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We conducted an exploratory study of the links found in Twitter tweets. Our results showed that the largest category of tweet links was social media platforms followed by alternative news sites. Government agencies and educational institutions were under-represented. In terms of relevance, about 75% of the links were related to COVID-19 but disappointingly, only 40% of the links were directly related to their respective tweets' topics.

Mixed reality technologies have the potential to provide students with an effective learning experience by bridging the gap between the digital and physical world. Mixed reality enables the user to see their real-world surroundings with virtual features overlayed in order to create a digitally enhanced experience. As we strategically move towards large-scale integration of mixed reality technologies to maximize the learning affordances in the future, there is a need to understand the drivers of and barriers to students’ learning in a mixed reality environment. We present in this paper a multi-site case study to evaluate the feedback from 223 students on their learning experiences after using Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed reality device, in their classroom. While we found that interactivity, immersion, and presence are the main drivers, the key barriers identified were difficulty using the device, accessibility issues, and the lack of flexibility. Affordances and fatigue are the two themes that evolved in this study. We recommend three design principles that will contribute toward designing mixed reality technologies to effectively build new embodied learning environments.

Populating information-rich online environments through crowdsourcing is increasingly becoming popular. One approach to motivate participation is via games. That is, a crowdsourcing game offers entertainment while generating useful outputs as byproducts of gameplay. A gap in current research is that actual usage patterns of crowdsourcing games have not been investigated thoroughly. We thus compare content creation patterns in a game for crowdsourcing mobile content against a non-game version. Our analysis of 3,323 contributions in both apps reveal 10 categories including those that conform to the traditional notion of mobile content created to describe locations of interest, and those that are social in nature. We contend that both types of content are potentially useful as they meet different needs. Further, the distribution of categories varied across the apps suggests that games shape behavior differently from non-game-based approaches to crowdsourcing. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

Digital game-based learning has grown rapidly in recent years, including in information literacy (IL) education. However, many efforts have failed because users are not involved in the design process. The present study adopts a user-centered design approach to evaluate an educational IL game prototype, with data analyzed based on Pedagogical Playability Heuristics. Accepted version

Human computation games (HCGs) are applications that leverage games to solve computational problems that are out reach of the capacity of computers. Game aesthetics are critical for HCG acceptance, and the game elements should motivate users to contribute time and effort. In this paper, we examine the effect of aesthetic experience on intention to use HCGs. A between-subjects experiment was conducted to compare a HCG and a human computation system (HCS). Results demonstrated that HCGs provided a greater sense of aesthetic experience and attracted more intentional usage than HCSs. Implications of this study are discussed. Accepted version

Human Computation Games (HCGs) harness human intelligence through games to address computational problems. Collaboration and competition have emerged as the most commonly used HCG genres. Yet, little research has examined the effects of such genres on players’ perceptions. Through an experimental study with 95 participants, this study investigates the effects of collaboration and competition on perceived enjoyment and output quality in mobile content sharing HCGs. The findings suggest that competition yielded better perception of output accuracy than collaboration. However, players derived more behavioral enjoyment from collaboration than competition in HCGs. The implications of these findings are discussed. Accepted version

This paper examines the unique characteristics of 'fatigue' in the context of use of social networks to stay socially connected. Guided by literature on 'fatigue' from within the domains of clinical and occupational studies, the paper uses a combination of in-depth interviews and individual activity logs gathered from members of a selected Facebook community to investigate social network fatigue. Characteristics of the phenomenon are culled from individual user experiences giving rise to negative emotions and/ or a change in activity patterns in the course of use of social networks, so as to derive a working definition of fatigue in the context.

