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The paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study which was conducted with a view to determining the effect of an intervention in the form of the application of teacher-designed Internet-based resources (i.e., websites, podcasts, movie clips) that students could use autonomously on the development of pronunciation of the English regular past tense -ed ending. The sample consisted of 45 Polish secondary school learners. Participants were divided into three groups, two treatment and one control. The intervention spanned two weeks. The lessons in treatment group 1 were conducted by means of online resources and those in treatment group 2 were carried out in a traditional way (i.e., without autonomous recourse to computer-assisted pronunciation teaching). The students in the control group did not receive any instruction related to the pronunciation feature in question over that time. The data were gathered by means of perception and production tests administered before (pretest) and after (immediate and delayed posttests) the treatment, and subjected to quantitative analysis. The results, supported by the participants' evaluation of the two types of pedagogic intervention, indicate that although the effects of the experimental treatments proved to be comparable, the use of online resources produced more durable gains and was more favorably evaluated by learners. This provides a rationale for using computer technology as a tool for enhancing traditional teaching of English pronunciation in secondary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we model a fully covered duopoly market in which two firms offer a differentiated information product that exhibits positive network effects and a complementary premium service to consumers. For each firm, there are two marketing strategies: the freemium strategy and the bundling strategy. We find that, under the market equilibrium, a firms' decision whether to employ the freemium strategy or not depends largely on the quality of the information product compared to its rival. When the information product quality is similar and the products' intrinsic values are sufficiently large, both firms will be better off by adopting the freemium strategy, while the bundling strategy will prevail if the products' intrinsic values are sufficiently small. Additionally, when the magnitude of complementary effects or network effects exceeds a given threshold, both firms' profit can be enhanced by an increase in the degree of product complementarity or in the intensity of network effects. We also demonstrate that a firm can benefit from an increasing market size only if the intrinsic value of its information product is sufficiently large. Finally, we extend our model to the uncovered market and derive the equilibrium prices and profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The writing process has traditionally been seen ‘as a lonely journey’ to typify the lack of support that students experience for writing outside the classroom. This paper examines an attempt of The Writing Portal (TWP), a supplementary online writing platform, to support students’ writing needs throughout the five stages of the writing process, viz., planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Social constructivist principles underpin TWP, which was designed to engender collaboration amongst its student participants. Not only does TWP provide links to evaluated Internet resources and a writing portfolio, but it also features collaboration tools such as the Group Forum, chat, a writing portfolio, a private messaging system, and a comment function for pages or articles created. Thus, it is very much akin to a ‘one-stop centre’ for academic writing within a flexible and supportive environment. In this qualitative case study, 16 third-year TESL pre-service teachers at a Malaysian Teacher Education Institute embarked on a 12-week writing course using TWP. Qualitative data in the form of students’ online discourses, task reflections, log files, and digital artefacts were captured to explore how TWP's affordances supported students’ writing needs. In addition, Soller's collaborative learning conversation skills (CLCS) taxonomy was used as an analytical framework to investigate the collaborative learning engendered in the online environment. The findings indicate that TWP served its purpose by addressing students’ writing needs at all stages of the writing process as they accomplished multiple writing tasks. Additionally, evidence of collaborative learning is evident in three functions of TWP: the Group Forum, chat, and the comments for pages/articles. However, there are differences between the frequencies of the specific skills used for each function. To conclude, TWP appears to be a successful tool at supporting students at all stages of the writing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on findings from a study which investigates our digital identities. Through examination of the process of constructing biographical films derived from users’ social media (SM) data, we progress understanding of the digital self. Building on dramaturgical understandings of performance of self, we challenge the dominant views which argue that SM users operating as their ‘authentic selves’ can be empowered by having the potential for contemporaneous multiple selves. Through the introduction of the concepts of SM leakage and multiple temporal selves, we note the challenge of living with these digital self-representations which are sustained over time. We propose strategies for dealing with temporal shifts, as well as dispensing with the notion of the separation of these selves. