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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a scientometric and content analysis of the studies in the field of e-learning that were published in five Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals ("Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Computers & Education, British Journal of Educational Technology, Innovations in Education and Teaching International and Educational Technology Research and Development") and two conferences (Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications and IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies) from 2003 to 2008 to realize hidden research trends using an internally built visualization tool. Design/methodology/approach: The 7,759 original papers gathered from five journals and two conferences were further classified in 14 main research areas based on 150 concepts clusters. The internally built visualization tool, which is primarily based on animated bubble chart and pie chart, facilitated the task of analyzing the trends of contributions in the field over the years. Findings: Different research areas that are evolving or diminishing across the globe, most discussed research areas, most prolific researchers, leading institutions and nations. In addition to that these trends have also been analyzed across journals and conferences. Originality/value: The results in this study will allow novice and experienced educators, researchers, policy makers in the field of e-learning to study what kind of different research areas exist and to identify different research trends over the last six years. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

It is our experience that many Web-based training (WBT) systems do not consider the latest advances in teaching or learning paradigms--they simply reflect Web technology. We believe that such a technical approach to building WBT systems has a number of drawbacks, since WBT systems are primarily about teaching and learning, rather than about technology. Thus, WBT systems should actually combine conventional and innovative tools compatible with current Web technology to support well-known, well-tested techniques, and also to enable implementation of new and innovative teaching and learning paradigms in a Web-based environment. Therefore, we built an innovative WBT system called WBT-Master as a Web-based platform supporting a wide range of different teaching and learning paradigms. In this paper, we present a WBT-Master tool that implements the well-known and highly accepted project-based learning paradigm. Further, we present results of the application of this tool in conducting a project-oriented software engineering course attended by more than 200 university students. We also present evaluations of applying WBT-Master within a corporate environment.

Summary: Social networking websites such as Twitter provide a platform where users share their opinions about different news, events, and products. A recent research has identified that 81% of users search online first before purchasing products. Reviews are written in natural language and needs sentiment analysis for opinion extraction. Various approaches have been proposed to perform sentiment classification based on polarity bearing words in reviews such as noun, verb, adverb, and an adjective. Prior researchers have also identified the role of an adverb as a feature. However, impact analysis of adverb forms, are not yet studied and remains an open research area. This study focused on the following tasks: (1) impact of different forms of adverbs that are not studied for sentiment classification; (2) analysis of possible combinations of eight forms that are 255. The different forms are Adverb (RA), Degree Adverbs (RG), Degree Comparative Adverbs (RGR), General Adverbs (RR), General Comparative Adverbs (RRR), Locative Adverbs (RL), Prep. Adverb (RP), and Adverbs of time (RT); (3) comparison with benchmark dataset. Dataset of 5513 tweets is used to evaluate the idea. The findings of this work show that RRR and RR are important polarities bearing words for neutral opinions, RL for positive, and RP for negative opinions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses two major weaknesses of locating rather specific information on the Web. First, to find information for a specific topic is still quite difficult. Second, if located, the degree of reliability of the information is not clear. We explain that much progress has been made concerning the first issue, yet the real issue is never explicitly mentioned: the interaction between a user and the search engine has to be good enough so that the search engine really knows what the user wants. We will discuss a new approach to solve this. Concerning the second aspect, we will show that no serious large-scale attempts have been made to help users judge the reliability of the information found. We propose a set of measures that would change the situation dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Većina postojećih poslužitelja koji nude geografske podatke sadrže brojčane podatke o različitim aspektima. Na rad na novom tipu geografskog poslužitelja potaknula su nas četiri glavna problema: (i) Kako se služiti brojkama kad različite baze podataka predstavljaju različite vrijednosti; (ii) Kako izgraditi velike zbirke slika s detaljnim opisima; (iii) Kako ažurirati informacije koje se brzo mijenjaju kao što su osobe na nekim važnim funkcijama te (iv) Kako opisati zemlje ne samo trivijalnim činjenicama, već tipičnim pričama za te zemlje. U prethodnim smo radovima raspravili i djelomično riješili probleme (i) i (ii). Odlučili smo