This study explores the reason for non-usage and abandonment of microblogging. While previous studies mainly focused on individual behaviors associated with the use of social media, this research identifies why people do not use, or terminate their microblogging accounts. Studying the reasons for non-usage and abandonment is important as it helps organizations devise strategies to counteract this behavior by addressing nonusers' concerns. First, focus group interviews were conducted to uncover non-usage reasons. The elicited reasons were then used to construct a survey instrument and administered. Our results suggests that preference for other technologies, privacy concern and time constraints are the top three reasons contributing to the non-use and abandonment of microblogging accounts. The paper also proposes potential improvements to microblogs to attract more users. Published version

We introduce Indagator (Latin for explorer), an application which incorporates multiplayer, pervasive gaming elements into mobile content sharing. Indagator allows users to annotate real world locations with multimedia content, and concurrently, provides opportunities for play through engaging interactive game elements. A study of Indagator was conducted to obtain usability feedback, and to examine the impact of the usability of its content sharing and gaming features on participants’ intention to use it. Participants used the software to complete a set of tasks and subsequently completed a questionnaire and attended an interview, both of which were to elicit their opinions on the usability of the system. Participants felt that the features in Indagator were able to support the objectives of content sharing and gaming, and that idea of gaming could be a motivator for content sharing. In terms of intention to use, usability of Indagator’s gaming features emerged as significant predictors. Published version

Location-based information can now be easily accessed on mobile devices and is commonly presented in the form of lists of items, maps and more recently, augmented reality (AR). Each approach (list, map, AR) has its strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we investigate the three approaches for searching and browsing location-based information, taking into account performance and users’ perceptions of usability. Participants were issued with Android smartphones pre-loaded with a specific interface and performed a set of browsing and searching tasks. Results suggest that all three interfaces performed similarly for search tasks, but for browsing, the map performed worst. In terms of usability, participants appeared to rate the list better than the other interfaces for presentation location-based information. Accepted version

Social bookmarking or tagging is the process of assigning and sharing among users, freely selected terms to resources. This approach is a form of user-generated metadata and allows users to locate new resources through the collective intelligence of other users. Social tagging offers a new avenue for resource discovery as compared to taxonomies and subject directories created by experts. While social tagging has its advantages, one possible drawback is that tag creators, who come with different preferences, experiences, and beliefs, among other factors, may view the same document differently and therefore apply different tags even though they may have the same goal of content organization and sharing. In this paper, we argue that familiarity is an important issue to be investigated in social tagging systems, and our goal is to examine the influence of the level of familiarity with social tagging on the effectiveness of tags for content sharing. We found that high familiarity with the concept of tagging, Web directories, and social tagging systems are significantly and positively associated with high tag effectiveness for content sharing. Implications of our findings and opportunities for future work are discussed.

The design, implementation and evaluation of a multi-document summarization system for sociology dissertation abstracts are described. The system focuses on extracting variables and their relationships from different documents, integrating the extracted information, and presenting the integrated information using a variable-based framework. Two important summarization steps – information extraction and information integration were evaluated by comparing system-generated output against human-generated output. Results indicate that the system-generated output achieves good precision and recall while extracting important concepts from each document, as well as good clusters of similar concepts from the set of documents. Accepted version

Personalized project space is an important feature in G-Portal to support learning activities. Users in G-Portal are assigned unique usernames and can be members of one or more groups. Within a personalized project space, an owner user can create, delete, and organise metadata referencing learning objects on the Web. Browsing metadata and querying them are among the functions provided to access the metadata. New metadata schemas can be added to a personalized project to accommodate metadata of diverse attribute sets. This paper also presents the “copy-and-paste” approach for users to easily share metadata across different projects, and a personal project viewer to support offline viewing of personalized project content. Accepted version

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for creative information seeking drawing upon Weisberg’s argument that creativity exists in everyone, and mapping the creative process described in the holistic model of creativity to the information seeking activities identified in the behavioural model of information seeking. Using scenarios of information seeking behaviour, mappings between the creative process and the information seeking activities were refined and six stages for creative information seeking were proposed. These scenarios were also used to provide theoretical justifications for each stage in creative information seeking. Evidence gathered from the scenarios seemed to indicate that the type of information seeking task may have an impact on the extent to which the information seeker exhibits all stages in the framework. This is on-going research. Part II of this paper aims to conduct empirical studies and gather evidence to verify the framework and examine this observation in more detail. Published version

Educational applications that run on mobile devices are fast emerging, supporting a variety of learning activities. Yet one crucial area that has received little attention to date involves the learning styles of users and whether these affect their rate of learning. This paper describes the design and development of Visuo-Spatial Pad (VSPad), an application running on mobile devices that helps people remember lists of keywords better using their visual, spatial and auditory strengths. VSPad uses the number keypad structure of mobile phones for learners to remember the starting letters of keywords. Learners highlight letters that the keywords start with and whenever a list needs to be recalled, they simply retrace the way their fingers moved. Letters are associated with unique tones, helping auditory learners as well. The VSPad is also network-enabled, allowing keyword lists to be shared among learners. Accepted version

