These lectures consider the information concept as well as the epistemological foundations of information science. The first lecture discusses the epistemological roots of the information concept and the hermeneutical paradigm within modern epistemology. Particular attention is given to the roots of the information concept in everyday English. An…

The evolving profession of institutional research as it exists in 1985, historical antecedents, and ideas about possible futures are presented in two addresses, a panel discussion, and an awards program from the Association for Institutional Research's annual forum. In "Promoting Excellence: Pursuing the Challenge of Quality," Burton R.…

Information science has in recent years developed an algorithmic procedure for content analysis of abstracts which includes setting up a metalanguage for a particular field of knowledge. Such a procedure may aid in solving problems of automatic text analysis in machine translation. (TL)

This paper recounts the use of the information science techniques of subject indexing and annotation in the extensive writings and publications of the philosopher Mortimer J. Adler. A content analysis of Adler's "intellectual autobiography" is described, Adler's efforts as an indexer are reviewed, and some of Adler's thoughts on the…

While it is customary to consider "information" synonymous with true information, given its societal significance in the modern world, a wider perspective on the veracity and ephemerality of information is imperative. A typology of message veracity contains four types: informational, misinformational, disinformational, and…

DESCRIBED IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A THESAURUS FOR THE FIELD OF PLASMA PHYSICS, SIMILAR TO THE ONE PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED FOR CHEMICAL PHYSICS, FOR USE WITH COMPUTER-ORIENTED RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS. AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF PLASMA PHYSICS SELECTED TERMS IMPORTANT TO THE INFORMATION USER FROM THE PLASMA LITERATURE. THE HIERARCHY OF CLASSIFICATION UTILIZES…

The retrieval decision problem is considered from the viewpoint of a decision theory approach. A threshold rule based on earlier rules for indexing decisions is considered and analyzed for retrieval decisions as a measure of retrieval performance. The threshold rule is seen as a good descriptive design measure of what a reasonable retrieval system…

This three-part report includes a brief history of the Defense Documentation Center (DDC) with a description of the collections and their accessibility; categorization of automatic indexing into three kinds with a brief description of the DDC system of machine-aided indexing; and an indication of some operational experiences with the system.…

In this report, a task force appointed by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) to prepare a plan for a National Periodicals program recommends a three level program consisting of: (1) local, state, and regional library systems responsible for meeting a substantial portion of routine needs for periodicals; (2) a…

This annotated bibliography cites 58 recently issued items in the areas of audiovisual aids, bibliographies, the Bicentennial, films, information science, instructional materials, and library science. Each citation gives ordering information as well as a bibliographic reference. (DS)

This work provides a five-language translation of 1200 technical terms covering various aspects of documentation activities including: linguistic problems; information sciences; systems analysis, design, and evaluation; cataloging and classification; and general concepts of electronic data processing. Each term is listed according to subject area,…

The chair of scientific information at the Leningrad State Institute of Culture has worked out a preliminary syllabus on informatics for the Technical Libraries Department. The syllabus comprises the following topics: Informatics as a scientific discipline, Organization of information work, Information provision techniques, Information retrieval…

Research design is a product of the scientific method in Western Civilization whose major purposes are to eliminate the biased judgements of individual researchers and to ensure replication of the study. In general, the formal protocol of the research design includes several elements: theoretical position out of which the hypotheses to be tested…

This guide presents up-dated information, on a world-wide basis, on training facilities in documentation and information work. Only data relating to the formal training of documentalists, information workers and special librarians are included, except for those countries in which only short courses or seminars are available. Forty-seven countries…

The introduction, part I, is composed of three sections: (1) Social Prospects of Information Utilities, (2) The Emerging Technology of Information Utilities and (3) Information Utilities and Mass Communication. Part II covers social direction under the following headings: (1) The Regulatory Context of Information Utilities: Varieties in Law and…