Information Retrieval List Digest 327 (October 7, 1996) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/irld/irld-327.txt IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 October 7, 1996 Volume XIII, Number 40 Issue 327 ********************************************************** I. QUERIES 1. New Internet Search Engine 2. Want to Contact Indexers Using SquareNote II. JOBS 1. U. Strathclyde, Scotland: Information Science, Lectureship 2. BFGoodrich: Information Specialist III. NOTICES A. Publications 1. FARNET's Washington Update -- October 4, 1996 2. JASIS Table of Contents -- October 1996 3. CFP: PACS Review 4. Special issue: CFP: JASIS 5. Special Issue: CFP: Interacting with Computers B. Meetings 1. 20th Online Information 2. ASIS Annual: Addition 3. The Virtual Workplace: One Size Doesn't Fit All C. Miscellaneous 1. Nanyang Technollgical U., Singapore: Digital Libraries Graduate Research IV. PROJECTS D. Initiatives & Proposals 1. An Evaluation of the Federal Government's Implementation of the GILS ********************************************************** I. QUERIES I.1. Fr: Yanhong Li Re: New Internet Search Engine I just put up a demo site for a new type of internet search engine, which I call Internet Rank Engine. Unlike a regular search engine, which tells you the most relevant web sites to your query, a rank engine tells you the Most Popular, Best Quality web sites which are relevant to your query. I am testing the effectiveness of this type of engines, and I'd like to hear comments from the IR community. The web site is http://www.ranklink.com/rank, and comments can be sent to yli@cs.buffalo.edu. Yanhong Li Internet Rank Engine http://www.ranklink.com/rank/ ********** I.2. Fr: Gene O'Regon Re: Want to Contact Indexers Using SquareNote Hi I'm trying to contact database, clipping, publication etc. indexers using SquareNote software [PC, DOS] for the work. Thanks, Gene Free software organizes, indexes your research notes. Open "http://sqn.com" or email "sqn35net@sqn.com". Enjoy! ********************************************************** II. JOBS II.1. Fr: Forbes Gibb Re: U. Strathclyde, Scotland: Information Science, Lectureship The University of Strathclyde in Scotland DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SCIENCE LECTURESHIP Applications are invited for a Lectureship in the Department of Information Science, a lively and well equipped Department offering opportunities to join a thriving research community and to be involved in the teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The Department was awarded an Excellent in the recent Teaching Quality Assessment. This is the highest grade achievable by a British University. In the last Research Assessment Exercise the Department was awarded a 4, which represents a level of national excellence in virtually all areas of activity and, in some cases, international excellence. Research in the Department is focused on two areas: Information Management, and Knowledge and Information Retrieval. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to research and those who can teach in at least one of the following areas will be particularly welcome. management of information services organisation of knowledge information policy and law electronic publishing information strategy. The post is on the Lecturer Scale A (Pounds Sterling 15,154 to 19,848 according to age and experience). Closing Date for applications: 25 October 1996. For an informal discussion about the post please contact Forbes Gibb by telephone on (+44 0141) 552 4400 extension 3704, or by e-mail forbes@dis.strath.ac.uk. For an application form and further particulars (Ref. 50/96) please contact: Personnel Office, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XQ. Telephone: (+44 0141) 553 4133. Further particulars together with application forms and information on the Department and the University are AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY from http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk, and also via email from secretary@dis.strath.ac.uk. Applications should be lodged with the Personnel Office, University of Strathclyde, McCance Building, 16 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1XQ by 25 October 1996. Applications which cannot be made until shortly before the closing date may be submitted by e-mail to secretary@dis.strath.ac.uk. The University is "A Place of Useful Learning" and committed to Equal Opportunities. Forbes Gibb, Head of Department, Department of Information Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, Scotland. Tel: +44 141 552 4400 ext 3700, Fax +44 141 553 1393 email:forbes@dis.strath.ac.uk, http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk ********** II.2. Fr: Linda Hashlamoun Re: BFGoodrich: Information Specialist The BFGoodrich Company - Advanced Technology Group The BFGoodrich Company is seeking a full-time Information Specialist at their Brecksville, OH location. DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: This individual will become a member of the BFGoodrich Information Center staff, and will deliver a broad range of information services and solutions for BFG's technical and business needs. Specific responsibilities will include: Creation and administration of database applications for intellectual property. Legacy data migration to new platforms. Gathering, refining, interpreting, and reporting on information from a diverse assortment of resources. Evaluation and integration of digital resources into a growing virtual library collection. Administration of various software products for end user desk top application. Active participation and contribution to a team managed Information Center environment. SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE: 1. B.S. or B.A. in science, chemistry, or engineering. 2. M.S. in science, chemistry, engineering or information science. 3. Experience in information searching, retrieval, competitive intelligence from digital, on-line, and traditional sources. 4. Advanced PC (Windows) and Internet (WWW, Telnet, FTP, etc.) skills. Demonstrable proficiency with network Operating Systems (Novell, NT, Unix) and database application development. 5. 