Automated gathering of Web information: An in-depth examination of agents interacting with search engines

The Web has become a worldwide repository of information which individuals, companies, and organizations utilize to solve or address various information problems. Many of these Web users utilize automated agents to gather this information for them. Some assume that this approach represents a more sophisticated method of searching. However, there is little research investigating how Web agents search for online information. In this research, we first provide a classification for information agent using stages of information gathering, gathering approaches, and agent architecture. We then examine an implementation of one of the resulting classifications in detail, investigating how agents search for information on Web search engines, including the session, query, term, duration and frequency of interactions. For this temporal study, we analyzed three data sets of queries and page views from agents interacting with the Excite and AltaVista search engines from 1997 to 2002, examining approximately 900,000 queries submitted by over 3,000 agents. Findings include: (1) agent sessions are extremely interactive, with sometimes hundreds of interactions per second (2) agent queries are comparable to human searchers, with little use of query operators, (3) Web agents are searching for a relatively limited variety of information, wherein only 18% of the terms used are unique, and (4) the duration of agent-Web search engine interaction typically spans several hours. We discuss the implications for Web information agents and search engines.

Organizations as distinction generating and processing systems: Niklas Luhmann's contribution to organization studies

Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems has been widely influential in the German-speaking countries in the past few decades. However, despite its significance, particularly for organization studies, it is only very recently that Luhmann's work has attracted attention on the international stage as well. This Special Issue is in response to that. In this introductory paper, we provide a systematic overview of Luhmann's theory. Reading his work as a theory about distinction generating and processing systems, we especially highlight the following aspects: (i) Organizations are processes that come into being by permanently constructing and reconstructing themselves by means of using distinctions, which mark what is part of their realm and what not. (ii) Such an organizational process belongs to a social sphere sui generis possessing its own logic, which cannot be traced back to human actors or subjects. (iii) Organizations are a specific kind of social process characterized by a specific kind of distinction: decision, which makes up what is specifically organizational about organizations as social phenomena. We conclude by introducing the papers in this Special Issue. Copyright © 2006 SAGE.

Searching for salvation: An analysis of US religious searching on the World Wide Web

The goals of this research were to answer three questions. How predominant is religious searching online? How do people interact with Web search engines when searching for religious information? How effective are these interactions in locating relevant information? Specifically, referring to a US demographic, we analyzed five data sets from Web search engine, collected between 1997 and 2005, of over a million queries each in order to investigate religious searching on the Web. Results point to four key findings. First, there is no evidence of a decrease in religious Web-searching behaviors. Religious interest is a persistent topic of Web searching. Second, those seeking religious information on the Web are becoming slightly more interactive in their searching. Third, there is no evidence for a move away from mainstream religions toward non-mainstream religions since the majority of the search terms are associated with established religions. Fourth, our work does not support the hypothesis that traditional religious affiliation is associated with lower adoption of or sophistication with technology. These factors point to the Web as a potentially usefully communication medium for a variety of religious organizations. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards an evolutionary perspective for human information behavior: An exploratory study

Purpose - Since the beginning of human existence, humankind has sought, organized and used information as it evolved patterns and practices of human information behaviors. However, the field of human information behavior (HIB) has not heretofore pursued an evolutionary understanding of information behavior. The goal of this exploratory study is to provide insight about the information behavior of various individuals from the past to begin the development of an evolutionary perspective for our understanding of HIB. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents findings from a qualitative analysis of the autobiographies and personal writings of several historical figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Darwin, Giacomo Casanova and others. Findings - Analysis of their writings shows that these persons of the past articulated aspects of their HIB's, including information seeking, information organization and information use, providing tangible insights into their information-related thoughts and actions. Practical implications - This paper has implications for expanding the nature of our evolutionary understanding of information behavior and provides a broader context for the HIB research field. Originality/value - This the first paper in the information science field of HIB to study the information behavior of historical figures and begin to develop an evolutionary framework for HIB research. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Using the web to look for work: Implications for online job seeking and recruiting

