Journal of Digital Information (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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252 research outputs found
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Integrating Reading and Writing of Documents
No full textComputer users have become accustomed to the writing of documents being regarded as a separate activity from the reading of documents. We believe that this division is unnecessary and limits the effectiveness of virtually every computer user. It is time for a rethink of underlying concepts. A key concept for integrating reading with writing is a general mechanism for annotation. This general mechanism can be combined with hyperlinking to create a single unifying super-concept that provides a base for integrating reading and writing. The paper explains the underlying ideas, and describes the results of a small experiment that supported the viability of the super-concept. We believe that the super-concept might possibly provide the foundations for a revolution in thinking about documents, which would benefit everyone
CHANT (CHinese ANcient Texts): a comprehensive database of all ancient Chinese texts up to 600 AD
No full textThe CHinese ANcient Texts (CHANT) database is a long-term project which began in 1988 to build up a comprehensive database of all ancient Chinese texts up to the sixth century AD. The project is near completion and the entire database, which includes both traditional and excavated materials, will be released on the CHANT Web site (www.chant.org) in mid-2002. With more than a decade of experience in establishing an electronic Chinese literary database, we have gained much insight useful to the development of similar databases in the future. We made use of the best available versions of all texts, noting variant readings in footnotes. The biggest problem we encountered is the inclusion of rare and obsolete Chinese characters. For excavated materials, we also have to incorporate a considerable number of inscriptions in the original oracle bones and bronze forms. Since we started building the database, information technology has advanced so rapidly that we had to upgrade the technical devices already in use in the database. Unification of different sub-databases is also a daunting task. To maintain our competitive edge over free online Chinese databases, we need to continue developing new databases employing the existing ones
Use and Abuse of Reusable Learning Objects
No full textThe term Learning Object, first popularized by Wayne Hodgins in 1994 when he named the CedMA working group "Learning Architectures, APIs and Learning Objects", has become the Holy Grail of content creation and aggregation in the computer-mediated learning field. The terms Learning Objects (LOs) and Reusable Learning Objects are frequently employed in uncritical ways, thereby reducing them to mere slogans. The serious lack of conceptual clarity and reflection is evident in the multitude of definitions and uses of LOs. The objectives of this paper are to assess current definitions of the term Learning Object, to articulate the foundational principles for developing a concept of LOs, and to provide a methodology and broad set of guidelines for creating LOs
The Future of Mathematical Text: A Proposal for a New Internet Hypertext for Mathematics
No full textThe Internet has transformed the practice of mathematical writing, and mathematical texts of all kinds are moving online. But the fundamental change to come in mathematical publication is not just moving print forms to electronic documents, but recreating mathematics in a new architecture: a hypertext that reflects the deep unity and universality of mathematics, that can grow and diversify as mathematics changes. It is argued that hypertext is a natural representation of mathematical thought, with its deep interconnection of ideas, the need for constant revision, and the multiplicity of viewpoints. The design of a hypertext must take into account how mathematics is structured and how it is understood: its internal consistency, the need for preparation and review, and the importance of strong tool support for reading and writing text. A high-level design is proposed, combining structured and network hypertext, with a simple link and editorial structure, and design issues concerning language representation, medium- and high-level structure, editorial policy, administration, and technology are examined. A hypertext of sufficient quality and usability will powerfully influence how mathematics is taught, communicated and used, in the classroom, in the workplace and in research. This change in how the Internet is used is not primarily technical: it is the extension of current technology towards a new goal. Gaps and weaknesses of the design are discussed, as well as possible solutions, and a plan to implement the hypertext on the Web is developed
AriadneTool: A Design Toolkit for Hypermedia Applications
No full textThe increasing size and complexity of hypermedia and Web applications puts stress on the need for using design models and methods whenever quality, usability, maintainability or reusability are critical. Moreover, to make the tasks of developers and designers more straightforward and effective, such models and methods should be supported by software tools providing explicit guidance during the development process as well as fast-prototyping. The paper introduces a design environment called AriadneTool that assumes the Ariadne Development Method (ADM). ADM proposes a systematic, iterative and user-centered approach to develop hypermedia and Web applications that deals with six design perspectives in an integrated way: navigation, presentation, structure, behavior, processes and access. The AriadneTool toolkit automates the ADM development process, offering interfaces to create the different products of the method. It also incorporates the use of ontologies to facilitate semantic support that allows for checking the consistency of modelling and for improving the users\u27 understanding of the method. Once the designer has created the specifications of the system, the toolkit makes it possible to generate documentation concerning the system design, to validate the different products or to produce HTML, XML, SMIL and RDF implementation templates automatically
A Framework for Automated Evaluation of Hypertext Search Interfaces
