bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Usability testing and design of a library website: an iterative approach
Authors: George Carole A. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of the usability studies used by the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries during the redesign of their website.Design/methodology/approachThe Libraries used a web‐based survey to determine needs, proceeding to the prototype design, and completing the process with the final design and user testing. Think‐aloud protocols, used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the final design, asked participants to verbalize their thoughts as they completed a series of tasks.FindingsThe results of the protocols indicated several key weaknesses with respect to navigation, screen design and labeling, leading to more revisions and the final release. Testing indicated that color and graphics attract attention; font, labels, and placement increase visibility; chunking and leading with keywords increase readability; and consistency increases usability.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a case study and therefore not necessarily representative to the general population of library website design efforts.Practical implicationsThis paper describes several methods of gathering feedback during website design or usability testing with an emphasis on think‐aloud protocols.Originality/valueThe techniques used here may be useful to others who are approaching redesign and usability testing of their own sites and interested in creating a user‐centered design.
Usability testing for web redesign: a UCLA case study
Authors: Turnbow Dominique , Kasianovitz Kris , Snyder Lise , Gilbert David , Yamamoto David 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the processes the UCLA Library Website Redesign Team used to develop a new library website responsive to the needs of the broad population of UCLA Library users.Design/methodology/approachUsing a combination of structured analyses of the previous library website, user surveys, a card sort protocol and a think‐aloud protocol, the Website Redesign Team procured sufficient information to meet its redesign goals: established clear site organization and navigation, utilized user‐centered nomenclature, ensured easy access from the library homepage to relevant information, developed a unified institutional visual identity throughout the site, and enabled a content management system.FindingsStandard usability methods such as surveys and the card sort and think‐aloud protocols are essential tools for evaluating and redesigning complex multi‐layered websites. Since the redesign process is not finite, these tools contribute to keeping a website current and responsive to the needs of its users.Originality/valueThis case study provides an example that the Redesign Team hope will empower readers with tools and knowledge that they can use to perform similar tasks in their own environment.
Redesigning for usability
Authors: Jeffcoat King Heather , Jannik Catherine M. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo describe the efforts by the Georgia Institute of Technology Library to keep its website relevant and current by incorporating user testing, both outsourced and in‐house.Design/methodology/approachA chronological history of the Library's web presence with a discussion of how user testing was conducted with a vendor and how future testing will be conducted by the Library itself.FindingsIllustrates issues the Georgia Institute of Technology Library has faced in regards to its website in the past, and future plans to test the site to maintain currency and strive to meet the users' needs.Originality/valueThis paper offers practical information for undertaking usability testing of a library website.
Sustainable design for multiple audiences
Authors: Norberg Lisa R. , Vassiliadis Kim , Ferguson Jean , Smith Natasha 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo demonstrate the value in conducting a usability study and following an iterative design process to create a more user‐centered and sustainable digital library.Design/methodology/approachAfter identifying three key user groups, a series of usability tests and focus groups were conducted to assess how users interact with the site's interface. An iterative design process followed involving the development and testing of prototypes by representative users and stakeholders.FindingsUsers' interaction with a digital library is task‐oriented and context dependent. Serving the needs of multiple audiences is an iterative process and requires an ongoing dialog with users.Research limitations/implicationsLike most usability studies, the results are not generalizable.Practical implicationsIt offers an example of how an informal usability study and iterative design process can be conducted to create a more user‐centered digital library.Originality/valueThis paper provides new insights into the information needs and behaviors of users of cultural heritage digital libraries and builds on the literature on usability and iterative design.
Designing effective tasks for digital library user tests: lessons learned
Authors: Notess Mark , Kouper Inna , Swan Maggie B. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo describe lessons learned about the process of designing effective tasks for digital library user tests.Design/methodology/approachIllustrated examples are drawn from eight separate user tests run over the course of three years during development of Variations2, the Indiana University digital music library.FindingsFour major considerations for effective task design are described and illustrated. Areas explored include iterative task development, design of authentic activities, recruitment of authentic users and how to deal with unrealistic testing scenarios.Practical implicationsLessons learned in task design are matched with examples that illustrate how to balance real‐world constraints with ideal testing conditions to gather useful results.Originality/valueUser tests that consider a balance between real‐world constraints and ideal conditions are more apt to provide useful design ideas for complex systems such as digital libraries. Practitioners may use these guidelines to develop and run their own effective user tests.