2-10 years experience beyond graduation BFGOODRICH TODAY: The BFGoodrich Company is a global corporation, employing over 13,000 associates with sales of approximately $2.5 billion. Starting as a tire and rubber producer 125 years ago, today BFG no longer manufactures tires but provides aircraft systems components and services and manufactures specialty chemicals. WHAT WE DO: BFGoodrich Aerospace, with headquarters in Akron, OH, provides landing systems, safety systems and aircraft sensors and related equipment to aircraft manufacturers and operators worldwide. BFGoodrich Aerospace also provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services through an expanding network of service centers. BFGoodrich Specialty Chemicals, with headquarters in Brecksville, OH, manufactures specialty plastics, specialty additives, sealants, coatings and adhesives. These products are used in a broad range of applications from telecommunications equipment and construction materials to pharmaceutical and personal care products. BFGoodrich Advanced Technology Group, located in Brecksville, OH, is BFG's corporate research site. To support the company's technology needs and build upon its reputation for innovation in polymer chemistry and advanced materials development, BFGoodrich Advanced Technology Group focuses on pacing research and emerging technologies for its diverse businesses. R& D is also conducted at key manufacturing locations. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: BFGoodrich offers competitive compensation and a full range of flexible benefits including medical, dental, vision, insurance, reimbursement accounts, tuition sharing, and 401 (k) savings plans. CONTACT INFORMATION: Ms. Geraldine R. Gaugler The BFGoodrich Company Advanced Technology Group 9921 Brecksville Road Brecksville, OH 44141-3289 Phone: (216)- 447-5514 Fax: (216) 447-5981 email: gaugler@brk.bfg.com It is the policy of The BFGoodrich Company to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, or disability. ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.A.1. Fr: Heather Boyles Re: FARNET's Washington Update FARNET's Washington Update --- October 4, 1996 IN THIS ISSUE: o FCC's efforts to set rules for introduction of local competition hit snag o Follow up: Clinton administration releases revised "Key Recovery" plan >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Written from FARNET's Washington office, "FARNET's Washington Update" is a service to FARNET members and other interested subscribers. We gratefully acknowledge EDUCOM's NTTF and the Coalition for Networked Information for additional support. If you would like more information about the Update or would like to offer comments or suggestions, please contact Heather Boyles at heather@farnet.org ********** III.A.2. Fr: Richard Hill Re: Special Issue: Interacting with Computers Call for Contributions to a special issue of Interacting with Computers: Human Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval THE FOCUS: Research in the field of HCI has begun to focus on the use of distributed information systems within large work groups. This has increased interest about previous studies into 'hypertext' navigation and structuring. There has also been a renewed interest in the delays and timing problems that arise when users access distributed and shared resources. Research in IR has begun to look beyond the simplistic evaluation criteria provided by precision and recall. This has led to a renewed interest in retrieval activities and patterns of use. This special edition will look at the common problems facing HCI and IR. In particular, we welcome papers that consider: -- novel interaction techniques for information retrieval; -- the evaluation of IR systems; -- conversational modelling of information retrieval tasks; -- understanding the nature of relevance; -- networked information retrieval; -- browsing based information retrieval (inc. hypermedia); -- multimedia information retrieval. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of Interacting with Computers, submissions are invited from any field, including, for example, science and technology studies, psychology, information studies, sociology, HCI, anthropology, and commercial software development. Please feel free to contact the guest editors if you require any further information about the topic of this special edition. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES: Authors are asked to send full papers to the guest editor Chris Johnson at The University of Glasgow, no later than 30th January (see below). Further information on the journal, paper types and Guidance for Authors can be accessed via IwC's home page: http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/intcom The submission deadline for papers is 30 January 1997, with final revisions due 30 April. Qualified referees are invited to e-mail the guest editor an expression of interest, including current position, institutional affiliation, areas of expertise and contact details, by 1 December 1996. Referees whose offers to review are accepted will be sent IwC's Advice to Referees, which specifies procedures used and standards applied for all submissions to the Journal. Please note that IwC expects four-week turnaround of articles distributed for review. GUEST EDITOR CONTACT DETAILS: Chris Johnson, Mark Dunlop, Glasgow Accident Analysis Group, Department of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science, The University of Glasgow, The University of Glasgow, Lillybank Gardens, Lillybank Gardens, Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ. G12 8QQ. This edition is a joint venture between the British HCI Group and the Information Retrieval Special Interest Group of the British Computer Society. ********** III.B.1. Fr: Michel Menou Re: 20th Online Information The international Online Information conference and exhibition will take place at Olympia 2 Hall in London, UK, on December 3-5, 1996 with satellite courses and events on December 2 and 6. It will be the 20th aniversary of this event which is recognized as the leading one for the information services industry in Europe. Thanks to the excellent cooperation established with Learned