riješiti (iii), regionalna ažuriranja, povezivanjem s međunarodnim konzorcijem čiji će članovi pomoći ili naći pojedince koji će to učiniti. Problemu (iv), kako stvoriti netrivijalne priče tipične za neku zemlju, pristupili smo ručno (konzorcij je do sada stvorio oko 200 priča) te razvijanjem tehnika za poluautomatsko stvaranje priča, što je tema ovoga rada. Osnovna je ideja bila prvo odrediti skupove pouzdanih poslužitelja koji se mogu razlikovati od regije do regije, izvući „zanimljive činjenice” iz njih i spojiti ih u sirovu verziju izvještaja koja će se obraditi ručno (zato ga nazivamo poluautomatskim). Izdvajanje „zanimljivih činjenica” s internetskih stranica može zvučati teško, no itekako je moguće odrediti heuristike koji će to učiniti, što nikad ne prelazi nekoliko redova za svrhu citiranja. Spomenimo kao primjer jedno vrlo jednostavno pravilo: Traži rečenice sa superlativima! Ako rečenica sadrži riječ kao što je „najveći”, „najviši”, „najimpresivniji” i si., ona vjerojatno sadrži neku zanimljivu činjenicu. S pomoću mašte uspjeli smo odrediti skup takvih pravila. Pokazat ćemo da priče mogu biti potpuno različite: u nekim zemljama dominiraju povijesne činjenice, u drugima ljepota krajolika, u trećima kulturna i ekonomska postignuća, u nekima neobične činjenice koje se odnose na dobitnike Nobelove nagrade, hranu, sport, druge aktivnosti, državne simbole, posebne zakone i si. Dobiveni rezultati mogu se provjeriti traženjem bilo koje zemlje u kategoriji „Posebne informacije” (Special Information) i „Iznenađujuće činjenice” (Surprising Facts). Svi primjeri opisani u ovom radu uzeti su arbitrarno iz skupine od 190 primjera kako bi se prikazalo kako sustav radi. Važno je spomenuti još dvije stvari: (a) riječ je o radnoj verziji koja je već prilično upotrebljiva; (b) osnovne ideje mogu se primijeniti na bilo koje područje. Geografija je izabrana s obzirom na velik broj podataka i interesa za to područje. Ako su naši algoritmi previdjeli neku važu činjenicu, to je manje važno nego da smo primijenili metode na vrste liječenja ili slično tome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing servers providing geographic data tend to offer various numeric data. We started to work on a new type of geographic server, motivated by four major issues: (i) How to handle figures when different databases present different values; (ii) How to build up sizeable collections of pictures with detailed descriptions; (iii) How to update rapidly changing information, such as personnel holding important functions, and (iv) how to describe countries not just by using trivial facts, but stories typical of the country involved. We have discussed and partially resolved issues (i) and (ii) in previous papers; we have decided to deal with (iii), regional updates, by tying in an international consortium whose members would either help themselves or find individuals to do so. It is issue (iv), how to generate non-trivial stories typical of a country, that we decided to tackle both manually (the consortium has by now generated around 200 stories), and by developing techniques for semi-automatic story generation, which is the topic of this paper. The basic idea was first to define sets of reasonably reliable servers that may differ from region to region, to extract "interesting facts" from the servers, and combine them in a raw version of a report that would require some manual cleaning-up (hence: semi-automatic). It may sound difficult to extract " interesting facts" from Web pages, but it is quite possible to define heuristics to do so, never exceeding the few lines allowed for quotation purposes. One very simple rule we adopted was this: 'Look for sentences with superlatives!' If a sentence contains words like " biggest" , " highest" , "most impressive" etc. it is likely to contain an interesting fact. With a little imagination, we have been able to establish a set of such rules. We will show that the stories can be completely different. For some countries, historical facts may dominate; for others, the beauty of landscapes; for others, cultural or economic achievements, and for yet others, unusual facts concerning Nobel Prize winners, food, entertainment, sports, other activities, national symbols, special laws, and so on. The results can be checked on by clicking on any country in the category "Special Information" under "Surprising Facts" . All examples shown in this paper were chosen fairly arbitrarily from over 190 examples, to show that the system is indeed working. There are two points to mention here: (a) it is a work in progress, yet has reached a very useable size; (b) the basic ideas can be applied to any area. The choice of geography was due to the wealth of data and interest in this area, but if our algorithms overlook some important facts, this is less critical than applied to types of medical treatment, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The web has changed the way we do things in a variety of ways. It is not uncommon to associate the term disruptive technologies to the radical changes happening on the web. This paper takes an encompassing view of developments surrounding the web with a particular emphasis on emerging trends and evolving application scenarios. We provide a broad overview of technologies, in revealing directions for emerging developments as well as directions for next-generation developments. This survey paper first reviews aspects of the web growth and its contributing factors such as the expanding landscape of social networks, mass collaborative system capabilities, and eCommunities. We then present concerns relating to the numerous developments, particularly with respect to social