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1 – 10 of over 23000Ejike Ofuonye, Patricia Beatty, Scott Dick and James Miller
The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on previous surveys that have looked at the quality of HTML documents on the worldwide web. Previous surveys have indicated that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on previous surveys that have looked at the quality of HTML documents on the worldwide web. Previous surveys have indicated that the quality of HTML documents tends to be quite poor, with most documents containing defects.
Design/methodology/approach
To determine the extent of this problem, the paper undertook a large‐scale study of HTML document quality among the most popular web sites (approximately 100,000).
Findings
This paper found that the vast majority (over 95 per cent) of web sites did not adhere to the worldwide web consortium standards for HTML.
Research limitations/implications
This study represents a single investigation over a short timeframe. Hence, ideally the study needs to be replicated in the future to help generalise the findings.
Practical implications
Such poor quality may jeopardise the security or usability of a web site, making the site's users vulnerable to malware attacks. This poor level of quality has drastic implications for web usability and security.
Originality/value
This new survey undertook a more extensive examination of popular web sites than previous surveys.
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Mohammad Hassanzadeh and Fatemeh Navidi
This paper aims to provide knowledge about methods used to evaluate the accessibility of Iranian web sites through a real research environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide knowledge about methods used to evaluate the accessibility of Iranian web sites through a real research environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The main theoretical base of this article is that almost all research conducted to evaluate the accessibility of web sites has used only one of three methods (namely manual, automatic and users' experiences). However, it seems that using a combination of these three methods is actually necessary. Consequently, taking a critical approach this article examines 18 Iranian ministerial web sites using the three methods.
Findings
Findings in both documents and evaluative studies show that each of the methods has deficits and it is necessary to employ a combination of the methods in order to conduct a reliable accessibility assessment. The different rankings of ministerial web sites in various evaluations have confirmed this view.
Originality/value
Identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the three methods and employing them in real research environments to assess the accessibility of ministerial web sites has been a useful exercise. The work can not only be a starting point for further discussions on the reliability of accessibility evaluation methods, but can also be applied to other types of web site.
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The purpose of this article is to analyse the continuing problem of web accessibility for disabled people as a critical information systems issue.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to analyse the continuing problem of web accessibility for disabled people as a critical information systems issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The ways in which the web is used by disabled people, and problems that can arise, are described and related to the development of critical disability theory from older models of disability, including the medical and social models, noting that the social construction of disability model may tend to mask the embodied, lived experience of disability.
Findings
The lack of interaction of the critical disability approach and dominant discourses of web accessibility and internet studies, particularly in relation to embodiment, is a major contributor to the continuance of an inaccessible Worldwide web.
Research limitations/implications
The paper does not offer a comprehensive set of web accessibility issues, concentrating instead on the most common problems as exemplars.
Practical implications
The paper raises awareness of web accessibility.
Originality/value
The paper brings the topic of accessibility of technology by disabled people into the critical information systems arena and also incorporates social construction of disability and theoretical considerations of embodiedness in its analysis.
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Steven John Simon and Spero C. Peppas
Internet2 research will lead to new technologies that will launch the Internet into another wave of unprecedented growth with enhanced interactivity and greater amounts of…
Abstract
Internet2 research will lead to new technologies that will launch the Internet into another wave of unprecedented growth with enhanced interactivity and greater amounts of information delivered via richer communication. As a result, Web‐based retailers must begin to rethink the design of their sites, the amount of information to provide, and the degree of media richness to deliver. Based on a large sample of managers, this study examines media richness theory in the context of simple and complex products. The findings suggest that, overall, Internet users have more positive attitudes and higher levels of satisfaction with regard to rich sites than to lean sites, although the results for simple product sites were inconclusive. The study discusses the impact of the results for both simple and complex products and details the development of a new experimental instrument to measure user attitudes and satisfaction.
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The main purpose of the present study is to identify open access e‐book collections in selected digital archives related to social sciences in general and greater Central Asia in…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of the present study is to identify open access e‐book collections in selected digital archives related to social sciences in general and greater Central Asia in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
The selected digital archives, which were all rich in Central Asia collections, were searched using different keywords. The first 50 hits were retrieved to identify open access e‐books and their bibliographical details were recorded to complete the present study.
Findings
The results reflect that a good collection of open access e‐books is available on Central Asia, and some titles date back to the nineteenth century. The collection includes both “made digital” and “born digital” items. The results further depict that most of these e‐books were published in developed countries like the USA and the UK. These books mostly deal with political science (especially international relations), sociology and economics, and are mostly published by national and international organisations like the US Strategic Research Institute (SRI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the World Bank (WB), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Research limitations/implications
The study does not explore the whole worldwide web, but only selected digital archives that have rich Central Asia collections.
