IRLIST Digest ISSN 1064-6965 March 4, 1996 Volume XIII, Number 10 Issue 297 ********************************************************** I. QUERIES 1. Bibliometric Research Sources on the Internet? II. JOBS 1. Jobs Offered in the Netherlands III. NOTICES A. Publications 1. The Journal of Holistic Research in Information Systems 2. Market Survey for a New Journal in IR 3. McClure & Lopata: Assessing the Academic Networked Environment B. Meetings 1. 33rd Annual Clinic on Digital Image Image Access and Retrieval C. Miscellaneous 1. Oregon Health Sciences U.: MS, Medical Informatics 2. Common Lisp Web Server ********************************************************** I. QUERIES I.1. Fr: Heath Rezabek Re: Bibliometric Research Sources on the Internet? I am a Masters candidate in IS at the University of Texas at Austin, GSLIS. In preparatory work for an independent study / thesis, I have found myself looking for resources on bibliometric research online -- whether topical overviews, bibliographies on bibliometrics, or -- especially -- graphing and statistical software geared towards bibliometric research. Specifically, information dealing with bibliometrics [and content analysis] applied *to* electronic resources would be appreciated. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Heath M Rezabek hrezabek@gslis.utexas.edu http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/hrezabek/index.html GSLIS Masters Candidate University of Texas at Austin Technical Staff Assistant Perry-Castaneda Library EIC ********************************************************** II. JOBS II.1. Fr: Th.P. van der Weide Re: Jobs Offered in the Netherlands JOBS OFFERED IN THE NETHERLANDS The research project 'Information Filtering' is a cooperation between the Computing Science Institute (CSI) and the Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information (NICI). CSI is a research institute within the Department of Mathematics and Informatics. The research aims at the scientific aspects of the use of computers in Mathematics as well as in Informatics and may have a fundamental but also an applied nature. In particular, formalisms and languages both to describe systems in which computers play a (predominant) role, as for reasoning about such systems, are the main research theme of the CSI. The research is organized around eight themes, divided in three research priorities: Computers and Mathematics, Software Engineering, and Informatics for Technical applications. NICI is a research institute for the cognitive sciences. The research within the NICI is interdisciplinary in nature. NICI workers are psychologists, physicists, computer scientists, linguists, biologists, and physicians, all working in the context of the way of working of cognitive systems. NICI research is organized around five sections: Perception, Motor Behavior, Psycholinguistics, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Mathematical Modelling. Aside from fundamental research the NICI conducts on applied research, along with consultancy and PhD supervision. In the Information Filtering project an integrated system will be developed for intelligent searching and customized represention of information as obtained from the Internet. The explosion of on-line information on the Internet has demonstrated that information as such is usually of little value. Hence it is important that individual users get only the information they need, at the time they need it, and in a form they can use. This project covers the whole cycle of information gathering. Users will get tools to communicate their information need. Their need is translated into formal queries. Advanced techniques retrieve the required information. Subsequently, this information is presented in a form which is adequate for the individual user. The system may be viewed as an `intelligent agent' which proactively and usually autonomously will serve the user. In the context of this project the University of Nijmegen offers four unior research positions. Each position covers a component of the information filtering system. The following components are distinguished: 1. PARSING Qualification: a computer scientist experienced with NLP or a linguist with a strong background in computer science. Responsibility: development and implementation of techniques for analyzing very large sets of on-line documents. 2. INFORMATION RETRIEVAL Qualification: a computer scientist specialized in Information Retrieval. Responibility: development and implementation of techniques for determining the relevance of documents with respect to a profile of queries. 3. USER MODELLING Qualification: a cognitive scientist with AI experience. Responsibility: development of techniques for determining a profile of the actual information need of individual users, based on knowledge of human information processing. 