectively while potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese were present to a lesser extent. Cholesterol levels were negligible in the vegetable dishes but high in dishes with meat and dairy products (<1.00‐35.47 mg/100 g). Considerable levels of β‐sitosterol (4.96‐20.20 mg/100 g) were present. The most prominent fatty acids were oleic (32.9‐50.4 mg/100 g), linoleic (5.0‐33.6 mg/100 g) and palmitic acid (16.8‐24.9 mg/100 g).

Originality/value

It is essential that calorie‐dense foods with minimal nutritional content must return to their role as occasional discretionary items in an otherwise balanced diet.
Consumer perceptions of food quality and safety and their relation to traceability
Authors: van Rijswijk Wendy , Frewer Lynn J.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The research presented here aims to gain understanding of consumers' perceptions of the concepts of food quality and safety, two concepts that play an important role in how consumers perceive food, and that are used in decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative semi‐structured interviews (n=163 consumers) were held in four European countries (Germany, France, Italy and Spain). Consumers' own definitions of the two concepts of food quality and safety were examined, together with the perceived interrelationship between quality and safety, and whether these concepts were linked to improved food chain traceability.

Findings

The results indicate that most consumers see food quality and food safety as interlinked concepts, which becomes evident in their partly overlapping definitions of the two concepts. Consumers believe both food safety and quality are important to food in general, but pay relatively more attention to food quality when purchasing a product. Traceability was linked not only to food safety, but also to food quality in the mind of the consumer.

Research limitations/implications

Future research on consumer perceptions of food quality and safety will need to take account of the observation that these concepts are strongly related in consumers' minds, and therefore cannot be easily separated in explaining consumer choices.

Originality/value

Instead of investigating consumer perceptions of food quality and safety in relation to specific products, consumer perceptions of food quality and food safety in general, and how these were related to each other, were studied. Further understanding was gained of how consumers might use these concepts in judgements about food, which, in turn may influence their purchase decisions.
Practitioners and academics as authors and readers: the case of LIS journals
Authors: Schlögl Christian , Stock Wolfgang G.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between practitioners and academics in scholarly communication in library and information science (LIS) journals.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a reader survey, a citation analysis and an editor survey. The reader survey identifies both differences in journal rankings between practitioners and academics and the contribution of practitioners to LIS journals. The editor survey provides the proportions of practitioners and academics for the journals. The citation analysis shows the disparities in information exchange between the journals mainly preferred by practitioners and those more favoured by academics. Furthermore, it is possible to explore if practitioner journals differ from academic journals in the citation indicators and in other data collected in the editor survey.

Findings

It is found that: practitioners play an active role both as readers and as authors of articles in LIS journals; there is only a low level of information exchange between practitioner and academic journals; the placement of advertisements, the size of the editorial board, requirements concerning an extensive bibliography, the number and the half‐life of the references show a clear distinction between practitioner and academic journals. Interestingly, the impact factor did not turn out to be a good indicator to differentiate a practitioner from an academic journal.

Research limitations/implications

This research is only exploratory because it is based on separate studies previously conducted. Further research is also needed to explore the relationship between practitioners and academics more deeply.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in bringing together the findings from complementary studies (reader survey, editor survey and citation analysis) and identifying hypotheses for future research, especially with regards to the roles of and interactions between LIS practitioners and academics in scholarly communication.
Credibility on the internet: shifting from authority to reliability
Authors: Lankes R. David
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to understand how users determine credibility in the internet environment from a conceptual level and the implications of these new methods of credibility determination on internet tools (primarily software) and services.

Design/methodology/approach

The author first examines the underlying reasons for increased dependence on the internet for information, using electronic commerce as a starting point. The central concept of “information self‐sufficiency” is introduced and then examined through the lens of the internet and conversation theory.

Findings

The author finds that users are shifting from more traditional “authority” methods of credibility determination, where users cede determinations to trusted third parties, to a “reliability” approach where users seek commonalities and coherence among multiple information sources. This has led to an increased pressure for participation and openness at all levels of the internet.

Research limitations/implications

Studies on users and credibility must better account for often invisible technical factors.

Practical implications

Libraries must take into account a greater need for participation and technical fluency when dealing with patrons, particularly in information literacy programs and instruction.

Originality/value

This paper presents a large‐scale conceptual approach to credibility on the internet. It seeks to inform current approaches to the subject nested in communications and instruction with the unique technical environment of the internet.
Meaning, communication, music: towards a revised communication model
Authors: Inskip Charles , MacFarlane Andrew , Rafferty Pauline
Published: September 2008

Purpose

If an information retrieval system is going to be of value to the user then it must give meaning to the information which matches the meaning given to it by the user. The meaning given to music varies according to who is interpreting it – the author/composer, the performer, cataloguer or the listener – and this affects how music is organized and retrieved. This paper aims to examine the meaning of music, how meaning is communicated and suggests this may affect music retrieval.

Design/methodology/approach

Musicology is used to define music and examine its functions leading to a discussion of how music has been organised and described. Various ways of establishing the meaning of music are reviewed, focussing on established musical analysis techniques. It is suggested that traditional methods are of limited use with digitised popular music. A discussion of semiotics and a review of semiotic analysis in western art music leads to a discussion of semiotics of popular music and examines ideas of Middleton, Stefani and Tagg.

