Jasmijn van Gorp

Aggregated search interface preferences in multi-session search tasks

Aggregated search interfaces provide users with an overview of results from various sources. Two general types of display exist: tabbed, with access to each source in a separate tab, and blended, which combines multiple sources into a single result page. Multi-session search tasks, e.g., a research project, consist of multiple stages, each with its own sub-tasks. Several factors involved in multi-session search tasks have been found to influence user search behavior. We investigate whether user preference for source presentation changes during a multi-session search task. The dynamic nature of multi-session search tasks makes the design of a controlled experiment a non-trivial challenge. We adopt a methodology based on triangulation and conduct two types of observational study: a longitudinal study and a laboratory study. In the longitudinal study we follow the use of tabbed and blended displays by 25 students during a project. We find that while a tabbed display is used more than a blended display, subjects repeatedly switch between displays during the project. Use of the tabbed display is motivated by a need to zoom in on a specific source, while the blended display is used to explore available material across sources whenever the information need changes. In a laboratory study 44 students completed a multi-session search task composed of three sub-tasks, the first with a tabbed display, the second and third with blended displays. The tasks were manipulated by either providing three task about the same topic or about three different topics. We find that a stable information need over multiple sub-tasks negatively influences perceived usability of the blended displays, while we do not find an influence when the information need changes.

Inverting film policy: film as nation builder in post-Soviet Russia, 1991-2005

The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a search for a national identity in Russia. This article investigates whether the Russian State recognized cinema as a cultural good for nation-building purposes. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is demonstrated that after 1994, films with a national claim became more likely than other films to obtain state support. This was not the result of a deliberate policy, but rather an expression of a prevailing common sense whereby filmmakers and other stakeholders were preoccupied with a national identity. From 2000 onwards, stimulating the construction of a national identity became one of the primary policy goals. Paradoxically, the communication of such policy goal provided no guarantee for an increased output of national films. The case of the post-Soviet Russian film policy shows that the creation of a common sense often has a greater impact than policy measures.The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a search for a national identity in Russia. This article investigates whether the Russian State recognized cinema as a cultural good for nation-building purposes. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is demonstrated that after 1994, films with a national claim became more likely than other films to obtain state support. This was not the result of a deliberate policy, but rather an expression of a prevailing common sense whereby filmmakers and other stakeholders were preoccupied with a national identity. From 2000 onwards, stimulating the construction of a national identity became one of the primary policy goals. Paradoxically, the communication of such policy goal provided no guarantee for an increased output of national films. The case of the post-Soviet Russian film policy shows that the creation of a common sense often has a greater impact than policy measures.

Media studies research in the data-driven age: How research questions evolve

The introduction of new technologies and access to new information channels continue to change the way media studies researchers work and the questions they seek to answer. We investigate the current practices of media studies researchers and how these practices affect their research questions. Through the analysis of 27 interviews about the research practices of media studies researchers during a research project we developed a model of the activities in their research cycle. We find that information gathering and analysis activities are dominating the research cycle. These activities influence the research outcomes as they determine how research questions asked by media studies researchers evolve. Specifically, we show how research questions are related to the availability and accessibility of data as well as new information sources for contextualization of the research topic. Our contribution is a comprehensive account of the overall research cycle of media studies researchers as well as specific aspects of the research cycle, i.e., information sources, information seeking challenges, and the development of research questions. This work confirms findings of previous work in this area using a previously unstudied group of researchers, as well as providing new details about how research questions evolve.

Diaspora organizations, imagined communities and the versatility of diaspora: The case of Former Yugoslav organizations in the Netherlands

This article takes the case of Former Yugoslav organizations in the Netherlands to investigate how diaspora organizations are central in constructing identities. Contributing to the growing field of studies about Former Yugoslav diasporas, it explores how diaspora organizations play a role as cultural mediators. Drawing from theories of diaspora, imagined communities and transnationalism, we employ ‘diaspora’ as a versatile tool of analysis, investigating dimensions of diasporic experience, discourse and practice. Data were gathered through a qualitative study including 25 expert interviews and ethnographic observations. The study indicates that there are two types of diaspora organizations, which are labelled ‘exclusive’ and ‘mixed’ diaspora organizations, and that there are notable differences between Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian organizations. Organizations are discussed with regard to their aims, activities and discourses about diaspora and their capacity to forge belongings among communities.

Hard Content, Fab Front-End: Archiving Websites of Dutch Public Broadcasters

Although there are a great variety of web archiving projects around the world, there are not many that focus explicitly on websites of broadcasters. The reason is that funds are often lacking to do this, and that broadcaster websites are difficult to archive, due to their dynamic and audiovisual content. The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, with its collection of over 800,000 hours of audiovisual content has been involved in a small-scale research project related to web archiving since 2008. When Sound and Vision was approached by Dutch public broadcaster NTR to archive four of its websites, it was decided to start a collaborative pilot project that focused both on learning more about archiving broadcaster websites and developing a clean and modern public access interface. The main lesson learned from this pilot is that to archive highly dynamic and AV-heavy broadcaster websites it is vital to use supplementary capture tools and manual archiving of this ‘difficult’ content. Furthermore, since the focus of web archiving projects is usually not on a good-looking front-end, the wheel had to be partly re-invented by involving various stakeholders and determining the most important requirements. The first version of the web archive was evaluated by various prospective target users. This evaluation revealed that the participants indeed appreciated the look and speed of the web archive, and that users needed to be made more aware of the web archives purpose and limitations. The work will be continued and scaled up, by archiving more broadcaster websites, continuing the research on how best to capture and make accessible dynamic and AV content, and by creating standard practices for making the web archive publicly available.