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Recent initiatives in digital library research have suggested new models for the creation and organisation of digital information and its dissemination to virtual communities. PEN‐DOR (the Pennsylvania Education Network Digital Object Repository) is a digital library designed to provide access to the collective experience of teachers, students and administrators in public schools in building lesson plans and using curriculum materials. Using the WWW as a platform, PEN‐DOR incorporates current research in digital libraries to provide K‐12 educators with access to multimedia resources and tools to create new lesson plans and presentations, and to modify existing ones. Design problems addressed by the project include the design of a distributed, object‐oriented database architecture, the description and cataloguing of multimedia objects, and issues related to usability and training for a geographically scattered user community. Two critical aspects of the organisation of this digital library are the development of a method for the persistent identification of resources, and the design of a record structure based on recent developments in metadata. Resource identification has been achieved by adopting a system‐wide approach with an upgrade path to the emerging URN standards. In designing a record structure, the PEN‐DOR project has elected to use the GEM (Gateway to Educational Materials) metadata standard developed as part of the GEM union catalogue project. Content for the database is solicited from project partners, government agencies and educational resources Web sites, as well as from participating teachers. Once incorporated in the repository, materials can be organised in frameworks that form the basis for lessons, tutorials and presentations. As frameworks are developed, used, critiqueed and modified, they will form a community memory of past experience. Supported by the state’s Link‐to‐Learn programme, the system will function as a resource for educators throughout Pennsylvania.

The purpose of this study is to explore a support system for beginners in drawing in a networked environment. Learners can receive advice and assessments from art experts without time and/or place constraints by using the proposed system. The authors investigate the possibilities of online supporting drawing learning. Two key factors are introduced: a digital pen as a drawing tool and a drawing process model (DPM).

The major difference between an offline drawing class and an online drawing class is the availability of instruction during learners' drawing. The instruction for the learners' drawing process is more important than instructional comments for his/her work. Therefore, quick and personalized feedback from a tutor is an indispensable function for a networked learning environment. In this study, the learner's drawing process that is recorded by a digital pen is reused in order to replay and refer his/her drawing process. To generate an evaluation for the drawing process automatically, these data are also reused in the system the authors propose.

The paper provides three findings. One is the DPM to capture learner's drawing features. Second is a drawing learning support system based on the DPM. And third is a feasibility study of the support system in a real art school. In this study, the learner's drawing process is reused in two evaluations. One is the tutors' evaluation, and the other is the system's evaluation. For the latter, the authors implemented the automated evaluation function based on the DPM. This model consists of three types of parameters. They are the drawing step, the drawing phase and the features of the drawing strokes.

Because of the art school curriculum, the authors cannot examine the learning effectiveness deeply. So the research results in this paper may lack generality. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed approach further.

The paper includes implication for the skill learning support based on the ICT.

This paper fulfils an identified need to capture and support how drawing behaviour can be done.

The future of management studies is invariably steering towards online and hybrid modes of course delivery. Therefore, assessing the effectiveness of online course delivery is exceptionally crucial. This study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of online course delivery in management education involving the instructor, participant and technological component. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in three ways. First, the study proposes an approach to assess the effectiveness of online courses in management education. The study demonstrates this by taking a case study of a business school (B-school) in southern India. Second, the study identifies the shortcomings and areas that need improvement to enhance the overall effectiveness further. Third, the study outlines suggestive measures to improve the effectiveness of online course delivery by addressing technical, infrastructural, instructor and student behavioral components.

To accomplish the objectives, a case study approach has been adopted and fuzzy logic has been used as a methodology to assess the effectiveness of online course delivery in management education.

The findings suggest that instructors' use of cases and animation during online sessions, use of whiteboards, digital pens and other tools, attempts to draw participant's interest and the users' sense of belongingness in the online cohort, self-discipline and motivation from students' side, easy to use Learning Management System (LMS), audio-visual platforms, active electronic communication and training on the technical aspect of the online platform need to be improved to enhance the effectiveness of online course delivery further. The current effectiveness of online course delivery in the case of B-school was found to be “Fair,” which is average in relation to the effectiveness labels.

This study doesn't investigate the factors that moderate the effectiveness of online course delivery and how the factors influence each other. Future research endeavors can be extended in this direction to enrich the body of knowledge with new insights. Apart from this, the results outlined in this study are about the status quo of the case B-school and can't be generalized. However, the methodology and approach can be adopted by other B-schools or higher educational institutes to measure the schools' and institutes' current level of effectiveness in online teaching.