Findings

Agreeing that music exists when communication takes place, a discussion of selected communication models leads to the proposal of a revised version of Tagg's model, adjusting it to include listener feedback.

Originality/value

The outcome of the analysis is a revised version of Tagg's communication model, adapted to reflect user feedback. It is suggested that this revised communication model reflects the way in which meaning is given to music.
Do academic link types change over time?
Authors: Payne Nigel , Thelwall Mike
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to address the question: do university web sites publish the same kind of information and use the same kind of hyperlinks year on year or do these change over time?

Design/methodology/approach

A link classification exercise is used to identify temporal changes in the distribution of different types of academic web links changes, using the academic web spaces of the UK, Australia and New Zealand in the years 2000 and 2006.

Findings

Significant increases in “research oriented”, “social/leisure” and “superficial” links were identified as well as notable decreases in “technical” and “personal” links. Some of these changes identified may be explained by general changes in the management of university web sites and some by more wide‐spread internet trends, e.g. dynamic pages, blogs and social networking. The increase in the proportion of research‐oriented links is particularly hopeful for future link analysis research.

Originality/value

This is an important issue from the perspective of interpreting the results of academic web analyses, because changes in link types over time would also force interpretations of link analyses to change over time.
Formalizing a discipline
Authors: Åström Fredrik
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The paper's objective is to analyze the social organization of library and information Science (LIS) using the Nordic countries as example, focusing on organizational setting, research work and relations between LIS and academia as well as the field of professional practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a framework for analyzing scientific fields, as well as its application on LIS, aspects relating to the impact of contextual factors on research was identified and discussed based on information from, e.g. LIS institution web sites. The results were discussed, not only in relation to the framework primarily utilized, but also from a less disciplinary view on research organization, for analytical contrast.

Findings

A close connection between academic affiliation and research orientation was found, reflected in organizational issues, media for communicating research and access to resources. This relates to general issues of levels of independence from other disciplines and lay groups, to what extent research is evaluated by intra‐disciplinary standards and to the level of consensus on terminology and research processes.

Research limitations/implications

Limiting the study to institutions in one particular geographical area, where several institutions being at an early stage of formalization, the possibility of reaching generalizable conclusions is limited. The strength of the conclusions is also somewhat restrained due to the nature of the empirical material, being based on web documents with varying levels of exhaustability in terms of data provision.

Originality/value

The intellectual organization of LIS research is well‐known, whereas social and institutional aspects have been analyzed to a lesser degree; and with the differences in age and size of Nordic LIS institutions, they provide an interesting case of contemporary institutionalization of LIS research.
Organs of the human brain, created by the human hand?
Authors: Warner Julian
Published: September 2008

Purpose

Information science has been conceptualized as a partly unreflexive response to developments in information and computer technology, and, most powerfully, as part of the gestalt of the computer. The computer was viewed as an historical accident in the original formulation of the gestalt. An alternative, and timely, approach to understanding, and then dissolving, the gestalt would be to address the motivating technology directly, fully recognizing it as a radical human construction. This paper aims to address the issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a social epistemological perspective and is concerned with collective, rather than primarily individual, ways of knowing.

Findings

Information technology tends to be received as objectively given, autonomously developing, and causing but not itself caused, by the language of discussions in information science. It has also been characterized as artificial, in the sense of unnatural, and sometimes as threatening. Attitudes to technology are implied, rather than explicit, and can appear weak when articulated, corresponding to collective repression.

Research limitations/implications

Receiving technology as objectively given has an analogy with the Platonist view of mathematical propositions as discovered, in its exclusion of human activity, opening up the possibility of a comparable critique which insists on human agency.

Originality/value

Apprehensions of information technology have been raised to consciousness, exposing their limitations.
Who benefits from CLIR in web retrieval?
Authors: Airio Eija
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of the current paper is to test whether query translation is beneficial in web retrieval.

Design/methodology/approach

The language pairs were Finnish‐Swedish, English‐German and Finnish‐French. A total of 12‐18 participants were recruited for each language pair. Each participant performed four retrieval tasks. The author's aim was to compare the performance of the translated queries with that of the target language queries. Thus, the author asked participants to formulate a source language query and a target language query for each task. The source language queries were translated into the target language utilizing a dictionary‐based system. In English‐German, also machine translation was utilized. The author used Google as the search engine.

Findings

The results differed depending on the language pair. The author concluded that the dictionary coverage had an effect on the results. On average, the results of query‐translation were better than in the traditional laboratory tests.

Originality/value

This research shows that query translation in web is beneficial especially for users with moderate and non‐active language skills. This is valuable information for developers of cross‐language information retrieval systems.
Graduate entrepreneurship: intentions, education and training
Authors: Nabi Ghulam , Holden Rick
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The paper's purpose is to present an introduction to the special issue is that positions and explores some of issues and challenges in the field of graduate entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines a range of issues and themes and introduces papers of six authors/author teams. The introductory paper is divided into three sections: what is graduate entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial intentions; and education and training.

Findings

The paper finds that, despite increasing attention on graduate entrepreneurship, there remains a lack of research on entrepreneurial intentions and enterprise/entrepreneurship education and training in varied and multiple contexts. This special issue includes research from a number of countries, including England, Ireland, Australia and the USA.

Originality/value

The paper provides the basis for a more nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial intentions and related education and training – of interest to both researchers and policy makers in terms of the journey from student to start‐up.