limor tamim | UBC - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by limor tamim
This study explores the relationships between the level of interest in an assigned search task an... more This study explores the relationships between the level of interest in an assigned search task and the retrieved content and measures commonly used in interactive information retrieval research. First, measures that are commonly used in IIR experiments were identified by reviewing IIR literature, then an experiment was conducted where participants were asked to complete two search tasks, one more interesting to them and one less so, and the differences in their behavior and perceptions were measured to determine if there is a significant difference between the two tasks for each of the measures identified. The results are inconclusive regarding the influence of interest. The possible reasoning for such results is discussed, and recommendations for designing future experiments are given.
Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a... more Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a key construct in human information interaction. As a motivational variable, interest has been widely studied in psychology and education, but has received less consistent and theory-driven attention in the field of interactive information retrieval (IIR). In this perspective paper we examine the role of interest and review how it has been studied and operationalized in IIR research. We draw upon a survey of 58 research studies that have manipulated, controlled or measured searcher interest in some way. The intent of the paper is to raise the profile of interest as a user-centred variable in IIR and to advocate for more conceptual and methodological consistency in future studies to better evaluate the impact of interest in information search. CCS CONCEPTS •Information systems~Information retrieval~Users and interactive retrieval •Human-centered computing~Human computer interaction (HCI)~HCI design and evaluation methods~User studies
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2018
Reading has many benefits, and has been shown to improve verbal abilities, concentration, imagina... more Reading has many benefits, and has been shown to improve verbal abilities, concentration, imagination, and memory. Diverse reading materials have also been shown to reduce prejudice; perspectives drawn from different experiences and locales evoke empathy in the reader. To encourage diverse perspective taking, the Reading Around the World Challenge (RAWC) encourages people to read one book from every country. However, there is a lack of materials available for some countries, and existing books are not well known. Further, challengers take part individually or within existing social groups, and there is currently no means of exchanging book lists with other RAWC participants. To address this issue, we created RtWTrack, a web-based prototype, which features a publicly available book database and visual map, that aggregates bibliographic data about reading materials and makes it publicly available. MOTIVATION Reading has the power to change the way we view the world. For example, one study showed that narrative fiction reduced Arab-Muslim prejudice among readers and offered a safe haven from intergroup anxiety, a form of social anxiety that people experience when interacting with groups that are different from their own (Johnson, Jasper, Griffin, & Huffman, 2013). When readers look for a book they typically use a series of personal filters (Sheldrick Ross, 1999). These include the physical characteristics of the book, such as size and cover art, as well as other elements, such as the author, genre, title, and the book summary or sample paragraph. In addition, readers consider the kind of reading experience they want to have, and how difficult it will be to acquire the material (Sheldrick Ross, 1999). Therefore, to facilitate greater ease of access for avid readers to engage with material written from diverse viewpoints, we have created a prototype tool called RTwTrack.
Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval
Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a... more Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a key construct in human information interaction. As a motivational variable, interest has been widely studied in psychology and education, but has received less consistent and theory-driven attention in the field of interactive information retrieval (IIR). In this perspective paper we examine the role of interest and review how it has been studied and operationalized in IIR research. We draw upon a survey of 58 research studies that have manipulated, controlled or measured searcher interest in some way. The intent of the paper is to raise the profile of interest as a user-centred variable in IIR and to advocate for more conceptual and methodological consistency in future studies to better evaluate the impact of interest in information search. CCS CONCEPTS •Information systems~Information retrieval~Users and interactive retrieval •Human-centered computing~Human computer interaction (HCI)~HCI design and evaluation methods~User studies
S I READ Gregory Smith's manuscript on place-based education, my mind kept wafting backward to sp... more S I READ Gregory Smith's manuscript on place-based education, my mind kept wafting backward to spring of 1972. That was when the first team of teachers with whom I taught disbanded, because sixth grade was moving from the elementary to the middle school. I was the neophyte on that team, a Johnny-come-lately to education, but the other three members were an impressive lot-committed to making education not only "learningful" but fun. So I was not surprised when my math/science teaching partner, Dave Ebeling, announced one day in late April, "I have a dream-to have the four of us join forces to teach a weeklong series of 'special events' before we go our separate ways." And so it came to pass. I don't remember vividly all those "special events" that we planned and implemented together, but one of them sticks in my mind. It was a "practical math day" at the local shopping mall. We divided our 100-plus sixth-graders into groups of four or five, each accompanied by a teacher or a parent volunteer, and we asked each group to choose a couple of problems (one for morning, one for afternoon) from a list (or to write their own). One problem went something like this: "Your favorite uncle has given you 60topayforyourbirthdayparty.Withthatsumyoumustpurchaseinvitations,favors,food,decorations,entertainment,andanythingelseassociatedwithyourparty.Decidehowmanyfriendsyouintendtoinvitetoyourpartyand,aftershoppingtoascertainprices,submitanitemizedbudgetthatcoversallexpenses."Anotherwentsomethinglikethis:"Yourparentshaveprovidedyouwith60 