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research on competitive pressure plays an important part in understanding a firm’s behaviour in its changing environment. This paper provides an empirical contribution to the knowledge of the relationship between competitive pressure and internal information integration in this area by focusing on manufacturer internal information integration. The findings show that the degree of manufacturer internal information can be explained by the competitive strength of the largest firm in the industry. From a management perspective, the results indicate the need to regard the competitive landscape as an additional lever of manufacturer internal information sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a lack of empirical research in the use of computers in assessment. A study was conducted to compare student performance in computerized and paper-and-pen multiple-choice tests and assess the extent and effect of 'computer anxiety'. The LXR.TEST 5.1 software was used for the computerized test. A validated rating scale was used to assess computer anxiety. Most students had little computer experience other than in word processing. Only about a third of the students had moderate to mild computer anxiety. Neither computer experience nor anxiety correlated significantly with performance in the computer test. Whereas students performed significantly better in the paper test than in the computer test, there was no statistical difference in ranking in the two assessments formats. This suggests that computer-based assessment could be used with confidence for the purposes of ranking students, but care should be taken in using it for grading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although China has a long history of cartography and map collections, the condition of China's map collections and accessibility to geographic and digital data is still unknown to world counterparts. This paper discusses the paper and digital map collections situation in China from the perspective of multiple collections and from sharing services. Paper map collections are introduced through a survey and analysis of the National Library of China, Peking University Library, and Beijing Normal University Library. Dynamic map service Web sites and the related Web infrastructure are introduced as being representative of digital map collections in China. The Data Sharing Platform of Earth System Science (DSPESS) of the National Science and Technology Infrastructure of China, which has operated for more than ten years, is used as a case study to analyze digital map data sets sharing and services. Digital map data collection characteristics, the data sharing policy, user distribution, and the stewardship staff of DSPESS are analyzed. We also present challenges and potential demands facing China's map data collection and sharing services from the perspectives of a sharing mechanism, financial support, technical challenges, and allocation of professional staff resources. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including economic values related to service expansion of information technology product companies, the effect of sentiment in reposting microblogs, and credibility assessment systems.

This paper elaborates a future vision for building performance simulation and the contributions planned by IBPSA to enable it over time. The premise is that truly powerful support for the design and operation of the built environment can best be enabled by task sharing developments directed by an overarching vision of the ultimate goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an introduction to the issue and cites several reports contained in it including "An Interdisciplinary Perspective of IT Service Management and Service Science," by Indranil Bardhan, Haluk Demirkan, P. K. Kannan, Robert J. Kauffman and Ryan Sougstad; "Connecting IT Services Operations to Service Marketing Practices," by Mitzi M. Montoya, Anne P. Massey and Vijay Khatri; and "Multitask Agency, Modular Architecture and Task Disaggregation in SaaS," by Anjana Susarla, Anitesh Barua and Andrew B. Whinston.

The notion of a genre system typically connotes sequences of interrelated communicative genres. This paper suggests that we can find other types of relationships among genres. Data from a field study in a large emergency room illustrate how doctors, nurses, and clerical staff routinely combine document genres not only in sequences but also in various accumulations achieved through proximity and movement. The combinations of genres add flexibility to the emergency room staff's genre use and allow them to employ individual genres for several purposes. The data allow us to explore how organizational members manage the tension between a need for continuity in communicative practices and a need for flexibility in managing a jumble of paper-based and digital information systems. In addition, it demonstrates how end users often tinker with genres' media and form in the process of altering combinations among specific genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kim White and Sarah Townsend created the End[of] Paper blog while preparing for their panel on "Electronic Book Technologies." In their blog they discussed innovations in creative-critical works, reference works; mass market publications; electronic textbooks; ephemera; and collaborative constructions. They also discussed issues of preservation; standardization; and literacy. Fittingly, their paper was presented in blog format. Exemplary texts from each category were presented. Links to many of these texts as well as the text of the presentation itself can he found on the blog website "End [of] Paper" www. endofpaper. blogspot.com. To accompany your web journey, we are including a bibliography of related electronic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a web-based interactive application designed to complement and expand upon a relatively new conflict elimination tool, the evaporating cloud, introduced by Goldratt in the business novel It's Not Luck (Goldratt, E., 1994. It s not luck. Croton-on-Hudson, NY: North River Press). The application allows users to enter information concerning a conflict in a step-by-step manner providing opportunity