Information Retrieval List Digest 253 (May 1, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/irld/irld-253 IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 May 1, 1995 Volume XII, Number 16 Issue 253 ********************************************************** III. NOTICES A. Publications 1. LIBRES: Call for Articles B. Meetings 1. Graduate Student Research Forum 2. Electronic Resource Sharing IV. PROJECTS A. Abstracts 1. IR-related Dissertation Abstracts ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.A.1. Fr: Keith Morgan Re: Call for Articles: LIBRES __LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal__ ISSN: 1058-6768 The Essays and Opinions Section of LIBRES is now accepting submissions. This is a non-refereed section. The Essays and Opinions Section of LIBRES publishes articles that report on applied research incorporated to improve services and thus stimulate further thinking. One essential aim is to emphasize the importance of basic research but the Section also seeks articles that address non-traditional ways of doing research, that break out of the survey/quantitative mold. These should be theoretically grounded think pieces with substantive intellectual content but need not reflect empirical research. Indeed, the Opinion pieces can stimulate discussion as to what comprises "good" research. We look for speculation, forecasts, and the explication of problem opportunities. All opinions should be crisply delivered from a strong position. We also look for a clear delineation of ideas but written with humor, wit, and most importantly, a sense of engagement. JOURNAL DESCRIPTION: LIBRES is a quarterly electronic journal with an editorial board of library and information science scholars. LIBRES communicates scholarly thought and discussion on library and information science topics. LIBRES consists of four sections: Research and Applications (refereed); Essays and Opinions (non-refereed); News, Letters, and Reviews (non- refereed); and Pre-Prints and Abstracts (non-refereed). LIBRES is indexed in ERIC RIE and Library Literature SUBMISSIONS: Submissions will be accepted only through electronic mail. Submissions should be sent to the attention of Keith Morgan Essays and Opinions Section Editor, at or at Do not send more than 1,000 lines (approx. 18 pp.) in any transmission. If a submission is longer than 1,000 lines, then send it in two pieces, each of which may be a maximum of 1,000 lines. Submissions will usually be acknowledged within 48 hours of receipt. Most reviews will be completed within 45 days of receipt. FORM AND STYLE: 1. Use the citation format found in the APA (American Psychological Association) Publication Manual. Use _to_ indicate underlining and *to* indicate bolding. 2. Do not have any lines that exceed 60 characters in length. 3. Use only ASCII character text, figures, tables, or diagrams. LANGUAGE: The official language of LIBRES is English. Translations into other languages for limited issues may be approved by special arrangement. DEADLINES: Submissions will be accepted at any time. Keith Morgan Essays and Opinions Editor kamorgan@mit.edu ********** III.B.1. Fr: Betty Wagoner Re: New York City-Graduate Forum The ASIS Metropolitan NY Chapter and the Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science Present a GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH FORUM Friday, May 12, 1995 Puck Building, 2nd floor auditorium 295 Lafayette Street (corner of Houston & Lafayette Streets) New York, NY 10 AM - 4 PM The Forum is a meeting ground. It provides an opportunity for graduate students in information, computer and management sciences to discuss their research with their peers, practicing information professionals, researchers and faculty members. Audience members gain the chance to track new trends in the information field and share their expertise and interest with others. Lunch is included in the registration fee. FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Betty Wagoner SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn Medical Research Library wagoner@medlib.hscbklyn.edu ********** III.B.2. Fr: Mounir Khalil Re: CONFERENCE ANNOUCEMENT (LACUNY INSTITUTE) LACUNY INSTITUTE 1995 THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESENTS "ELECTRONIC RESOURCE SHARING: AN OVERVIEW WITH HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE" The proliferation of electronic resources has expanded the scope of services and information available in libraries, and is simultaneously transforming the nature of librarianship. This year's LACUNY Institute will explore the nature of the changes being wrought by the information superhighway and the changing role of librarians in the electronic environment. Convened at the new state-of-art Library and Computer Technology Center at Baruch College, the conference will include a series of hands-on, vendor-led workshops on how to search the major on-line databases via the network. When? Friday, May 19th 1995 Where: Bernard Baruch College Library 151 East 25th Street New York, New York 10010 Between Lexington and Third Avenue Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Speakers: Paul Evans Peter, Coalition for Networked Information "The Life Mind on Information Highway-Update National Information Infrastructure and Internet Network Resources" Marjorie