IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 October 2, 1995 Volume XII, Number 38 Issue 275 ********************************************************** I. QUERIES 1. Request for Information: EI Services Librarians II. JOBS 1. NJ Online/Newhouse New Media: Tech Design Positions 2. U. Albany: Network Services Librarian III. NOTICES B. Meetings 1. CIKM '95 Workshop: New Paradigms in Information Visualization & Manipulation 2. ISMIS '96 IV. PROJECTS A. Abstracts 1. IR-L Related Dissertation Abstracts D. Miscellaneous 1. Administration White Paper on IP and the NII ********************************************************** I. QUERIES I.1. Fr: ZCEF2468@UCT.UCT.EDU Re: Request for Information: Employment Possibilities I am a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma working on a career report focusing on an Electronic Information Services Librarian. Because this is a new type of Reference(?) Librarian, I am interested in any information on this type of job. For example, job duties, pay scales, educational requirements, experience, openings, public or private sector, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Please send replies ASAP to ZCEF2468@UCT.UCT.EDU. Thanks in advance!! Colleen Fitzgerald ********************************************************** II. JOBS II.1. Fr: Susan Mernit Re: NJ Online/Newhouse New Media: Tech Design Positions System Administrator/Webmaster -- Skills: Unix system administration, perl programming, web server maintenance, DNS, NFS, Firewall/router configuration, mirroring, Novell, Appletalk. Responsibilities: backup and maintenance of two unix workstations, setting up mirroring & DNS load balancing, firewall establishment & maintenance, unix account creation and maintenance. Application Developer -- Skills: CGI programming, C, perl, SQL, interest in Java, creative technology development. would be helpful. Contractor a possibility. Support -- Skills: Appletalk/Novell/TCPIP support for heterogeneous network, HTML. Responsible for training/support of users; purchasing, establishing, and maintaining client systems; creating Novell accounts. ********** II.2. Fr: Sue Kaczor Re: University at Albany: Network Services Librarian UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY LIBRARIES RECRUITMENT NOTICE POSITION: NETWORK SERVICES LIBRARIAN APPLICATIONS REQUESTED BY: OCTOBER 20, 1995 RESPONSIBILITIES: The University at Albany is seeking a librarian to provide leadership and training for library staff, university faculty, and students in access to and use of electronic resources and databases available within the University Libraries and remotely through networks. The Network Services Librarian works closely with reference librarians and bibliographers throughout the University Libraries, with staff in the Interactive Media Center and Library Systems Office, and with colleagues in the Computing Center in planning for and implementing library resources on and available through the Libraries' GEAC ADVANCE system and the campus-wide information system. The librarian will also serve as a reference librarian at the University Library, including evening and weekend service hours, providing instruction and assistance in the use of print and electronic information sources and participating in the user education program. Reports to the Assistant Director for User Services. Research, publication and service to the Libraries and University are expected to satisfy criteria for continuing appointment and promotion. QUALIFICATIONS: Required: ALA accredited MLS or equivalent degree. Advanced work in computing and science. Experience in public-oriented reference or information access service. Experience with online integrated library systems, campus networks, the Internet and electronic information resources. Demonstrated instruction and training skills. Strong and effective oral and written communication skills. Ability to work within a diverse academic community. Desirable: Experience in reference service. Working knowledge of UNIX, DOS, Windows and Macintosh computer software and hardware, including telecommunications and networking. Working knowledge of WWW, SGML, HTML, and LANs. SALARY: Commensurate with education and experience. Minimum $30.000 TERMS & BENEFITS: Twelve month appointment; sick leave and annual leave @ 1.25 days each per month; health insurance, major medical or Health Maintenance Organization and dental. Social Security coverage. TIAA/CREF or New York State Teachers Retirement available (employee contribution rate = 3%). APPLY TO: Christine Travis Library Personnel Officer University Libraries - UL-112 University at Albany State University of New York 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12222 DEADLINE: Review of letters of application and resumes will begin October 20, 1995. Please include the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three references whom we can contact. THE UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER. APPLICATIONS FROM WOMEN, MINORITY PERSONS, HANDICAPPED PERSONS, SPECIAL DISABLED AND VIETNAM ERA VETERANS ARE ESPECIALLY WELCOME. ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.B.2. Fr: Russell Turner Re: WORKSHOP: Information Visualization and Manipulation Call for Papers Workshop on New Paradigms in Information Visualization and Manipulation December 2, 1995--- Baltimore, Maryland In Conjunction with the ACM Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM'95) November 28--December 2, 1995 The CIKM '95 Workshop on New Paradigms in Informa- tion Visualization and Manipulation will be a forum for presentation and discussion of new ideas and techniques for accessing, visualizing and manipulating information. Topics of interest include, but are not restricted to: applications of virtual reality, including VRML; shared virtual environments and simu- lations; dynamic data visualization; visualization of multidimensional information spaces; visualization of large, dynamic information collections; applications of Internet tools such as MUDs, MOOs, and IRCs; document and corpus metrics; multi-modal information displays; software and hardware architectures to support in- formation visualization; and social interaction in multi-user information visualization systems. We are particularly interested in reports of work in progress, implementation techniques, and practical experience with visualization of information collections of all sizes. A significant portion of the workshop agenda will be devoted to discussion of pending research questions, and directions for future work in this area. Prospective participants are invited (but not required) to submit position papers. The suggested maximum length is four pages. The position papers will be reviewed by the organizing committee, and accepted papers will appear in the workshop proceedings. Some of the accepted papers will be selected for informal presentation at the workshop. Accepted papers that were submitted electronically will be available via WWW by early November. Authors of those position papers found to be especially interesting or important may be invited to prepare expanded versions of those papers, which will then be submitted for publication in a book or an appropriate journal. Mail papers in either Postscript, ASCII or HTML to turner@cs.umbc.edu by October 15, 1995. We prefer e-mail submissions, but authors who lack e-mail access may send papers to Dr. Russell Turner, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228-5398 USA. Submissions should include the title, author(s), author's affiliation, e-mail address, fax number and postal address. In case of multiple authors, please indicate which author is responsible for correspondence. For more information on the CIKM 95 conference, call (410)455-2336, -1074 fax, or see our Web page http://www.cs.umbc.edu/cikm.html. IMPORTANT DATES: Position paper submission deadline: October 15, 1995 Notification of acceptance: November 3, 1995 Workshop date: December 2, 1995 ********** III.B.1. Fr: Zbigniew W Ras Re: ISMIS'96 NINTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON METHODOLOGIES FOR INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS (ISMIS'96) Tatry Hotel, Zakopane, Poland June 10-13, 1996 SPONSORS UNC-Charlotte, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw Univ. of Technology and others. PURPOSE OF THE SYMPOSIUM: This Symposium is intended to attract individuals who are actively engaged both in theoretical and practical aspects of intelligent systems. The goal is to provide a platform for a useful exchange between theoreticians and practitioners, and to foster the cross-fertilization of ideas in the following areas: * Approximate Reasoning * Evolutionary Computation * Intelligent Information Systems * Knowledge Representation and Integration * Learning and Knowledge Discovery * Logic for Artificial Intelligence * Methodologies (modeling, design, validation, performance evaluation). In addition, we solicit papers dealing with Applications of Intelligent Systems in complex/novel domains, e.g. human genome, global change, manufacturing, health care, etc. SYMPOSIUM CHAIR: Miroslaw Dabrowski (Polish Acad. Sci.) PROGRAM CHAIRS Zdzislaw Pawlak (Warsaw Univ. Tech., Poland) Zbigniew W. Ras (UNC-Charlotte & Polish Acad. Sci.) PAPER SUBMISSION: Authors are invited to submit four copies of their manuscript (maximum 15 pages) to: Dr. Zbigniew W. Ras Univ. of North Carolina Dept. of Comp. Science Charlotte, N.C. 28223 e-mail: ras@mosaic.uncc.edu fax: 704-547-3516 Submissions should include a separate title page (1 copy) specifying the title, all authors with their affiliations, abstract (100-200 words), up to 10 keywords (begin the keyword list with at least one of the ISMIS areas listed above); and the preferred address of the contact author, including a telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address (if available). If possible, the title page should be submitted via email (in plain text) to to facilitate submissions processing. IMPORTANT DATES Submission of Papers: October 15, 1995 Acceptance Notification: December 15, 1995 Final Paper: February 15, 1996 PUBLICATION: Papers accepted for Regular