Practical implications
The study is very helpful for Central Asian academic communities, worldwide scholars conducting research on Central Asia and library and information professionals serving the academic and research communities of the region.
Originality/value
The study is original research highlighting the role of library and information managers in information discovery and identification. The study is a corner‐stone in information discovery and is very valuable for research, academic and literate communities in this region and other parts of the world conducting research on Central Asia.
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Victoria L. Rubin, Yimin Chen and Lynne Marie Thorimbert
Conversational agents are natural language interaction interfaces designed to simulate conversation with a real person. This paper seeks to investigate current development and…
Abstract
Purpose
Conversational agents are natural language interaction interfaces designed to simulate conversation with a real person. This paper seeks to investigate current development and applications of these systems worldwide, while focusing on their availability in Canadian libraries. It aims to argue that it is both timely and conceivable for Canadian libraries to consider adopting conversational agents to enhance – not replace – face‐to‐face human interaction. Potential users include library web site tour guides, automated virtual reference and readers' advisory librarians, and virtual story‐tellers. To provide background and justification for this argument, the paper seeks to review agents from classic implementations to state‐of‐the‐art prototypes: how they interact with users, produce language, and control conversational behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The web sites of the 20 largest Canadian libraries were surveyed to assess the extent to which specific language‐related technologies are offered in Canada, including conversational agents. An exemplified taxonomy of four pragmatic purposes that conversational agents currently serve outside libraries – educational, informational, assistive, and socially interactive – is proposed and translated into library settings.
Findings
As of early 2010, artificially intelligent conversational systems have been found to be virtually non‐existent in Canadian libraries, while other innovative technologies proliferate (e.g. social media tools). These findings motivate the need for a broader awareness and discussion within the LIS community of these systems' applicability and potential for library purposes.
Originality/value
This paper is intended for reflective information professionals who seek a greater understanding of the issues related to adopting conversational agents in libraries, as this topic is scarcely covered in the LIS literature. The pros and cons are discussed, and insights offered into perceptions of intelligence (artificial or not) as well as the fundamentally social nature of human‐computer interaction.
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Blanca Hernández‐Ortega, Julio Jiménez‐Martínez and M. José Martín‐DeHoyos
The main objective of this paper is to analyse how important the previous experience of firms with different information technologies is for their acceptance of web procurement.
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this paper is to analyse how important the previous experience of firms with different information technologies is for their acceptance of web procurement.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyse the different types of experience a study was conducted using structural equation modelling techniques. A multi‐sample analysis was also carried out to test whether there are significant differences in behaviour according to the sector of activity to which the organisation belongs.
Findings
The findings show that using various precursor information technologies, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or the internet generates knowledge that both facilitates and encourages subsequent web procurement. Once a firm has acquired this knowledge its impact is the same in all sectors.
Practical implications
The work examines the importance of making a continuous investment in IT and shows that previous experience of earlier information systems determines the future technological development of a firm. Thus, firms should be aware that this type of knowledge would help them to obtain competitive advantages and improve their profitability.
Originality/value
The main contribution of the study is its analysis of experience from a multiple perspective. First, the use of different applications: EDI, internet, commercial management software and web procurement. Second, to proxy for experience, the paper considers aspects other than intensity of use: perceived ease of use and usefulness. Finally, the relevance of technological experience for any economic activity is empirically tested.
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Francisco Javier Miranda, Ramón Sanguino and Tomás M. Bañegil
The internet is becoming increasingly important in the communication between local governments and citizens, which makes the usability of municipal web sites a critical factor in…
Abstract
Purpose
The internet is becoming increasingly important in the communication between local governments and citizens, which makes the usability of municipal web sites a critical factor in government‐citizen communication. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model for evaluating the potential of municipal web sites.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work an objective investigation of the issue has been conducted by manually accessing and evaluating 84 European municipal web sites. Quality of web home pages was determined using an original Web Assessment Index, which focuses on four categories: accessibility, speed, navigability and content.
Findings
A detailed report of the results arising from this investigation is presented and systematically analyzed.
Originality/value
The most valuable output from this paper is not the ability to identify the best sites, but to see how each municipal site is compared to related sites and to spot ideas and practices that can improve city sites. These findings will be useful for both researchers and practitioners who seek to understand the issues relevant to municipal e‐government.
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Thomas Hart and Gerhard Rolletschek
Although the debate about Internet governance has cooled off as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)’s ambitions have narrowed, there remains a broad…
Abstract
Although the debate about Internet governance has cooled off as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)’s ambitions have narrowed, there remains a broad variety of regulatory issues that will require an international approach. Apart from ICANN, a diverse set of institutions is already involved in setting standards, allocating resources, and resolving conflicts. This paper looks at how the operations of these institutions, together with the experiences of ICANN, could serve as a starting point for a more integrated and comprehensive approach to tackling the challenges the Internet will face in the years to come.
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