IUPUI image collection: a usability survey
Authors: Kramer Elsa F. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo measure functionality, content, and awareness of an online digital image collection by observing participants in a controlled search for a specific image and evaluating their responses to questions with the objective of improving the site.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were recruited from among faculty, staff, and students based on interests stated in online profiles or indicated by type of professional work or academic major. Participants were timed while searching for a target photo and interviewed afterward about their search experience and their use of digital images.FindingsMost potential users are not aware of the Indiana University‐Purdue University Indianapolis image collection and have some difficulty locating it, but when introduced to it find the site attractive and navigable and its content interesting and useful for research, instruction, publication, or class work.Research limitations/implicationsThere were only 5,100 images uploaded to the collection at the time of the study. The participant group was limited to 70.Practical implicationsUser data and suggestions help the archives staff work with CONTENTdm™ to make improvements to the site's function and metadata; choose photos to scan for the collection; and develop site‐marketing plans.Originality/valueThis study provides quantitative measurements of user habits and concerns. Observation, sometimes rejected as an obtrusive methodology, is shown here as an important tool to evaluate human‐computer interaction for improved understanding of user perspectives on navigability and functionality.
Copyright news: Orphan Works and Section 108: reproduction by libraries and archives
Authors: McKay Aprille , Yakel Elizabeth 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss key issues for archives and special collections related to the recent Library of Congress Orphan Works report and Section 108 Study Group.Design/methodology/approachThe article is a documentary and legal analysis.FindingsThe article finds that recent developments in copyright, such as the Library of Congress' determination on Orphan Works and the Section 108 Study Group could have major implications for libraries and archives interested in digitizing their holdings and making them more widely available.Practical implicationsThis article points to several new and / or emerging developments in the evolution of Copyright law in the USA that have implications for libraries, archives, and museums.Originality/valueThis article identifies and highlights the implications of the Orphan Works and the Section 108 Study Group findings on copyright.
Vandals at the gates
Authors: Fox Robert 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to examine issues surrounding digital stewardship and information security with the digital library.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is exploratory in nature.FindingsThis paper highlights areas in which there needs to be awareness of information security issues in order to protect patrons and library resources.Practical implicationsInformation security is now everyone's business. Librarians who deal heavily in digital content must be active in their stewardship of digital library resources, both to preserve and protect potentially sensitive content, but also the privacy and confidentiality of the patrons.Originality/valueIt is hoped that everyone who has anything to do with the creation, maintenance, dissemination and preservation of digital content in the library context will take information security seriously. This paper is intended to be a primer for those who have not taken account of information security issues to begin doing so on an ongoing basis.
A generic Grid security policy reconciliation framework
Authors: Gymnopoulos Lazaros , Tsoumas Vassilios , Soupionis Ioannis , Gritzalis Stefanos 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for enhancing security policy management in the Grid.Design/methodology/approachThe Grid security policy reconciliation problem is presented. A generic view on the security policy notion is adopted and the security policy ontology notion is introduced and used.FindingsIn the course of this work it was found that, in order to enhance security policy management in the Grid, Grid entities should have the ability to negotiate their security policies. It was also found that, in order to achieve security policy negotiation, effective security policy semantics manipulation towards security policy reconciliation is needed. Finally, it was established, through the use of an example, that if appropriate means are used for security policy reconciliation then incompatible security policy representations can be transformed into compatible ones.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations stem from the adoption of a generic view on the security policy notion and the selection of identification and authentication security policies as the focal point of the proposed framework. Research implications include the possibility of examining how existing security policy reconciliation models can be incorporated in this generic framework. The possibility of investigating how such a framework can lead to a security policy knowledge management tool for Grid administrators is also demonstrated.Practical implicationsPractical implications of this work include the establishment of a common framework for security information exchange between Grid entities.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a framework for enhancing security policy management in the Grid. The proposed framework can be used by researchers as a reference and by security experts in order to reduce ambiguity concerning the interpretation of security policies expressed in different forms, by negotiating Grid entities.
