Information systems increasingly provide options for visually inspecting data during the process of information discovery and exploration. Little research has dealt so far with user interactions with these systems, and specifically with the effects of characteristics of the displayed data and the user on performance with such systems. The study…

The need to educate a competitive workforce is a global problem. In the US, for example, despite billions of dollars spent to improve the educational system, approximately 35% of students never finish high school. The drop rate among some demographic groups is as high as 50-60%. At the college level in the US only 30% of students graduate from…

Describes an alternative method for indexing images in an image database. The method consists of manually indexing a selected reference image, and then using retrieval by graphical content to automatically transfer the manually assigned index terms from the reference image to the images to be indexed. (AEF)

Describes a study that was conducted to identify, describe, and analyze the document representations of Web sites revealed in the hit list of subject searches conducted by four search engines: AltaVista, infoseek Ultra, Lycos, and Open Text Index. Problems are discussed, and implications for Web page design are considered. (LRW)

Describes a unitized data system for a scientific database that stores descriptions of individual experimental steps as separate text-based subunits together with appropriate linking signals. Conversion of graphics into searchable text, use of natural language, and cost effectiveness are discussed. An example using a biology research paper is…

Evaluates four map products currently available on CD-ROM in terms of hardware requirements, ease of installation, software, product content, documentation, cost, and instructional materials. Conclusions about the current status of maps on CD-ROM are offered and the desired characteristics for a perfect CD-ROM mapping product are identified. An…

Discussion of problems with retrieval of records in library online public access catalogs (OPACs) focuses on an ongoing research project at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) that has been trying to improve subject retrieval vocabulary control using natural and thesaural language and on the design of a good graphical user interface.…

Finding information on the Web without encountering numerous false positives poses a challenge to multimedia information retrieval systems (MMIR). This research focuses on improving precision and recall in an MMIR system by interactively combining text processing with image processing in both the indexing and retrieval phases. A picture search…

Describes the design of a database interface for infrequent users of computers which consists of a graphical display of a model of a database and a natural language query language. This interface was designed for and tested with physicians at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. (LRW)

Reports some of the progress made over the years toward exploring information beyond the text domain. Describes the Multimedia Analysis and Retrieval Systems (MARS), developed to increase access to non-textual information. Addresses the following aspects of MARS: (1) visual feature extraction; (2) retrieval models; (3) query reformulation…

Describes a project that addressed the problem of courseware reusability by developing a database structure suitable for organizing multimedia learning material in a given content domain. A prototype system that allows browsing a DBLM (Data Base of Learning Material) on earth science is described, and future plans are discussed. (five references)…

The World Wide Web allows users to interact with a graphic interface to search information in a hypermedia and multimedia environment. Graphics serve as reference points on the World Wide Web for searching and retrieving information. This study analyzed the culturally constructed syntax patterns, or codes, embedded in the icons of library…

Describes software for displaying documents on computer graphics screens which provide the opportunity for interactive user interfaces. Based on a software system called Guide, this new approach relies on advances in hardware, such as the CD ROM, and can be used in the front end of a document retrieval system. (Author/LRW)

A study of nine different image maps from World Wide Web home pages was conducted to evaluate their effectiveness in information display and access, relative to visual, navigational, and practical characteristics. Nine independent viewers completed 20-question surveys on the image maps, in which they evaluated the characteristics of the maps on a…

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…