So far, only a few studies have paid attention to the empirical assessment of the effectiveness of online course delivery consisting of engagement from the technical, instructor and participants' dimensions. This study proposes a novel approach to measure the level of effectiveness and identifies the shortfalls that impede good effectiveness in online course delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the development of mixed initiative systems for distributed digital communication of manual skills. In particular, manual skills that are essential in project production paradigms such as engineer‐to‐order.

Findings from survey research, which included literature review and interviews with practitioners, are reported. Literature review investigated media, strategies, and computation relevant to distributed digital communication of manual skills. Interviews investigated attitudes among industry practitioners towards distributed digital communication of manual skills.

Communication media, instructional strategies, and computational semantics techniques are available which can be integrated to address the limitations of human communication of manual skills.

Only ten organizations were involved in interviews investigating attitudes towards distributed digital communication of manual skills.

Manual skills will continue to be important to project businesses involved in the production, refurbishment, and/or maintenance of large engineer‐to‐order products such as public buildings and process plants. The limitations of human communication can be addressed by using a variety media, such as augmented reality headsets, to enable new instructional strategies, such as just‐in‐time training. Further, combinations of media and strategies can be integrated with computational semantics in the development of mixed initiative systems which provide feedback as well as initial instruction.

The originality of the research reported in this paper is that it addresses a full range of enablers for distributed communication of manual skills. Further, an overview of computational semantics is presented which does not rely on prior specialist knowledge. The value of this paper is that it introduces a framework for enabling distributed communication of manual skills. In addition, a preliminary ontology for distributed communication of manual skills is introduced, together with recommendations for implementation.

Aims to review some new technology “gadgets”.

A review with descriptions of new technologies which might impact library services.

The proliferation of computer technology has ensured that gadgets play a significant role in our daily routines. They are used at work, home and during playtime. The gadgets range from mouse devices, keyboards, headsets, camera accessories and more.

Provides descriptions of some gadgets of value to information seekers.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a more realistic view of innovation in local government. A key element in this is the notion of innovation value based on people, processes and technology.

The objectives are achieved by reviewing the background literature, a recent study of eGoverment achievement in the UK – VIEGO, and government assessments of innovation in both the EU and the UK. Some empirical evidence of the inherent complexity is also used.

Extant models of innovation tend to focus on the private sector values and their transfer to the public sector is questionable. This with combined with a weak approach to evaluation leaves local government vulnerable.

The political rhetoric that accompanied the introduction of eGovernment expected it to produce innovation in the way government agencies conducted themselves. It is assumed that this innovation is both “good” and inevitable. This paper challenges these simplistic assumptions and proposes a more realistic view.

Interaction with robot systems for the specification of manufacturing tasks needs to be simple since the paper targets the widespread use of robots in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the best case, existing practices from manual work could be used, to ensure current employees a smooth introduction to robot technology as a natural part of their work. The aim of the paper is to simplify the robot‐programming task by allowing the user to simply make technical drawings on a sheet of paper. Craftsmen use paper and raw sketches for several situations: to share ideas, to get a better perspective of the problem, or to remember the customer situation. Currently these sketches have to be either interpreted by the worker when producing the final product by hand, or transferred into CAD files using an appropriate software tool. The former means that no automation is included, the latter means extra work and considerable experience in using the CAD tool.

The approach is to use a digital pen and paper, both based on the Anoto technology, as input devices for SME robotic tasks, thereby creating simpler and more user‐friendly alternatives for the programming, parameterization and commanding actions. To this end, the basic technology has been investigated and fully working prototypes have been developed to explore the possibilities in the context of typical SME applications. Based on the encouraging experimental results, it is believed that drawings on digital paper will, among other means of human‐robot interaction, play an important role in manufacturing SMEs in the future. Consequently, a fully working test‐case welding example is presented and explained, allowing a complete demonstration of all the developed features.

This paper explores the utilization of digital pens for the task of programming industrial robot manipulators, i.e. the possibility of obtaining robot programs from technical drawings on a sheet of paper. A practical implementation was presented to demonstrate how to use digital pens and CAD applications to program industrial robots. The results clearly show that the digital pen based on Anoto technology, integrated with CAD interfaces and code generation interfaces, is very useful and powerful for the planned task. The next steps will be to adopt a software infrastructure and develop the necessary services to allow system integrators to consider this type of device as an advanced user‐friendly robot‐programming method.