An ontology‐based distributed whiteboard to determine legal responses to online cyber attacks
Authors: Peng Leisheng , Wijesekera Duminda , Wingfield Thomas C. , Michael James B. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to assist investigators and attorneys addressing the legal aspects of cyber incidents, and allow them to determine the legality of a response to cyber attacks by using the Worldwide web securely.Design/methodology/approachDevelop a decision support legal whiteboard that graphically constructs legal arguments as a decision tree. The tree is constructed using a tree of questions and appending legal documents to substantiate the answers that are known to hold in anticipated legal challenges.FindingsThe tool allows participating group of attorneys to meet in cyberspace in real time and construct a legal argument graphically by using a decision tree. They can construct sub‐parts of the tree from their own legal domains. Because diverse legal domains use different nomenclatures, this tool provides the user the capability to index and search legal documents using a complex international legal ontology that goes beyond the traditional LexisNexis‐like legal databases. This ontology itself can be created using the tool from distributed locations.Originality/valueThis tool has been fine‐tuned through numerous interviews with attorneys teaching and practicing in the area of cyber crime, cyber espionage, and military operations in cyberspace. It can be used to guide forensic experts and law enforcement personnel during their active responses and off‐line examinations.
All that knowledge, and so what? Scholarship in the digital university
Authors: Sax Boria 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo ascertain how scholarship will be impacted by digital media.Design/methodology/approachThis paper breaks down the vocation of scholarship into subsidiary tasks. It examines how their relative importance has changed in the modern era. Finally, it looks at which tasks will be facilitated or complicated by digital media, particularly by the internet.FindingsThe tasks of collecting and storing information have been made far faster and easier by digital media. Other tasks such as sorting, evaluating and assessing the implications of information have, however, become more difficult. In consequence, theory has become far more important.Research limitations/implicationsThe extrapolations in this paper are about broad trends, which may manifest themselves in a variety of ways.Practical implicationsIn the future, one can expect scholarship to deal less with uncovering new information. Instead, scholars will have to devote more time and effort to ascertaining why information is important. Scholars will be expected to articulate not only their methods but also their purposes.Originality/valueThis paper provides useful information on how scholarship will be impacted by digital media.
How to become an effective – bias‐free – decision‐maker in an increasingly global economy
Authors: Wickham Philip A. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo make strategists aware of decision biases and their potential impact on effective strategic decision‐making.Design/methodology/approachA review of five critical biases, their sources and impact. The article includes a self‐test.Findings –Suggestions on how the strategist can address biases in self and others as part of strategic leadership.Research limitations/implicationsConceptual review and self‐test.Practical implicationsSimple, easy to implement guidance on managing biases in self and others.Originality/valueRaising strategists’ awareness of biases and their potential impact. Self‐test on decision biases. A route to the literature on the issues.
Strategic marketing’s global challenges and opportunities
Authors: Cravens David 
Published: January 2007

PurposeStrategic marketing is confronted with an array of global challenges and opportunities at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. Some opinion leaders question the role and importance of marketing strategy. Others are convinced the discipline is more vital than ever before.Design/methodology/approachSeveral important trends and issues have been articulated by leaders in the marketing discipline concerning how marketing thought and practice are expected to change in the future. Interestingly, opinion leaders offer very different interpretations concerning the role and importance of marketing in organizations today. FindingsThus, it is apparent that a complete vision about the future of marketing strategy has not emerged, although several challenges are indicated. Our objective is to identify these strategy challenges and their implications regarding marketing thought and practice. Importantly, the challenges highlight several marketing strategy opportunities which are relevant to scholars and managers.Research limitations/implicationsMarketing Science Institute interviews with CEOs and top marketing executives from a diversified sample of 12 corporations indicate “The strategic influence of marketing, as previously understood, appears to have diminished as short‐term revenue goals become more dominant and the role of the sales force is strengthened”. McGovern and Quelch in their survey of 120 companies and 18 interviews with CMOs and/or CEOs from global companies indicate that large corporations are “looking for strategic and operational leadership from the marketing organization more than ever before. The result is the increasing prominence of a senior executive whose title didn’t even exist ten years ago: the chief marketing officer or CMO”. Interviews with more than 40 CMOs from a range of companies around the globe by McKinsey & Company indicate that the top priority concern “is that an explosion of customer segments, products, media vehicles, and distribution channels has made marketing more complex, more costly, and less effective”. Vargo and Lusch propose that “marketing thought is not so much fragmented as it is evolving toward a new dominant logic – the exchange of intangibles, specialized skills and knowledge, and processes”.Originality/valueSeveral forces are expected to impact the strategic marketing decisions of a wide range of companies throughout the world. Moreover, these forces need to be addressed in managerial initiatives, course design, and several offer promising research opportunities.
