Michela Montesi and John Mackenzie Owen
The purpose of this paper is to outline how article genres, or article types, are classified and described in the disciplines of biology, education, and software engineering. By…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline how article genres, or article types, are classified and described in the disciplines of biology, education, and software engineering. By using the expression article genres, emphasis is placed on the social role of journal articles that, as such, accomplish specific communicative functions and are intended for a certain context and audience.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on this idea, the instructions to authors of the research journals cited in the Journal Citation Reports for each of the three disciplines are analysed.
Findings
The information provided by the instructions to authors of major publications in the fields studied allows one to describe the following article genres: major articles, theoretical articles, review articles, short articles, practice‐oriented articles, case studies, comment and opinion, and reviews.
Research limitations/implications
Results show that article genres reflect the nature of research in each field to the extent that using them to describe items along with topic may improve management and retrieval of scientific documents. In addition, article genres perform specific communicative functions within disciplinary communities, which accounts for both emerging types of articles and variations in traditional types.
Originality/value
The paper summarizes the information on article genres available in the instructions to authors of scientific journals in the disciplines of biology, education and software engineering. It attempts to show how results can mirror the nature of research in each field as well as current debates within each discipline on the state and quality of research. Also it shows how article genres convey specific communication needs within disciplinary communities, which proves that genres are social and evolving objects.
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Jin‐Cheon Na, Tun Thura Thet and Christopher S.G. Khoo
This paper aims to investigate the characteristics and differences in sentiment expression in movie review documents from four online opinion genres – blog postings, discussion…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the characteristics and differences in sentiment expression in movie review documents from four online opinion genres – blog postings, discussion board threads, user reviews, and critic reviews.
Design/methodology/approach
A collection of movie review documents was harvested from the four types of web sources, and a sample of 520 movie reviews were analysed to compare the content and textual characteristics across the four genres. The analysis focused on document and sentence length, part‐of‐speech distribution, vocabulary, aspects of movies discussed, star ratings used and multimedia content in the reviews. The study also identified frequently occurring positive and negative terms in the different genres, as well as the pattern of responses in discussion threads.
Findings
Critic reviews and blog postings are longer than user reviews and discussion threads, and contain longer sentences. Critic reviews and blogs contain more nouns and prepositions, whereas discussion board and user reviews have more verbs and adverbs. Critic reviews have the largest vocabulary and also the highest proportion of unique terms not found in the other genres. The most informative sentiment words in each genre are provided in the paper. With regard to content, critic reviews are more comprehensive in coverage, and discuss the movie director much more often than the other genres. User reviews discuss the scene aspects (including action and visual effects) more often than the other genres, while blogs tend to talk about the cast, and discuss the music and sound slightly more often.
Research limitations/implications
The study only analysed movie review documents. Similar content and text analysis studies can be carried out in other domains, such as commercial product reviews, celebrity reviews, company reviews and political opinions to compare the results.
Originality/value
The main contribution of the study is the sentiment content analysis results across genres, which show the similarities and differences in content and textual characteristics in the four online opinion genres. The insights will be useful in designing automatic sentiment summarisation methods for multiple online genres.
Alexander Hoffmann, Dominik K. Kanbach and Sascha Kraus
This study aims to explore the potential of entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) in the underexplored sector of small and medium-sized web-based businesses, addressing the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the potential of entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) in the underexplored sector of small and medium-sized web-based businesses, addressing the succession crisis in industrialized nations and offering insights into the digital ETA landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a qualitative approach, conducting in-depth interviews with 19 established website owners from diverse backgrounds and industries. The study investigates their business models, selling motivations and characteristics to provide insights for potential buyers in the digital ETA space.
Findings
Web-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) present unique opportunities for ETA, characterized by lower initial investment, higher scalability and diverse revenue streams. Key considerations for buyers include understanding seller motivations, evaluating niche focus and assessing the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence on content creation and search engine optimization. The findings also highlight the importance of authenticity and user engagement in maintaining website value.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable insights for entrepreneurs considering ETA in the digital space, highlighting critical factors for success, potential risks and mitigation strategies in acquiring web-based businesses.
Originality/value
This paper bridges a significant gap in ETA literature by focusing on web-based SMEs, which have previously been overlooked despite their growing importance in the digital economy. It provides a comprehensive analysis of relevant factors when evaluating web-based businesses in the context of ETA, particularly in light of technological advancements and changing online landscapes.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a biographical sketch of Srinivasan Ramani (1939‐present) whose career as India's pioneer IT researcher and IT educator has spanned over…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a biographical sketch of Srinivasan Ramani (1939‐present) whose career as India's pioneer IT researcher and IT educator has spanned over four decades.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review and interviews with the subject.