4. PRESENTATION Qualification: a cognitive scientist or a computer scientist experienced in HCI. Responibility: development of a presentation layer and interface for the information filtering system, based on actual information of the user. Fundamental knowledge and practical experience in the area of cognitive ergonomics are required, as well as experience with development multimodal/multimedial applications using modern prototyping tools. Please send your reaction, including a cv, before March 21 1996 to University of Nijmegen, Department of Mathematics and Informatics Personele Zaken Vac No 31-96 Toernooiveld 1 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands Please indicate your preference for one of the positions. ********************************************************** III. NOTICES III.A.1. Fr: Craig Standing Re: The Journal of Holistic Research in Information Systems The Journal of Holistic Research in Information Systems Call For Papers The Information Systems Department at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia is developing a new journal, that will be called the Journal of Holistic Research in Information Systems led by founding editor Craig Standing. As the title indicates, it will focus on holistic approaches in the information systems field. The Journal will provide an avenue for scholarly work that takes a systemic or holistic perspective in relation to areas such as information systems development, information technology and information systems management. The Journal of Holistic Research in Information Systems will foster primarily, although not exclusively, interpretive or qualitative research methods including ethnographic, genealogical, action research and case studies of various kinds. Research that uses quantitative methods, for example statistical surveys, will be suitable if they take a broad perspective of the problems and issues. This means very often that the social and political aspects will be considered as well as the technical. We believe that the time is right for such a journal as there is a growing body of interpretive researchers in IS taking a systems view. The Journal particularly encourages articles from the South East Asian Region as this has many countries with rapidly growing economies and populations and it is hoped that the Journal can provide a forum for debate on holistic methods that have been tried in this area. One of the key intentions of setting up the Journal is to bring Systems Researchers (as in systems thinking) and IS researchers closer. The IS will in JoHRIS will be taken broadly rather than in a narrow sense of meaning technology, although it is anticipated that many papers will have this theme. Target topics that will be relevant to JoHRIS include but are not limited to: * Innovative Soft Systems approaches used in information systems development * IS planning that takes a systemic approach * The integration of software and/or hardware technologies that provide holistic solutions to problems. For example, the integration of various aspects of software engineering paradigms. * Human Computer Interaction (HCI) problems tackled in an holistic or integrated way. * Research papers that promote the development of interpretive or qualitative research methodologies in relation to Information Systems through case studies. * Holistic methods in the management of information Systems. * Holistic approaches in the development of technology policy and technology transfer. * Integrative methods of systems design. * Systems perspectives of IS evaluation. * The use of metaphors as an integrative theme for aspects of IS. * The influence of politics and culture on systems development. BOOK REVIEWS: JoHRIS will include book reviews and information concerning conferences in the holistic information systems field. PUBLICATION AND MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES: The JoHRIS will be published by the Department of Information Systems at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Researchers as well as Information Systems Professionals are invited to submit papers for the JoHRIS. All papers will undergo a blind refereeing process by at least three referees. Papers can be sent in hard or soft copy. Soft copies should be in Microsoft Word for MAC or PC format. The Journal will be available in electronic form from 1997. The Journal will be published twice a year in June and December. The first issue is planned for December, 1996. Papers should conform strictly to the APA (American Psychological Association) Style Guide (3rd Edition). All submissions must be original works which have not appeared elsewhere and which are not being considered for publication with another journal. As the reviewing process will be conducted anonymously, please leave your name(s) off the manuscript. People are encouraged to send their papers either in postscript form or hard copy form to: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Craig Standing email: c.standing@cowan.edu.au Fax: 61 9 405 5633 Tel: 61 9 405 5545 Department of Information Systems Edith Cowan University Joondalup, Western Australia 6027 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Chief Editor: Craig Standing Edith Cowan University, Western Australia ********** III.A.2. Fr: Paul B. Kantor (kantor@scils.rutgers.edu) Re: Market Survey for a New Journal in IR Market Survey for a New Journal in Information Retrieval. Kluwer publishers is exploring the possibility of creating a new journal in the field of Information Retrieval. This journal is intended to concentrate on the application of mathematical and statistical methods to a broad range of problems in IR. It is expected to complement leading journals in the field, such as JASIS, IP&M, TOIS and JDoc, while