Purpose - The web is now a significant component of the recruitment and job search process. However, very little is known about how companies and job seekers use the web, and the ultimate effectiveness of this process. The specific research questions guiding this study are: how do people search for job-related information on the web? How effective are these searches? And how likely are job seekers to find an appropriate job posting or application? Design/methodology/approach - The data used to examine these questions come from job seekers submitting job-related queries to a major web search engine at three points in time over a five-year period. Findings - Results indicate that individuals seeking job information generally submit only one query with several terms and over 45 percent of job-seeking queries contain a specific location reference. Of the documents retrieved, findings suggest that only 52 percent are relevant and only 40 percent of job-specific searches retrieve job postings. Research limitations/implications - This study provides an important contribution to web research and online recruiting literature. The data come from actual web searches, providing a realistic glimpse into how job seekers are actually using the web. Practical implications - The results of this research can assist organizations in seeking to use the web as part of their recruiting efforts, in designing corporate recruiting web sites, and in developing web systems to support job seeking and recruiting. Originality/value - This research is one of the first studies to investigate job searching on the web using longitudinal real world data. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Towards an orchestration theory in business transformation management (research in progress)

Business transformations are large-scale organisational change projects that, evidence suggests, are often unsuccessful. This study aims to develop a conceptual model that explains how management services that are required for a business transformation are orchestrated during such a initiative. We classify management services such as (but not limited to) change management, risk management, IT management, financial management, program management and so forth as bearing transformational and/or transactional capabilities in a transformation initiative. We then draw upon three principles of musical composition, namely melody, harmony and rhythm, and illustrate how they apply to the orchestration of management services in the management of business transformations. In order to illustrate our emerging model, we examine the case of Malaysia Airlines, who have managed to successfully turnaround the near-bankrupt organisation beyond survival. We demonstrate how the notions of melody, harmony and rhythm can be used to describe their endeavour. We conclude by discussing next steps of our research.

Engaging the practice of yarning in Action Research

This paper discusses the technique of ‘yarning’ as an action research process relevant for policy development work with Aboriginal peoples. Through a case study of an Aboriginal community-based smoking project in the Australian State of Victoria, the paper demonstrates how the Aboriginal concept of ‘yarning’ can be used to empower people to create policy change that not only impacts on their own health, but also impacts on the health of others and the Aboriginal organisation for which they work. The paper presents yarning within the context of models of empowerment and a methodological approach of participatory action research. The method is based on respect and inclusivity, with the final policy developed by staff for staff. Yarning is likely to be successful for action researchers working within a variety of Indigenous contexts.

PAR/RAP : Action Research/Research Action Participation

This is a creative piece inspired within and by the decolonising stream that emerged at the World Congress on Action Research and Action Learning, held in Melbourne, Australia in September 2010. It compliments the other works within ALAR Journal's specific edition on research experiences within the decolonising space.

Editorial : Decolonising action research (Electronic Version)

This edition of the ALAR Action learning action research journal aims to capture some of the current dilemmas, solutions and actions researchers experience in the decolonising space. This collection of papers demonstrates that researchers are not only undertaking action research with and within Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts, but that they are doing so in exciting and dynamic ways across a diversity of situations. First we will address some of the literature on decolonisation. Then we will explain how this specific edition of the Journal came to fruition and aspects of action research.

Editorial : Decolonising action research

This edition of the ALAR Action learning action research journal aims to capture some of the current dilemmas, solutions and actions researchers experience in the decolonising space. This collection of papers demonstrates that researchers are not only undertaking action research with and within Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts, but that they are doing so in exciting and dynamic ways across a diversity of situations. First we will address some of the literature on decolonisation. Then we will explain how this specific edition of the Journal came to fruition and aspects of action research. This is a condensed version of the Editorial that appears in the electronic version of the Journal.

Tracking the defining moments of crisis process and practice

Crisis holds the potential for profound change in organizations and industries. The past 50 years of crisis management highlight key shifts in crisis practice, creating opportunities for multiple theories and research tracks. Defining crises such as Tylenol, Exxon Valdez, and September 11 terrorist attacks have influenced or challenged the principles of best practice of crisis communication in public relations. This study traces the development of crisis process and practice by identifying shifts in crisis research and models and mapping these against key management theories and practices. The findings define three crisis domains: crisis planning, building and testing predictive models, and mapping and measuring external environmental influences. These crisis domains mirror but lag the evolution of management theory, suggesting challenges for researchers to reshape the research agenda to close the gap and lead the next stage of development in the field of crisis communication for effective organizational outcomes.

