IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 April 18,1994 Volume XI, Number 16 Issue 209 ********************************************************** II. JOBS 1. CS Research Assistant, U. of Glasgow 2. Apple Computer ATG Summer Internships III. NOTICES A. Publications 1. ToC: Information Processing & Management, 30:4 B. Meetings 1. Boston Forum II 2. Workshops on Neural Networks in IR 3. CIKM '94 IV. PROJECTS C. Abstracts 1. Correction: IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts ********************************************************** II. JOBS II.1. Fr: keith@dcs.gla.ac.uk Re: Research Assistant, CS, U. of Glasgow UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING SCIENCE RESEARCH ASSISTANT (1B) Applications are invited from a Computing Science graduate (or a graduate with equivalent experience) for an R.A. position on a EU-funded three years basic research project FERMI: Formalisation and Experimentation on the Retrieval of Multimedia Information. Further details can be found on World Wide Web, the URL of the relevant page is http://www.dcs.glasgow.ac.uk/fermi/ Preference will be given to candidates with some knowledge of formal logic, probability theory and computer-based IR techniques. The successful applicant will be responsible for prototyping some of the results of the research. Applicants should be prepared to travel within Europe since the project has partners in France, Germany and Italy. It is intended to make an appointment for at least two years. Consideration will be given to applicants wishing to work part-time. An application, enclosing C.V. and the names and addresses of two referees, should be sent to: Professor C. J. van Rijsbergen University of Glasgow Department of Computing Science Glasgow, G12 8QQ. Salary Scale: 12,828 - 15,186 pounds Closing Date: 6 May, 1994 Enquiries: 041 330 4463 E-mail: anne@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk ********** II.2. Fr: Apple Computer ATG InfoTech Re: Apple Computer ATG Summer Internships The InfoTech project in Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group has two summer internship positions available for the summer of 1994. Starting dates are flexible, but the positions will last for approximately three months. POSITION 1: Job description: Work with senior researchers to design and implement client application for an experimental client/server information access system. REQUIRES: * graduate or upper-division undergraduate student in Computer Science or related field * C++ and Macintosh user interface programming experience (must be able to write a standalone application) PREFERRED: * interest in user-centered design * exposure to a variety of common interface components * familiarity with at least one relevance-ranking information retrieval system (e.g. SMART, WAIS, AppleSearch) POSITION 2: Job description: Work with senior researchers to design and implement components of a robust toolbox for information access systems. REQUIRES: * graduate or upper-division undergraduate student in Computer Science * C++ programming experience * eagerness to help design, build and evaluate large, complex systems PREFERRED: * experience with database implementation * knowledge of data-compression algorithms * familiarity with full-text indexing and search methods Please send resumes to as plain ASCII text only; do not send Postscript, uuencoded or BinHexed files. You may also send surface mail to the address below, or fax us at (408)-974-5505. Clearly indicate the position for which you feel most qualified. This announcment expires on June 30, 1994; do not respond after that date. Apple Computer, Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. InfoTech Project Apple Computer ATG One Infinite Loop, MS 301-4A Cupertino, CA 95014 ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.A.1. Fr: Information Processing & Management Re: Table of Contents, 30:4 Volume 30, Number 4 1994 Carolyn Watters 455 Shifting the Information Paradigm from Michael A. Shepherd Data-Centered to User-Centered Ai-Mei Chang 473 A Hyperknowledge Framework of Decision Clyde W. Holsapple Support Systems Andrew B. Whinston Andrew Large 499 A Comparison of Information Retrieval Jamshid Beheshti from Print and Cd-ROM Versions of an Alain Breuleux Encyclopedia by Elementary School Andre Renaud Students Jacques Savoy 515 A Learning Scheme for Information Retrieval in Hypertext Ye-Sho Chen 535 The Simon-Yule Approach to P. Pete Chong Bibliometric Modeling Morgan Y. Tong H. Chen 557 Explaining and Alleviating Information A.K. Danowitz Management Indeterminism: A Knowledge- K.J. Lynch Based Framework S.E. Goodman W.K. McHenry Book Reviews D.M. Hildebrandt 579 The