4/1/00 abstract
Vorhees, E. M. (1998). Using WordNet for text retrieval. In
C. Fellbaum (Ed.), WordNet: an electronic lexical database
(p. 285-303). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Presents experiments on the effectiveness of WordNet for improving information retrieval techniques. A technique for determining word senses was applied to queries and documents. An experiment using this technique for over 300 queries on five databases found that the sense information decreased retrieval performance. An experiment using the TREC document collection found that query expansion using manually selected WordNet synsets could improve performance for short queries. Automatic synset selection did not improve performance, even using a 35,000 document subset of the TREC collection.
4/1/00 abstract
Engelbart, D. C. (1963). A conceptual framework for the augmentation
of man's intellect. In P. W. Howerton (Ed.), Vistas in information
handling (p. 1-29). Washington, D.C.: Spartan Books.
Discusses methods for improving the problem-solving abilities of humans. Cchanges in the low-level ways that humans interact with the world can have far-reaching consequences. Human language and capabilities are directly affected by their methods of symbol manipulation. By building better symbol manipulation systems, human capabilities can be improved, even if they are not understood.
4/3/00 abstract and discussion
Dillon, A. (1996). Myths, misconceptions, and an alternative
perspective on information usage and the electronic medium. In
J.F. Rouet et al. (Eds.), Hypertext and cognition (p.25-42). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Examines the usefulness of hypertext as a learning tool. Hypertext has not been proven to enhance learning. Paper documents are not as linear as hypertext advocates claim. To be effective, hypertext needs to be designed based on user needs. TIMS is a framework for designing user interfaces.
I'm not sure what Dillon thinks of this, but simulations seem to be generally regared as useful learning tools. They are used extensively in certain types of training (pilots, nuclear plant operators).
I can (and will) argue that a simulation is really just a more complex form of hypertext. That is, each time you press a button in a simulation, you move to a new node/state. The output you see in a simulation usually has more graphical components than traditional hypertext, but each state of the simulation can still correspond to a node in a hypertext document.
There is one tricky part to this argument. In many simulations, things change over time (without button presses). We could think of this in two ways:
Where is the dividing line between a simulation and a hypertext document? Is it just the time factor? Not all simulations are time-dependent (eg. a bridge-building simulator).
Why are simulations helpful for learning, but hypertext is of dubious value? Is it because of the high correspondence to the real world? Because simulations usually limit your choices at the beginning to get you started?
4/4/00 abstract
Ruggles, R. (1997). Working paper. Knowledge tools: using technology
to manage knowledge better. Ernst & Young: Center for Business
Innovations. Available on the
web.
Describes the functions of knowledge tools and issues that must be dealt with to make them effective. Knowledge tools can be used to generate, represent, and access knowledge. Knowledge tools can overcome normal communication barriers such as temporal distance, physical distance, and social distance.
4/4/00 abstract
Davenport, E., and Cronin, B.C. (1999). Knowledge management: semantic
drift or conceptual shift? Draft of paper to be presented at ALISE
conference, San Antonio, 2000.
Several different definitions of ``knowledge management'' are currently in use. Library and information science generally views knowledge management as another term for information management, giving organization to existing data. Business defines knowledge management as the management of practical ``know-how''. Organizational theory views knowledge management as a method for enabling the creation and transfer of information.
4/4/00 assignment
Hypertext vs. Indexing
Whether hypertext is a form of indexing greatly depends on the definition of indexing. Hypertext is a fairly stable term, referring to a set of nodes with explicit links between them. Indexing, on the other hand, can mean anything from ``organizing'' to ``assigning keywords''.
Personally, I don't consider hypertext a form of indexing. Hypertext can be used to create an index. Often, hypertext is used to create an index for a hypertext document or set of documents. But an arbitrary hypertext document is not an index. The links within and between documents are simply references, similar to references and citations in paper documents. Hypertext documents may have few or even zero references. Indices are generally collections of references.
An index collocates items by representing them in the same (or similar) way. Hypertext documents collocate items by linking them to each other. An index provides a central point from which to begin a search, while hypertext documents may or may not provide this feature. Hypertext documents allow for continuous navigation between documents, while an indexing system requires the user to return to the index in order to navigate to a new document.
4/4/00 abstract
Liebscher, P. (1994). Hypertext and indexing. In R. Fidel et
al. (Eds.), Challenges in indexing electronic text and images
(p. 103-109). Medford, NJ: Learned Information for American Society
for Information Science.
Compares hypertext with traditional indexing. Hypertext links and indices both provide structure and meaning to a document or set of documents.
4/5/00 discussion
Nelson, T. H. (1994). Xanadu: document interconnection enabling re-use with automatic author credit and royalty accounting. Information Services & Use, 14, 255-265.
Project Xanadu. Available on the web. Rheingold, H. (1996). Life in cyberspace: the road to Xanadu has been a slow go. Newsday (11-17-1996), A66.
Saletan, W. (1998). Searching for Xanadu. Swarthmore College Bulletin, 96(3), 16-19.
These were very interesting articles. I've never heard of the Xanadu project before. There are some very useful concepts presented here: transclusion, micropayments, bifollowable links. It sounds terrific as a concept, but there are very few concrete details. What will a Xanadu document look like? Just what is this perfect addressing scheme that will keep documents stable? How can we charge for everything, but not track what documents people are reading? Who will set the payment amounts for documents? Will they be measured by the sentence, by the byte, or something else entirely?
4/4/00 abstract
Simpson, R., et al. (1996). 50 years after "As we may think": The
Brown/MIT Vannevar Bush Symposium. Interactions, 3(2), 47-67.
Summarizes the proceedings of a symposium held to honor Vannevar Bush. Compares the views of the attendees with Bush on the issues of augmenting human capabilities, collaborative work, and co-evolution of humans and machines.
4/11/00 class notes
Engelbart's version of augmentation is essentially man-machine symbiosis.
Email makes people function more slowly than face-to-face or phone conversation, but it has many advantages:
Each click in a hypertext environment takes us one step in a given direction (mental context), but there is nothing to ensure that all of the steps are in the same direction (context). For example: American revolution, George Washington, Mt. Vernon, Potomac, Chesapeake Bay, clams, clam chowder.