Information Retrieval List Digest 105 (March 24, 1992) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/irld/irld-105 IRLIST Digest March 24, 1992 Volume IX, Number 9 Issue 105 ********************************************************** I. NOTICES A. Meeting Announcements/Calls for Papers 1. European Conference on Hypertext, '92, November 30 - December 4, 1992, Milano, Italy B. Publication Announcements 1. _EJournal_ 2. Online Information Hunting IV. PROJECT WORK C. Abstracts 1. IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts ********************************************************** I. NOTICES I.A.1. Fr: Robert.Akscyn@zog.cs.cmu.edu Re: CAll for ECHT '92 Preliminary Call for Papers European Conference on Hypertext (ECHT'92) Fourth ACM Conference on Hypertext 30 November - 4 December 1992 Milano, Italy SCOPE: ECHT'92 is the second in a series of European conferences on Hypertext and Hypermedia in alternation with the U.S. based HYPERTEXT'xx conferences under coordination of ACM SIGLINK. ECHT'92 is a major event where researchers, developers and users can meet around the theme of Hypertext and Hypermedia. The broad applicability of Hypertext and Hypermedia as a primary technology in many domains and its efficiency as an information integrator has lead to increase interest from industry as well as recognition from academia over the last five years. By its very nature, Hypertext and Hypermedia are at the intersection of many fields within computer science and also cognitive science, education, communication, and are relevant for many application domains. Therefore, ECHT'92 will be of interest for a broad spectrum of professionals ranging from theoreticians to system and application developers, from researchers to authors and end-users. The conference will include prominent guest speakers, presentations of refereed papers, panel sessions, technical briefings sessions, poster and video presentations, as well as demonstrations of experimental research prototypes and commercial products. The conference will feature two days tutorials of introductory and advanced course level. There will be opportunities for informal meetings of special interest groups. TOPICS: We are inviting you to participate in ECHT'92 and to submit original and innovative contributions such as papers, panels, tutorials, demos, videos and posters. Submissions in any area concerned with Hypertext and Hypermedia research and development are encouraged. A non exhaustive list of topics of interest is suggested: Hypertext and Hypermedia - applications - modelling and design - development methodologies and tools - responsive interfaces - evaluation - Systems software technologies - authoring Hypertext-Hypermedia in connection with: - Operating Systems - Data Base Management Systems - Object-Oriented Systems and languages - Knowledge Systems - Information retrieval - Software engineering - Cooperative work - Fiction CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRs Paolo Paolini Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, E-mail: PAOLINI@IPMEL1.POLIMI.IT Telephone: (39) 2-23993520 Fax: (39) 2-23993411 Gianni Degli Antoni Universita di Milano (Italy) PROGRAM COMMITEE CO-CHAIRS Jocelyne & Marc Nanard LIRMM, University of Montpellier, E-mail: nanard@crim.fr Telephone: (33) 67 63 04 60 Fax: (33) 67 54 73 76 TUTORIALS CHAIR Franca Garzotto Politecnico di Milano PANELS CHAIR Norbert Streitz GMD-IPSI VIDEOS and DEMOS CHAIR Paul Kahn IRIS - Brown Dynamic Diagrams Inc. TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS CHAIR Norman Meyrowitz GO Corporation ECHT '92 PROGRAM COMMITEE (To be extended) Robert Akscyn Knowledge System (USA) Patricia Baird Scottish Daily Record (UK) Mark Bernstein Eastgate Systems Inc.(USA) Peter Brown Univ. of Kent (UK) Tat Seng Chua Ntl. Univ. of Singapore (Singapore) Ralf Cordes Telenorma Bosch Telecom (FRG) Franca Garzotto Politecnico di Milano (I) Nuno Guimaraes INESC(P) Frank Halasz Xerox Parc (USA) Hiroshi Ishii NTT (Japan) Paul Kahn IRIS, Brown Univ. (USA) John Leggett Texas A&M Univ. (USA) Dario Lucarella ENEL (I) Norman Meyrowitz GO Corporation (USA) Jakob Nielsen Bellcore (USA) Tim Oren Apple (USA) Antoine Rizk Euroclid (F) Daniel Schwabe PUC (Brazil) Norbert Streitz GMD-IPSI (FRG) Frank Tompa Univ. of Waterloo (CAN) Randall H. Trigg Aarhus Univ (DK) A. M. Vercoustre INRIA (F) Janet Walker DEC Cambridge Res. Lab. (USA) N. Yankelovich SUN (USA) ECHT'92 CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT Enza Caputo Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 20133 Milano (Italia) E-mail: Caputo@IPMEL1.POLIMI.IT Telephone: (39) 2-23993405 Fax: (39) 2-23993411 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION: (to Conference Secretariat) Full papers (<6000 words) should be submitted in five paper copies. A separate cover page must contain title of paper, name(s), affiliation and complete mailing address (incl. phone, telefax, e-mail) of the authors together with an abstract (about 200 words) and (from three to five) keywords. Proposals for panels should contain topic of the panel, its content (<1000 words), names and affiliation of proposer and contributors, a brief characterization of their background and experiences relevant to the panel. Proposals for videos, demos and posters presentations should be submitted in the form of an extended abstract, describing the content and also the content of the course and its format (1000-2000 words), should identify the target audience, the level of expertise required, and the lenght (1 or 2 half days). Qualification and profile of the tutor(s) should also be included. DEADLINES May 4th 1992: Submission of full papers, panels, videos, demos, posters, and tutorials should be received by the conference secretariat. Please, send also an Email version of the abstract with title, name, address and affiliation, to the conference secretariat as soon as possible, and in any case before the deadline. July 6th 1992: Notification of acceptance. Sept. 1st 1992: Final copy of papers received by the conference secretariat. ********** I.B.1. Fr: EJOURNAL@ALBNYVMS.BITNET Re: _EJournal_ Announcing an Electronic Journal March 1992 _EJournal_ is a peer-reviewed, all-electronic, network distributed, serial publication. We are particularly interested in theory and practice surrounding the creation, transmission, storage, interpretation, alteration and replication of electronic "text," broadly defined. We are also interested in the social, psychological, literary, economic, pedagogical, philosophical and other ramifications of computer-mediated networks. Our review process is anonymous, all-electronic, and consensual. We prefer brief, authentic, lively essays to exhaustive technical reports. Single-essay issues appear as often as submissions are affirmatively reviewed; there were four (free) distributions to subscribers in 1991. There are two dozen consulting editors, in several disciplines, who review submissions. Members of _EJournal_'s advisory board are: Stevan Harnad, Princeton University Dick Lanham, University of California at Los Angeles Ann Okerson, Association of Research Libraries Joe Raben, City University of New York Bob Scholes, Brown University Harry Whitaker, University of Quebec at Montreal To subscribe to _EJournal_, send a mail message to listserv@albnyvm1.bitnet containing as its only line the command: subscribe ejrnl your_first_name your_last_name Information about getting back issues will accompany the "Welcome" message sent to people who subscribe. Please send submissions for editorial consideration to our "office" at: ejournal@albnyvms.bitnet Ted Jennings, Editor, Department of English, University at Albany/SUNY ********** I.B.2. Fr: Nahum (N.) Goldmann Re: OIH ONLINE INFORMATION HUNTING, by Nahum Goldmann This book (McGraw-Hill/Windcrest, ISBN 0-8306-3945-4, tel. 1-800-233-1128, price Paper $17.95, Hard $29.95) is amongst a limited number of publications on computerized information retrieval specifically addressed to the end-user. The book describes what kind of information is available online, how to search for it, and how to use it to your professional advantage. The book outlines the SUBJECT EXPERT SEARCHING TECHNIQUE - a new methodology for online information gathering. This efficient research method is especially tailored for the end-users of information who are working in rapidly developing scientific areas, and can be used as a means of professional survival in rapidly changing scientific and professional areas. It has been successfully used by several R&D organizations. With this technique, occasional users such as scientists and students can now master the use of online databases for themselves. "... Although intended for end-users, the book could serve as... an introductory online search course for librarians." - Dr. Roger K. Summit, Dialog "... I recommend that practicing physicians, researchers, and students start with this very useful book." - Can. Med. Ass. J "... A definite basis for an undergraduate course in '(Intelligent) Information Retrieval.'" - Dr. Alex Meystel, Drexel U. ********************************************************** IV. PROJECT WORK IV.C.1. Fr: Susanne M. Humphrey Selected IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts The following are citations selected by title and abstract as being related to Information Retrieval (IR), resulting from a computer search, using BRS Information Technologies, of the Dissertation Abstracts Online database produced by University Microfilms International (UMI). Included are UMI order number, title, author, degree, year, institution; number of pages, one or more Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) subject descriptors chosen by the author, and abstract. Unless otherwise specified, paper or microform copies of dissertations may be ordered from University Microfilms International, Dissertation Copies, Post Office Box 1764, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; telephone for U.S. (except Michigan, Hawaii, Alaska): 1-800-521-3042, for Canada: 1-800-268-6090. Price lists and other ordering and shipping information are in the introduction to the published DAI. An alternate source for copies is sometimes provided. Dissertation titles and abstracts contained here are published with permission of University Microfilms International, publishers of Dissertation Abstracts International (copyright by University Microfilms International), and may not be reproduced without their prior permission. AN University Microfilms Order Number ADG91-19523. AU BHUYAN, JAYANARAYAN. TI CLUSTER-BASED ADAPTIVE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL. IN University of Southwestern Louisiana Ph.D. 1990, 194 pages. SO DAI V52(02), SecB, pp925. DE Computer Science. AB The objective of this dissertation is to design and evaluate a complete Information Retrieval system in which the feedback from a number of users of the system, about its performance (global feedback), is stored in the form of clusters called user-oriented clusters. These clusters are utilized in answering a query in conjunction with feedback obtained about the system's performance after a partial retrieval for that query (local feedback). The classification schemes are developed in 2 stages. The first stage involves the accumulation of relevance judgement provided by users vis-a-vis past query instances. The second stage consists of the identification of clusters. In one of these schemes, the feedback is accumulated on a straight line and the cluster identification problem is termed as Boundary Selection Problem (BSP). Several solutions to this problem, the first with the use of a Greedy approach, the second with the use of Dynamic Programming, and the third with the combination of Branch and Bound algorithm with Dynamic Programming, are developed. In the other scheme, the feedback is accumulated on an undirected graph and an optimization function that measures the effectiveness of the formed clusters is developed. This optimization problem is found to be NP-hard and three heuristic approaches, which are based respectively on a Greedy approach, Simulated Annealing technique, Genetic algorithm and Simulated Evolution, are developed. Once the clusters are formed, we develop two methods for searching the clusters relevant to a user's query. In one of the methods, which we call Retrieval without cluster characterization, a probabilistic model in which we utilize the information in the feedback accumulation stage to determine the probability of relevance of a query to a cluster is developed. In another method we take the description of documents into account in order to describe the clusters, and use traditional vector space model for retrieval purposes. Our experiments with clustering methods show that the clusters generated by our method outperform existing methods for user-oriented clustering. The performance of our overall system is compared to that of conventional vector space model and is found to be superior in almost all cases. AN University Microfilms Order Number ADG91-18230. AU GORMAN, KEVIN JOSEPH. TI AN OBJECT-ORIENTED SEMANTIC DATA MODEL. IN Texas A&M University Ph.D. 1990, 305 pages. SO DAI V52(02), SecB, pp930. DE Computer Science. Business Administration, Management. Information Science. AB This research centers on the design and validation of The Object-Oriented Semantic Data Model (OOSDM). OOSDM integrates features and concepts from semantic data models, object-oriented programming languages, and object-oriented data models; resulting in a data model supporting: (1) An abstract data type (APT) facility; (2) Transaction specification; (3) Enhanced logical and procedural derivation; (4) Explicit constraint specification; (5) Operational semantics for manipulating 'complex objects'. OOSDM includes additional components lacking in existing object-oriented data