Describes the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) experimental Sourcerer project which is developing software to accept a user query, automatically identifying appropriate information resources, and facilitating connection to those sources for information retrieval. Discusses the use of the World Wide Web and the Unified Medical Language System.…

Explains packet radio as a form of telecomputing in which digital data is transported via radio waves instead of telephone lines or other cabling, and describes how it can be used by students to access the Internet. Highlights include packet bulletin board systems and equipment needed for a packet radio station. (LRW)

Proposes an information retrieval system based on a hybrid model consisting of an inductive learning and neural network system. Evaluates the system's responses to incomplete queries and inconsistent indexing. Query terms, discriminant descriptors, and the American Documentation Institute's query and document titles used in the evaluation are…

Describes the Electronic Information Network, a project created by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in conjunction with public libraries in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County. The project uses the library's vision, funding, and librarian expertise to provide public access to community information on the Internet. Sidebars present steps and issues…

Interviews with 232 Mexican American and Anglo single mothers in the San Jose (California) area examined ethnic differences in characteristics of social support networks: network size, proportion of kin, and size and density of friend network. Findings were influenced by socioeconomic status and, within the Mexican American sample, by generation…

Proposes that a global network of computer networks will accelerate worldwide environmental communications. Discusses the speed of computer network information dissemination, the Internet, webbing, computer networks in developing countries, and networking people. Lists 18 environmental communications networks and two network guides. (MDH)

Provides a historical overview of library cooperative efforts, the roles identified for the cooperative library organizations and their members, and associated services. Examines the contributions that rural libraries make toward cooperation among all types of libraries and identifies challenges for rural libraries participating in networks in the…

Analysis of behavior on an electronic social space (electronic bulletin boards) revealed complex linages in which a few types of behaviors occurred most frequently. Interpretation indicates that cross-cultural implications for end-user computing involve practical considerations relating to three types of adaptation: technological, work, and…

Discusses movie on demand (MOD) servers, which are computer systems that store movies in compressed digital form for broadcast cable television systems. Highlights include network bandwidths, a disk-based storage architecture for a MOD server, implementing VCR (video cassette recorder) functions to movie viewing, and buffers. (LRW)

As schools merge onto the information highway, districts must address their liability associated with Internet access. Schools need a practical policy supporting high access to global educational resources while limiting district liability. USENET provides easy access to controversial and pornographic materials. This article outlines federal…

Discusses the use of computer networks by environmentalists and others pursuing progressive agendas. Describes how the Internet can facilitate community action and involvement with environmental issues, despite rising commercial content. Lists six Internet resources. (LZ)

At a Kansas City (Missouri) elementary school, teachers expect students to spend half their learning time on a computer. The racially mixed school has one computer for every two students, two computer labs, and work stations from which teachers can monitor students' progress and generate lessons using software like "Icon Arthur" and…

A Nebraska consultant/former teacher explains his role in developing Internet accounts for teachers while working on a wetlands distance-learning project and an arts-education consortium. He explains ARTnet and other Internet services, including Telnet, FTP (file transfer protocol), the Gopher retrieval system, NetNews, and Listservs. Sidebars…

Identifies and discusses the criteria that end users might employ when evaluating a gopher client, particularly for the Windows environment. Topics include cost and availability, help features, functionality, viewing, searching, navigating, bookmarks, retrieving and displaying files, robustness, and gopher clients available via FTP (file transfer…

Discusses the current use of simulation and gaming in a variety of settings. Describes advances in technology that facilitate the use of simulation and gaming, including computer power, computer networks, software, object-oriented programming, video, multimedia, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Considers the future use of simulation…