Analyzes the theoretical and the epistemological assumptions of information science. Topics include users and cognition; subject analysis; methods of classification; composition, semantics, and retrieval; the meaning of information; the typology of documents; information selection and research evaluation; and information specialists and…

Argues that linguists have ignored diversity within the northern Khoesan (NK) group of languages of Southern Africa and this has had serious repercussions both for speakers of these languages and for linguistic theory. The variation that appears within NK has been ignored in part because a single variety has been misunderstood as being the !Kung…

This study with 22 adults with mild to moderate mental retardation examined the nature of knowledge structures in this population as well as effects of presentation methods and response methods on ability to classify items. Results indicated major effects for disability severity, insignificant findings for presentation method, and a trend toward…

A response is given to the reactants of the authors' monograph "Racism, Mental Health, and Mental Health Practice" (1999). The construct of categorization and the dialectical nature of racism are discussed. Addresses the question of whether there is such a thing as a positive White identity. (GCP)

Reports on work at the University of California, Berkeley, on the design and development of English-language indices to metadata vocabularies. Discusses the significance of unfamiliar metadata and describes the Entry Vocabulary Module which helps searchers to be more effective and increases the return on the original investment in generating…

A study examined the stability of the six subgroups of 242 English children with language impairment at age 8. Findings indicate considerable stability in the patterns of difficulties delineated by the classification system. Poorer stability was evident across time with 45% the children moving across subgroups. (Author/CR)

Discusses access to digital libraries on the World Wide Web via Web browsers and describes the design of a language-independent document classification system to help users of the Florida Center for Library Automation analyze search query results. Highlights include similarity scores, clustering, graphical representation of document similarity,…

Discusses the inappropriate racial categorizations of minorities that have routinely infected evaluations and social research. By adhering to principles of democracy and including minorities as participants in dialogue, evaluators can avoid such damaging effects in their work. (Author/SLD)

Measured parents of 116 adult children with mental retardation on dimensions of family sense of coherence, social support, family adaptability, family cohesion, and family adaptation. Results indicate that most families were resilient and functioning positively. Claims that the empirical typology can be used to describe the strengths of these…

Describes a system that automatically classifies e-mail messages in the HUMANIST electronic discussion group into one of four classes: question, response, announcement, or administrative. The system's ability to accurately classify a message was compared against manually assigned codes. Results suggested that there was a statistical agreement in…

Two studies involving 448 sixth graders and 329 college undergraduates investigated the categorization of students' correct and incorrect responses to domain-specific analogy problems. Cross-study results provided support for the response categories proposed by P. Alexander (1990) and their hierarchical structure. (SLD)

Describes a taxonomy of nearly 80 teaching strategies under eight categories. Suggests that it may serve as a useful reference for teachers and researchers as well as an effective instrument for administrators who want to help teachers broaden their repertory of instructional strategies. Contains 25 references. (JDI)

Discusses the definition of dyslexia, reintroduces the concept of marker variables, proposes a strategy for developing an updated marker variable system, presents a preliminary working set of dyslexia marker variables, and calls for eventual adoption of this or similar marker variable systems to facilitate future research efforts. (Author/CR)

Introduces an investigative microbiology laboratory activity emphasizing critical thinking and experimental design in which students isolate and characterize a bacterium from a specific habitat. Explains the procedures of the laboratory including safety, sample collection, and isolation. (YDS)

Discusses access to editorial cartoons, including the importance and worth of editorial cartoons; sources, including newspapers, museums, and special cartoon collections; indexing and classification; subject access; indexing by illustrator and subject; technology and access, including digital data; access to special collections; and access to…