models: a query language and an associated diagramming technique. The Object-Oriented Semantic Query Language (OOSQL) extends relational calculus based query languages with: logical access path independence, and the use of APT operations and generalization hierarchies in queries. OOSQL contributes a formally defined, high-level, calculus based query language. Current object-oriented data models possess no such object-oriented calculus (OOC) counterpart to relational calculus. Object-Oriented Entity-Relationship Diagrams (OOERDs) extend the popular Entity-Relationship approach for modeling object structure. OOERDs model object dynamics for all operations: complex object, APT, and query. OOERDs furnish an additional database design aid, providing a graphical abstraction of both structural and behavioral application characteristics. In validating OOSDM, three separate formal mappings furnish a theoretical basis: (1) A structural mapping of OOSDM schemes to relational model schemes; (2) An operational mapping of OOC to relational calculus; (3) A mapping of access path independent OOC to access path dependent OOC. For all three mappings, justification is provided for claims of completeness, consistency, and correctness. The structural and operational mappings contribute the only known formal mappings of a semantic model to the relational model. OOSDM's access path mapping is an original approach to achieving logical access path independence. The mapping employs a semantic model graph and a simple breadth-first search algorithm to define the access path(s). Advantages of the approach include: (1) Applicability to both object-oriented models and to the relational model through a semantic interface; (2) Support for user-selected query interpretation; (3) Algorithm simplicity; (4) Database retrieval using only lossless join decompositions; (5) No additional required design concepts. AN University Microfilms Order Number ADG91-20689. AU LU, WEN YU. TI STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND ITS APPLICATION TO RECURSIVE QUERY PROCESSING IN DATABASES. IN The Ohio State University Ph.D. 1991, 147 pages. SO DAI V52(02), SecB, pp935. DE Computer Science. AB Efficient logic query processing has been an important issue in extending the traditional database systems into sophisticated database and knowledge base systems for the last decade. Single linear recursion has been identified as THE most common class of recursion in applications. The bottleneck to achieving efficiency is the repetitive, expensive, redundant operations in accessing the underlying databases in query processing. Significant efforts and many good results have been reported in the literature, yet a thorough understanding of linear recursion is yet to be seen. We conduct a detailed analysis on the structure and the expansions of a class of single linear recursion aiming at exploring the useful properties that can help reducing the processing redundancy. Our analysis proceeds as follows: (1) Analysis: A graph model of a linear recursion is adopted and the linear recursions are classified into four classes according to their configuration complexity. Then the two simpler classes are studied and characterized, with the conclusion used in deriving the properties and characterization of the two complex classes. Our characterization about different classes of recursions is categorized as bounded recursion, simple chain recursion and complex chain recursion. (2) Query processing: Based on the analysis, various ways of query optimization are discussed, with the emphasis on the realization of optimization principles: processing common subexpressions, performing selections and projections instead of joins. Then two processing algorithms are proposed for two important subclasses, namely, single linear recursion and multiple linear recursion, for selection queries. The algorithms are proved to be optimal in terms of the number of accesses to the underlying database. (3) Design of a query processor: The architecture of a query processor is proposed as a result of this study. The processor adopts the popular compilation approach in query processing and features a sophisticated analysis and compilation component that generates generic query processing plan to be instantiated by any related incoming queries. Rules are classified and characterized according to the study so that efficient processing plans can be generated. It also has the advantages of modularity and extensibility to make it easy for implementation. ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. 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