GeogDL is a digital library of geography examination resources designed to assist students in preparing for a national geography examination in Singapore. We describe an interactive learning environment built into GeogDL that consists of four major components. The practice and review module allows students to attempt individual examination questions, the mock exam provides a simulation of the actual geography examination, the trends analysis tool provides an overview of the types of questions asked in previous examinations, while the contributions module allows students and teachers to create and share knowledge within the digital library. Published version

Heterogeneity and a lack of central control over the organization of Web information have led to great difficulties in processing them automatically. To overcome the difficulties, one attempts to add meta-data to Web pages and this is known as Web Annotation. Ontology-based Heterogeneity and a lack of central control over the organization of Web information have led to great difficulties in processing them automatically. To overcome the difficulties, one attempts to add meta-data to Web pages and this is known as Web Annotation. Ontology-based Web Annotation is a recent but promising area which enhances conventional Web Annotations by incorporating ontology with pre-defined semantic structures. The resulting annotations are useful not only for navigating Web information from diverse sources but also for improving information retrieval and classification. In this paper, we survey the different Ontology-based Web annotation methods in order to provide an organized view on the existing state-of-the-art, to identify potential areas of research, and to discuss promising ways of enhancing Ontology-based Web Annotation.semantic structures. The resulting annotations are useful not only for navigating Web information from diverse sources but also for improving information retrieval and classification. In this paper, we survey the dif- ferent Ontology-based Web annotation methods in order to provide an organized view on the existing state-of-the-art, to identify potential areas of research, and to discuss promising ways of enhancing Ontology-based Web Annotation. Accepted version

In this study, we investigated the use of decision tree induction to parse the macro-level discourse structure of sociology dissertation abstracts. We treated discourse parsing as a sentence categorization task. The attributes used in constructing the decision tree models were stemmed words that occurred in at least 35 sentences (out of 3694 sentences in 300 sample abstracts). Sentence location information was also used. The model obtained an accuracy rate of 71.3% when applied to a test sample of 100 abstracts. Another model that made use of information regarding the presence of 31 indicator words in neighboring sentences was also developed. Although this model did not obtain better results, a comparison of the two models suggests that an improvement in the classification of sentences in problem statement and research method section is possible by combining the models. Published version

For digital libraries to remain relevant in the new millennium where the ability to manage knowledge is critical, this paper explores how digital libraries could strategically be evolved into knowledge portals to encapsulate knowledge creation, management, sharing and reusability, features evidently lacking in most conventional digital libraries. Two digital library scenarios of use in education are described and implemented as knowledge portals using G-Portal and the Greenstone software. We hope that the initial work carried out on these two portal-like DLs will eventually form part of a Global Knowledge Portal for Secondary Schools in Singapore. Accepted version

This paper describes the engagement of intergenerational partners in the design of a digital library of geographical resources (GeogDL) to prepare Singapore students to take a national examination in geography. GeogDL is built on top of G-Portal, a digital library providing services over geospatial and georeferenced Web content. Scenario-based design and claims analysis were employed as a means of refinement to the initial design of the GeogDL prototype. Accepted version

In this demonstration, we introduce SPLASH ( Seek, PLAy, SHare), a mobile application which blends gaming with content sharing and socializing activities. SPLASH is a human computation game that generates location-based content as a byproduct of gameplay. The entertainment derived from gameplay is harnessed to motivate users to contribute content. A detailed description of the features in SPLASH and its distinctive characteristics will also be presented. Accepted version