E. Bloss, Center For Research Libraries "If the Electronic Library is Becoming the Norm, Where Does This Leave Me?" Afternoon program will be hands-on experience workshops: Dialog * EBSCO * Lexis/Nexis * UMI * SUNY/OCLC * H.W. Wilson * Uncover (CARL) Creating a World of Opportunities Liberating People With Disabilities Through Adaptive Technology FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mounir Khalil, City College or Raja Jayatilleke, CSI (212) 650-8244 (718) 982-4016 fax (212) 650-7626 fax (718) 982-4015 e-mail rajsi@cunyvm ********************************************************** IV. PROJECTS IV.A.1. Fr: Susanne M. Humphrey Re: IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts - October 1994 Selected IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts Compiled by: Susanne M. Humphrey, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894 The following are citations selected by title and abstract as being of potential interest to the Information Retrieval (IR), resulting from a computer search, using the CDP/Online system, of the Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) database produced by University Microfilms International (UMI). Included are accession number (AN); author (AU); title (TI); degree, institution, year, number of pages (IN); UMI order number (DD); reference to the published DAI (SO); abstract (AB); one or more DAI subject descriptors chosen by the author (DE); thesis adviser (AR); and dates associated with the monthly update file (UP). 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: 1-800-343-5299; fax: 313-973-1540. 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 AAI0574820 AU Ackerman, Mark S. TI ANSWER GARDEN: A TOOL FOR GROWING ORGANIZATIONAL MEMORY (INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DIAGNOSTICS, NETWORK). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, 1994 DD Not available from UMI. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: A, page: 1311. AB Answer Garden allows organizations to develop databases of commonly asked questions that grow "naturally" as new questions arise and are answered. It is designed to help in situations (such as customer "hot lines" or help desks) where there is a continuing stream of questions, many of which occur over and over, but some of which the organization has never seen before. Answer Garden includes a branching network of diagnostic questions, as well as additional information retrieval methods, that help users find the answers they want. If the answer is not present, the system automatically routes the question to the appropriate expert, and the answer is returned to the user as well as inserted into the information database. Experts can also modify this network in response to users' problems. Through their normal interactions, users and experts build an organizational memory. The thesis examines organizational memory and Answer Garden from three perspectives: in terms of organizational memory at an organizational level, information seeking at an individual level, and software systems at a technical level. It is asserted that information technology can support organizational memory in two ways, either by making recorded knowledge retrievable or by making individuals with knowledge accessible. The thesis also describes two additional organizational memory applications, the ASSIST and LiveDoc, and details the Answer Garden Substrate system underlying all three applications. Finally, the thesis reports a field study of software engineers' using Answer Garden. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.). DE Business Administration, Management. Computer Science. Information Science. AR Malone, Thomas W. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9426045 AU Al-Madani, Nabeil Ismaeil. TI A FORMAL DEFINITION, QUERY LANGUAGE AND RELATIONAL DATABASE MAPPING FOR THE SEMANTIC DATABASE MODEL (SDM). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, 1994, 195p. DD Order Number: AAI9426045. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: B, page: 1910. AB Conventional database models, particularly the relational model, provided data independence by separating the conceptual representation of data from the physical implementation. However, these models lack the constructs and mechanisms for modeling the complex interrelationships among data items in a real-world application environment. Semantic database models have been developed to provide a richer set of data structuring constructs and mechanisms. The Semantic Database Model (SDM) is one of the most comprehensive published semantic database models. It incorporates a wide range of constructs for expressing data abstractions, relationships among data items, and data derivation mechanisms. The SDM, however, is defined by means of examples and does not have a formally defined semantics or query language. The primary focus of this dissertation is: (1) to formally define the SDM, (2) to develop a query language for the SDM, (3) to develop a scheme that maps the structures of the SDM to relational structures, and (4) to design and develop a prototype system that implements the SDM as a front-end to a relational DBMS. The formal definition of the SDM uses a graph-based formalism for defining the structural components, and first order predicate calculus for specifying the integrity constraints of the model. The SDM query language is an English-like query language that provides commands for schema definition and modification, data retrieval and manipulation, and data update and modification. The mapping scheme provides the necessary theoretical foundations for developing the SDM Schema Management System (SDM/SMS) prototype. The SDM/SMS implements the SDM on top of a relational DBMS. It allows the user to define and manipulate schemata, browse and navigate inside schemata, and specify queries through an intuitive yet powerful graphical user interface. DE Computer Science. Information Science. AR Rundus, Dewey. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9425615 AU Dey, Debabrata. TI A DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR TEMPORAL DATABASES (RELATIONAL DATABASES, DATABASES). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, 1994, 134p. DD Order Number: AAI9425615. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: B, page: 1913. AB A variety of business information systems such as financial applications, medical databases and legal systems make extensive use of temporal data. Temporal data plays an important role in verification, recovery, forecasting, statistical inferences and policy analysis. Thus it is useful for a data model to address the issue of time and temporal data. This point of view has been shared by many researchers in the area of databases, and a considerable amount of research, related to the storage and retrieval of temporal data, has been carried out in recent years. However, there has not been any research undertaken that attempts to provide a systematic design method for temporal relational databases. This research proposes a unified design methodology for temporal relational databases. The methodology consists of three major innovations: (i) representation of time-dependent data in a conceptual model based on the Entity-Relationship model, (ii) representation and manipulation of time-dependent data in a logical model defined by a temporal extension of the relational model, and (iii) cost-benefit analysis for logical design of temporal databases to determine how much temporal data is worth storing. Design, operation and maintenance of business information systems should greatly benefit from the results of this research. DE Computer Science. Business Administration, Management. AR Barron, Terence M. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9426284 AU Flater, David W. TI TOWARDS A GLOBAL FEDERATION OF HETEROGENEOUS RESOURCES (QUERY, INTERNET, INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, ALIBI). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY, 1994, 142p. DD Order Number: AAI9426284. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: B, page: 1914. AB The exponential growth of the Internet has resulted in what is known as the resource discovery problem. Although the network makes it possible for users to retrieve enormous amounts of information, it provides insufficient support for locating the specific information that is needed. Various tools have emerged that either simplify the task of browsing the network or attempt to index all the available information in a central catalog. A scLIBI (Adaptive Location of Internetworked Bases of Information) is a new tool that succeeds in locating information without the use of centralized resource catalogs, navigation, or costly searching. Its powerful query-based interface eliminates the need for the user to connect to one network site after another to find information or to wrestle with overloaded centralized catalogs and archives. This functionality was made possible by an assortment of significant new algorithms and techniques, including classification-based query routing, fully distributed cooperative caching, and a query language that combines the practicality of Boolean logic with the expressive power of text retrieval. The resulting information system is capable of providing fully automatic resource discovery and retrieval access to a limitless variety of information bases. DE Computer Science. AR Yesha, Yelena. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9426287 AU Pearce, Claudia Eileen. TI A DYNAMIC HYPERTEXT ENVIRONMENT THROUGH N-GRAM ANALYSIS (DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL, QUERYING). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY, 1994, 217p. DD Order Number: AAI9426287. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: B, page: 1918. AB Methods and tools for finding documents relevant to a user's needs in document corpora can be found in the information retrieval, library science, and hypertext communities. Typically, these systems provide retrieval capabilities for fairly static corpora, and their algorithms are dependent on specific language features, which don't perform well when presented with misspelled words or text that has been degraded by optical character recognition techniques. In addition, the capabilities needed by a variety of researchers, analysts, and investigative reporters from these methods and tools go beyond those provided by the traditional indexing systems. The need to find related documents, to query using natural language, and to filter out undesired information all suggest the need for a more interactive and robust user interface. This dissertation describes a dynamic hypertext environment that provides the capabilities of relating, querying, and filtering documents in a nontrivially-sized, dynamic corpus. This environment is robust in the sense that it is independent of specific language features and is capable of dealing with degraded or corrupted text. DE Computer Science. AR Nicholas, Charles K. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9426712 AU Flynn, Ida M. TI DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CLASSMATES OF YOUNG CANCER PATIENTS: A CASE STUDY. IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 1994, 215p. DD Order Number: AAI9426712. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: A, page: 1129. AB The purpose of this case study was to develop, test and evaluate a multimedia interactive information retrieval system for children which would be easy to learn to use and would keep their interest while accessing information on a sensitive subject, cancer in children. To explore the multimedia aspects of this project, material collected for presentation was displayed in two ways: the visual database was stored on a videodisc and displayed on a color monitor, and the factual database was stored on the computer's hard disk and displayed on the computer's monitor. The children interacted with the information system through a one-button mouse and the interface stored on the computer's hard disk. Data were collected by pre- and post-tests given to students of a fourth grade class from an elementary school located in Wilkinsburg, one of the boroughs adjacent to the city of Pittsburgh. There were few statistically significant results in this case study. Based on one class of 22 children, the participants had only a limited amount of time to navigate through the system and to assimilate the information presented. However, the results of this case study suggest that the databases provided useful information about cancer and that the information retrieval system was easy to use. An important aspect of this study was the exploration of children's information seeking strategies. The navigational charts used to track each child's path through the system yielded information about their search techniques. After comparing all navigational charts, three categories of users were defined: browsers, explorers, and investigators. Each group exhibited particular characteristics related to the breadth and depth of search, amount of interest in the information retrieved, and interaction with the system. For example, browsers glanced through many stacks at random, explorers were interested in the interface and how it worked, and investigators were interested in the contents of the databases and read the information presented on the computer's screen. DE Library Science. Information Science. Education, Health. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. AN AAI9426718 AU Lindberg, Carolyn Hope. TI A COMPARISON OF THE LANGUAGE OF PATIENT CHARTS AT PRESBYTERIAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, PITTSBURGH, PA., AND THE UNIFIED MEDICAL LANGUAGE SYSTEM OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE (ONLINE MEDICAL RECORDS). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 1994, 176p. DD Order Number: AAI9426718. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-05, Section: A, page: 1130. AB This dissertation matches the language of online medical records at the Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh with the language of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), an experimental thesaurus of biomedicine developed by the National Library of Medicine. In the future, the UMLS may serve as an interface between medical charts and the information in databases such as Medline. The main research question is whether the UMLS captures the concepts found in medical charts and can thus be used to bridge the gap between chart terminology and MeSH, the vocabulary used to access Medline. A sample of 50 records from two diagnoses was compared to the UMLS. A statistical formula selected potentially useful non-matches, which were then analyzed to determine whether the missing concepts are wholly or partially present in another form in MeSH. Seventy percent of the missing terms are either broader terms than MeSH headings or synonyms of chart terms/concepts. Approximately 19% of the dropped terms could not form a strong map to MeSH. The study indicates that, since so many chart terms are found in some form, a chart-generated search can link to many related concepts in MeSH, but a significant number of chart concepts must be added to the UMLS or cross referenced to MeSH. DE Library Science. Information Science. UP 9410. Revised: 941027. ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests and submissions to: NCGUR@UCCMVSA.UCOP.EDU Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch calur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu Nancy Gusack ncgur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu The IRLIST Archives is now set up for anonymous FTP, as well as via the LISTSERV. Using anonymous FTP via the host dla.ucop.edu, the files will be found in the directory pub/irl, stored in subdirectories by year (e.g., /pub/irl/1993). 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