Daniel Cunliffe

Developing usable Web sites – a review and model

The number and range of organisations developing a Web site is growing rapidly. Many of these Web sites are developed in‐houseeven though the skills and resources required for developing a successful site may not be available. It is argued that some of the limitations in terms of resources and skills inherent in the small‐scale in‐house development environment can be overcome through the adoption of an informal Web site development model and suitable usability methods. Presents an informal development model synthesised from a review of development case studies and published Web research literature. This model identifies the main stages and tasks of development. A review of information gathering and usability methods currently being employed is integrated into the model. The importance of understanding user and information provider needs is discussed. A number of common usability methods are then examined in greater detail. The appropriateness of the model and methods for the small‐scale in‐house development environment is considered.

Usability Evaluation for Museum Web Sites

Overview Museums, galleries and other cultural organisations have been swift in their adoption of the Web and virtual visits to museum Web sites have become popular. For many smaller museums the cost of developing and maintaining a Web site is difficult to justify, particularly where the economic benefit to the museum is hard to demonstrate. Many sites are therefore developed as unofficial, in-house projects—often without financial support. Evaluation is essential for determining whether a Web site is meeting the needs of its users and should be part of an ongoing process, from initial conception to long-term maintenance and development. This contribution focuses on the evaluation of Web sites as a way of addressing some of the limitations inherent in the non-professional development environment, placing it within the context of current museum Web development practice. The paper presents a case study illustrating Web evaluation issues from a computing perspective, using methods appropriate to the non-prof...

Query-based navigation in semantically indexed hypermedia

This paper discusses an approach to navigation based on queries made possible by a semantic hypermedia architecture. Navigation via query offers an augmented browsing capacity based on measures of semantic closeness between terms in an index space that models the classification of artefacts within a museum collection management system. The paper discusses some of the possibilities that automatic traversal of relationships in the index space holds for hybrid query/navigation tools, such as navigation via similarity and query generalisation. The example scenario suggests that, although these tools are implemented by complex queries, they fit into a browsing, rather than an analytical style of access. Such hybrid navigation tools are capable of overcoming some of the limitations of manual browsing and contributing to a smooth transition between browsing and query. A prototype implementation of the architecture is described, along with details of a social history application with three dimensions of classification schema in the index space. The paper discusses how queries can be used as the basis for navigation, and argues that this is integral to current efforts to integrate hypermedia and information retrieval.

Query expansion via conceptual distance in thesaurus indexed collections

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore query expansion via conceptual distance in thesaurus indexed collectionsDesign/methodology/approach – An extract of the National Museum of Science and Industrys collections database, indexed with the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), was the dataset for the research. The system architecture and algorithms for semantic closeness and the matching function are outlined. Standalone and web interfaces are described and formative qualitative user studies are discussed. One user session is discussed in detail, together with a scenario based on a related public inquiry. Findings are set in context of the literature on thesaurus‐based query expansion. This paper discusses the potential of query expansion techniques using the semantic relationships in a faceted thesaurus.Findings – Thesaurus‐assisted retrieval systems have potential for multi‐concept descriptors, permitting very precise queries and indexing. However, indexer and searcher may differ in ter...

Young Bilinguals' Language Behaviour in Social Networking Sites: The Use of Welsh on Facebook

Social networking sites feature significantly in the lives of many young people. Where these young people are bilingual, social networking sites may have an important role to play in terms of minority language use and in shaping perceptions of that language. Through a quantitative and qualitative study, this paper investigates the use of language in social networking sites by young Welsh speakers, focussing particularly on Facebook. Language choice and behaviour, factors influencing that behaviour, and attitudes towards use of the Welsh language in Information Technology are explored. The data suggests that there are a number of different factors at play, and that it is necessary to consider language behaviour in social networking sites in the context of offline language behaviour.

Information architecture for bilingual web sites

Creating an information architecture for a bilingual Web site presents particular challenges beyond those that exist for single and multilanguage sites. This article reports work in progress on the development of a content-based bilingual Web site to facilitate the sharing of resources and information between Speech and Language Therapists. The development of the information architecture is based on a combination of two aspects: an abstract structural analysis of existing bilingual Web designs focusing on the presentation of bilingual material, and a bilingual card-sorting activity conducted with potential users. Issues for bilingual developments are discussed, and some observations are made regarding the use of card-sorting activities.

Introduction to Minority Languages, Multimedia and the Web

The relationship between minority languages and communications technology in the broadest sense has always been complex and problematic. One the one hand communication technology can be a powerful force for propagating a majority language and its cultural values; on the other hand it can provide vital new opportunities for media production and consumption in minority languages. Many minority language communities have considered a presence in media such as radio, television, and now the Internet to be desirable or even essential. However, as with earlier technologies, the actual effects of the Internet, and of computer technologies in general, on minority languages vary from situation to situation / the views presented in the quotations above are not mutually exclusive. In order to have an informed debate and to understand the potential implications of the technological and policy decisions that are being made, research on contemporary minority languages is needed. A concept that is often invoked when discussing issues of marginalisation in information technology is the digital divide. Typically this is couched in terms of economic or educational barriers, or issues of physical access to the technology. While these aspects of the digital divide have obvious relevance for many minority language communities, other aspects should not be ignored. One that is particularly relevant is the divide between languages that are ‘information rich’ and languages that are ‘information poor’ with regard

Promoting minority-language use in a bilingual online community

This paper explores the potential for creating online environments for bilingual communities in which minority-language use is supported and actively encouraged. It discusses the language behaviour and attitudes of Welsh–English bilingual users in Pen i Ben, a pilot online community of practice for Head Teachers in Wales. The patterns of language use and the functional roles served by the languages are described. Despite the creation of a bilingual environment and the implementation of specific strategies to encourage Welsh use, the trend indicates increasing use of English. However, it is suggested that a wider set of supporting strategies might be successful in maintaining a truly bilingual online community.

Compound descriptors in context: a matching function for classifications and thesauri

There are many advantages for Digital Libraries in indexing with classifications or thesauri, but some current disincentive in the lack of flexible retrieval tools that deal with compound descriptors. This paper discusses a matching function for compound descriptors, or multi-concept subject headings, that does not rely on exact matching but incorporates term expansion via thesaurus semantic relationships to produce ranked results that take account of missing and partially matching terms. The matching function is based on a measure of semantic closeness between terms, which has the potential to help with recall problems. The work reported is part of the ongoing FACET project in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Industry and its collections database. The architecture of the prototype system and its interface are outlined. The matching problem for compound descriptors is reviewed and the FACET implementation described. Results are discussed from scenarios using the faceted Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus. We argue that automatic traversal of thesaurus relationships can augment the users browsing possibilities. The techniques can be applied both to unstructured multi-concept subject headings and potentially to more syntactically structured strings. The notion of a focus term is used by the matching function to model AAT modified descriptors (noun phrases). The relevance of the approach to precoordinated indexing and matching faceted strings is discussed.

Twitter and the Welsh language

The emergence of new domains, such as the Internet, can prove challenging for minority languages. Welsh is a minority, regional language and is considered ‘vulnerable’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Welsh-speaking community appears to have responded positively to the Internet and the new media it facilitates. This paper uses an online questionnaire to examine the communitys response to Twitter. The results show that Twitter has become a new domain for the production and consumption of the Welsh language, as well as facilitating new connections between members of the Welsh-speaking community. However, while Twitter may provide a new domain for the Welsh language, it is also a new domain for the production and consumption of the English language by Welsh speakers. While the presence of the Welsh language on Twitter should be seen as encouraging, the overall effect of Twitter on the maintenance of the Welsh language remains difficult to determine.