to revisit input entered in previous steps. It presents the conflict in a simple, logical diagram, and systematically guides the user through the process of surfacing underlying assumptions and developing potential solutions. Based on our experience in a senior-level operations management course, we find that most students consider the web app useful in helping them articulate and resolve conflicts and, thereby, make good decisions. Suggestions for using the application in an operations management class are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic supply chain management (eSCM) has become a popular Web-based seamless supply chain process. Given that Chinese firms are important parts of global supply chains, it is imperative to investigate factors that would affect eSCM adoption in China. In this study, we examine the impact of three power sources – non-mediated, coercive-mediated and reward-mediated power – on the three dimensions of trust – competence, goodwill and contractual – and their influence in turn on a firm’s eSCM adoption intention in China. We collected data through a survey of 131 manufacturing and service firms in China. Our results show that non-mediated power is positively associated with competence and goodwill trust but negatively related to contractual trust. Coercive-mediated power only negatively affects competence and goodwill trust. Reward-mediated power does not affect any type of trust significantly. The results also provide empirical support for the positive effects of competence and contractual trust on the intention to adopt eSCM. This paper contributes knowledge about the power–trust relationship in China from a supply chain perspective and presents a multi-dimensional explanation of the relationships between power, trust and intention to adopt eSCM. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Technology-based research has a long, storied history in the sales discipline. Beginning with the role of computers to laptops, moving to the influence of the Internet, onward to customer relationship management and sales force automation applications, and now to the role of social media, sales research is being shuttled into a new technological paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to review the role of social media in the sales force and the sales process. We begin the paper by providing definitions of social media and reviewing the role and importance of social media in business. An analogy between the rise of Internet usage in the sales force and the advent of social media is presented and discussed. Next, we discuss the challenges of social media in the sales and marketing interface and review four different business strategies to determine who "owns" social media within an organization. We continue with a discussion of the different stages in the sales process and offer ways in which social media influences each individual step, thereby outlining future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997, the recently appointed French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin took a firm stance in favor of the Internet and announced an ambitious program to develop information technology and networks. In a country characterized by the lingering presence of the Minitel and bureaucratic reluctance to Internet solutions, this allocution, referred as the Hourtin speech, has been acknowledged as a turning-point in French internet policies. However, little is known about the dynamics that made such a statement possible. Based on interviews and personal archive of key actors, this paper offers to investigate the administrative and political processes that enabled such a change of position at the highest level of the State. While the role played by civil servants or government officials in promoting the development of the Internet in France has often been overlooked in internet histories, we offer new insight on the political work and administrative mobilizations that contributed to the diffusion of internet solutions and more broadly, to the advent of a digital revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptability is currently one of the most challenging research topics. The Department of Factory Planning and Factory Management of Chemnitz University of Technology developed the Experimental and Digital Factory in which building blocks for adaptable factory systems are integrated. Hence, a powerful model factory is available for research on adaptability. The focus among others is on the continuous interaction between factory planning and factory operation. This includes an extensive interchange and processing of information between the virtual and the real factory. The rapid implementation and verification of planning results in the real environment is enabled by holistic application and integration of different methods and tools of the Digital Factory. The paper explains a concept for adaptable factory systems and the interplay of planning and operation. The approaches are demonstrated on the use case of combined planning of layout and logistics with subsequent realisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the geography of innovation networks and analyses combinatorial knowledge dynamics from a single cluster perspective. Addressing firms in the media cluster in Bergen, Norway, we examine how and from where companies acquire and combine different types of knowledge for their innovation activities. The empirical analysis, which is based on structured interviews with 22 media companies, identifies two main types of cluster firms: media content providers that rely heavily on symbolic knowledge and media technology providers that draw mostly on synthetic knowledge. Even though they draw on different knowledge bases, the two types of firms are strongly interlinked in their innovation activities and source knowledge from each other. Furthermore, we find that synthetic firms constitute a gateway to the regional R&D system and that the