Implementation of a web-based user interface for displaying images with embedded geographical information. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Our study hypothesizes that incorporating linguistic knowledge and domain knowledge into query clustering can improve to some extent the quality of query clusters. In our research, we used a database of six month’s worth of query log from the Nanyang Technological University digital library. Using the Wordnet lexical database, each query term in the query log was replaced with corresponding synonym synsets. These synonym synsets are identified as features which are different from the contentbased approach where features are constructed from the query terms. The synsets were weighted to reflect their importance in a query and similarities between pairs of queries computed using the cosine similarity measure. Our clustering algorithm placed two queries in the same cluster whenever the similarity between them exceeded a certain threshold. In this way, clusters were created for four different thresholds to facilitate comparison between them. The quality of the clusters were evaluated using five different performance measures of average cluster size, coverage, precision, recall and the F-measure against the judgments of two human evaluators on a sample of clusters. A comparison of the current study and previous study conducted by Chandrani (2004) show that the performance measures were lower at all the four thresholds in terms of coverage, precision, recall and F-measure. We identified two key reasons for the lower values in these performance measures due to the additional preprocessing that reduced the query log size and also the clusters formed were mainly engineering related subjects. The evaluation is further extended to incorporate domain knowledge element into the evaluators. The three performance measures were computed in terms of the average cluster size, coverage and precision and the results were compared with the current study and the previous study conducted by Chandrani (2004). Overall, there is an improvement in terms of precision contributed by the importance of domain knowledge of the evaluators. We propose that further preprocessing and finding ways to extract the elements of domain knowledge to feed into the clustering process can significantly improve the precision, which is left as future work. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The purpose of this dissertation is to study, explore and design a user interface that is conducive for the management of geocoded images in a map-centric environment. A prototype application was implemented and evaluated as part of the study. Experiences and findings will be also be shared and discussed. Master of Science (Information Studies)

People are constantly searching for information. Information is very important to every aspect of the society. Library, being the repository of information since the early days, is sought after by many users in search of different types of information and materials. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is paramount to the users in order to access the huge resources resided in the library. The needs for OPAC to evolve towards the users’ demand for ease and effective search are not to be ignored by libraries, as there is a host of Web-search engines and commercial databases readily available. Providing effective information access and gateway for library users is one of the National Library Board (NLB) goals. In order to assess the usefulness and usability of the available search solutions in the industry on accessing a plethora of resources, a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) is mooted to find and establish whether they are able to fit into the library users’ information search and discovery requirements. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The objective of this project is to design and develop an expert locator prototype for Culture360 portal. The expert locator aims to serve as an effective automated aid towards locating experts for information and expert consultation in the artistic and cultural fields. It consists of an expert directory with detailed display of expert profiles, a feature that enables members to contact the expert directly from the expert locator, rating mechanism to enable members to rate and provide feedback on the expert, administrative features to invite expert participation, moderate and approve member’s feedback on the expert before posting on the website. The system is developed using DotNetNuke framework. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the usefulness of the collaborative querying interfaces. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The study of information seeking behavior reveals that collaboration with other people is an important part in the process of information seeking and use, especially in the initial phase of query formulation. Given this idea, collaborative querying aims to support collaboration among people during the process of query formulation when they search for information on the Web, digital libraries or other information-rich environments. Put differently, collaborative querying helps users formulate queries to an information retrieval system by sharing expert knowledge or other users' search experiences with each other. Doctor of Philosophy (SCI)

This thesis is about design and development of a pre-processing application for query logs. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This dissertation aims to implement an online learning community on GeogDL, a Web-based geography digital library. A prototype of online chat and discussion forum was developed for this project using object-oriented methodology. A small-scale evaluation was conducted to examine the usability of the system. In addition, both positive and negative feedback were also gathered. Master of Science (Information Studies)

To design and implement an Information Retrieval Portal, which serves as a web-based source code sharing repository and information management environment for both students and academic staff to share knowledge in the field of information retrieval. The portal was implemented using Jetspeed, which is an open source project from the Apache Software Foundation. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This dissertation proposes an extended K-means query clustering approach to cluster user queries utilizing both query terms and result, i.e. result URL, title and snippet from query result list. Similarities between queries are defined as content-based, results-based and hybrid approach or combination of both content-based and results-based. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Most research in image retrieval focus on devising new techniques to extract relevant image clues through the use of complex algorithms. In this study, a different approach will be taken. Instead of looking at ways to index and extract images, we will look at how a user interface can help to improve the search process. This prototype makes use of textual descriptions to present a simple and logical way in retrieving images. In addition, this study also looks into ways to present retrieved results. Research in image retrieval has overlooked the importance of having a user-oriented interface and the presentation of retrieved results. In this study, a web-based client/server prototype for interactive search that allows the users to input and refine their search terms is presented. Once a set of images meeting the users' queries has been identified, the system will dynamically build a virtual environment that allows users to explore and view these images interactively at their own pace. The display of the images exploits VRML technology. This study also includes examining whether the use of desktop virtual reality will help users in lightening their cognitive overheads and provides a better presentation of the retrieved results. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This dissertation analyses the transaction logs of the NTU OPAC system to uncover interesting usage patterns of its users. The results indicate that a high proportion of NTU OPAC users are “Novices” who apply longer query lengths, limited use of Boolean operators and perform more consecutive queries than “Experts”. Master of Science (Knowledge Management)

