This paper describes the rationale for collection, digitisation, and quantitative characterization of a large multispeaker database of spoken Australian English. The speakers, all of whom were born in Australia of Australian parents, were recorded on 10 occasions over a period of months with each speaker recording a variety of speaking styles on…

Relates the special properties of videodiscs and the economics of videodisc production with the nature of second-language instruction, and suggests ways to design and use cost-effective videodiscs as aural and visual databases for a variety of instructional levels and contexts. (two references) (Author/CB)

Describes infomapping, or the mapping of corporate information assets, as a method to manage information as an organizational resource. Attributes of Information Resource Entities (IREs), which are profiled in an information map, are described; management benefits are discussed; and the use of InfoMapper, a software tool for information mapping,…

The third of three articles on the NOTIS interface to locally mounted database tapes looks at the experience of the Vanderbilt University library. Topics include the system control file, master functions, database functions, terminal functions that regulate access, database maintenance, impact on the local computer system, and report features.…

Discussion of computerized simulation games focuses on the organization and use of data dictionaries to support more flexible development and maintenance of game administration systems and participants' decision support systems. The roles of game designers, game administrators, and game participants are discussed. (12 references) (LRW)

Two case studies illustrate how institutional researchers have harnessed new information technologies to streamline office functions. At Illinois Institute of Technology, the World Wide Web supports an institutional information clearinghouse and database. At Willamette University (Oregon), an analytical database is coupled with Web technology,…

Information extraction (IE) is the extraction and recording of information about a prespecified set of entities, relations, or events from natural language texts in structured representations called templates. This article provides an overview of IE from the 1960s to the present, discusses techniques, describes applications, and highlights future…

Discussion of dictionaries as databases focuses on the digitizing of The Oxford English dictionary (OED) and the use of Standard Generalized Mark-Up Language (SGML). Topics include the creation of a consortium to digitize the OED, document structure, relational databases, text forms, sequence, and discourse. (LRW)

Describes a system that stores course materials for computer-based training programs in a relational database called Of Course! Outlines the basic structure of the databases; explains distinctions between Of Course! and other authoring languages; and describes how data is retrieved from the database and presented to the student. (Author/LRW)

Examines the use of databases as back-ends to creating library Web pages and seeks to provide a starting point for interested librarians. Explores advantages of this approach, suggests possible library applications, gives examples based on experiences at Ohio State University libraries, and provides a list of Web resources. (Author/LRW)

Focuses on the growth of the United Kingdom company Ingenta in the United States. Highlights include a new partnership with Gale Group related to their InfoTrac databases; indexing and full text coverage; standards; and other Ingenta acquisitions. (LRW)

Discusses data mining (DM) and knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), taking the view that KDD is the larger view of the entire process, with DM emphasizing the cleaning, warehousing, mining, and visualization of knowledge discovery in databases. Highlights include algorithms; users; the Internet; text mining; and information extraction.…

Proposes a fuzzy-image database model and a concept of fuzzy space; describes fuzzy-query processing in fuzzy space and fuzzy indexing on complete fuzzy vectors; and uses an example image database, the computer-aided facial-image inference and retrieval system (CAFIIR), for explanation throughout. (Author/LRW)

According to Manovich (2001), the database and the narrative are natural enemies, each competing for the same territory of human culture. Aboriginal knowledge traditions depend upon narrative through storytelling and other shared performances. The database objectifies and commodifies distillations of such performances and absorbs them into data…

In this column, the author provides a description and brief review of the "Children's Literature Comprehensive Database" (CLCD). This subscription database is a 1999 spinoff from Marilyn Courtot's "Children's Literature" website, which began in 1993 and is a free resource of reviews and features about books, authors, and illustrators. The separate…