region acts as key arena for the combination of dissimilar knowledge bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EPOS is an established and rapidly growing feature of the UK retail scene with a wide range of potential impacts across the whole value chain. This paper focuses upon the more immediate impact of EPOS on the marketing strategies of retailers and their suppliers and on the retailer-supplier relationship. Emphasis is given lo the potential which EPOS presents for the development of new approaches to channel co-operation and for the building of new patterns of strategic alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing importance of information technology (IT) services in the global economy prompts researchers in the field of information systems (IS) to give special attention to the foundations of managerial and technical knowledge in this emerging arena of knowledge. Already we have seen the computer science discipline embrace the challenges of finding new directions in design science toward making services-oriented computing approaches more effective, setting the stage for the development of a new science--service science, management, and engineering (SSME). This paper addresses the issues from the point of view of service science as a fundamental area for IS research. We propose a robust framework for evaluating the research on service science, and the likely outcomes and new directions that we expect to see in the coming decade. We emphasize the multiple roles of producers and consumers of services-oriented technology innovations, as well as value-adding seller intermediaries and systems integrators, and standards organizations, user groups, and regulators as monitors. The analysis is cast in multidisciplinary terms, including computer science and IS, economics and finance, marketing, and operations and supply chain management. Evaluating the accomplishments and opportunities for research related to the SSME perspective through a robust framework enables in-depth assessment in the present, as well as an ongoing evaluation of new knowledge in this area, and the advancement of the related management practice capabilities to improve IT services in organizations. INSETS: Text Box 1. An Example: SaaS, ASPs, and CRM;Text Box 2. The Services-as-Art Perspective on Service Science.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, distance students have completed their re- search in an electronic environment and off-campus librarians have strived to meet the needs of these students using a variety of methods. Today our students are familiar with the Web as a medium of interaction, and library usage has changed as a result of electronic services on the Internet. Given the dramatic increase in usage of our Off-Campus Library Services' Web site, a survey was conducted to determine whether the content of the site and the services offered were simple and useful to our users. This paper presents the results of the survey as well as a discussion of the changes to the site as a result of feedback from students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the economy in most countries. With the opening up of the economy, it is crucial that SMEs continuously improve their competitiveness to assert themselves in the global market. There is also a greater need for information integration in SMEs that lack the financial resources and business resilience of large enterprises. This research paper presents the development process of an effective decision-support framework for adopting integrated information systems within SMEs. The methodology comprises 11 steps, such as identifying information systems-related business problems, forming a project team, and assessing legacy systems and software vendors. The development process of the decision-support methodology has passed through four major stages: identifying the required specification of the methodology, selection and justification of the most suitable delivery medium, creating and evaluating a pilot version of the methodology, and developing the final decision-support methodology and the workbook in which it is embodied. An evaluation of the methodology concluded that it would help to improve the outcome of an integrated systems project by providing motivation, saving time, reducing risks, and assisting with decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay discusses Internet reference works for Asian Studies. Internet reference works are difficult to delimit, since the new formats and functions of the internet have created new genres. Subject guides and directories do not qualify as reference sources, but the characterization of other forms of information on the Internet is still vague. The standards for evaluating Internet sources are also still in flux. Nonetheless, using a rule of thumb definition, a select number of Internet resources for Asian Studies are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the benefits of adopting an experiential and integrated approach to marketing education on a first year undergraduate programme through the development of a simulation. It is demonstrated that embedding the simulation in the learning process and encouraging students to reflect on a series of assessment activities has enabled them to gain better insights into the skills and knowledge required to plan the opening of a new retail outlet. The skills and knowledge expected of new marketers, as outlined by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, were used in the design of the learning activities and it is shown how a blended approach has enriched the student experience and enabled the teaching team to meet all of the CIM's 'asset requirements'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a WWW (World Wide Web) based integrated product development platform for intelligent concurrent design and manufacturing of sheet metal parts. In order to achieve this platform, several major modules are discussed. These modules mainly include