This study evaluates two algorithms, Support Vector Machine and Bayesian Logistic Regression as applied to an Expertise Recommender System, and compares the results. The expertise area examined is academic research, the information being extracted from faculty web pages of universities world-wide. The study is aimed at the ability of distinguishing subject specialisations within a main subject. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This project designed and developed a Query Graph Visualization System. A small-scale evaluation was conducted to reveal usability issues and measure the performance of the system. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Collaborative search using query clustering helps users make use of others' queries to refine their search. Clustering queries based on their content is not very useful as users tend to use different words to express their information need. Hence, in this study, a thesaurus is used to incorporate linguistic knowledge into query clustering. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This dissertation examines the decay of web references in IS (Information Science) journals. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This study tries to determine the effectiveness of using the CMS in communicating and disseminating course materials to students and identify potential problems in use of the CMS by students. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This study reports on the design and development of a Web-based appointment booking system for the Ma Kuang Medical Group. It was noticed that patients spent more time in the waiting room than in the examining room. In order to reduce patients' waiting time, a Web-based appointment booking system is proposed, which will combine electronic booking with a choice of time, date and location for medical appointments, and is intended primarily for members of the public. Corresponding administration functions are also provided to system administrators. Master of Science (Information Systems)

A prototype of Image Database Preview System (IDPS) is developed. The motivation of this preview system is to develop a supporting feature for querying and browsing in the current working environment of the National Archive of Singapore (NAS) Digital Library project. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This study looks at the effectiveness of customising courseware and software to match the learning styles of the adult user. Information was presented in four perceptual modes: auditory, visual, tactile and kinaesthetic and the subjects were tested on their ability to recall the information. In addition, there were three levels of information presented: nonsensical words, real words and sentence. Master of Science (Information Studies)

Text categorization as part of Text Mining (or Data Mining) methods is used to automate the classification of geography examination questions. It employs machine learning classifiers such as Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machine to categorize examination questions for the topic hierarchies in a Web-based digital library application, GeogDL. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This project examines the benefits of implementing open source content management systems in the context of university education. It provides an insight to the features that are commonly available in commercial and open source content management systems. OpenCms is proposed to help universities achieve a low-cost, yet scalable, mechanism to deal with content. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The project discusses Scalable Vector Graphics as a potentially feasible web solution. An SVG version of the National Archives of Singapore virtual exhibition, Colours in the Wind, was developed and compared against its Flash counterpart. The SVG web project accompanies the printed dissertaion on a CD, also accessible from http://www.ozlya.com/wayangkulit/index.svg. Master of Science (Information Studies)

A Java-XML web application and database (Digital Library) project designed and developed for the National Archives of Singapore to support their public Reference Services. Master of Science (Information Studies)

The objective of this project is to design and implement a source-code sharing portal in the area of Information Retrieval for the Division of Information Studies at Nanyang Technological University. The aim is to allow students, lecturers and researchers in the area of information retrieval to share source code files amongst themselves. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This project proposes a web-based records management database system to replace the existing systems at the National Archives of Singapore (NAS). It is used to capture, store, access, retrieve, and manage large volume of records. Technologies such as Java and Extensible Markup Language (XML) are used to develop the system. Master of Science (Information Studies)

This project describes the development of a Web-based digital library application containing past-year geography examination questions, solutions and supplementary resources to assist students in their preparation for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ level examination in geography. It provides an interactive, non-sequential approach to learning that supplements textbooks. Master of Science (Information Studies)