No full textAn evaluation framework and simulator of an interactive information retrieval system (SIIIRS) is introduced. SIIIRS is designed to allow researchers to conduct many exploratory studies that can help to narrow the focus of future human subject studies by showing which differences in information exploration style and functionality are likely to produce significant differences in future human subject studies. An experiment was carried out to demonstrate how SIIIRS could be used to predict performance when using different search strategies in a dynamic hypertext environment. The analysis of both the performance and behavioural measures obtained in the experiment showed significant differences in how the different agents (search strategies) performed when using different combinations of query difficulty, newness, and query tail size (as defined in the research reported in this paper). Overall, the agents differed in terms of their behaviours compared to one another and in terms of their interaction with the simulator parameter of newness and the dynamic hypertext control parameter of query tail size. The analysis of the behavioural measures showed the same pattern as found in the performance measures, with query tail size (an indicator of how easy it is to modify the topic during the search) having a strong influence on performance. The results of this study are discussed in terms of their implications for future automated evaluation of hypertext search interfaces
A Text Categorization Technique based on a Numerical Conversion of a Symbolic Expression and an Onion Layers Algorithm
No full textThe dramatic increase in the amount of content available in digital forms gives rise to large-scale digital libraries, targeted at millions of users. As a result, it has become a necessary to categorize large texts (documents). The paper develops a novel method where text categorization is achieved via a reduction in the original data information using numerical conversion of a symbolic expression and an onion layers algorithm. Three different semantic categories were considered and five texts selected from each category for submission to a text categorization procedure using the proposed method. The results and the statistical evaluation of this procedure showed that the proposed method may be characterized as highly accurate for text categorization purposes
A Model-driven Method for the Design and Deployment of Web-based Document Management Systems
No full textMost existing Document Management Systems (DMSs) are designed according to an approach which is technology-driven rather than based on standard methodologies. Related shortcomings are vendor dependence, expensive maintenance and poor interoperability. Information model-driven methodologies could help DMS designers to solve these issues. As a matter of fact, information models can provide a technology-independent abstract representation of information systems’ functionalities. Based on standard formalisms, they are useful to designers to describe the managed domain and to developers to understand and develop the modeled entities according to a standard methodological approach. However, while information models are commonly used by software designers for the design of information systems, such as databases and digital libraries, their use in DMS design is still in its infancy. This paper provides a contribution in this research area proposing a method for Web-based DMS design based on an information model, named Document Management and Sharing information Model (DMSM). We have also developed a set of tools, the DMSM Framework, that provides designers with DMS design and deployment facilities. Based on this instrumental support, the proposed method facilitates the design and fast prototyping of DMSs, dealing with requirements of open standard compliance, cost effectiveness and uniform access to heterogeneous data sources
Re-visiting the Valuing and Pricing of Digital Geographic Information
No full textGeographic information (GI) comprises all information with a location attribute, e.g. addresses, administrative boundaries, and topographic data describing the natural and built environment. GI is very expensive to collect, process and maintain, yet ever easier to disseminate cheaply via Web-based services and products. Various studies from developed nations around the world show that GI plays a crucial role in underpinning whole economies and delivering efficient government, indicating that it should be used as widely as possible. Much GI is collected by local and national government for specific purposes. How such public sector information (PSI) is made more widely available for other uses and to other users, and at what price, has created heated debate and led to the adoption of diverse PSI charging regimes in different countries. The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the dogma inherent in the bi-polar viewpoints at the heart of the charging debate, from the perspective of economic reality and diverse public information policy cultures
Implementation Challenges Associated with Developing a Web-based E-notebook
No full textAs people increasingly turn to the World Wide Web to help them manage their daily tasks, they engage in the process of information assimilation (IA). IA refers to the gathering, editing, annotating, organizing, and saving of Web information, as well as the tracking of ongoing Web work processes. Although evidence suggests that IA is a critical process for Web users, it is currently not well supported by existing browsers and other software applications. The lack of adequate software support for IA may be attributed to implementation difficulties associated with developing general Web-based applications. In addition, usability must be a major priority in the development of interactive systems to support IA. The NetNotes prototype, a Web-based e-notebook, represents a limited solution to the problem of developing software to support IA. NetNotes works in conjunction with a specific Web domain, deals with a limited number of Web components, and requires minor server-side modifications. Despite these limitations, however, the NetNotes implementation exposes some of the key technical problems associated with implementing Web-based software, it successfully incorporates a number of critical IA requirements, and it is robust enough to be used in future experimental evaluations