Findings
Ramani has contributed significantly to the development of India's information technology with seminal work in IT networking, IT software and IT education. During his career Ramani has guided several doctoral graduates in computer science and information technology, many of whom have gone on to pursue distinguished careers in education, governmental policy and industry.
Originality/value
The paper gives an account of the historical circumstances that led to Ramani's gradual rise and traces the important milestones in India's information technology development.
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Guoqing Tang and Caesar R. Jackson
In this chapter, we present our ongoing efforts in developing and sustaining interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate programs at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T) – a…
Abstract
In this chapter, we present our ongoing efforts in developing and sustaining interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate programs at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T) – a state-supported HBCU and National Science Foundation (NSF) Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Institutional Implementation Project grantee. Through three rounds of NSF HBCU-UP implementation grants, a concerted effort has been made in developing interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs in geophysical and environmental science (in round 1), geospatial, computational, and information science (in round 2), and mathematical and computational biology (in round 3) on NCA&T campus. We first present a brief history and background information about the interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs developed and sustained at NCA&T, giving rationales on how these programs had been conceived, and summarizing what have been achieved. Next we give a detailed description on the development of undergraduate research infrastructure including building research facilities through multiple and leveraged funding sources, and engaging a core of committed faculty mentors and research collaborators. We then present, as case studies, some sample interdisciplinary research projects in which STEM undergraduate students were engaged and project outcomes. Successes associated to our endeavor in developing undergraduate research programs as well as challenges and opportunities on implementing and sustaining these efforts are discussed. Finally, we discuss the impact of well-structured undergraduate research training on student success in terms of academic performance, graduation rate and continuing graduate study, and summarize many of the learnings we have gained from implementation and delivery of undergraduate research experiences at HBCUs.
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Theories of platform strategy and adoption have been largely derived from studies of their application in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. These…
Abstract
Theories of platform strategy and adoption have been largely derived from studies of their application in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. These platforms vary in openness, with the model of open source software providing the best-known exemplar for open platforms.
This exploratory field study examines the degree to which nine attributes of ICT platforms are applicable to open platforms in biotechnology. Using a combination of interview and secondary data, it identifies three patterns of such biotechnology platforms – IP commons, hackerspaces, and crowdsourced patient registries – and the degree to which these nine attributes apply. It shows the impact of ICT platforms and open source software on open source approaches to biotechnology, and how the latter are affected by the technical, legal, and institutional differences between information technology and biotechnology.
Instead of open source software platforms organized around modular interfaces, complements, ecosystems, and two-sided markets, this study instead suggests a model of open source knowledge platforms which benefits from economies of scale but not indirect network effects. From this, it discusses the generalizability of the ICT-derived models of open source platforms and offers suggestions for future research.
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Sarah Bryans Bongey, Gerald Cizadlo and Lynn Kalnbach
To explore the benefits, challenges, and impact of podcasting in higher education and also to provide educators with anecdotal and practical advice and information on how to…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the benefits, challenges, and impact of podcasting in higher education and also to provide educators with anecdotal and practical advice and information on how to create and distribute podcasts.
Design/methodology/approach
In support of a traditional college course, a biology professor implemented podcasts to explore the value of coursecasting and its role in student learning. Direct observation, attendance counts, and server statistics supplement a survey that was distributed to 246 students involved in the project. Five survey questions focused on whether the podcasts affected the students' attendance of class, students' preferences for listening to and processing of lecture material, and students' perceptions of the academic impact associated with the podcast availability.
Findings
Taken together, the responses to the main questions from the survey and the student self‐reported comments strongly suggest that having podcast lectures available to students does not lead to large declines in class attendance. For the specific courses that were examined by this survey, students overwhelmingly preferred the actual lectures to the recorded podcasts. In addition, the large majority of students were using the podcasts to increase their understanding of material covered in specific lectures. All of these findings seem to indicate that students perceive the podcasts as really useful additional resources available to help them succeed in their courses rather than as a substitute for more traditional methods of learning.
Practical implications
In addition to research‐based findings on the podcasts' positive impact on the teaching and learning process, this paper provides practical, “how‐to” information on the creation of podcasts.
Originality/value
This study describes experiences and presents original research relating to the podcasting of college biology lectures. Research and observations respond to the question of whether podcasts detract from the educational process. For the prospective podcaster, this paper also shares specific methods, strategies, and how‐to information involved in the creation of an academic podcast.
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Tessa Withorn, Joanna Messer Kimmitt, Carolyn Caffrey, Anthony Andora, Cristina Springfield, Dana Ospina, Maggie Clarke, George Martinez, Amalia Castañeda, Aric Haas and Wendolyn Vermeer
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Lior Shamir, Franco Delogu, Melinda Weinstein and Hsiao-Ping Moore