Electronic Journal: The Future of Serials-Based Information by Brian Cook (Ed.) Lee Ratzan 580 Three Views of the Internet by A.M. Cunningham and W. Wicks (Eds.) Linda Schamber 581 Information Retrieval Today by F.W. Lancaster and A.J. Warner Chun Wei Choo 582 Organizational Decision Making and Information by M. Browne William Brace 584 Research Library--Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. A Selection of Papers Presented at the International Seminars, Kanazawa Institute of Technology Library Center, Kanazawa, Japan, 1982-1992 by W.J. Welsh (Ed.) 585 Books Received ********** III.B.1. Fr: Donald T. Hawkins Re: Boston Forum II BOSTON FORUM II A Trend Analysis Meeting for the Electronic Information Industry Boston, MA, 11-13 July 1994 This meeting lasts two and a half days, divided into three sessions. Session 1 -- with Session Leaders Stephen Arnold of Arnold & Associates of Kentucky, and Martin Dillon of OCLC, Columbus Ohio -- concentrates on updating participants concerning technology impact: hardware, software, storage, networks and systems. Session 2 -- with Session Leaders Harry Collier of Infonortics, England, and Patrick Gibbins of Maris Multimedia, England -- covers markets and market realities for electronic information. During the afternoon period, attendees at the Forum will take part in an extensive case study. Session 3 -- with Session Leaders Arthur Elias of Information Management, Columbus, Ohio, and Larry Block of Block Associates, Florida -- covers economics, pricing and conditions of supply. Attendance at the Forum is limited to a maximum of 75 participants. Registration fee is $790 (with an early-bird discount prior to 1 June). Maximum value will be obtained by senior managers and executives, decision makers, strategists and policy makers concerned with the delivery of information in electronic form to different market sectors. The companies involved will be mainly in the publishing, database production or electronic delivery areas, in-house or external. For a detailed brochure and order form, contact Harry Collier of Infonortics at 100142,2211@compuserve.com ********** III.B.2. Fr: Johannes C. Scholtes <100322.250@CompuServe.COM> Re: Workshops on Neural Networks in Information Retrieval Neural Networks and Information Retrieval in a Libraries Context Amsterdam , The Netherlands Friday June 24, 1994 and Friday September 16, 1994 M.S.C. Information Retrieval Technologies BV, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is currently undertaking a study on Neural Networks and Information Retrieval in a Libraries Context, in collaboration with the Department of Computational Linguistics of the University of Amsterdam and the Department of Information Technology and Information Science at Amsterdam Polytechnic. This study is funded by the European Commission as a complementary measure under the Libraries Programme In this study the general application of artificial neural net (ANN) technology to information retrieval (IR) problems is investigated in a libraries context. Typical applications of this technology are advanced interface design, current awareness, SDI, fuzzy search and concept formation. FOR WHOM: INTERESTING FOR ALL: - Computer Companies - Information Management and Supply Companies - Government Agencies - Libraries - Universities and Polytechniques THAT ARE INTERESTED IN: - Neural Networks - Information Retrieval - Libraries Sciences - Natural Language Processing - Advanced Computer Science - Data compression FOR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS: - Current Awareness - Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) - Information Filtering - Automatic Contents Based Information Distribution - Categorization - Advanced Interface Design - Fuzzy Retrieval (Information recognized by Optical Character Recognition and Speech Recognition). - Retrieval Generalization - Thesaurus Generation - Information Compression - Juke box staging FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION, CONTACT: M.S.C. Information Retrieval Technologies BV Dr Johannes C. Scholtes Dufaystraat 1 1075 GR AMSTERDAM The Netherlands Telephone:+31 20 679 4273 Fax:+31 20 6710 793 Internet:100322.250@compuserve.com or scholtes@msc.mhs.compuserve.com Compuserve:MHS: SCHOLTES@MSC or 100322,250 PROGRAM: JUNE 24, 1994 *Welcome and Introduction: Dr Ir Johannes C. Scholtes, President of MSC Information Retrieval Technologies B.V. *Tutorial Neural Networks (Back Propagation Kohonen Feature Maps): Dr Ir Johan Henseler, Forensic Laboratories, Head of Section Computer Criminality *Information Retrieval Application in Libraries: Dr E. Sieverts, Professor at Amsterdam Polytechnique. Library Program *Presentation Findings & State of the Art Report *Directions for (Commercial) Applications: Dr Ir Johannes C. Scholtes *Panel Discussion SEPTEMBER 16, 1994 *Welcome and Introduction: Dr Ir Johannes C. Scholtes. President of MSC Information Retrieval Technologies B.V. *Achievements: Dr Ir Johannes C. Scholtes. President of MSC Information Retrieval Technologies B.V. & Dr E. Sieverts. Professor at Amsterdam Polytechnique Library Program *Problem Issues: Dr E. Sieverts. Professor at Amsterdam Polytechnique. Library Program. *Commercial Implications by Dr Ir Johannes C. Scholtes. President of MSC Information Retrieval Technologies B.V. ********** III.B.3. Fr: Timothy Finin Re: NIST '94 C I K M ' 9 4 Third International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM'94) November 29 - December 2, 1994 National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, Maryland Sponsored by: ACM SIGART and ACM SIGIR, in cooperation with: AAAI, NIST, UMBC, NSF, Purdue University, and Rutgers University. THE CONFERENCE: CIKM provides an international forum for presentation and discussion of research on information and knowledge management, as well as recent advances on data and knowledge bases. The purpose of the con ference is to identify challenging problems facing the development of future knowledge and information systems, and to shape future directions of research by soliciting and reviewing high quality, applied and theoretical research findings. An important part of the conference is the Workshops program which focuses on timely research challenges and initiatives. FOCUS: The topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following areas: o Application of knowledge representation techniques to semantic modeling * Development and management of heterogeneous knowledge bases * Automatic acquisition of data and knowledge bases (especially raw text) * Object-oriented DBMS * Optimization techniques * Transaction management * High performance OLTP systems * Security techniques * Performance evaluation * Hypermedia * Unconventional applications * Parallel database systems * Physical and logical database design * Data and knowledge sharing * Interchange and interoperability * Cooperation in heterogeneous systems * Domain modeling and ontology-building * Knowledge discovery in databases * Information storage and retrieval and interface technology * Concurrent engineering and computer integrated manufacturing * Digital Libraries * Multimedia Databases. PAPER AND WORKSHOP SUBMISSION: Authors are invited to submit papers and workshop proposals to the Program Chair at the following address: Nabil R. Adam, Professor and Chair Dept. of MS/CIS GSM - Rutgers University 180 University Ave. Newark, NJ 07102 E-mail: cikm94@adam.rutgers.edu Tel: (201) 648-5239 All papers and workshop proposals should reach the program chair by May 1, 94. Authors must send eight (8) DOUBLE-SIDED copies of each paper, not exceeding 5,000 words, accompanied by a cover let ter containing a list of all authors, their affiliations, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses, and fax numbers. All submissions will be reviewed and judged with respect to quality and relevance. IMPORTANT DATES: Papers & Workshop Submission: ................. May 1, 1994. Notification of acceptance: ................... July 1, 1994. Camera Ready Copies Due: ...................... September 1, 1994. MORE INFORMATION: More information on CIKM-94 can be obtained in a variety of ways. For an automatic reply with general information send email to cikm-info@cs.umbc.edu. A variety of documents on CIKM-94 and earlier CIKM conferences is available via the gopher server at gopher.cs.umbc.edu, through WWW via the URL http://gopher.cs.umbc.edu/cikm.html, and via ftp from ftp.cs.umbc.edu in pub/cikm. ********************************************************** IV. PROJECTS IV.C.1. Fr: N. Gusack, IR-L Moderator Re: Correction for Issue 208 The first item from Susanne Humphrey (IV.C.1.) in the last issue began mid-item with the words "matches may be considered similar." Actually, that was a piece left over from an item that was included in Issue 207. ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests to: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET Send submissions to IRLIST to: IR-L@UCCVMA.BITNET Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch calur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu or calur@uccmvsa.bitnet Nancy Gusack ncgur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu or nancy.gusack@ucop.edu Mary Engle meeur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu or mary.engle@ucop.edu The IRLIST Archives is now set up for anonymous FTP, as well as via the LISTSERV. Using anonymous FTP via the host dla.ucop.edu, the files will be found in the directory pub/irl, stored in subdirectories by year (e.g., /pub/irl/1993). Using LISTSERV, send the message INDEX IR-L to LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET. To get a specific issue listed in the Index, send the message GET IR-L LOGYYMM, where YY is the year and MM is the numeric month in which the issue was mailed, to LISTSERV@UCCVMA (Bitnet) or LISTSERV@UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU. You will receive the issues for the entire month you have requested. These files are not to be sold or used for commercial purposes. Contact Nancy Gusack or Mary Engle for more information on IRLIST. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN IRLIST DO NOT REPRESENT THOSE OF THE EDITORS OR THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. AUTHORS ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENTS OF THEIR SUBMISSIONS TO IRLIST. Received: by stubbs.ucop.edu (5.57/1.34) id AA12464; Wed, 4 May 94 16:34:08 -0700 Message-Id: <9405042334.AA12464@stubbs.ucop.edu> Received: from UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU by uccvma.ucop.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 0818; Wed, 04 May 94 16:35:56 PDT Received: from UCCMVSA.UCOP.EDU (NJE origin NCG$UR@UCCMVSA) by UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 9722; Wed, 4 May 1994 16:35:55 -0700 Received: by UCCMVSA.UCOP.EDU Wed, 04 May 94 16:35:46 PDT Date: Wed, 04 May 94 16:35:46 PDT From: "Nancy Gusack" To: IRDIGEST@stubbs IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 May 2, 1994 Volume XI, Number 18 Issue 211 ********************************************************** II. JOBS 1. PhD Student in IR, ETH, Switzerland III. NOTICES A. Publications 1. Information Gatherer Newsletter B. Meetings 1. IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems 2. ASIS SIG/CR: Questions, Controversies & Conclusions in Classification Research C. Miscellaneous 1. IR-L Address Change 2. BCS PPSG Lecture on Goldrush IV. PROJECTS A. Abstracts 1. IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts D. Miscellaneous 1. Intelligent Interfaces ********************************************************** II. JOBS II.1. Fr: Peter Schauble Re: PhD Student in IR, ETH Ph.D. STUDENT IN INFORMATION RETRIEVAL (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) We have a position to be filled for a student who is interested in doing a Ph.D. in Information Retrieval. (We would call here a Ph.D. student an "assistant", meaning a research and teaching assistant.) The current PhD projects are focusing on retrieving information from speech recordings, statistical analysis of large text corpora, passage retrieval, and the integration of information retrieval functionality and database functionality. The position is a full-time paid position and the duties are roughly * 40% Teaching and supervision of undergraduates, marking of assignments, ... * 50% Research: working on the PhD project * 10% Education: this amounts to attending about one course per semester Applicants for this positions must have a Master's degree (or a Diploma if coming from a European country) in Computer Science. Applicants should also have a high grade point average. The applicant must be able to speak and write German, English, or French perfectly. The expected salary is about 52'700 Swiss francs (about 36'000 U.S. dollars) and there are no tuition fees as a Ph.D. student. The cost of living in Zurich is high; yet, this salary would allow a single person to live quite comfortably. We work with Suns under UNIX, program in C, and use X Windows/Motif. We are working in the institute of information systems which is one of the 4 institutes of the department of Computer Science, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. The department of Computer Science has 18 professors, several senior research associates, and about 85 research/teaching assistants. To apply formally send a letter describing your background, your interests, a resume, your transcript, and 2 recommendation letters to Prof. Peter Schauble Informationssysteme ETH Zentrum, IFW CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland FAX: +41 1 262-3973 Tel: +41 1 632-7222 ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.A.1. Fr: David Johnson Re: Computer-Based Medical Systems The 7th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems Adam's Mark Hotel Winston-Salem, North Carolina June 10-12, 1994 CBMS will be held in coordination with S/CAR:12th Conference for Computer Applications in Radiology June 12-15 For a copy of the complete CBMS advance program, contact