the structure of the WWW-based integrated product development platform, an information integration framework, a RTCAPP (real time computer aided process planning) module, a customer interface module, and a design/manufacturing knowledge-based module for supporting product design and manufacturing. This paper gives the structure of the information integration framework for concurrent design and manufacturing of sheet metal parts. An information integration framework, called 'step structure information framework' is proposed. The principles, called 'zero thickness and zero bend radius' are put forward, which can be used to abstract the geometric entities of sheet metal parts in order to facilitate product design and modelling. Finally, case studies are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, a second generation of computer-based reengineering tools employs knowledge systems technology to automate and support key intellectual activities required for effective process redesign. But a central question remains as to the effectiveness of redesign through such knowledge systems. The research described in this paper is focused on testing the effectiveness of knowledge-based, process-redesign systems. We employ one such system, called "KOPeR-lite," as a platform for experimentation to assess the relative efficacy of redesigns generated by computer versus those developed by people. In this sense, we conduct a modified Turing Test to compare redesign performance of reengineering analysts with that of the knowledge system. KOPeR-lite performs comparatively well in certain respects, but human subjects outperform the machine in others. The results provide evidence to support claims of redesign efficacy through knowledge systems, and they offer insight into the relative strengths and weaknesses of people and software applications in the reengineering domain. This study further opens up new lines of research and highlights implications for process redesign and practice, including issues associated with leading adoption of knowledge system technology and extension of redesign automation systems such as KOPeR-lite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offers suggestions several functions and uses of the Internet for writing college-level term papers. Introduction to term-paper writing; Details on the function of the Internet; Opportunities provided by the Internet. INSETS: Internet Services;GeoRef.

This paper examines how the roles of language, culture, and translation could be modelled within a framework of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) used in disasters. It is based on empirical data drawn from a case study of foreign nationals resident in Japan for the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The case study revealed that the ICT used in the 2011 disaster was diverse; that interesting relationships existed between the forms of ICT used; that the use of this ICT varied across time, space, and user; and that translation in the disaster was a highly-contextual process of written and oral interlingual and intercultural transfer carried out mostly by volunteers. These findings have been combined in the paper with concepts taken from ecosystems theory in the study of ecology to propose a model of an ICT ecosystem in a disaster setting. The model describes and explains the forces and factors that come together to create the environment in which ICT is used by human actors during a disaster; namely information circulation, power, network capacity, infrastructure, location, income, language, and culture. The model also explains how translation can be conceptualised as a subsidy to assist the central force driving the system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In English as a second language (ESL) writing pedagogy, much attention has been given to electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) assessment via social networking sites. However, little is known about how Facebook can be used as an e-portfolio platform. Hence, this paper describes the impact of Facebook-based e-portfolio on ESL students’ writing practices and the challenges they encountered in implementing this type of e-portfolio. For this purpose, 171 first-year university students completed a 15-item self-report questionnaire and provided details on the problems they encountered during the e-portfolio implementation. Results indicate that Facebook-based e-portfolio had a positive impact on students’ writing practices, making it a viable tool for e-portfolio assessment. Nevertheless, some challenges and suggestions for future implementation were reported. The paper concludes with implications for writing assessment practices and future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) is an important approach to analyse spatial distribution of point features and linear features over 2-D planar space. Some network-based KDE methods have been developed in recent years, which focus on estimating density distribution of point events over 1-D network space. However, the existing KDE methods are not appropriate for analysing the distribution characteristics of certain kind of features or events, such as traffic jams, queue at intersections and taxi carrying passenger events. These events occur and distribute in 1-D road network space, and present a continuous linear distribution along network. This paper presents a novel Network Kernel Density Estimation method for Linear features (NKDE-L) to analyse the space–time distribution characteristics of linear features over 1-D network space. We first analyse the density distribution of each linear feature along networks, then estimate the density distribution for the whole network space in terms of the network distance and network topology. In the case study, we apply the NKDE-L to analyse the space–time dynamics of taxis’ pick-up events, with real road network and taxi trace data in Wuhan. Taxis’ pick-up events are defined and extracted as linear events (LE) in this paper. We first conduct a space–time statistics of pick-upLEin different temporal granularities. Then we analyse the space–time density distribution of the pick-up events in the road network using the NKDE-L, and uncover some dynamic patterns of people’s activities and traffic condition. In addition, we compare the NKDE-L with quadrat method and planar KDE. The comparison results prove the advantages of the NKDE-L in analysing spatial distribution patterns of linear features in network space. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As student evaluation of teaching (SET) instruments are increasingly administered online, research has found that the response rates have dropped significantly. Validity concerns have necessitated research that explores student motivation for completing SETs. This study uses Vroom's [(1964).Work and motivation(3rd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons] expectancy theory to frame student focus group responses regarding their motivations for completing and not completing paper and online SETs. Results show that students consider the following outcomes when deciding whether to complete SETs: (a) course improvement, (b) appropriate instructor tenure and promotion, (c) accurate instructor ratings are available to students, (d) spending reasonable amount of time on SETs, (e) retaining anonymity, (f) avoiding social scrutiny, (g) earning points and releasing grades, and (h) being a good university citizen. Results show that the lower online response rate is largely due to students’ differing feelings of obligation in the 2 formats. Students also noted that in certain situations, students often answer SETs insincerely. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the experiences of Filipino workers recruited for technology and communications work by international aid agencies involved in the Typhoon Haiyan response. Filipino workers, many of whom were personally coping with the social and economic impact of this disaster, were hired on short-term contracts to test and implement various digital humanitarian innovations such as feedback and hazard mapping technological platforms. These workers were doubly marginalized: first, as tech workers whose work was viewed by aid officers on the ground as less substantial than that of food or shelter programs; and second, as local voices often drowned out by national and international colleagues. Moving beyond the usual figure of the cosmopolitan and adventure-seeking Western humanitarian acting on distant suffering, this paper draws attention to local aid workers’ aspirations for personal and professional mobility as they seize novel opportunities opened up by the digital humanitarian agenda. It outlines how the digital humanitarian project’s ambition to facilitate the inclusion of disaster-affected communities is fundamentally undermined by labor arrangements that doubly marginalize local aid workers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Given the vast and still growing availability of electronic documents from around the world, it is becoming increasingly important for managers of the information systems on which these documents are stored to sort or tag these documents so that their end users can most readily access those documents that are of most interest and use to them, which in our context means in a language they can understand. Linguini is a vectorspace-based categorizer tailored for high-precision language identification. This paper determines the functional dependencies of Linguini's performance and demonstrates that it can identify the language of documents as short as 5 to 10 percent of the size of average Web documents with 100 percent accuracy. It also describes how to determine if a document is in two or more languages, without incurring any appreciable extra computational overhead. This approach can be applied equally to subject-categorization systems to distinguish between cases where, when the system recommends two or more categories, the document belongs strongly to all or really to none. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many benchmarking initiatives are driven by an academic or government desire to understand the position of industry sectors relative to each other or to those of other nations. In contrast, for managers striving to compete and drive their businesses forward, this generalised approach is secondary to their need for tools which are applicable in their own company and which give them direct benefits. Observing that benchmarking has proved very powerful in manufacturing, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) invested in research to establish a similar approach in marketing. Benchmarking was defined as a system which incorporates three essential elements: measurement, processes, and a defined, measured, aspirational 'benchmark.' This paper describes a unique benchmarking tool designed specifically for marketing processes (CIMBA), developed by the CIM. It enables both marketers and senior executives in non-marketing functions to identify the role of marketing in their organisation and to measure the processes which convert marketing strategy into reality. The system is driven by a model of best practice, tailored to each organisation's situation through their particular critical success factors. Analysis is software-based to provide easy manipulations of the data. CIMBA provides the measurements and the means to broker partnerships between carefully matched companies, even across sectors, if they have gone through a CIMBA assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information that the websites featured in this column are free online tools that can help facilitate different aspects of collaboration whereas some focus on communicating with teammates in a structured, organized, and searchable way. It also discusses that the Public Services Quarterly Internet Resources Column is designed to be a clearinghouse for free, online websites.