Managing virtual project teams: how to maximize performance
Authors: Kuruppuarachchi Palitha 
Published: January 2007

PurposeI was responsible for delivering a Radio Systems Development program. The program totalling over A$20 million was undertaken in the country NSW, Australia, over a three‐year time period, using the existing human resources of the NSW Police in a virtual team environment.Design/methodology/approachAt the beginning of the program, a framework was provided for managing the program. The structure used in the program was a relatively unstructured one: informal communications was supported and project implementation was reliant on trust, cooperation and teamwork. Well‐proven project management and team management concepts were applied, some worked, but some didn’t.FindingsThe program was reviewed following its completion. Ideas from various stakeholders were sought and analysed in terms of: what went right and why, what went wrong and why, what could be done better, and any issues which may help on another project.Originality/valueThe program was reviewed following its completion. Ideas from various stakeholders were sought and analysed in terms of: what went right and why, what went wrong and why, what could be done better, and any issues which may help on another project.
From strategy to e‐strategy: lessons from two success stories
Authors: Constantinides Efthymios 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper examines the strategic approach of two exemplar internet firms belonging to the first generation of dot.coms. The analysis identifies and compares their corporate strategic approach as one of the factors that helped these companies to escape the internet disaster and maintain their market leadership for more than ten years.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops a methodological process for identification of growth‐oriented strategic decisions taken and implemented by the two internet corporations in a period of five years. The strategic decisions were classified and compared based on the methodology proposed by I. Ansoff.FindingsThe classification and comparison of the strategic course of the two firms reveals interesting similarities in their managerial approach and deviation from traditional strategic procedures and thinking. The most important conclusion is that successful firms in a market with low entry barriers maintain their market leadership by focusing on short‐term rather than long‐term competitive advantages. Such a strategy requires managerial flexibility and deviation from traditional strategic practices and thinking.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is required in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the strategic practices of successful virtual firms as well as in order to identify the critical differences between the online and the physical strategic practices.Practical implicationsFocusing on short‐term competitive positions as a strategy for survival and success in the virtual marketplace requires the continuous critical analysis of the external environment, efficient decision‐making processes and focus on continuous innovation and transformation.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates scientific evidence that transformation and innovation are the strategies most likely to contribute to the long‐term survival and success in unpredictable, sometimes chaotic and certainly fast evolving marketplaces like the internet One could assume that the findings could apply to physical markets characterized by evolution and change.
Enhancing strategic capital
Authors: Smith Peter 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper provides managers with the understanding and means to assess and exploit the impact of influence‐related social factors on strategic planning and implementation.Design/methodology/approachBackground related to enhancing strategic capital is explored, the concept of social capital is introduced, and its effect on strategic capital is described. The need for employee‐inclusive strategic planning is discussed, and the contribution of opinion leaders is explored. Means to visualize network characteristics and identify key players are detailed. Actions available to build on their support or ameliorate their resistance are indicated. This is a practical article covering issue definition through to solution.FindingsStrategic organizational initiatives depend for success on the support of the organization’s workforce, and their opinions and attitudes are swayed for better or worse, by core networks of influential peers. These opinion leaders can be identified through network visualization and analysis, and their views explored and addressed.Practical implicationsOrganizations must adopt an employee‐inclusive approach to strategic planning and implementation. They should utilize a technique such as network visualization and analysis to better understand influence patterns across their organization’s social networks, and to leverage, or deal with, the standpoint of its formal and informal opinion leaders.Originality/valueNew ways to ensure the success of strategic initiatives are contributed by articulating the concept of strategic capital and by emphasizing the dependence of its potency on social capital/liability. Further originality stems from addressing how organizations “really work”, and from taking into account the impact of social networks and the influence of informal opinion leaders on strategic capital.