Presents a new method to improve the performance of query processing in a spatial database. Experiments demonstrated that performance of database systems can be improved because both the number of objects accessed and number of objects requiring detailed inspection are much less than those in the previous approach. (AEF)

Describes the design of an information retrieval system that permits the personalization of a search by developing a user profile in order to reduce noise and increase the number of relevant items retrieved. The preorientation system is explained and an example using full-text natural language processing tools is presented. (Author/LRW)

Suggests that the principles underlying the procedure used by doctors to diagnose a patient's disease are useful in the design of intelligent information-retrieval systems because the task of the doctor is conceptually similar to the computer or human intermediary's task in information retrieval: to draw out the user's query/information need.…

Proposes a composite feature measure which combines the shape and color features of an image based on a clustering technique. A similarity measure computes the degree of match between a given pair of images; this technique can be used for content-based image retrieval of images using shape and/or color. Tests the technique on two image databases;…

Elicitations study during 40 mediated information retrieval (IR) interactions identified 1557 search intermediary elicitations within 15 purpose categories (requests for information on search terms and strategies, database selection, search procedures, system's outputs and relevance of retrieved items, and users' knowledge and previous…

In systems that support query-based searching, the presence of multilingual content affects the search technology and user interface components that support query formulation, document selection, and query refinement. A categorization-based selection model is described that is based on rapidly constructed word-by-word gloss translations. An…

Presents a new extraction pattern, modified Document Type Definition (mDTD), which relies on analytical interpretation to identify extraction target from the contents of Web documents. Experiments with 330 Korean and 220 English Web documents on audio and video shopping sites yielded an average extraction precision of 91.3% for Korean and 81.9%…

Discusses a user interface that simplifies NF Squared (non-first-normal-form) relational query formulation in which query specification remains compact and straightforward. This interface allows for nesting and general hierarchical structures and restructuring which provides for more effective retrieval and query formulation. (Author/JKP)

Describes the University of California at Berkeley's participation in the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) interactive track experiments. Highlights include results of searches on two systems, Cheshire II and ZPRISE; system design goals and implementation; precision and recall results; search questions by topic and system; and results of…

Describes the design and implementation of a prototype visualization system, AuthorLink, to enhance author searching. AuthorLink is based on author co-citation analysis and visualization mapping algorithms. AuthorLink produces interactive author maps in real time from a database of 1.26 million records supplied by the Institute for Scientific…

Provides an overview of HYTREM (Hybrid Text-Retrieval Machine), a high-performance, cost-effective text-retrieval machine that handles information in large textual databases. Describes HYTREM's software and hardware design principles and presents an evaluation of system performance in relation to user demand and access versus system capacity. (JMV)

Introduces an evaluative framework for metasearch engine performance and illustrates its use in two experiments. Results are used to characterize some properties of leading search engines (as of 1998). Significant interactions were observed between search engine and two other factors: time of day and Web domain. (Author/AEF)

Describes a method of full-text scanning for matches in a large dictionary. The method is suitable for selective dissemination of information systems, accommodating large dictionaries and typical digital data rates. It can be implemented on a single commercially-available board hosted by a personal computer or entirely in software. (Author/AEF)

Suggests an alternative document representation method based on "exemplary documents," those that describe or exhibit the intellectual structure of a particular field of interest. Exemplary documents provide both an indexing vocabulary for that area and a narrative context in which the indexing terms have a clearer meaning. It is much…

Demonstrates that if the similarity function of a retrieval system leads to a (pseudo-) metric, the retrieval, similarity and Everett-Cater metric topology coincide and are different from the discrete topology; this is the case if documents are represented by lists, using the Jaccard similarity measure. The corresponding metric is the…