Describes SCISOR (System for Conceptual Information Summarization, Organization and Retrieval), a prototype intelligent information retrieval system that extracts useful information from large bodies of text. It overcomes limitations of linguistic coverage by applying a text processing strategy that is tolerant of unknown words and gaps in…

A general approach for analyzing rating data with latent class models is described, paralleling rating models in the framework of latent trait theory. A general rating model and a two-parameter model with location and dispersion parameters are derived and illustrated. (Author/SLD)

Highlights semantic links and shows how the semantic content of hypertext links can be used for information retrieval. Discussion includes indexing and retrieval algorithms that exploit link content and node content; retrieval strategies exploiting semantic links, including conventional retrieval and constrained spreading activation techniques;…

Two item selection algorithms, one based on maximal differentiation between examinees and one based on item response theory and maximum information for each examinee, were compared in simulated linear and adaptive tests of cognitive ability. Adaptive tests based on maximum information were clearly superior. (SLD)

Limitations in children's understanding of the symbols of arithmetic may inhibit choice of appropriate solution procedures. The teacher's role involves negotiation of new meanings for words and symbols to match extensions to solution procedures. (MKR)

Discusses end-user searching in Boolean information retrieval systems considers the role of search intermediaries and proposes a model of user preferences that incorporates a user's profile. Highlights include document representation; information queries; document output ranking; calculating user profiles; and selecting documents for a local…

Presents an improved inverted region quadtree variation called Dynamic Inverted Quadtree that is able to support and index a pictorial database. Pattern-searching algorithms are described, and the space needs of Fully Inverted and Dynamic Inverted Quadtrees are analytically compared based on a model of image randomness expressed as a branching…

Describes a process of morpho-syntactic language analysis for information retrieval. Tree Structured Analytics (TSA) used for text representation is summarized; the matching process developed for such structures is outlined with an example appended; and experiments carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of TSA matching are discussed. (26…

Principal components extraction with orthogonal and oblique rotations tested the construct validity of the Personal Profile System (PPS) using data from 1,045 senior noncommissioned Air Force officers. Four factors accounted for 85 percent of the total variance, but the results do not completely justify publisher claims for the PPS. (SLD)

A modification of the TUCKALS3 algorithm is proposed that handles three-way arrays of order I x J x K for any I. The reduced work space needed for storing data and increased execution speed make the modified algorithm very suitable for use on personal computers. (SLD)

Describes a project that improved the quality of BCIN, the bibliographic database of the Conservation Information Network, by correcting data fields and removing duplicate records. The database is described, deduplication theory is discussed and relevant literature is reviewed, algorithm development and testing is described, and results of…

Describes a detailed algorithm for fast text compression. Related to the PPM (prediction by partial matching) method, it simplifies the modeling phase by eliminating the escape mechanism and speeds up coding by using a combination of quasi-arithmetic coding and Rice coding. Details of the use of quasi-arithmetic code tables are given, and their…

Describes the design of optimal tree-structured vector quantizers that minimize the expected distortion subject to cost functions related to storage cost, encoding rate, or quantization time. Since the optimal design problem is intractable in most cases, the performance of a general design heuristic based on successive partitioning is analyzed.…

A real world sample of actual data that students can use to see the application of the Hardy-Weinberg law to a real population is provided. The directions for using a six-step algorithmic procedure to determine Hardy-Weinberg percentages on the data given are described. (KR)

Teaching which does not in any significant way address the genesis of mathematical ideas hides the fact that mathematics is created by people; that it involves intuition, exploring, conjecturing, and reasoning; and that it is purposeful. Such teaching can give students appearance that much of mathematics is very arbitrary; it just falls from the…