to pay for your birthday party. With that sum you must purchase invitations, favors, food, decorations, entertainment, and anything else associated with your party. Decide how many friends you intend to invite to your party and, after shopping to ascertain prices, submit an itemized budget that covers all expenses." Another went something like this: "Your parents have provided you with 60topayforyourbirthdayparty.Withthatsumyoumustpurchaseinvitations,favors,food,decorations,entertainment,andanythingelseassociatedwithyourparty.Decidehowmanyfriendsyouintendtoinvitetoyourpartyand,aftershoppingtoascertainprices,submitanitemizedbudgetthatcoversallexpenses."Anotherwentsomethinglikethis:"Yourparentshaveprovidedyouwith100 to cover the costs of your back-to-school wardrobe for middle school. Submit a list of your proposed purchases, along with the prices. Be sure to stay within your budget, and don't forget to include shoes." Did those sixth-graders use and practice their addition and subtraction facts? You bet. Did they come to understand the importance of basic math skills in everyday life? For sure. Did they see a connection between "school learning" and life? Without a doubt. And did they find the experience enjoyable? I think you know the answer to that. It's important to note, though, that their learning extended well beyond mathematics. One mother, who worked with a group on the "fall wardrobe" problem, said later, "That's the first time I've seen kids turn garments inside-out to look at the seams. Suddenly, they were worried about not only price but quality." That same group of sixthgraders held an extended discussion on the virtues of expensive shoes over cheaper ones before deciding on which kind to include in their individual wardrobe budgets. Save for its duration, the practical math experience that I have described was not unlike what Gregory Smith is talking about in this month's Kappan. But somewhere along the way-in the midst of the current push for accountability and high-stakes testing-government officials, business executives, and others who would dictate teaching strategies to professional educators have forgotten what we educators all know deep in our bones: without motivation there is no learning. There are many, many ways to teach a given skill. Some are pleasurable and interesting; others are deadly dull. Those teaching strategies that tap into students' interests have the best chance of yielding the outcomes that we desire. And, in today's test-happy climate, we overlook that fact at our peril.-PBG
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology
This study explores the relationships between the level of interest in an assigned search task an... more This study explores the relationships between the level of interest in an assigned search task and the retrieved content and measures commonly used in interactive information retrieval research. First, measures that are commonly used in IIR experiments were identified by reviewing IIR literature, then an experiment was conducted where participants were asked to complete two search tasks, one more interesting to them and one less so, and the differences in their behavior and perceptions were measured to determine if there is a significant difference between the two tasks for each of the measures identified. The results are inconclusive regarding the influence of interest. The possible reasoning for such results is discussed, and recommendations for designing future experiments are given.
Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a... more Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a key construct in human information interaction. As a motivational variable, interest has been widely studied in psychology and education, but has received less consistent and theory-driven attention in the field of interactive information retrieval (IIR). In this perspective paper we examine the role of interest and review how it has been studied and operationalized in IIR research. We draw upon a survey of 58 research studies that have manipulated, controlled or measured searcher interest in some way. The intent of the paper is to raise the profile of interest as a user-centred variable in IIR and to advocate for more conceptual and methodological consistency in future studies to better evaluate the impact of interest in information search. CCS CONCEPTS •Information systems~Information retrieval~Users and interactive retrieval •Human-centered computing~Human computer interaction (HCI)~HCI design and evaluation methods~User studies
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2018
Reading has many benefits, and has been shown to improve verbal abilities, concentration, imagina... more Reading has many benefits, and has been shown to improve verbal abilities, concentration, imagination, and memory. Diverse reading materials have also been shown to reduce prejudice; perspectives drawn from different experiences and locales evoke empathy in the reader. To encourage diverse perspective taking, the Reading Around the World Challenge (RAWC) encourages people to read one book from every country. However, there is a lack of materials available for some countries, and existing books are not well known. Further, challengers take part individually or within existing social groups, and there is currently no means of exchanging book lists with other RAWC participants. To address this issue, we created RtWTrack, a web-based prototype, which features a publicly available book database and visual map, that aggregates bibliographic data about reading materials and makes it publicly available. MOTIVATION Reading has the power to change the way we view the world. For example, one study showed that narrative fiction reduced Arab-Muslim prejudice among readers and offered a safe haven from intergroup anxiety, a form of social anxiety that people experience when interacting with groups that are different from their own (Johnson, Jasper, Griffin, & Huffman, 2013). When readers look for a book they typically use a series of personal filters (Sheldrick Ross, 1999). These include the physical characteristics of the book, such as size and cover art, as well as other elements, such as the author, genre, title, and the book summary or sample paragraph. In addition, readers consider the kind of reading experience they want to have, and how difficult it will be to acquire the material (Sheldrick Ross, 1999). Therefore, to facilitate greater ease of access for avid readers to engage with material written from diverse viewpoints, we have created a prototype tool called RTwTrack.
Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval
Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a... more Interest characterizes a cognitive-emotional relationship between people and information and is a key construct in human information interaction. As a motivational variable, interest has been widely studied in psychology and education, but has received less consistent and theory-driven attention in the field of interactive information retrieval (IIR). In this perspective paper we examine the role of interest and review how it has been studied and operationalized in IIR research. We draw upon a survey of 58 research studies that have manipulated, controlled or measured searcher interest in some way. The intent of the paper is to raise the profile of interest as a user-centred variable in IIR and to advocate for more conceptual and methodological consistency in future studies to better evaluate the impact of interest in information search. CCS CONCEPTS •Information systems~Information retrieval~Users and interactive retrieval •Human-centered computing~Human computer interaction (HCI)~HCI design and evaluation methods~User studies
S I READ Gregory Smith's manuscript on place-based education, my mind kept wafting backward to sp... more S I READ Gregory Smith's manuscript on place-based education, my mind kept wafting backward to spring of 1972. That was when the first team of teachers with whom I taught disbanded, because sixth grade was moving from the elementary to the middle school. I was the neophyte on that team, a Johnny-come-lately to education, but the other three members were an impressive lot-committed to making education not only "learningful" but fun. So I was not surprised when my math/science teaching partner, Dave Ebeling, announced one day in late April, "I have a dream-to have the four of us join forces to teach a weeklong series of 'special events' before we go our separate ways." And so it came to pass. I don't remember vividly all those "special events" that we planned and implemented together, but one of them sticks in my mind. It was a "practical math day" at the local shopping mall. We divided our 100-plus sixth-graders into groups of four or five, each accompanied by a teacher or a parent volunteer, and we asked each group to choose a couple of problems (one for morning, one for afternoon) from a list (or to write their own). One problem went something like this: "Your favorite uncle has given you 60topayforyourbirthdayparty.Withthatsumyoumustpurchaseinvitations,favors,food,decorations,entertainment,andanythingelseassociatedwithyourparty.Decidehowmanyfriendsyouintendtoinvitetoyourpartyand,aftershoppingtoascertainprices,submitanitemizedbudgetthatcoversallexpenses."Anotherwentsomethinglikethis:"Yourparentshaveprovidedyouwith60 to pay for your birthday party. With that sum you must purchase invitations, favors, food, decorations, entertainment, and anything else associated with your party. Decide how many friends you intend to invite to your party and, after shopping to ascertain prices, submit an itemized budget that covers all expenses." Another went something like this: "Your parents have provided you with 60topayforyourbirthdayparty.Withthatsumyoumustpurchaseinvitations,favors,food,decorations,entertainment,andanythingelseassociatedwithyourparty.Decidehowmanyfriendsyouintendtoinvitetoyourpartyand,aftershoppingtoascertainprices,submitanitemizedbudgetthatcoversallexpenses."Anotherwentsomethinglikethis:"Yourparentshaveprovidedyouwith100 to cover the costs of your back-to-school wardrobe for middle school. Submit a list of your proposed purchases, along with the prices. Be sure to stay within your budget, and don't forget to include shoes." Did those sixth-graders use and practice their addition and subtraction facts? You bet. Did they come to understand the importance of basic math skills in everyday life? For sure. Did they see a connection between "school learning" and life? Without a doubt. And did they find the experience enjoyable? I think you know the answer to that. It's important to note, though, that their learning extended well beyond mathematics. One mother, who worked with a group on the "fall wardrobe" problem, said later, "That's the first time I've seen kids turn garments inside-out to look at the seams. Suddenly, they were worried about not only price but quality." That same group of sixthgraders held an extended discussion on the virtues of expensive shoes over cheaper ones before deciding on which kind to include in their individual wardrobe budgets. Save for its duration, the practical math experience that I have described was not unlike what Gregory Smith is talking about in this month's Kappan. But somewhere along the way-in the midst of the current push for accountability and high-stakes testing-government officials, business executives, and others who would dictate teaching strategies to professional educators have forgotten what we educators all know deep in our bones: without motivation there is no learning. There are many, many ways to teach a given skill. Some are pleasurable and interesting; others are deadly dull. Those teaching strategies that tap into students' interests have the best chance of yielding the outcomes that we desire. And, in today's test-happy climate, we overlook that fact at our peril.-PBG
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology