Describes international standards for information technology, including an emerging standard for interchangeable multimedia and hypermedia scripts. Highlights include data interchange standards; HyTime (Hypermedia/Time-Based Structuring Language); DSSSL (Document Style Semantics and Specification Language); SPDL (Standard Page Description…

Provides background on the problems of traditional text retrieval systems and describes STATUS/IQ, an advanced text retrieval system that incorporates a natural language front-end and an advanced relevance ranking facility. The principles, capabilities, and benefits of the system are discussed, and an example of a STATUS/IQ session is presented…

Presents an overview of the development of an electronic interactive multimedia guide to the Museum of Dion (Greece) that provides information about archaeological exhibits. Collection and processing of raw materials is described, including text, photography, and digitalization; and the selection of Macintosh hardware and HyperCard software is…

Describes a practical application of hypertext that uses the "Guide" hypertext system developed at the University of Kent at Canterbury to supply customer support in diagnosing computing equipment problems. The underlying hypertext technology is explained, system monitoring is discussed, cost effectiveness is examined, and authorship is…

Explains multimedia information systems (MMIS) and describes a pilot system with automatic content retrieval developed at the Victoria University of Manchester (England). Topics discussed include types of databases; requirements of the Manchester MMIS; system architecture and operation; semantic data and their representation of images; queries;…

Discusses the theoretical frameworks and design considerations for an experimental electronic library system named Cybermagazine and considers the potential of multimedia approaches to information retrieval and delivery. Issues considered include current awareness services, user interface, database management, cataloging, and document delivery.…

Describes the development and production of an interactive multimedia resource on twentieth-century artist, Constatin Brancusi, by an international consortium of art museums, art historians, and technical partners. Topics discussed include technical issues, such as hardware and software; design considerations; international cooperation; and…

Describes the design and development of an image database for photographs in the Ulster Museum (Northern Ireland) that used parallelism from a transputer network. Topics addressed include image processing techniques; documentation needed for the photographs, including indexing, classifying, and cataloging; problems; hardware and software aspects;…

Discusses the use of integrated information systems in corporate settings and describes a conceptual model. Topics discussed include hardware and software, including standards; data incompatibility; problems of information access; senior management needs; organizational culture; training and personnel issues; and the impact of organizational…

Traces the history of virtual reality (VR), or cyberspace, and describes some of the research and development efforts currently being carried out in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. Applications of VR in interactive computer-aided design (CAD), the military, leisure activities, spaceflight, teleconferencing, and medicine are…

Describes the implementation of BRS/Search in the Library and Information Services department of the Chem Systems Group, an international consulting organization in the United Kingdom. The use of integrated systems in special libraries is discussed, and requirements of the new system are explained, including full text capabilities and networking…