Explores the open information interchange (OII) initiative to promote the use of standards in the exchange of information in electronic form. Activities in the European Community, including the IMPACT (Information Market Policy Actions) programs, are described; the information economy and the information market are considered; and information…

Considered are standardization efforts of the American National Standards Institute's Accredited Standards Committee X12 concerned with electronic data interchange (EDI). These efforts will effect dentistry first in the transmission of academic records, and then in communications between dental offices and businesses, including major insurance…

Classical western logic, built on a foundation of true/false, yes/no, right/wrong statements, leads to many difficulties and inconsistencies in the logical analysis and organization of international business communications. This paper presents the basic principles of classical logic and of fuzzy logic, a type of logic developed to allow for…

This paper describes the BITNET communications system, a network which links more than 1,000 computers at over 350 institutions of higher education and research centers, including almost 200 in Europe (EARN), Canada (NetNorth), and Japan and the Far East. First, the capabilities of the "store-and-forward" network are described, including…

International exchange agreements potentially serve to facilitate the free access to official materials from abroad, similar to depository programs for national official publications collections and with corresponding issues of collecting and archiving electronic publications. In this connection, it is necessary to distinguish between exchange…

One segment of a computerized adventure game system (Multi-User Dimensions, or MUD) designed for learners of English as a second language (ESL) is described. The acronym MOO refers to MUD Object Oriented, the programming language used for the system. The system allows for individuals in different locations to communicate directly with each other,…

Interoperability and data-exchange are critical for the survival of government information management programs. E-government initiatives are transforming the way the government interacts with the public. More information is to be made available through Web-enabled technologies. Programs such as the NASA's Scientific and Technical Information (STI)…

The combination of computer technology and library operation is helping to alleviate such library problems as escalating costs, increasing collection size, deteriorating materials, unwieldy arrangement schemes, poor subject control, and the acquisition and processing of large numbers of rarely used documents. Small special libraries such as…

This paper discusses how the authority control performed by libraries can help the World Wide Web and suggests some next steps in making this resource of authority records available and used internationally. Topics addressed include: (1) characteristics of the Web; (2) precision and recall; (3) connecting international authority files, including a…

As the issue of information privacy increases in complexity in terms of the number of organizations involved, the intricacy of the information flows, and the difficulty of conceiving appropriate legal safeguards, it is not certain that the practices and laws that have been developed for current privacy protection can work for new situations.…

Discussion of scientific literature growth focuses on implications for library collection development. Information epidemics, or dramatic points of growth, are examined in "Physics Abstracts"; a case study from the superconductivity literature is presented; and the distribution between the growth of journal articles, conference papers,…

This paper describes an election simulation developed at Rutgers University (New Jersey) using Multimedia Toolbook. Toolbook has features which enable an information flow to be presented which mimics the flow of a campaign, using both text and video. Subjects are presented with textual information that flows across the screen, representing the…

During the early 1980s the Indonesian government made a policy decision to develop fisheries as an important sector of the national economy. In doing so, it recognized the need for the collection and dissemination of fisheries research information not only for the scientists themselves, but also for the ultimate transfer of technology through…

Reports on the use of the Internet and World Wide Web as a virtual technology market (VTM) for information and technology transfer. The project focuses on creating awareness of technology demand (problems) and linking it to technology supply (solutions) in the field of particle technology and multiphase processes in the chemical industry. Benefits…

Defines collaborating systems, i.e., hardware, software, communications, and people working together; examines the need for machine-supported collaboration; and addresses the major obstacles impeding the progress of collaboration, including economic, political, human, and technical factors. A framework for the implementation of machine-supported…