Information, the organizer of the event, and David Raitt, the Chairman of the conference, the ASIS European Chapter will sponsor, as in the previous years, one of the technical session on Tuesday, December 3, 4.25pm. The session entitled _Producers - The need to listen_ will highlight the needs not being met by producers from the perspective of practitioners and academics. The detailed program of Online information 1996 can be found at: http://www.learned.co.uk/events/online We hope that many European and non-European members of ASIS will have the opportunity to get together on the occasion. Dr. Michel J. Menou CIDEGI Email: michel.menou@utopia.fnet.fr Mail (H) : 13 rue Nationale, F-49350 Les Rosiers sur Loire, France ********** III.B.2. Fr: Richard Hill Re: Annual Meeting Addition - Doug Engelbart Important Addition to ASIS Annual Meeting Program: Douglas Engelbart, 1996 recipient of the ASIS Special Award, will take part in the conference program as noted below. Doug Engelbart is best known for conceptualizing and inventing (most during the 1960's) the mouse, display editing, windows, hypermedia, outline processing, shared screen teleconferencing, context sensitive help and more. He describes these as all secondary derivatives of his conceptual framework of "people collaborating interactively on visual displays connected to a computer complex..., my vision has always facilitated discursive thinking and collaboration." Wednesday, October 23 10:30am - Noon Reflections on Our Future This session will invite brief presentations and an active dialogue among experienced leaders, researchers and the audience, about the implications of current research and development for the future of information science and society. Doug Engelbart, Bootstrap Institute Eugene Garfield, Institute for Scientific Information Clifford Lynch, University of California Candy Schwartz, Simmons College Gary Marchionini, University of Maryland Moderator: Charles Davis, Indiana University Richard Hill Executive Director, American Society for Information Science 8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 501 Silver Spring, MD 20910 FAX: (301) 495-0810 Voice: (301) 495-0900 rhill@cni.org http://www.asis.org ********** III.B.3. Fr: GIANNA@sla.org Re: The Virtual Workplace: One Size Doesn't Fit All THE VIRTUAL WORKPLACE: ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL When: November 7-8, 1996 Where: The University Club, Washington, DC Have you ever wondered how you'll spend your work day in the year 2000? Has the growth in technology impacted how you communicate with your colleagues and clients? The Special Libraries Association presents the 1997 State-of-the-Art Institute, "The Virtual Workplace: One Size Doesn't Fit All," which will explore how the nature of work is changing, and how you can prepare your organization for the change. During the two-day Institute, participants will hear case studies from professionals who have made the transition to virtual workplaces, and speakers who will discuss the opportunities and challenges that result from operating in a virtual workplace. COMPLETE SCHEDULE INFORMATION can be found on the SLA WWW site at www.sla.org, under Professional Development, or contact Gianna Renzulli, SLA Manager, Professional Development, at 1/202/234-4700, ext 649, or by e-mail at gianna@sla.org. ********** III.C.1. Fr: Dr Lim Ee Peng Re: Nanyang Technological U., Singapore: Digital Libraries Graduate Research RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS: The Digital Library Research Group at the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) is seeking outstanding students who are interested in pursuing Master and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Science to conduct full-time research in the area of digital library. Our group is initiating several interdisciplinary digital library projects covering (but not limited to) the following topics: 1. Integration of heterogeneous information sources: Future digital libraries have to provide integrated search and retrieval services on different kinds of information servers available on the internet in order to realise borderless digital library applications. As different information servers support different access protocols (e.g. HTTP, WAIS, ODBC, etc.) to different types of information (e.g. text, bibliographic data, structured data etc.), we are conducting research on the modeling of heterogeneous information, and processing integrated queries to diverse collections of information sources. 2. Advanced data storage: The storage components of future digital libraries are expected to face two major challenges. First, they have to be able to handle huge amount of data of different types including text and multimedia data. Second, they have to be able to support efficient search and retrieval services on the stored data. Hence, we are initiating research projects addressing the the appropriate indexing and compression techniques for digital library data. 3. Advanced digital library applications.: To illustrate the usefulness of digital libraries, we intend to build some advanced digital library applications. In particular, we will focus on library visualization and distance learning tools. The former models and supports the user-library interactions graphically. The latter enables users to experience new learning methodologies by exploiting rich structures in the digital library information. Selected candidates are expected to have a bachelor degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field by the time of the commencement of work. Strong programming skills and prior research experience are prefered. Candidates will conduct research under the guidance of faculty members within the broad scope of the group's research focus. Research and financial scholarships are available to qualified Master and Ph.D. candidates. Nanyang Technological University and School of Applied Science: Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is the second largest university in Singapore. The School of Applied Science offers Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. degree programs in Computer Engineering, Material Engineering and Information Studies. The school