Information retrieval (IR) is driven by a process that decides whether a document is about a query. The purpose of this article is to consider "aboutness" from a fundamental, neutral perspective, to shed light on the nature of aboutness by formalizing properties describing it, and to define a set of reasonable properties of aboutness,…

Presents an historical overview of Vannevar Bush's efforts to develop a machine for free-form indexing and computerized information retrieval. Descriptions of the Memex concept and two related machines--the Rapid Selector and the Comparator--are provided; and the shift in emphasis to a device for business or cryptanalytic purposes is discussed.…

Describes method for analyzing the diffusion of scientific journals using the Rasch model as the measuring instrument. Explains why determining the information that underlies citations via diffusion variable is a powerful informetrics tool for uncovering regularities in information related processes when counts are used. Includes graphs and…

Technological communities used bibliometric data on 411 plant biotechnology organizations to study the effect of field density and structure of the research and development network. Findings indicate the usefulness of bibliometric data in mapping change in technological communities and in the effects of networking on entry behavior. (PEN)

In 1996, the Commission of the European Union Information Technologies Program funded a three-year working group, Mira, to discuss and advance research in the area of evaluation frameworks for interactive and multimedia. This article presents the author's view of the main lines of discussion that took place throughout Mira, and concludes with the…

Proposes the adoption of a new research paradigm that takes advantage of the digital world and may provide greater insight into how young people seek information. This involves a closer collaboration with youth as partners in constructing research and probing the different criteria of youth for determining the success of a search. (AEF)

Discusses communication in research and development, hypotheses of efficiency, and implications for information science. Topics addressed include cognitive situations of individuals and groups; the use of information; the adequacy of available information; the inefficiency of scientific communication; and the unpredictable impact of the same…

Explores similarities between research approaches characterizing different paradigms in information science and different information-processing styles of individual researchers. Proposes a model of the way in which new knowledge is generated, based on these similarities. The model focuses on "research pathologies," and ways in which the…

Presents both theoretical and technical bases on which to build a "science of text visualization." The Spatial Paradigm for Information Retrieval and Exploration (SPIRE) text-visualization system, which images information from free-text documents as natural terrains, serves as an example of the "ecological approach" in its visual metaphor, its…

Discussion of efficient communication in research and development focuses on the use and nonuse of relevant information. Highlights include information overload and efficiency; nonuse of relevant information as policy; two kinds of overload; and implications for information science. (33 references) (LRW)

Describes a database-filtering approach that combines citation, indexing, and productivity analyses as an effective tool for identifying journals that support multidisciplinary research and development, based on a study of biotechnology research and development. Cocitation analysis, including cocitation maps; subject heading profile analysis; and…

Examines role and contributions of natural-language processing in information retrieval and artificial intelligence research in context of large operational information retrieval systems and services. State-of-the-art information retrieval systems combining the functional capabilities of conventional inverted file term adjacency approach with…

Describes construction of citation network systems and some subsystems (time sequence network, cocitation network, couple network). Establishes structural modeling of these systems by means of system engineering. Explains and analyzes citation network systems. Includes graphs and charts. (JAK)

Describes European initiatives concerned with development of networked learner support (NLS) in higher education, including the NetLinkS, IMPEL2 (Impact on People on Electronic Libraries), TAPin (Training and Awareness Programme in Networks), T3 (Telematics for Teacher Training), and EDUCATE projects. Discusses themes relating to professional…

Describes the authors' research behind the Historic Cancellation of Fact method, a solution to the information explosion crisis. Each existing paper is evaluated in the light of new papers published the day before, and any "old" paper which has suffered obsolescence is immediately pulled and republished in its entirety in SCRUB (Science Culling…