The problem of modeling information systems is studied with a focus on predictability. Syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic criteria are discussed, and 11 references are cited. (Author/BK)

Describes the Waller-Kraft "wish list" of desired information retrieval system properties and identifies ambiguities caused by two distinct uses of the phrase "query term weight." Examples of problems arising from the ambiguity are given and a new list is created and discussed. (10 references) (Author/CLB)

Introduces a special issue on research on hypertext systems and information retrieval. Systems design aspects, including navigation models, link weighting, multiple representation techniques, automatic authoring, user modelling, varying levels of abstraction, and evaluation techniques are addressed. (EA)

Describes the concept of Information Based Education, provides a theoretical basis for investigating the role of information in education, and begins developing a classification scheme for documenting and distinguishing among information bases. Attributes of information associated with information resources, information skills, information…

Proposes that information science is a postmodern science, driven by the need to solve problems caused by classical sciences and technologies. Some basic structures of current approaches to information science, the role of knowledge, information as knowledge for action, and the theoretical structures needed to establish the bases of information…

Discusses the cultural, ontological, and epistemological principles on which knowledge is organized in Japanese culture. Topics discussed include public knowledge and corporate knowledge; cognition, including field dependent knowledge and group dependent knowledge; communication and image oriented knowledge; memory; and patterns of…

A method for assessing scientific performance based on relationships displayed numerically in published documents is proposed and illustrated using published documents in pediatric oncology for the period 1979-1982. Contributions of a major clinical investigations group, the Childrens Cancer Study Group, are analyzed. Twenty-nine references are…

Describes a hierarchical text database model and defines an algebra based on concordance lists. The algebra is presented as a theoretical model to define both a conceptual schema for the database and search protocols for database implementation. Several retrieval examples are included. (19 references) (MES)

Discussion of the development of expert systems for cataloging focuses on a feasibility study conducted at the National Agricultural Library. Topics addressed include the nature of cataloging expertise; limitations of existing expert systems; research on cataloging expertise; and a model for cataloging expertise based on five cataloging task…

Discusses end-user searching in Boolean information retrieval systems considers the role of search intermediaries and proposes a model of user preferences that incorporates a user's profile. Highlights include document representation; information queries; document output ranking; calculating user profiles; and selecting documents for a local…

Explores the fundamentals of browsing behavior as a basis for the creation of an intelligent computer system to assist in online information retrieval. A prototype system is described, and the results of initial tests are reported. (5 references) (Author/CLB)

Offers characterization of sign-transmission which is more general than conventional signal-transmission theory. Concepts and terminology, formal description of individual communications process, reconciliation with classical signal-detection theory, applications of sign-detection formalism to information retrieval on MEDLINE database, and a…

Examines various ways of dividing the labor of an information search between the person and the system. Different configurations of two dimensions--degree of system involvement in searching and types of search activity carried out by the person or system--are discussed. Recommendations for further research and development are offered. (49…

Discussion of discourse modeling in artificial intelligence and computational linguistics focuses on a dialog model that incorporates the illocutionary aspects of information-seeking dialogs. The relevance of a theory developed for the analysis of written texts--Rhetorical Structure Theory--is explained, and future work is discussed. (25…

Discusses access to nontextual documents in large multimedia document bases. A hybrid information retrieval model, using queries in a hypertext environment for location of browsing areas, is presented; and two experiments using cluster-based descriptions of content are reported. (23 references) (EA)