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Image searching is a common activity for web users. Search engines offer image retrieval services based on textual queries. Previous studies have shown that web searching is more demanding when the search is not in English and does not use a Latin‐based language. The aim of this paper is to explore the behaviour of the major search engines in image retrieval using Greek text queries and to present and evaluate an image metaseacher that combines semantically similar queries to improve the relevance in image retrieval.

Initially the image retrieval capabilities (based on the number of items retrieved and their relevance) of search engines in Greek queries is studied with a number of semantically similar queries which differ in morphology. Then a system that produces semantically similar queries and merges their results is presented and the increase in relevance is measured. For the purpose of this paper, a number of queries suggested by a few students are run through the presented metasearcher and directly in the search engines. The participants of the evaluation study measured the precision in both cases.

The initial evaluation revealed that search engines retrieve different results in queries that differ in morphology or in grammar but still express exactly the same information need. Omission of diacritics affects the retrieval negatively as well. The study showed that the number of relevant images increases by combining the results of queries that differ in morphology.

The findings of this study could be applicable to other complex non‐Latin languages based, for example, on the Cyrillic alphabet. The presented metasearcher is a framework on how to expand the image retrieval capabilities of existing search engines. Its modular nature allows the straightforward integration of other techniques that are tailored to the characteristics of specific natural languages.

Locating information on the internet is an important skill in the Information Society. Some recent studies showed that searching using non‐English terms is a more demanding task than searching in English. Based on these observations, this paper aims to apply the Instructional System Design (ISD) methodology to analyse, design and implement a training course for Greek users. This instructional approach considers the explanation of the internal search engine intelligence and inefficiencies with respect to non‐English natural language as its basic structural element.

Based on the ISD methodology, the tasks that needed to be trained as a web searcher were identified and a six‐phase instructional sequence was constructed. The instructional methodology is evaluated with the aid of students in an authentic environment.

The evaluation revealed that learners who followed the structured approach and were aware of the search engines' limitations relating to the Greek language performed better in the web searching experiments.

The instructional methodology described can be applied in any course which aims at teaching basic web searching skills. The instructional approach presented can also be adapted to other non‐English languages.

The purpose of this work in progress is to build a methodology for evaluating the searching capabilities of e‐shops. The emphasis of the evaluation is on ease of use and on the characteristics THAT influence the retrieval of products in non‐English queries.

Initially an evaluation model is built in the paper, based on previous studies and on the attributes of worldwide search engines. Next, this model is applied in the evaluation of the searching effectiveness of Greek e‐shops with the aid of real users who define the importance of each criterion of the model. The results of this review are then presented and analysed.

The methodological evaluation revealed several inefficiencies of the local search engines related to interface issues and most importantly to their searching effectiveness. The evaluation showed that the search engines do not take account of the morphology of the queries, which is significant in a non‐English and non‐Latin language like Greek, and thus user searches fail. The user assessment of the importance of the attributes of the evaluation model helps search engine developers to realize the usefulness of the facilities they provide and the user required options.

The methodology described can be used for evaluating the searching effectiveness of local search engines and for designing quality search tools for e‐shops.

Searching for information and viewing visual representations of products in e‐organisations is a common activity of the e‐visitors to these organisations. For example, in e‐museums, users are shown images or other visual information of the existing objects. The aim of this paper is to present a tool which supports the effective searching for images in e‐organisations. The tool also supports the effective presentation of high‐quality images with zooming facilities. The tool is used in searching for and viewing high‐resolution cultural images in order to test its usefulness.

Initially, the problems of finding and effectively viewing high‐quality images in e‐organisations are discussed. Then, a review of the literature on zoomable browsers, which discuss effective ways of depicting large quantities of visual data on small screens or in a fast mode, through the web, is presented. Concept‐based image retrieval and the image‐browsing modules of the proposed tool are described. Finally, the system is evaluated with the aid of real users in viewing high‐quality cultural images downloaded from the web. The opinions of the users are presented, along with other statistics, and future research plans are discussed.