Sessions will be published by Springer-Verlag in LNCS/LNAI. Poster Session proceedings will be published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Dr. Maciek Michalewicz, ISMIS'96 Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Comp. Science ul. Ordona 2 01-237 Warsaw, Poland fax: 48-22-376564 e-mail: michalew@wars.ipipan.waw.pl ********************************************************** 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 of potential interest to the Information Retrieval (IR) community, resulting from a computer search, using the CDP/Online system, of the Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) database produced by University Microfilms International (UMI). Included are accession number (AN); author (AU); title (TI); degree, institution, year, number of pages (IN); UMI order number (DD); reference to the published DAI (SO); abstract (AB); one or more DAI subject descriptors chosen by the author (DE); thesis adviser (AR); and dates associated with the monthly update file (UP). 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: 1-800-343-5299; fax: 313-973-1540. 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 AAI9513999 AU Lee, Choon Shil. TI MEDICAL PAPERS PUBLISHED BY KOREAN SCIENTISTS DURING THE 1980S: A COMPARISON WITH CHEMISTRY. (VOLUMES I AND II). IN Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1994, 509p. DD Order Number: AAI9513999. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 3670. AB This study assesses the status, impact and utility of Korean medical literature in world science in so far as it can be measured by or inferred from publication output and citation data of Korean medical papers published during the 1980s. Research took two directions. First, publication output and citation data of Korean medical papers published in non-Korean SCI source journals (mainstream non-Korean journal papers) were compared to those of papers published in Korean journals indexed by MEDLINE and/or EMBASE (mainstream Korean journal papers) and to those of papers not indexed by any of these three databases (non-mainstream papers). Second, Korean medical papers and researchers were compared to chemistry papers and chemists. The second comparison tested the influence of educational background on publication practice: almost all of the medical researchers completed their education in Korea, but a large proportion of chemists were educated outside of Korea. The findings show not only that a larger number of SCI papers were published during the 1980s in chemistry than in medicine, but also that mainstream publication activity, measured by proportion of mainstream papers among all papers published by Korean researchers, mainstream paper production rate per faculty member, growth rate, percentage contribution to SCI database, etc., were much stronger in chemistry than in medicine. Major differences in the rates of citedness between mainstream and non-mainstream, and Korean journal and non-Korean journal papers were observed in both medicine and chemistry. It is shown that there is a correlation between the researchers' educational background and their production of mainstream publications. Mainstream medical research conducted in Korea during the 1980s relied on a few very active researchers who had foreign Ph.D. degrees in non-medical sciences and were not affiliated with medical colleges. In contrast, the contribution of medical doctors to the mainstream was much less evident. The clearly superior publication activity of Korean chemistry in the mainstream is supported by a larger base of chemists trained abroad who published one or two papers a piece. DE Information Science. Library Science. AR Swanson, Don R. UP 9505. Revised: 950602. AN AAI9512565 AU Su, Shiao-Feng. TI AN APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF EXPERT SYSTEMS FOR THE SELECTION OF REFERENCE SOURCES. IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, 1994, 187p. DD Order Number: AAI9512565. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 3670. AB Sixty students at the University of Illinois voluntarily participated in the research to select reference sources for ten test questions with or without the aid of the expert systems to be evaluated. The students were first divided into little-experienced and no-experienced groups; the students in each group were further randomly divided into RE, SF, and NO groups. The RE group students consulted Reference Expert to select reference sources, the SF group students consulted SourceFinder, and the NO group students consulted the online catalog (IO$^+$/IBIS), browsed shelves in the Undergraduate Library, or retrieved from personal knowledge. The results of the study suggest that the current expert systems for the selection of reference sources cannot perform as well as experienced subject-oriented reference librarians. The better system, Reference Expert, could only achieve 80 percent accuracy in aiding users to select appropriate sources. SourceFinder achieved 40 percent accuracy. A failure analysis is provided. The results indicate that the students without "expert system" aid can perform as well as comparable students aided by SourceFinder in the selection of sources. SourceFinder can lead its users to select reference sources at a 25% consistency level, while Reference Expert achieves a 57.5% consistency level. Students not aided by any expert system achieve only 10% consistency in source selection. The results of this research generally do not offer strong support for the belief that "expert systems" for selection of reference sources can provide much help to increase the accuracy of question answering in reference services. In fact, in the case of SourceFinder, students of little experience aided by the system performed significantly worse than did the comparable students using the online catalog or personal knowledge. It is not just a matter of "why bother" to build an expert system of this type; there also exists the possibility that exclusive use of such a system to select reference sources may worsen the existing "half-right" performance of reference librarians. DE Information Science. Library Science. AR Lancaster, F W. UP 9505. Revised: 950602. AN AAI9508901 AU Kim, Seonghee. TI INTELLIGENT INFORMATION RETRIEVAL USING AN INDUCTIVE LEARNING ALGORITHM AND A BACK-PROPAGATION NEURAL NETWORK. IN Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON, 1994, 256p. DD Order Number: AAI9508901. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 3673. AB This study demonstrated that the neural network inductive learning model (NNILM) can retrieve relevant documents from incomplete queries. In addition, this study showed that the neural network inductive learning model outperformed a vector space model even though incomplete queries were used with the NNILM. It presented a design for the application of inductive learning to information retrieval systems, in which an inductive algorithm was merged with a neural network to create a new information retrieval model. The performance results of this neural network inductive learning model were measured by comparing searches in response to complete queries with searches in response to incomplete queries in terms of three meausures: (1) the total number of relevant documents retrieved, (2) precision ratios, and (3) recall ratios. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate the predicted superiority of the neural network inductive learning model, its effectiveness in response to incomplete queries was compared to the effectiveness of the vector space model in response to complete queries. ADI (American Documentation Institute) documents and queries were selected to test the proposed model. The collections consist of 82 documents and 35 queries on the subject of Library and Information Science. Major findings were as follows:. The results of searches in response to complete queries in a neural network inductive learning model weren't found to be significantly different from those made in response to incomplete queries when measured in terms of the performance criteria. In addition, this study demonstrated that a neural network inductive learning model outperformed a vector space model. These results confirm the usefulness of intelligent information retrieval and encourage the creation of a new information retrieval system having the flexibility to respond more accurately to individual preferences, changing information needs, and different retrieval situations even though the user queries are not complete. DE Library Science. Education, Business. AR Cortez, Edwin M. UP 9505. Revised: 950602. AN AAINN92749 AU Turner, James Ian Marc. TI DETERMINING THE SUBJECT CONTENT OF STILL AND MOVING IMAGE DOCUMENTS FOR STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION. IN Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (CANADA), 1994, 313p. DD Order Number: AAINN92749. SO Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 3671. AB Subject access to the mass of visual documentation accumulated in this century is inadequate. Techniques used with text materials have not been adapted successfully for use with visual materials. Different levels of terminology are available, and the model widely used with art collections considers pre-iconographical, iconographical, and iconological description. Evidence was sought which would suggest appropriate ways to index non-art pictures, particularly film and video clips. Two videocassettes were compiled, each containing the same 44 ten-second clips of everyday objects and events. Each videocassette contained a mix of still and moving images, and of simple and complex images; the shots on both tapes were in the same order. However, the still images on one tape were moving on the other, and vice versa. Participants were classified as to visual orientation and level of experience. They screened one or the other tape, and for each shot, wrote descriptors under which they would file the shots in some hypothetical information system. Analysis included the number of terms each participant supplied for each shot, and the levels of agreement among participants on the most frequently