Although overweight and obese individuals are turning to Internet communities for social support for weight loss, there is no validated online instrument for measuring the subjective social support experiences of participants in these communities. The authors' objective was to determine whether an online version of a validated paper questionnaire, the Weight Management Support Inventory, is appropriate for measuring social support among members of Internet weight loss communities. The authors administered the paper and online versions of the questionnaire in random, counterbalanced fashion to 199 members of a large Internet weight loss community. Scores for the paper and online versions were comparable in between-subjects and within-subjects comparisons. Convergent validity is suggested by the finding that participants who posted messages on Internet forums several times per day reported more social support than those who posted less frequently. However, the instrumental (tangible) support items did not load significantly on the instrumental support factor, suggesting that instrumental support is not relevant to the social support exchanged among participants in these communities. The authors conclude that the online, modified Weight Management Support Inventory, without items for instrumental support, is an appropriate instrument for measuring social support for weight loss among members of Internet weight loss communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geoportals have been widely implemented by national spatial data infrastructures (NSDI) to provide users with the ability to search for geospatial resources over the Internet. This paper proposes an approach that can improve the functionalities of the conventional geoportals by adding recommendation capabilities to the execution mechanisms of geoportals. The geoportals with recommendation capability are able to analyse users' activities and recommend geospatial resources to users based on their desires and preferences. A hybrid recommendation mechanism based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) method is developed to provide required prediction and recommendation capabilities. Spatial attributes of geospatial resources along with users' characteristics are utilised to improve the quality of the recommendations. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed approach, a prototype system was developed and implemented. The results show that the recommender geoportal can relatively predict users' desires and preferences and provide them with useful geospatial resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online petitions are an important feature of contemporary political engagement in advanced democracies. In this paper we report on a unique data set - covering a five year period and over 17,000 petitions - documenting the development of the Change.org platform in Australia. Australia presents an interesting case as, until very recently, there was no national government hosted online petition site. Our analysis results in three findings that advance scholarship on online petitions. First, we find the majority of petitions are in fact targeted at government, and that their issue area is of a political nature. Second, we find that most signers of petitions sign a single petition - they are not serial participants. Finally, we show that ‘super users’ of the online petition system engage broadly as well as often. Together these findings demonstrate that online petition creation and signing - even on commercial platforms - is a distinct and important part of citizen engagement in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national e-health systems implemented in Serbia as ”MojDoktor” (MyDoctor) and in Macedonia as ”MojTermin” (MyAppointment) are based on the same integrated health information platform. Its architecture was designed to allow for process oriented development with agile methodologies. This methodology allowed for fast deployment and adoption, but a change in the architecture to a more formal approach is required to assure its extensibility, soundness, interoperability and standardization. In this paper, we propose a formalization of the system design and its implementation as a Model Driven Architecture®. We develop a set of formal models on several abstraction levels and explain how different layers of the MDA framework are covered using them. We also propose a model for data transformations that will provide interfaces for interoperability between an external and our system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision support systems (DSS) are becoming popular computer information system tools to assist in resolving strategic business problems. This paper reports the results of a laboratory study investigating the usefulness of DSS features for marketing problem solving. Marketers perceived DSS model interrogation features as most useful during decision making. Simulation capabilities and features enabling probabilistic specification of problem variables were considered least useful. Study results suggest that model building and decision training be included when introducing a DSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the traditions of Himalayan book-making from manuscript through xylograph printing. Current projects involving scanning and digitization of sacred texts, developments of digital Tibetan fonts, print on demand texts in pothi format, and new Tibetan libraries and preservation projects show the rich and varied history of the book in Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including anatomised computer-assisted language learning, use of the Writing Portal online writing platform by language students, and teaching English language to Korean students.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including information system development, co-creation of value by customers such as product reviews, and the development of digital supply chain systems.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of using an online educational resource that presents research-informed strategies for women's pleasure, OMGyes.com, as a resource to empower women to broaden the ways in which they understand, advocate for, and enjoy sexual pleasure. A cohort of 870 adult women was given access to OMGyes.com and asked to explore the resource over a four-week period and complete online pre/post questionnaires. Participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the relatability, usefulness, and functionality of OMGyes.com. We observed statistically significant, large effect size increases in participants' knowledge about their own pleasure preferences, their confidence and positivity about that knowledge, as well as how pleasurable their sexual experiences were during both masturbation and partner sex. Many participants reported that after using OMGyes.com they felt more motivated to explore their preferences and more confident to explain their preferences to their partners. Our data suggest that OMGyes.com may be useful for positively impacting how women think about sexual pleasure, how they understand their own specific preferences, how they advocate for what they enjoy with partners, and how they actually experience pleasure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented to articles within the issue on the theme of Muslims in Western countries with topics, including the role of whiteness in white converts to Islam, the impact of Muslims on the political culture of Leicester, England and online Islamophobia.

