Analyzes requirements for text-based online conferencing through the use of a minimal prototype. Topics discussed include prototyping with a minimal system; text-based communication; the system as a message passer versus the system as a shared data structure; and three exercises that showed how users worked with the prototype. (Contains 61…

Discusses how the use of multiple windows affects online information design by examining key concepts and presenting a set of design principles based on research and the authors' experience designing online information. (TB)

Describes the design of a classification scheme for reusable software and the implementation of an information retrieval system for reusable software using the SMART system. Highlights include a review of other systems for reusable software; system design; reorganization of software documentation; and system testing, including recall and…

A hypertext-based thesaurus is proposed as a navigational aid to the subject domain of a bibliographic database. Implementation of a hypertext version of the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors" with database linking strategies is discussed. (44 references) (EA)

Discusses ways in which artificial intelligence could be applied to improve the ease of use, quality of retrieval, and organization of data in online services or CD-ROM. (MES)

This article continues the description of DFT (Document, Find, Theseus), an online documentation system that provides computer-managed on-demand printing of software manuals as well as the interactive retrieval of reference passages. Document boundaries in the hypertext database are discussed, search vocabulary complexities are described, and text…

Describes enhancements made to a hypertext information retrieval system at the National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC) called DFT (Document, Find, and Theseus). The enrichment of DFT's entry vocabulary is described, DFT and other hypertext systems are compared, and problems that occur due to the need for frequent updates are…

This concept paper begins by arguing that Integrated Performance Support Systems (IPSS) are an imperative for boosting productivity in the workplace and gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. It then presents the framework for an IPSS solution to meet the challenges of the 1990s. Discussion of the implementation of an IPSS solution…

This paper describes the characteristics of lexicographic software programs used in a module on Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," a major component of a course on computer-assisted learning (CAL) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Two of the databases are specific to that school and are small, individualized, and…

Describes the Drexel Hypermedia Demo, a hypermedia system that was developed to facilitate undergraduate and graduate instruction about hypermedia. Topics discussed include media advocacy; interactivity in educational media; navigation in hyperspace; learner control; and design principles and evaluation of the Drexel Hypermedia Demo, including…

Discusses cultural diversity in human-computer interactions and in the design of online systems. Topics addressed include cognitive psychology; North American and European ethnocentricity; online systems and their organizational setting; models for organization culture; corporate culture; international systems and country-specific cultures; and…

Considers the meaning of relevance and examines the role that relevance plays in information behavior. Literature on relevance is reviewed, cognitive and dynamic processing approaches to relevance are described, and 12 research questions are presented that address criteria users employ in evaluating information and suggest implications for system…

This book provides an overview and status report on the progress made in developing the National Research and Education Network (NREN) as of early 1991. It reports on a number of investigations that provide a research and policy perspective on the NREN and computer-mediated communication (CMC), and brings together key source documents that have…