Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / This paper describes the development and testing of the Medical Concept Mapper as an aid to providing synonyms and semantically related concepts to improve searching. All terms are related to the userquery and fit into the query context. The system is unique because its five components combine humancreated and computer-generated elements. The Arizona Noun Phraser extracts phrases from natural language user queries. WordNet and the UMLS Metathesaurus provide synonyms. The Arizona Concept Space generates conceptually related terms. Semantic relationships between queries and concepts are established using the UMLS Semantic Net. Two user studies conducted to evaluate the system are described.

This article looks at how the consumer of data, information and knowledge becomes increasingly important in relation to the design and development of electronic information products and services. In web based environment, where products are bought and sold, such services are increasingly being â tailoredâ to suit the individual and community they serve. However, current situation has meant that there is an increasing need to provide access to data, information and knowledge electronically. Reasons for this include the growing number of potential users who value and need information but cannot or may not want to be serviced face-to-face even when remote access to electronic resources has become prevalent. There is a need to create electronic environments that can relate to the complex cultural, sociological and psychological needs of the consumer. This paper provides an overview of current theories and knowledge about the information consumer. It is informed by the commoditization of information and communication tech-nologies (ICTs), products and services, the use and non-use of information in Library and In-formation Science (LIS) discipline, the need to create appropriate learning environments and lastly, the perception that all people should have equal access to such products and services and that society should be inclusive. Examples are also provided of how and where knowledge is applied, highlighting the importance of IB knowledge. The paper concludes that a deeper understanding is needs to be developed as current application of knowledge about the information consumer is rudimentary. There is a need to apply and test current knowledge.

This is a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of about 27 slides used in conjunction with a talk at UCI-CRITO on 18 May 2005, and the research reported is from a previously published study of mine. Information technology is varied and human use and impact can be examined at different levels. I report on a study that examines the ubiquitous hyperlinks as instruments of cognition in e-learning. This study has been published as Coleman, A. 2005. Instruments of cognition: Use of citations and Web links in online teaching materials. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 56 (4): 382-392. Preprint available online: http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/archive/00000806/. Last retrieved: 12 May, 2005

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, this project is the first phase of the National Civil Engineering Education Resources Library (NCERL). The aim is to provide high-quality educational resources in the field of civil engineering and meet the needs of a diverse audience by developing Interactive Learning Objects that are easy to use, measured, and meet learning objectives.

This study is aimed at to identify and to understand the role of information in what concerns the mobility process of top executives, helping organisations to make the most of their expatriatesâ experiences. The methodological approach chosen was the case study, carried out in an economic group of the Portuguese financial sector with several business operations abroad. Several data collection methods were used, including a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and in loco interaction with the expatriates in three different countries. Based on the analysis of expatriatesâ information needs, a typology of information throughout the complete cycle is described and two critical moments are identified. These moments correspond to transitions of expatriatesâ informational spaces: first the moment of arrival to the host country and second, when they return to their home country. The incorporation of expatriatesâ information in the organizational information system, across the various phases of the expatriation cycle, is summarized.

Information finding is changing in a world of digital information and associated search systems, with particular focus on methods of locating information that are distinct from, but complementary to, established practices of bibliographic description. A full understanding of these developments is essential in re-thinking bibliographic control in the new millennium, because they fundamentally change the roles and importance of bibliographic metadata in information discovery processes. There are three major approaches to finding information: through bibliographic surrogates, that represent an intellectual description of aspects and attributes of a work; through computational, content-based techniques that compare queries to parts of the actual works themselves; and through social processes that consider works in relationship to the user and his or her characteristics and history, to other works, and also to the behavior of other communities of users.

Objectives: To carry out a usability evaluation of the recently launched South London and Maudsley NHS Trust library website. Methods: A variety of standard methodologies were employed; content and design evaluation of selected comparable sites; focus groups; a questionnaire survey of library and Web development staff; heuristic evaluation; observation testing; card sorting/cluster analysis, and label intuitiveness/category membership testing. All participants were staff of or providers of services to the trust. Demographic information was recorded for each participant. Results: Test participants' overall responses to the site were enthusiastic and favourable, indicating the scope and and content of the site to be broadly appropriate to the user group. Testers made numerous suggestions for new content. Usability problems were discovered in two main areas: in the organisation of the site, and in the terminology used to refer to information services and sources. Based on test results, proposals for a revised menu structure, improved accessibility, and changes to the terminology used within the site are presented. Conclusion: Usability evaluation methods, appropriately scaled, can be advantageously applied to NHS library web sites by an individual web editor working alone.

How will people use the Internet and other emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to shape their exposure to political information? Will Internet users be inclined to fashion an information environment that reflects their own political predispositions, or will they continue to encounter a range of perspectives online? In this talk Garrett addresses these questions using two interconnected research projects. The first project uses nationally representative survey data to examine how contemporary use of the Internet is influencing citizens' overall exposure to political information. The second project focuses on individual choices about exposure to news items in an online environment that affords enhanced control over partisanship. Taken together, these projects clarify the contemporary dynamic of selective political exposure, providing evidence about citizens' underlying preferences regarding political information. The results suggest that individuals' preference for support and their aversion to challenge are different. People (1) seek out sources that support their viewpoints; (2) are interested in news items with which they agree; and (3) use online sources to increase their repertoire of opinion-supporting arguments. They do not, however, systematically exclude exposure to other viewpoints. Ultimately, this research suggests that individuals value awareness of other perspectives, while simultaneously wanting to limit their contact with them.

This is a presentation (of 50 slides) at the University of California, Irvine sponsored by the Libraries' Department of Education and Outreach and by the LAUC-I (Librarians Association of the University of California, Irvine) Professional Development Committee. The title is picking up on the 2005 ASIS&T Annual Conference theme of Sparking Synergies: Bringing Research and Practice Together. Coleman discusses her research agenda which spans both sides of the information coin - she tries to examine representations of information and information usage in a unified program of inquiry. The research goal is to expand and integrate knowledge about uses and users in the organization of digital information and libraries. Using selected projects over the last 5 years as examples, Coleman identifies some ways to design, conduct, and manage doable research projects while also meeting the day-to-day demands of being a practicing professional. The focus is on the development of a cohesive research agenda (sustainable information behaviors), one that exemplifies and synchronizes with the values and challenges of practice, besides improving the quality of LIS research. Organizers: Cathy Palmer, Collette C. Ford, and Carol A. Hughes.

Artificial Intelligence Lab, Department of MIS, University of Arizona / Research has shown that most usersâ online information searches are suboptimal. Query optimization based on a relevance feedback or genetic algorithm using dynamic query contexts can help casual users search the Internet. These algorithms can draw on implicit user feedback based on the surrounding links and text in a search engine result set to expand user queries with a variable number of keywords in two manners. Positive expansion adds terms to a userâ s keywords with a Boolean â and,â negative expansion adds terms to the userâ s keywords with a Boolean â not.â Each algorithm was examined for three user groups, high, middle, and low achievers, who were classified according to their overall performance. The interactions of users with different levels of expertise with different expansion types or algorithms were evaluated. The genetic algorithm with negative expansion tripled recall and doubled precision for low achievers, but high achievers displayed an opposed trend and seemed to be hindered in this condition. The effect of other conditions was less substantial.