Presents a relevance-feedback strategy that improves the effectiveness of information-retrieval systems based on back-propagation of the relevance of retrieved documents using an algorithm developed in a neural approach. Describes a neural information-retrieval model and reports results obtained with the algorithm in three different environments.…

Describes design and presents examples of industrial use of small expert systems and guidelines for choosing problems which lend themselves to small tool solutions. Use of microcomputer facilitated decision tables to diagnose and categorize people, things, and issues is suggested, and development of three decision table formats is described. (MBR)

Describes structured care approaches, such as protocols, clinical pathways, and algorithms, which are being used increasingly to organize clinical knowledge and guide patient care. Reviews the types of structured care approaches available to the clinician and explores the value of structured care approaches in practice and education. (Contains 32…

Evaluates the effectiveness of spelling-correction and string-similarity matching methods in retrieving similar words in a Malay dictionary associated with a set of query words. Describes experiments that showed the best search combination used a stemming algorithm, and calculates retrieval effectiveness and relevant means measures from weighted…

Discussion of mapping and visualizing in scholarly literature focuses on the development of software called HistCite for generating chronological maps of collections, where all cited references for source documents are captured, using scientific literature as an example. Generates tables of the most-cited works to help searchers identify the most…

Demonstrates how spreadsheets can be used to implement linear system solving algorithms in college mathematics classes. Lotus 1-2-3 is described, a linear system of equations is illustrated using spreadsheets, and the interplay between applications, computations, and theory is discussed. (four references) (LRW)

Reviews the development and the principal elements of total quality management (TQM) and demonstrates methods for introducing some of the key elements into a strategy-oriented business simulation game that can be used to teach future managers. Topics discussed include increased focus on the customer; continuous improvement; and competitive…

Discusses suffix stripping algorithms used in information retrieval to cluster words derived from a common root under the same stem, and proposes a suffixing algorithm for French which uses grammatical categories to enhance the stemming process. An evaluation of the algorithm is discussed, and an analysis of errors is described. (17 references)…

Zipfian laws for frequency distributions of word pairs and longer phrases are derived from text sample analysis. From crossing of Zipfian curves, it is deduced that number of multi-word phrases that occur frequently in text is surprisingly small, of same order of magnitude as number of individual word-types. (8 references) (EJS)

The six papers that comprise this document deal with topics related to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and/or its online document retrieval system, NIOSHTIC. Specific subjects include: (1) a method to catalog multiple sources of NIOSH publications for dissemination; (2) an input rejection algorithm used to provide…