Laboratories are generally regarded as critical to engineering education, and yet educational institutions face significant challenges in developing and maintaining high-quality laboratory facilities. Remote laboratories are increasingly being explored as a partial solution to this challenge, with research showing that – for the right learning outcomes – they can be viable adjuncts or alternatives to conventional hands-on laboratories. One consequential opportunity arising from the inherent support for distributed access is the possibility of cross-institutional shared facilities. While both technical feasibility and pedagogic implications of remote laboratories have been well studied within the literature, the organisational and logistical issues associated with shared facilities have received limited consideration. This paper uses an existing national-scale laboratory sharing initiative, along with a related survey and laboratory sharing data, to analyse a range of factors that can affect engagement in laboratory sharing. The paper also discusses the implications for supporting ongoing laboratory sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Geographic information system (GIS) users rely heavily on the versatile operations of GIS software and the abundant variety of geospatial data from different resources to satisfy their application requirements. However, the convenient use of GIS software has resulted in users easily ignoring the threat of data misuse because of the lack of understanding of data quality. Here we argue that data quality considerations must be coherently assimilated into the GIS operation design to visually present helpful information and ensure the accuracy of data for decision making. Data completeness is selected in this paper to demonstrate how the use of data quality information opens a new dimension to the design of future GIS software. We propose a new model for the representation, analysis, and visualization of data completeness information. With the brand new quantitative measures and informative visual approach, understanding of the data completeness of the illustrated contents in the map interface is enhanced, and inappropriate dataset selection can be effectively prevented. Thus, this paper presents an innovative, integrated and geospatial concept of future GIS operation design, where users are constantly aware of the continuously changing status of data quality based on formalized and quantitative data quality theories. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article considers the use of filtering software ("censorware") and the World Wide Web. It argues that the United States government, religious groups, and corporations should not deter freedom of speech and access to information in libraries. The article describes how governments and religious groups try to prevent Web sites from reaching Internet users, and explains how corporations sell and use filters for their own benefit. It also introduces organizations that rate Web sites as an alternative to electronic filters, and presents people and groups that oppose filtering. In conclusion, it supports the idea that librarians and information professionals can educate Internet users without the interference of external entities and censorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern logistics takes significant progress and rapid developments with the prosperity of E-commerce, particularly in China. Typical challenges that logistics industry is facing now are composed by a lack of sharing, standard, cost-effective and environmental package and efficient optimisation method for logistics tasks distribution. As a result, it is difficult to implement green, sustainable logistics services. Three important technologies, Physical Internet (PI), product–service system (PSS) and cloud computing (CC), are adopted and developed to address the above issues. PI is extended to design a world-standard green recyclable smart box that is used to encapsulate goods. Smart box-enabled PSS is constructed to provide an innovative sustainable green logistics service, and high-quality packaging, as well as reduce logistics cost and environmental pollution. A real-time information-driven logistics tasks optimisation method is constructed by designing a cloud logistics platform based on CC. On this platform, a hierarchical tree-structure network for customer orders (COs) is built up to achieve the order-box matching of function. Then, a distance clustering analysis algorithm is presented to group and form the optimal clustering results for all COs, and a real-time information-driven optimisation method for logistics orders is proposed to minimise the unused volume of containers. Finally, a case study is simulated to demonstrate the efficiency and feasibility of proposed cloud logistics optimisation method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Discusses the effect that efforts to enhance the authority and uniqueness of humanities information available on the World Wide Web are having for scholars and librarians and identifies some of the most important Web resources in the area of English and American literature. Electronic lists; Meta-sites; Literary period sites; Theory, cultural studies, and postcolonialism.