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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.

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.

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)

This research aims to find the demographics of Singapore architectures, whether they are using the CAD software, whether they are using the latest software Internet tools and what are the problems that architects are facing. Master of Science (Information Studies)