Investigates how to improve the performance of an Arabic Information Retrieval System (Arabic-IRS) by imposing the retrieval method, Mixed Stemming, over individual words of a query depending on the importance of the word, the stem or the root of the query terms in the database. This method computes term importance using a Term Frequency and…

Protein Annotators' Assistant (PAA) is a software system which assists protein annotators in assigning functions to newly sequenced proteins. PAA employs a number of information retrieval techniques in a novel setting and is thus related to text categorization, where multiple categories may be suggested, except that in this case none of the…

Information customization is a client-side activity designed to pick up where information filtering leaves off. This article describes a vision of information customization and chronicles the development of a proof-of-concept prototype, Cyberbrowser, for customizing information on the Web. (Author/AEF)

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…

Coordinated index concepts are compound-index concepts that express a relationship between concepts that function as simple subject descriptors. The Condorcet Query Engine, a prototype query engine that can be run over the World Wide Web, demonstrates the feasibility of a query engine that can handle both simple and coordinated index concepts,…

Discusses the application of theories of cognitive modeling to information systems design and describes research that investigated the validity of the repertory grid for incorporation into intelligent front-end interfaces for information storage and retrieval systems. Personal construct theory is discussed and future research is suggested. (67…

Presents a cooperative information system for remote medical imaging diagnosis. General computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) problems addressed are definition of a procedure for the design of user-centered cooperative systems (conceptual level); and improvement of user feedback and optimization of the communication bandwidth in highly…

Describes the conceptual foundations for the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) metadata framework including adoption of the Dublin Core Element Set as its base referent, and extension of that set to meet the needs of the domain. Discusses selection and structuring of the units of description. Examines metadata generation, the association of…

Introduces a prototype system for devising and using a metadata vocabulary for data retrieval, based on a project at the United States Department of Agriculture. A unified information-access system called REEIS (Research, Education, Economics, Extension Information System) is being designed to provide a knowledge base of programs, projects, and…

Investigates how an informal computerized environment, or workspace, can support information seeking. Outlines the design space for information-seeking environments and presents a prototype, SketchTrieve, a graphic editor. Discusses how this environment might support information-seeking in ways not available in other more overdetermined systems.…

Describes the design and development of a prototype expert system called ONLINE-EXPERT that helps users select online databases and vendors that meet users' needs. Search strategies are discussed; knowledge acquisition and knowledge bases are described; and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a decision analysis technique that ranks databases,…

Reports on design and rationale of Online Access to Knowledge, a computer intermediary developed by Online Access to Knowledge Project to enable users with little or no training or experience in bibliographic searching to conduct their own searches. Topics covered include software design, tutorials and assistance programs, and conclusions based on…