providing a forum for some research, originating in engineering and statistics, which does not fit comfortably either into those journals or into the other publications in engineering and statistics. To learn more about it, and to respond to a Web Form market survey, please visit: http://www.wkap.com/survey.html Paul B. Kantor, Professor and Voice 908 932 1359/7705 Director, Alexandria Project Lab. FAX 908 932 1504 LIS/SCILS/Rutgers Member, Rutgers Center for Operations Research. Internet: kantorp@cs.rutgers.edu Mail: 4 Huntington St. New Brunswick NJ. 08901-1071 ********** III.A.3. Fr: Paul Evan Peters Re: McClure and Lopata: Assessing the Academic Networked Environment PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT Assessing the Academic Networked Environment: Strategies and Options Charles R. McClure and Cynthia L. Lopata 135 pages pbk, $15, ISBN 0-918006-28-7, 1996 The Coalition for Networked Information is pleased to announce the availability of a manual that offers guidance to the academic networked community in measuring the impact and effectiveness of network services. "Assessing the Academic Networked Environment: Strategies and Options" is an outgrowth of a 1995 study conducted by Charles R. McClure and Cynthia L. Lopata, Syracuse University School of Information Studies, and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, on campus network effectiveness. The manual acknowledges that in a time of rapid technological change and scarce resources, many higher education institutions have "built significant networks and have connected to the Internet [but may] have little knowledge of how such connectivity has affected the academic institution." It also notes that there has been little research to date on this subject. The manual helps decision makers work through key questions in assessing their networks: o What is the volume and type of networking taking place on the academic campus? o Who are the users accessing the network and what types of services do they utilize? o How much do the various types of network services and activities cost? o How has access to and use of the networked information resources and services affected teaching, research, learning, service, and other aspects of academic life? The authors recommend the manual as the "beta version" of a work in an ongoing process of "testing, refinement, and rewriting." They emphasize that it provides strategies and options that should be considered when assessing the networked environment, and they anticipate that it will be revised and expanded in the future. The manual includes issues and topics to be considered in collecting and using qualitative data, outlines a variety of measures to be considered, and provides a sample user survey and data collection forms. Part I introduces basic evaluation concepts, Part II discusses techniques for collecting and using qualitative data, Part III introduces procedures for producing quantitative measures, and Part IV is an example user survey. It also includes assessment tools as well as information on the software products that may be considered in the assessment process. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Patricia Brennan pubs@cni.org or 202-296-2296 ********** III.B.1. Fr: Bryan Heidorn Re: 33rd Annual Clinic on Digital Image Access and Retrieval 33rd Annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing: Digital Image Access and Retrieval at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign March 24-26, 1996 Sponsored by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and the Beckman Institute. In the last several years digital images have changed from being an expensive high technology peculiarity in libraries into an expectation. Libraries are actively involved in organizing and managing large digital image collections. These collections are now being created in nearly every art and science. The same technologies can impact preservation, interlibrary loan and classroom support. The central problems are the same as they have been in libraries for centuries. How do we organize, assess, store and protect the collects to meet the needs at a reasonable cost? This conference will explore the digital image technology and many facets of its impact on the libraries of today and tomorrow. Who should attend: This conference will be of interest to librarians, image database developers, academic computing staff, digital collection developers, and educators who use visual media. Additional information may be found at URL: http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/dpc PROGRAM SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Reception (Illini Union Ballroom) Dinner (Illini Union Ballroom) Keynote Address: Image Databases: The First Decade, the Present, and the Future, Howard Besser, Visiting Associate Professor, School of Information & Library Studies MONDAY, MARCH 25 SESSION 1: IMAGES IN THE DIGITAL LIBRARY INITIATIVE *Finding Things by Grouping, David Forsyth, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of California at Berkeley *Some Challenging Issues in Image Content Based Indexing and Retrieval, Thomas S. Huang, Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, UIUC, Kannan Ramchandran, Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, UIUC, Sharad Mehrotra, Assistant