Application of operations research techniques to improve efficiency in the emergency department

The main aim of this thesis is to analyse and optimise a public hospital Emergency Department. The Emergency Department (ED) is a complex system with limited resources and a high demand for these resources. Adding to the complexity is the stochastic nature of almost every element and characteristic in the ED. The interaction with other functional areas also complicates the system as these areas have a huge impact on the ED and the ED is powerless to change them. Therefore it is imperative that OR be applied to the ED to improve the performance within the constraints of the system. The main characteristics of the system to optimise included tardiness, adherence to waiting time targets, access block and length of stay. A validated and verified simulation model was built to model the real life system. This enabled detailed analysis of resources and flow without disruption to the actual ED. A wide range of different policies for the ED and a variety of resources were able to be investigated. Of particular interest was the number and type of beds in the ED and also the shift times of physicians. One point worth noting was that neither of these resources work in isolation and for optimisation of the system both resources need to be investigated in tandem. The ED was likened to a flow shop scheduling problem with the patients and beds being synonymous with the jobs and machines typically found in manufacturing problems. This enabled an analytic scheduling approach. Constructive heuristics were developed to reactively schedule the system in real time and these were able to improve the performance of the system. Metaheuristics that optimised the system were also developed and analysed. An innovative hybrid Simulated Annealing and Tabu Search algorithm was developed that out-performed both simulated annealing and tabu search algorithms by combining some of their features. The new algorithm achieves a more optimal solution and does so in a shorter time.

Trends in policies, programs and practices in the Australasian First Year Experience literature 2000-2010. The First Year in Higher Education Research Series on Evidence-based Practice. Number 1

This publication is the first in a series of scholarly reports on research-based practice related to the First Year Experience in Higher Education. This report synthesises evidence about practice-based initiatives and pragmatic approaches in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia that aim to enhance the experience of commencing students in the higher education sector. Trends in policies, programs and practices ... examines the first year experience literature from 2000-2010. It acknowledges the uniqueness of the Australasian socio-political context and its influence on the interests and output of researchers. The review surveyed almost 400 empirical reports and conceptual discussions produced over the decade that dealt with the stakeholders, institutions and the higher education sector in Australasia. The literature is examined through two theoretical constructs or “lenses”: first, a set of first year curriculum design principles and second, the generational approach to describing the maturation of initiatives. These outcomes and suggested directions for further research provide the challenges and the opportunities for FYE adherents, both scholars and practitioners, to grapple with in the next decade.

‘Spotty Dick’ : a research experiment to test design suitability for the use of jewelled spot matrix patterns for UV aware men’s swimwear

The great male Aussie cossie is growing spots. The ‘dick’ tog, as it is colloquially referred to, is linked to Australia’s national identify with overtly masculine bronzed Aussie bodies clothed in this iconic apparel. Yet the reality is our hunger for worshiping the sun and the addiction to a beach lifestyle is tempered by the pragmatic need for neck-to-knee, or more apt head-to-toe, swimwear. Spotty Dick is an irreverent play on male swimwear – it experiments with alternate modes to sheath the body with Lyrca in order to protect it from searing UV’s and at the same time light-heartedly fools around with texture and pattern; to be specific, black Scharovsky crystals, jewelled in spot patterns - jewelled clothing is not characteristically aligned to menswear and even less so to the great Aussie cossie. The crystals form a matrix of spots that attempt to provoke a sense of mischievousness aligned to the Aussie beach larrikin. Ironically, spot patterns are in itself a form of a parody, as prolonged sun exposure ages the skin and sun spots can occur if appropriate sun protection is not used. ‘Spotty Dick’ – a research experiment to test design suitability for the use of jewelled spot matrix patterns for UV aware men’s swimwear. The creative work was paraded at 56 shows, over a 2 week period, and an estimated 50,000 people viewed the work.

Towards participatory action design research : adapting action research and design science research methods for urban informatics

This paper proposes a new research method, Participatory Action Design Research (PADR), for studies in the Urban Informatics domain. PADR supports Urban Informatics research in developing new technological means (e.g. using mobile and ubiquitous computing) to resolve contemporary issues or support everyday life in urban environments. The paper discusses the nature, aims and inherent methodological needs of Urban Informatics research, and proposes PADR as a method to address these needs. Situated in a socio-technical context, Urban Informatics requires a close dialogue between social and design-oriented fields of research as well as their methods. PADR combines Action Research and Design Science Research, both of which are used in Information Systems, another field with a strong socio-technical emphasis, and further adapts them to the cross-disciplinary needs and research context of Urban Informatics.