and political developments. This paper clearly points out the knowledge gaps and the ensuing dangers arising from the purely commercial perspectives and motivation that is driving the web. By focusing on the trees rather than the forest as a whole, we are in the process of losing ourselves and endangering our future. Subsequently, we explore the implications of current developments in enabling the web to serve as a platform for serious work, in allowing users to focus on creatively shaping of our world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research in Complementary Medicine / Forschende Komplementärmedizin is the property of Karger AG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the rapid penetration of the Web into all areas of society there is also an increasing number of warning voices that the Web is endangering creative work: it encourages plagiarism, the spreading of half-truths, causes loss of memorizing ability, reduces the ability to read complex matters, provides so many distractions that prevent coherent thinking, networks of pseudo-friends eat up valuable productive time, etc. One early target of complaints were search engines with which we "build up a distorted reality", this was followed by researchers who seemed to show the rather negative effects of new (social media) on "reading with understanding", and it has culminated in a number of publications showing negative effects of many aspects of the internet including scathing attacks on e-Learning, like in the German book by Manfred Spitzer on "Digital Dementia: How we make sure that all of us are getting stupid". In this paper we discuss how the Web both supports and stifles creative activities. We report on our experiences, many based on a project that was part of the "Sparkling Science" initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research. We show that some claims can be validated, others are exaggerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, online collaboration tools such as wikis have experienced a tremendous expansion. Their success and popularity is due to their simple and efficient content creation facilities. Moreover, the formatting syntax is basically easy to learn allowing users to easily create and edit web content and thus share knowledge with each other. Despite these advantages, the content creation process is still obscure if authors belong to a computer inexperienced user group. In this paper we present our experiences, challenges, and problems with a specific application of a wiki-based system called the Academia Europaea Information and Communication System. Furthermore, key solutions for bypassing user interaction barriers are discussed throughout this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that people of all walks of life are becoming more and more reliant on a wide-range of easily-available digital content is often called the Copy-Paste Syndrome. It implies the indiscriminate usage of material, i.e. without checking for reliability or a concern for violations of intellectual property rights or plagiarism, a kind of cheating that has become uncomfortably widespread. A holistic approach is required to address this universal problem combining an institutional approach together with the application of viable technologies, rather than aposteriory checks with software of doubtful reliability. This paper describes a learning ecosystem, ICARE, that addresses the Copy-Paste Syndrome by minimizing the possibility for unwanted copy-and-paste situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plagiarism and intellectual property rights (IPR) violations have become a serious concern for many institutions and organizations. The revolutionary development of the Web presents numerous opportunities for such infringements to become even more widespread. This situation creates the risk of introducing a 'culture of mediocrity'. This paper discusses these issues and proposes means of addressing the concerns by applying viable technological solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives a brief overview of current technologies in systems handling encyclopaedic knowledge. Since most of the electronic encyclopaedias currently available are rather static and inflexible, greatly enhanced functionality is introduced that enables users to work more effectively and collaboratively. Users have the ability, for instance, to add annotations to every kind of object and can have private and shared workspaces. The techniques described employ user profiles in order to adapt to users and involve statistical analysis to improve search results. Moreover, a tracking and navigation mechanism based on trails is presented. The second part of the paper details community building around encyclopaedic knowledge with the aim to involve "plain" users and experts in environments with largely editorial content. The foundations for building a user community are specified along with significant facets such as retaining the high quality of content, rating mechanisms and social aspects. A system that implements large portions of the community-related concepts in a heterogeneous environment of several largely independent data sources is proposed. Apart from online and DVD-based encyclopaedias, potential application areas are e-Learning, corporate documentation and knowledge management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transclusions are an advanced technique for the inclusion of existing content into new documents without the need to duplicate it. Although originally described in the early 1960s, transclusions have still not been made available to users and authors on the world wide