This is the first time that digital pens have been used to program robot manipulators.

This paper aims to present findings from research that evaluate the defects/snagging management process at construction project level and review the potential for the operation of a novel, paper‐based, records management mechanism.

The design and use of a hybrid electronic/paper‐based snagging management system are discussed. The design and practicalities of the system are considered as a means towards demonstrating that a link currently exists between modern IT systems and traditional, paper‐based methods of document transfer.

The paper finds that the snagging aspect of construction projects is often overlooked and under‐estimated. Construction projects require systems that facilitate data input and records management processing, thus removing the reliance upon traditional methods of working. A highly advanced digital pen and paper technology is discussed which has the potential to totally revolutionise the collection of information on paper (for all organisations). The IT system can be adapted for a range of processes/needs which aids not only management but also the individuals on the frontline responsible for collecting site‐based records.

The system highlighted has the potential to be adopted within every construction‐based organisation and indeed wider industrial sectors due to its unique adaptability and ease with which features can be incorporated. There are a number of business benefits to be accrued from the adoption of digital pen and paper‐based IT systems.

Extremely novel technology is discussed. The value to the construction industry and wider industrial sectors is the opportunity to continue working using existing processes, whilst at the same time becoming wholly electronic.

The goal of Project DL (www.coe.missouri.edu/∼is334/projects/Project_DL) is to provide an integrated resource where diverse information sources on the topic of digital libraries may be brought together in a single navigable Web site. The intent is to use the site as a learning tool to support exploration of selected research and development activities associated with digital libraries, and to facilitate end user interaction with the content of these various resources. The focus of this site is on accessing digital library collections as well as information resources related to the study of digital libraries. As such, the Web site is segmented into three distinct but integrated sections: digital library collections, digital library resources and digital library Web sites. This paper presents an overview of those three sections, their development, and the organisational considerations associated with each of the sections. The paper concludes with a special emphasis on the design considerations for creating a searchable Web version of digital library Web sites.

In this paper, the authors aim to review the benefits of sketching or ad‐hoc, collaborative hand drawings for knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge documentation.

The authors conducted a comprehensive literature review in the fields of design, psychology, and computer science that documents the multiple advantages of sketch‐based approaches for managing knowledge in organizations, especially on the team‐level. The authors argue for the complementary use of this “low‐tech knowledge management” approach with existing digital infrastructures and tools. The literature survey is based on a search for the title term “sketching” on the ISI Web of Knowledge online database. After topic filtering and eliminating all articles where sketching was used in the sense of a project proposal or a theoretical sketch, there were only 48 articles left related to the keyword “sketching”. Based on the authors' awareness of important contributions in the field of sketching, which did not appear in the database search, they extended their inclusion criteria to include grey or conference literature and examined the reference sections of highly cited articles. The article concludes with a set of propositions for practitioners regarding the use of sketching in different knowledge management contexts and with implications for future research in this area.

Knowledge creation contexts, such as innovation management or problem solving sessions, provide participants with the opportunity to jointly devise large scale sketches in order to integrate their views and experiences on joint frameworks. Knowledge sharing situations, such as in team briefings or debriefings, in hand‐over processes, or in strategic alliances, equip all participants with pens and paper tablecloths to augment their knowledge dialogues with visible means that facilitate interaction and turn‐taking, increase vividness and memorability, and allow for an authentic and personal follow‐up documentation.

An implication for research is to study sketching in knowledge management through interdisciplinary research efforts. This could be done by paying attention to the way that digital and hand‐drawn sketches affect interactions differently among professionals and the way that they share, defend, and integrate their knowledge. Specifically researchers with a background in organizational psychology could work jointly with human computer interaction specialists to study differences among analogue and digital sketching activities. In this way one can learn about the respective advantages and risks of hand‐drawn versus computer‐supported sketching for knowledge‐intensive group collaboration tasks.

The literature review resulted in an extended list of benefits which support three relevant tasks in knowledge management, namely knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge documentation. This compilation shows simple and effective ways in which the use of hand drawings can enhance existing knowledge management practices.