The impact of career websites: what's the evidence?

an article by Cathy Howieson and Sheila Semple (University of Edinburgh, UK) published in British Journal of Guidance & Counselling Volume 41 Issue 3 (June 2013)

Abstract

Careers provision for young people in the UK is being re-formulated on the basis of a central role for career websites but this policy is based on unproven assumptions about their value.

In this article we consider the use and impact of the two main career websites in Scotland on pupils’ career management skills.

We found that pupils at risk of not achieving positive post-school destinations were less likely to use the websites, as were minority ethnic pupils. Although similar in functions, the two websites differed in their effect: one had no impact while the other impacted on only one aspect of pupils’ career management skills.

Careers policy needs to be informed by more extensive research on career websites.

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Looking healthy: visualizing mental health and illness online

an article by Riki Thompson (University of Washington Tacoma, USA) published in Visual Communication Volume 11 Number 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

Through a historical case study of the mental health community website HealthyPlace.com, the author applies social semiotics and critical discourse analysis to interrogate the visual discourse surrounding mental health online.

Web design transformations over the course of a decade demonstrate how visual imagery conveys a shift from a biomedical discourse focused on illness to a social-therapeutic discourse centered on health and wellness.

Ultimately, the author argues that the utilisation of faces in stock photography, stylised images, and social media platforms on HealthyPlace reflects a growing trend in virtual visual synthetic personalisation on the internet to market mental health disorders as a concern for the everyday person while selling the promise of wellness through online participation.

This article explores the visual language of mental health and wellness online to expanding on research in the field of visual communication, health communication, and new media studies.

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A comparative study on the indexing and ranking of the content objects including the MARCXML and Dublin Core's metadata elements by general search engines

an article by Sayyed Mahdi Taheri and Nadjla Hariri (Department of Library and Information Science, Islamic Azad University, Tehran) published in The Electronic Library Volume 30 Issue 4 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this research was to assess and compare the indexing and ranking of XML-based content objects containing MARCXML and XML-based Dublin Core (DCXML) metadata elements by general search engines (Google and Yahoo!), in a comparative analytical study.
Design/methodology/approach
One hundred XML content objects in two groups were analyzed: those with MARCXML elements (50 records) and those with DCXML (50 records) published on two web sites (www.dcmixml.islamicdoc.org and www.marcxml.islamicdoc.org).The web sites were then introduced to the Google and Yahoo! search engines.
Findings
The indexing of metadata records and the difference between their indexing and ranking were examined using descriptive statistics and a non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The findings show that the visibility of content objects was possible by all their metadata elements. There was no significant difference between two groups’ indexing, but a difference was observed in terms of ranking.
Practical implications
The findings of this research can help search engine designers in the optimum use of metadata elements to improve their indexing and ranking process with the aim of increasing availability. The findings can also help web content object providers in the proper and efficient use of metadata systems.
Originality/value
This is the first research to examine the interoperability between XML-based metadata and web search engines, and compares the MARC format and DCMI in a research approach.

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