In modern video games, music can come in different shapes: it can be developed on a very high compositional level, with sophisticated sound elements like in professional film music; it can be developed on a very coarse level, underlying special situations (like danger or attack); it can also be automatically generated by sound engines. However, in…

The success of an application programming interface (API) crucially depends on how well its documentation meets the information needs of software developers. Previous research suggests that these information needs have not been sufficiently understood. This article presents the results of a series of semistructured interviews and a follow-up…

Tables are ubiquitous with a history that pre-dates that of sentential text. Authors often report a summary of their most important findings using tabular structure in documents. For example, scientists widely use tables to present the latest experimental results or statistical data in a condensed fashion. Along with the explosive development of…

Explains the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) protocol as a set of rules for passing information from a Web server to an external program such as a database search engine. Topics include advantages over traditional client/server solutions, limitations, sample library applications, and sources of information from the Internet. (LRW)

Students need to know how to find and use information, yet only 31 percent of information searches succeed. Google and Wikipedia are not the only providers of answers, although they are often students' first stops for information. Everyone knows how to open a browser, but can teachers assume they know how to search effectively for information? In…

This paper describes how the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) has implemented and applied DSpace as a digital repository for project and programme outputs, including published articles, conference papers, research reports, briefings and press releases. The DSpace repository has become a major element in the user engagement strategy…

The Open Video Project is an ongoing effort to develop an open source digital video collection that can be used by the information retrieval, digital library, and digital video research communities and ultimately serve a broader audience. Discusses the challenges of compiling and maintaining such a collection. Describes the user interface…

Discusses unanticipated effects of an electronic performance support system (EPSS) on one organization. Topics include EPSS as an innovation; vendor's familiarity with the organizational environment; choice of database and system interface; participation by user groups; information sources; implementation; and recommendations for future research.…

Proposes four design principles of an information access system that link information sources regardless of implementation medium, information structure, or interface style. Provides examples from an undergraduate course in information science at the University of California at Los Angeles. (Author/AEF)

Based on the results of a two-year study conducted by the Getty Art History Information Program of online searching by humanities scholars, implications are drawn for the design of information products. Topics include characteristics of humanities scholars; design and content of databases; indexing vocabulary; and interfaces and command languages.…

Discusses intelligent user interfaces, through which a user may query for information; explains the different types of intelligent online search assistants, or agents, which are used to support these interfaces. Describes several different agent systems. Concludes by discussing the current state of agents in information retrieval, especially as…

Presents a new technique for information access based on a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and conceptual structures as modeled in relational concept analysis. Describes a graphical interface that allows access of spatial, hierarchical, and linear data in a common manner; discusses its features and limits. (Author/AEF)

UK universities are accepting increasing numbers of students whose L1 is not English on a wide range of programmes at all levels. These students require additional support and training in English, focussing on their academic disciplines. Corpora have been used in EAP since the 1980s, mainly for research, but a growing number of researchers and…

As information delivery systems on the Internet increasingly evolve into World Wide Web browsers, understanding key graphical elements of the browser interface is critical to the design of effective information display and access tools. Image maps are one such element, and this document describes a pilot study that collected, reviewed, and…

In the case of digital collections of text, provision of a simple unified user interface faces several challenges, among them a tension between intellectual adequacy and simplicity of access. Examines the question of how to allow cross-collection searching and display while preserving the variation in texts and their markup and points to…