Professor, Computer Science Beckman Institute, UIUC SESSION 2: IMAGING APPLICATIONS AND ACCESS *Jennifer Trant, Getty Imaging Initiative *Donald Luman, State Geological Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign SESSION 3: IMAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS *Image Database Vendor TBA *Visual Information Retrieval, Ramesh Jain, Virage Inc., and Visual Computing Laboratory, UC San Diego SESSION 4: THE CHALLENGE OF AUTOMATIC INDEXING OF IMAGES *Shih-Fu Chang, The Image and Advanced Television Laboratory, Columbia University *Using Speech Input for Image Interpretation, Annotation and Retrieval, Rohini K. Srihari, Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR), State University of New York, Buffalo *Techniques for Retrieval of Similar Shapes, Rajiv Mehrotra, University of Missouri, St. Louis DEMONSTRATIONS * Visual Information Retrieval Using Virage Search - Ramesh Jain * Beckman Image Retrieval Engine - Thomas Huang * Museum Educational Site Licensing Project at The University of Illinois - Charles Bauer * A Medieval Books of Hours Indexed Image Database - Shannon Crary and Don Siler TUESDAY, MARCH 26 SESSION 6: PRESERVATION AND DELIVERY OF DIGITAL FACSIMILE *TBA *Digital Imaging: Issues for Preservation and Access, Meg Bellinger, President of Preservation Resources, OCLC SESSION 7: IMAGE OF THE LIBRARY *The Big Picture: Selection and Design for Image Information Systems Lois Lunin, Consultant and Editor *Impact of Image databases on Libraries, Panel Session FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION: DPC '96 Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 501 E. Daniel Street Champaign, IL 61820-6211 Email: dpc@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu Telephone: (800) 982-0914 or (217) 244-3274 WWW: http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/dpc ********** III.C.1. From: William Hersh Re: Oregon Health Sciences U.: MS, Medical Informatics Master of Science in Medical Informatics at Oregon Health Sciences University The Oregon State Board of Higher Education has voted to approve the Master of Science program in Medical Informatics to be offered by the Biomedical Information Communication Center (BICC) and School of Medicine (SOM) of Oregon Health Sciences University. This program will commence in the fall of 1996. Applications for admission are being accepted now. GOALS OF PROGRAM: The major goal of this program is to educate the future developers and managers of health care information systems. Individuals with a variety of backgrounds will be given a strong technical grounding in medical informatics, health and medicine, computer science, and research methods so that they may assume positions that require a thorough understanding of both information technology and the health care environment. Although the curriculum will have a large core of courses, it will be individualized so that those with a prior background in one area (i.e., a health care professional or computer scientist) can focus on others where their background is less strong. Another goal of the program includes educating those who already have a doctoral degree to pursue research interests in medical informatics. Such training will prepare them for research positions in academic or industry. BACKGROUND: The field of medical informatics is concerned with the development, dissemination, and evaluation of information technology in the health care field. The BICC is already a national leader in this area, being one of the largest recipients nationally of research funding from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), an institute of the NIH which funds research and training in medical informatics. The BICC also offers postdoctoral training in this area, funded largely by the NLM, but also more recently by the Veterans Administration. There is a growing need for skilled professionals who understand both information technology and the health care environment, as the former is having a profound impact on the latter, especially in this new era of managed care, where cost-efficiency is essential and information technology can help achieve it. The academic portion of the BICC, the Division of Health Informatics, consists of nine faculty (six M.D.'s, two Ph.D.'s, and one M.D./Ph.D.) with joint appointments in the BICC and other departments, including internal medicine, pathology, dermatology, public health, and emergency medicine. BICC faculty also engage in a variety of teaching activities, including an introductory course in medical informatics that is part of the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) and a continuing medical education conference for practicing clinicians. CURRICULUM: The goal of the curriculum is to produce students capable of assuming appropriate jobs in medical informatics in either academic or industry. The curriculum consists of 60 credit hours, divided between 51 hours of coursework and 9 hours of master's thesis work. OHSU operates on a quarter system, so a full-time student should be able to complete the program in 4-5 quarters. The required coursework spans five areas (medical informatics, health and disease, computer science, decision science, and research methods), each of which has a minimum number of credits as well as required courses. While