The emphasis of the evaluation was on the zoomable image viewer of the presented web tool. The evaluation showed that the zooming viewer is easy to use and reduces significantly the data that need to be downloaded for viewing high‐quality images.

The integrated searching and viewing application could be used in e‐organisations for searching for and viewing detailed images of their products and exhibits. Further, the zoomable image browser could be used for viewing libraries of high‐quality image collections in a time‐ and network‐efficient mode.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overall insight into the factors which undermine safe internet access for students. Safer internet access for students is an issue raised during recent years as the web becomes increasingly more accessible to children. However, recent research studies and initiatives demonstrated a number of potential online risks for students. To be able to protect children from potentially hazardous content it is first necessary to have a good understanding of the existing online threats.

Initially, prior works on online safety problems for children are reviewed and a list of online risks is assembled based on the previous studies and on information gathered from web sites dedicated to safer internet access. Then, based on this listing, an access log of unsupervised internet access of high school students is analyzed to understand which of these risks can be identified.

The review of previous works on the topic of safer internet access produces a list of diverse problems for unsupervised internet access for children. The results of the log files evaluation show that several of the identified online risks existed in the students' visited sites and that the students are able to bypass the applied restrictions to visit their preferred sites.

The list of online risks can be used by researchers, teachers, parents, educational technologists, web designers, school administrators and libraries to obtain a clearer view of the internet safety issues. Further, this list could be used for directing future research projects on the social consequences of internet usage for children.

The purpose of this article is to present a problem‐based learning case on the use of XML technologies for semantically describing cultural data. Students of three higher and continuing education institutes were divided into groups and were encouraged to solve specific problems and eventually to understand the concepts and the deployment of semantic technologies through their practical involvement. The aims of the teaching approach are for students to become familiar with XML technologies, to annotate historical data and to understand the importance of annotating cultural information for enabling further processing and exploitation of the identified data relationships.

Initially the aims of the teaching case were set and specific problems associated with them were designed. A start‐up lecture on the basic concepts of XML was presented and then students were challenged with ill‐defined problems as the problem‐based learning method advises. Students then presented and discussed their solutions and approaches. At the end of each problem‐based section the knowledge of the students was assessed. On the completion of the teaching case, the students' opinions were surveyed and the results towards the approach were very positive.

The students provided solutions to the problems presented, and their opinions at the end of the teaching approach indicated that students preferred the problem‐based approach to the lecture‐based method. Students argued that, although learning on their own and with little help from the instructors is more demanding, it has specific advantages. They mentioned that they can work at their own pace and better understand the concepts involved. The skills and the knowledge acquired are transferrable to other situations.

Although the problem‐based learning approach has been applied to medical and gifted education, minimal research has been conducted outside these fields. Therefore, this article focuses on the cultural heritage domain and presents a case of teaching a technical topic to non‐computer science students.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate open source software (OSS) for digital libraries and collection management and to propose different utilization scenarios based on the characteristics of the tools.

The tools are assessed on the basis of their technical features and options, the type of the content they manage, the support for common library operations such as cataloging and circulation, the searching support and the interoperability options. Then they are evaluated by users and finally a number of usage scenarios are analyzed based on the results of the evaluation.

The basic findings of the study is that open source digital library and collection management tools offer advanced operations and support various metadata and interoperability protocols with easy and user-friendly interfaces. Most of the tools are extensively used under various settings and establishments already. Language support for the interfaces should be extended with more languages and some tools with limited operations should be improved to be of practical use.

The findings of the paper could be used support the selection of specific open source tools for various types of establishments.

The study reviews the characteristics of a few OSS for digital libraries and collection management and reveals their specific strengths and weaknesses. It also presents a number of realistic scenarios and proposes the usage of specific tools based on time, technology and staff constraints.