Ms. Carla Muller, Tel (910)716-6890; Fax (910)716-2870; email carla@relito.medeng.wfu.edu FRIDAY, JUNE 10 FM1: Expert Systems-1 (Martha Evens) FM2: Image Processing - 1 (Wesley Snyder) FM3: Drug Roundtable (Margaret Peterson) Speaker: Design News Magazine's "Engineer of the Year", Dean Kamen FA1: Prosthetic Valve Sounds 1 (Rebecca Inderbitzen) FA2: Signal Processing-1 (Paul Kizakevich) FA3: Methods 1 FA4: Prosthetic Valve Sounds 2 (Rebecca Inderbitzen) FA5: Image Processing 2 (Nelson Corby) FA6 3:30-5:30 PM FA6: Methods 2 Social at the Workshop, Old Salem: Join us for food, music, and Moravian crafts demonstrations SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1994 SM1: Expert Systems 2 (Martha Evens) SM2: Signal Processing-2 (Paul Kizakevich) SM3: Neural Networks-1 (Russ Eberhart) SM4: Signal Processing-3 (Richard Fries) SM5: Medical Software Safety (Lon Gowen) SA1: Medical Information (Harry Burke) SA2: Image Processing 3 (Wes Snyder) SA3: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (Tom Smith) SA4: Neural Networks-2 (Russ Eberhart) SA5: Image Processing 4 (Nassrin Tavakoli) SA6: Software Safety Roundtable (Lon Gowen) Open Discussion TUTORIALS SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 11 SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 12 T1: Grantsmanship in Biomedical Engineering Research T2: Surfing the Internet: Mosaic and Other Tools T3: Integrated Neuro-fuzzy Models in Pattern Recognition T4: Programming in Motif T5: Medical Imaging For complete details on tutorials, including speaker resumes and tutorial descriptions, contact Ms. Carla Muller, Tel (910)716-6890; Fax (910)716-2870; email carla@relito.medeng.wfu.edu FOLLOWING CBMS: S/CAR94 Symposium for Computer Assisted Radiology June 12-15, 1994 Winston-Salem, North Carolina SUNDAY, JUNE 12 - Tutorials/Technical Exhibits (1:00-5:15 PM) MONDAY, JUNE 13 Wide Area PACSImage Processing 3D-ImagingRIS/HIS/PACS PACS AssessmentExpert Systems MDIS TUESDAY, JUNE 14 PACS SoftwareInformation Systems Artificial IntelligencePublic Health Teleradiology DICOM/LAN Workstations Computed Radiography WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 PACS Integration, Teaching, Research, Focus session:Current State of Virtual Reality Demonstrations, Poster Sessions, and Technical Exhibits on Mon. & Tues. TUTORIALS: o Basics of Computers o Basics of Digital Imaging o A Transition to Filmless Imaging Department o Introduction to DICOM o Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and its Applicability to Telemedicine. PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Pat Rice, Department of Radiology, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA. 27157-1088, Tel: (910)716-2470, Fax(910) 716-2029. ********** III.B.2. Fr: Clare Beghtol Re: ASIS SIG/CR's 5th Classification Research Workshop CALL FOR PARTICIPATION 5th ASIS SIG/CR Classification Research Workshop QUESTIONS, CONTROVERSIES AND CONCLUSIONS IN CLASSIFICATION RESEARCH The American Society for Information Science Special Interest Group on Classification Research (ASIS SIG/CR) invites submissions for the 5th ASIS Classification Research Workshop, to be held at the 57th Annual Meeting of ASIS in Alexandria, VA. The workshop will take place Sunday, October 16th, 1994, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ASIS '94 continues through Thursday, October 20th. The CR Workshop is designed to be an exchange of ideas among active researchers with interests in the creation, development, management,representation, display, comparison, compatibility, theory, and application of classification schemes. Emphasis will be on semantic classification, in contrast to statistically based schemes. Topics include, but are not limited to: * Warrant for concepts in classification schemes * Concept acquisition * Basis for semantic classes * Automated techniques to assist in creating classification schemes * Statistical techniques used for developing explicit semantic classes * Relations and their properties * Inheritance and subsumption * Knowledge representation schemes * Classification algorithms * Procedural knowledge in classification schemes * Reasoning with classification schemes * Software for management of classification schemes * Interfaces for displaying classification schemes * Data structures and programming languages for classification schemes * Image classification * Comparison and compatibility between classification schemes * Applications such as subject analysis, natural language understanding, information retrieval, expert systems. The CR Workshop welcomes submissions from various disciplines. Those interested in participating are invited to submit a short (1-2 page