named terms. Although statistically significant differences were found in the numbers of terms supplied, it is doubtful whether these differences have practical significance. Significant differences were also found in the levels of agreement on the most popular terms. There was more agreement on terms for the simple shots than for the complex shots using some measures, as well as on terms supplied by people who work with images than on those supplied by students. Differences in levels of agreement due to visual orientation or to motility of the shots were not found. Participants overwhelmingly supplied basic-level terminology, naming objects and events prominent in the images. Patterns in terminology found in previous research with other types of materials were echoed in the responses of the participants. A few terms are named often, and the great majority of the terms are named only once. DE Information Science. AR Williamson, Nancy J. IB 0-315-92749-6 UP 9505. Revised: 950602. AN AAIMM92456 AU Zhou, Julun. TI USING COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION TO TEACH SEARCHING OF AN ON-LINE CATALOGUE. IN Masters Thesis (M.A.)--UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (CANADA), 1994, 91p. DD Order Number: AAIMM92456. SO Masters Abstracts International. Volume: 33-03, page: 0722. AB This study is designed to investigate if Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) can actually help library users to learn how to use the on-line catalogue of ELOISE in OISE. This study includes a survey of the CAI literature which looks at the criteria of quality instruction; the development of CAI authoring tools and authoring language; and CAI practice. The author has designed a specific CAI system for users to learn ELOISE by using HyperCard programming on the Macintosh computer. Twenty graduate students have been invited to try the CAI courseware and complete the questionnaire which has two parts: pre-test and post-test. The result of collected data is positive and has revealed that a CAI tutorial can help users to learn how to use ELOISE on-line catalogue effectively and efficiently. Such a tutorial can help release the OISE librarians from their repetitious routines. No significant difference has been found concerning the attitude towards using CAI between those users with more computer experience and those with less previous computer experience. DE Education, Technology. Information Science. Library Science. Library Science. AR Ragsdale, Ronald G. IB 0-315-92456-X UP 9505. Revised: 950602. ********** IV.D.1. Fr: Paul Evan Peters Re: Administration White Paper on IP and the NII The white paper is available in a variety of formats via http://iitf.doc.gov and http://www.uspto.gov. CONTACT: Richard Maulsby 703-305-8341 Press Release # 95-26 September 1, 1995 Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown today released the department's final report on the impact of the Clinton administration's National Information Infrastructure, the Information Superhighway, on current U.S. copyright laws. The report explains applications of the laws in cyberspace and recommends certain changes in the intellectual property law to accommodate the digital age. Brown, chairman of the White House Task Force on the NII, said, "The Commerce Department's mission is to make our economy grow, to promote science and technology, and to increase our international trade." "This Report will help ensure that the NII has as favorable an environment as possible in which to develop an electronic marketplace for commerce," he said. "Unless we provide legal protection for intellectual property on the NII, customers won't be able to reap the benefits of these new technologies," Brown added. Bruce A. Lehman, chairman of the Working Group on Intellectual Property, said, "Without enforceable laws in place, intellectual property owners will be unwilling to put their works at risk in this rapidly expanding digital environment. The Working Group has examined existing copyright law and is recommending changes that will allow owners and users of all types of materials, from movies to software, to realize the full potential of the information superhighway as a commercial marketplace." Last summer, a preliminary draft of the report--the Green Paper--was released for public comment. This final report incorporates changes that resulted from the hearings conducted with interested groups around the nation and the public comments received. The report includes recommendations to Congress regarding some limited, but important, changes to the copyright law, including clarification of the copyright owner's distribution right and amendment of the library privileges to bring them into the digital age. ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests and submissions to: NCGUR@UCCMVSA.UCOP.EDU Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch calur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu Nancy Gusack ncgur@uccmvsa.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 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.