web. This paper describes the prototype implementation of a system that allows users to write articles that may contain transclusions. The system offers a simple web-based interface where users can compose new articles. With a simple button the user has the ability to insert a transclusion from any HTML page available on the world wide web. While other approaches introduce new markups for the HTML specification, make use of technologies such as XML and XLink or employ authoring systems that internally support transclusions and can generate web pages as output, this implementation solely relies on the techniques provided by an HTML-based environment. Therefore HTML, Javascript, the Document Object Model, CGI scripts and HTTP are the core technologies utilised in the prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usually, web-based training (WBT) systems (Gaines, Norrie, & Shaw 1996; Shaw & Gaines 1996) support a number of different user roles (Helic, Maurer, & Scerbakov, 2000). Standard user roles include authors, tutors, learners and administrators (Helic, Maurer & Scerbakov, 2000). Normally, administrators are considered as a special kind of so-called "power" users that keep a WBT system running in a flawless manner. On the other hand, authors, tutors and learners are viewed as "real" users of the system. These users have the following basic roles with regard to the system (Helic, Maurer & Scerbakov, 2000; 2001b; 2001c): &bul; students participate in different online training sessions offered by the system; &bul; tutors conduct and manage such online training sessions in the system; and &bul; authors prepare these online training sessions. As we can see here, from the users' point of view WBT systems deal with online training sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proposes changes in current methods of Web-based knowledge management. Reasons accounting for the scarcity of metatags; Customization of information; Payoffs and advantages of automated linking; Addition of synchronous communication facilities.

Adaptive functionality has been applied successfully in many areas ranging from user interfaces to hypermedia systems. Digital libraries and electronic encyclopaedias, however, have rarely made use of the power of adaptation. In this paper, an approach to include adaptation into encyclopaedic environments is presented. The proposal covers a set of adaptation techniques. They enable the system to explain technical terms and replace domain specific expressions with "plain" words automatically. Moreover, specific terms can be linked to further articles automatedly. Blacklisting, whitelisting and general link alteration are employed in order to assure quality standards and to provide users with more appropriate hyperlinks. With navigation support based on the automatic insertion of trails and suggestions of potentially interesting articles, the users' navigation in encyclopaedias can be facilitated. A first version has been implemented in project "Alexander" and has been made available to a limited public. The system is based on a traditional client-server architecture, where the server-side components perform the actual adaptation. Details of this pilot project are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The etiology of functional dyspepsia (FD) is multi-factorial. Its prevalence is high and it considerably impairs the patients' quality of life. The treatment options are limited. Padma Digestin, a multi-herbal formula from Tibetan Medicine, is traditionally used in malabsorption and dyspeptic symptoms as they do occur in FD, but as yet no clinical data exist on the formula. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of Padma Digestin in patients with FD in a prospective, open, clinical phase III trial., Patients and Methods: Patients were recruited by general practitioners, internists, and gastroenterologists and treated with 2 × 3 capsules of Padma Digestin daily for 6 weeks. Dyspeptic symptoms were analyzed using the Domestic/International Gastroenterology Surveillance Study (DIGEST) questionnaire extended by the 2 symptoms stomach cramps and lack of appetite. The quality of life was assessed using the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI-S) questionnaire (short version)., Results: 37 patients were admitted and efficacy could be assessed in 31. In the overall efficacy assessment, the Padma Digestin treatment led to a statistically highly significant reduction of the respective most bothersome symptom scores regarding frequency, severity, and impairment of daily activities (p < 0.01). The treatment also led to significant improvements of the individual symptoms of postprandial fullness, nausea, localized and diffuse epigastric pain, stomach cramps, and lack of appetite. The onset of improvement was after a median of 7 days; time until disappearance of the symptoms was after a median of 22 days. The global efficacy and tolerability were rated as good or very good by the doctors and the patients in 84% and 78%, respectively. The PGWBI-S increased from 55 ± 19.5% to 70.5 ± 15.5%, which is nearly the normal value (73.5 ± 15.4%). As for safety, 11 patients reported a total of 17 adverse events (AE), 1 of which was serious but unrelated to the study medication. The AE were mild or moderate. The safety laboratory data showed no statistically significant or otherwise relevant changes., Conclusions: The results show that the formula Padma Digestin has a high tolerability and efficacy in FD symptoms and positively influences psychological well-being and thus quality of life. It therefore represents a much needed extension of the therapeutic repertoire in FD.