single-spaced) position paper summarizing substantive work that has been conducted in the above areas or other areas related to semantic classification schemes, and a statement briefly outlining the reason for wanting to participate in the workshop. Submissions may include background papers as attachments. Participation will be of two kinds: presenter and regular participant. Those selected as presenters will be invited to submit expanded versions of their position papers and to speak to those papers in brief presentations during the workshop. All position papers (both expanded and short papers) will be published in proceedings to be distributed prior to the workshop. The workshop registration fee is $35.00. Traditionally, a revised version of the proceedings is published the following year as a volume of Advances in Classification Research (ASIS Monograph Series, published by Learned Information, Medford, New Jersey, USA) Submissions should be made by email, or diskette accompanied by paper copy, or paper copy only (fax or postal), to arrive by May 15, 1994, to: *Raya Fidel, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Washington, FM-30, Seattle, WA 98195; Internet: fidelr@u.washington.edu; Phone: 206-543-1888; Fax: 206-685-8049* ********** III.C.1. Fr: Nancy Gusack, IR-L Moderator Re: R-L Address Change On July 1 the University of California Office of the President will be leaving the Bitnet. At that time all mail should be sent to me at my Internet account, nancy.gusack@ucop.edu. Subscribers with Bitnet-style addresses (no imbedded ".") should unsubscribe and resubscribe with an Internet-style address (with imbedded "."). Send those messages either to me or to listserv@ucop.edu. ********** III.C.2. Fr: J Blair-Fish Re: BCS PPSG Lecture on Goldrush The British Computer Society Parallel Processing Specialist Group (BCS PPSG) The 1994 A.G.M. Lecture : ** Goldrush ! ** by Roger Poole I.C.L., U.K. 6.30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 1994 Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre University College London Torrington Place, London W.C.1 (entrance directly opposite Dillons bookshop) (Attendance is free and open to one and all, members and non-members. No prior booking is required. Refreshments will be available !) Goldrush is an Open Database Server supporting Ingres, Oracle and Adabas, running on commodity microprocessors under Unix. It uses a Massively Parallel Processor Architecture to deliver highly scalable performance, 6000 t/s, a bandwidth of 100 MBytes/s and filestore of 1200 GB. Impressive figures indeed ! A strong contender in the high-performance database market ? Come and see ! This presentation explains the Architectural features of the Goldrush System and how it can be exploited by Database software and applications. PPSG members are further invited to attend the Committee Meeting (from 3 pm in Room 110) and the Annual General Meeting which starts at 6 pm (in the Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre) The committee comprises a diverse group of people drawn from industry and academia. We continue to need a wide range of talent on the committee, which meets four times a year. We need experts in parallel computing, researchers, academics, end users, application developers and more; essentially all those involved in developing, marketing and using parallel processing technology with the time and enthusiasm to make a contribution. Please consider standing at the Annual General Meeting. Contact us for an informal chat about the PPSG and for assistance with getting nominated. (Dr. John Blair-Fish (Secretary) jabf@castle.ed.ac.uk, 'phone: 031 650 4928, or Dr. Nigel Tucker (Treasurer) Paradis@cix.compulink.co.uk 'phone 0566 782739). ********************************************************** IV. PROJECTS IV.A.1. Fr: Susanne M. Humphrey Re: Selected IR-Related Dissertation Abstracts The following are citations selected by title and abstract as being related to Information Retrieval (IR), resulting from a computer search, using BRS Information Technologies, of the Dissertation Abstracts Online database produced by University Microfilms International (UMI). Included are UMI order number, title, author, degree, year, institution; number of pages, one or more Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) subject descriptors chosen by the author, and abstract. Unless otherwise specified, paper or microform copies of dissertations may be ordered from University Microfilms International, Dissertation Copies, Post Office Box 1764, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; telephone for U.S. (except Michigan, Hawaii, Alaska): 1-800-521-3042, for Canada: 1-800-268-6090. Price