has about 70 full-time faculty members and an extensive collection of computing resources. Informal enquiries are welcome. Interested applicants should send a letter of application and resume to aseplim@sentosa.sas.ntu.ac.sg. Please include a description of your research interests and how you could contribute to the project(s). For more information about our Digital Library Research Group activities, please see our website at URL "http://sentosa.sas.ntu.ac.sg/~aseplim/harp/". Dr Ee-Peng Lim & Dr Wee Keong Ng School of Applied Science Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 Republic of Singapore Tel: +65 799-4802/799-6282 Fax: +65 792-6559 ********************************************************** IV. PROJECTS IV.D.1. Fr: Paul Evan Peters Re: An Evaluation of the Federal Government's Implementation of GILS An Evaluation of the Federal Government's Implementation of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) William E. Moen & Charles R. McClure Principal Investigators PROJECT ABSTRACT: The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded the University of North Texas a contract to evaluate the Federal government's implementations of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS). The study is being funded by five Federal agencies: Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, with active support from the Office of Management and Budget. Principal Investigators William E. Moen (School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas) and Charles R. McClure, Distinguished Professor (Syracuse University) will conduct the seven-month evaluation. In December 1995, the GILS Board called for an evaluation of GILS. The evaluation by Moen and McClure will examine how GILS is assisting Federal agencies to achieve their information dissemination and information management responsibilities. A primary focus of the evaluation will be an examination of the extent to which GILS is meeting the expectations of users. In addition, the evaluation will examine agency GILS implementation activities and plans for incorporating GILS as an information management tool. The project will describe current GILS implementation experiences, identify success factors and barriers for agencies implementing GILS, and determine if improvements to the GILS policies or technical specifications are needed to make GILS a more useful tool for agency information dissemination and information resources management. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide information and lead to an understanding how: -- GILS is serving various user groups -- GILS is improving public access to government information -- Agencies are progressing with their implementations -- GILS is working as a tool for information resources management. The GILS initiative is multi-faceted and the Principal Investigators have designed an evaluation framework that informs both data collection and data analysis and interpretation activities. The evaluation framework identifies five primary facets of GILS: -- USERS: identification of user groups, their needs, their use, and satisfaction with GILS -- CONTENTS: what information resources are described by GILS records and the quality, accuracy, usability, etc. of those descriptions -- TECHNOLOGY: technical implementation details of GILS -- POLICY: policy goals and guidelines at both government-wide and agency levels -- STANDARDS AND RULES: utility of the standards-based approach to GILS. Given the multi-faceted nature of the GILS initiative, the Principal Investigators have positioned the study within a qualitative, naturalistic research context. This evaluation will emphasize process over measurement, understanding and learning over hypotheses testing. The study's research design is evolutionary and relies on multiple methods of data collection and analysis. The study will result in a number of benefits that include an understanding of the extent to which GILS is serving various user communities and their satisfaction with GILS as well as the identification of success factors in agency GILS implementations to refine and improve all GILS applications. Findings and recommendations from the study will be useful to potential GILS implementors in other jurisdictions such as state and local governments. An additional benefit of the evaluation will be the promotion and awareness of GILS within the Federal government and among public users. The Principal Investigators will produce a formal report at the end of the project. The report will contain a summary of study activities, the study's findings, and recommendations to improve GILS. The final report will be available in Spring 1997. Moen and McClure have successfully completed previous studies related to the current GILS initiative, including _The Government Information Locator Service (GILS): Expanding Research and Development on the ANSI/NISO Z39.50 Information Retrieval Standard, Final Report_. The investigators have conducted or are conducting studies concerning the evaluation of networked infrastructures, development of performance measures for the networked environment, information policy, information resources management, and information technology standards development. The Principal Investigators will provide online information during the project through the GILS Evaluation Project web site: FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT, visit the web site or contact: William E. Moen School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas PO Box 13796, Denton, TX 76203 email: wem0002@jove.acs.unt.edu voice: 817-565-3563, fax: 817-565-3101 ********************************************************** 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 set up for anonymous FTP. Using anonymous FTP via the host ftp.dla.ucop.edu, the files will be found in the directory /data/ftp/pub/irl, stored in subdirectories by year (e.g., data/ftp/pub/irl/1993). Search or browse archived IR-L Digest issues on the Web at: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/idom/irlist/ These files are not to be sold or used for commercial purposes. Contact Nancy Gusack for more information on IRLIST. 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