all medical informatics courses will be taught by medical informatics faculty at the BICC, courses in health and medicine, decision making, and research methods will come from other departments at OHSU, while computer science courses will be offered through Oregon Graduate Institute (OGI). While all of the medical informatics courses will be taught by medical informatics faculty at the BICC, some of the courses in the other areas will be utilized from other departments and institutions. Courses in health and medicine, decision making, and research methods will mostly come from OHSU. Computer science courses will be offered through OGI. ADMISSION PREREQUISITES: * An introductory course in computer programming or equivalent * An introductory course in human anatomy and physiology or equivalent * The GRE or MCAT for those not having completed a prior doctoral degree * The TOEFL for all foreign applicants CURRICULUM AREAS AND RATIONALE: * Medical Informatics - Students should have a detailed knowledge of the role of computers and information technology in medical care. Required courses include an introductory survey course as well as courses on clinical systems, text information retrieval, artificial intelligence, and imaging and multimedia. A medical informatics practicum is also offered, allowing students to obtain up to 6 hours of credit working in a real setting, such as a hospital information service. * Health and Medicine - Students should have a basic understanding of both the human body in healthy and diseased states as well as the operations of the clinical medicine. An ethics course for add graduate students in the School of Medicine is also requied. * Computer Science - Students should have a basic understanding of computer science in order to understand the role and limitations of computers in health care. An intensive introductory course will stress the topics needed to meet the prerequisites of OGI graduate courses. Further courses will be required in software engineering, databases, and human-computer interaction. A tentative course in computer networks may also be required. * Decision Making - Students should have a thorough grounding in the quantitative aspects of medical decision making, and how those methods are used in policy-making. * Research Methods - Students should understand the fundamental aspects of scientific research in medicine and data analysis. There are required courses in statistics, clinical epidemiology, and health data analysis. Since it is expected that many entering students will likely have an academic background in either health care and/or computer science, these students will be exempt from the basic health and medicine and/or computer sciences, although they will still be required to take 60 hours of total coursework. FOR DETAILS, CONTACT: http://www.ohsu.edu/~hersh/ms.html INQUIRIES: William Hersh, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Informatics Oregon Health Sciences University BICC 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. Portland, OR 97201-3098 Voice: 503-494-4563 Fax: 503-494-4551 Email: hersh@ohsu.edu TO RECEIVE AN INFORMATION PACKET, CONTACT: Pamela Davis Oregon Health Sciences University BICC 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. Portland, OR 97201-3098 Voice: 503-494-4808 Fax: 503-494-4551 Email: davispa@ohsu.edu ********** III.C.2. Fr: John C. Mallery Re: Common Lisp Web Server (58.3a) Server: A full-featured, production-quality Web server wholely written in Common Lisp is *freely* available from the following URL at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. INFORMATION: http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/iiip/doc/cl-http/home-page.html Q: Why might you care about this? A: You might be interested in: * Minimizing the cycle time from conceptualization to market. (Cooler than being last to market!) * Generating all HTML interfaces on the fly. (Cooler than terabytes of legacy html!) * Synthesing JavaScript and Java on the fly. (Cooler than typing it in by hand!) * Developing complex or advanced Web applications. (Cooler than serving static files!) * Creating intelligent, knowledge-based Web sites. (Cooler than even a "Netscape enchanced" site!) LANGUAGE: Common Lisp is a dynamic, object-oriented programming language that is used to develop and deploy leading-edge applications in university, government, and business settings. This highly flexible and evolvable language has been typically used to develop large and complex artificial intelligence or natural languagge understanding systems. These kinds of power programming tools are becoming increasingly relevant for Web developers as ever more is required in ever less time. PLATFORMS: The server presently runs with full source-compatibility on the following platforms: * Macintosh (MCL - Comes on the CD) * UNIX (Allegro, LispWorks, Lucid) (Many flavors, including SunOS, Solaris, SGI, OSF) * Lisp Machines (Symbolics 8.3, Open Genera 1.0) Additional ports are underway to the Windows environment and the free CLisp for UNIX. ********************************************************** 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 set up for anonymous FTP. 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). 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