lists and other ordering and shipping information are in the introduction to the published DAI. An alternate source for copies is sometimes provided. Dissertation titles and abstracts contained here are published with permission of University Microfilms International, publishers of Dissertation Abstracts International (copyright by University Microfilms International), and may not be reproduced without their prior permission. AN University Microfilms Order Number ADG93-14767. AU WALLINGFORD, VERNON EUGENE, II. TI CONCEPTUAL RETRIEVAL FROM CASE MEMORY BASED ON PROBLEM-SOLVING ROLES: A GENERIC TASK ARCHITECTURE WITH APPLICATION TO JUSTIFICATORY REASONING IN TAX LAW. IN Michigan State University Ph.D. 1992, 201 pages. SO DAI v54(01), SecB, pp340. DE Computer Science. Information Science. Law. AB Given an understanding of the domain and the data stored, how can one locate in an immense data base only those records or documents semantically relevant to a particular topic of interest. This question frames the conceptual retrieval problem. Rather than trying to solve the conceptual retrieval problem solely in terms of general knowledge about a domain, this research advances the view that knowing the use to which retrieved items will be put provides guidance in developing more useful indexing vocabularies and retrieval methods. This dissertation focuses on conceptual retrieval for the purpose of case-based justification in tax law, in particular for the area of captive insurance taxation. In this context, a theory of conceptual retrieval is presented that elaborates an index vocabulary and organization based on the roles that cases can play in justification. This dissertation describes three primary products of this research: (1) a methodology for the Functional Representation of justifications, (2) a model of conceptual retrieval--an index vocabulary, an index organization, and a retrieval method--motivated by this methodology for representing justifications, and (3) a conceptual memory of arguments based on this model. This conceptual memory is integrated with a Generic Task architecture for justifying legal classifications. Finally, these concepts are implemented in a knowledge-based system called CRISTA. This research addresses the conceptual retrieval problem from a task-specific perspective. The result is the identification of an indexing methodology that is closely related to a particular problem-solving task and a particular case representation. In essence, this work unites a task-specific theory of problem solving with ideas from case-based reasoning about indexing in order to achieve a more complete picture of conceptual memory. To related disciplines, one of the important contributions of this research lies in its description of how one can employ knowledge of a device and its teleology in constructing more effective and efficient case memories. ********** IV.D.1. Fr: Ovidio Eltz da Silva Re: Intelligent Interfaces Hi all, I am studying the area of intelligent interfacing, and would like to share information with those who work in the area. Our project is to develop an interface module that adapts itself to the user's psychological characteristics. We study the interference of the use of different words in the user's response speed. If anybody would like to share information in this area, please respond. Ovidio Eltz da Silva Pontificia Universidade Catolica do RGS Brazil ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests to: LISTSERV@UCOP.EDU Send submissions to IRLIST to: IR-L@UCOP.EDU Or send subscription requests and submissions to: NANCY.GUSACK@UCOP.EDU Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch clifford.lynch@ucop.edu Nancy Gusack nancy.gusack@ucop.edu Mary Engle mary.engle@ucop.edu The IRLIST Archives is now set up for anonymous FTP, as well as via the LISTSERV. Using anonymous FTP via the host dla.ucop.edu, the files will be found in the directory pub/irl, stored in subdirectories by year (e.g., /pub/irl/1993). Using LISTSERV, send the message INDEX IR-L to LISTSERV@UCOP.EDU. To get a specific issue listed in the Index, send the message GET IR-L LOGYYMM, where YY is the year and MM is the numeric month in which the issue was mailed, to LISTSERV@UCOP.EDU. You will receive the issues for the entire month you have requested. These files are not to be sold or used for commercial purposes. Contact Nancy Gusack or Mary Engle for more information on IRLIST. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN IRLIST DO NOT REPRESENT THOSE OF THE EDITORS OR THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. AUTHORS ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENTS OF THEIR SUBMISSIONS TO IRLIST.