Reviews recent developments in three areas of law which, one way or the other, have an impact on information professionals: copyright, data protection, and liability. This discussion focuses on recent developments that are likely to be of significance to information professionals, including those emanating from the Commission of the European…

Describes a study of undergraduate students' search sessions on a full-text information retrieval system, NEXIS, that was conducted (1) to evaluate a novice user's ability to use such an information retrieval system, and (2) to analyze users' information seeking behavior. Sense-making theory and timeline interviews are discussed. (38 references)…

An online system designed to help global environmental research, the electronic research system called Eco-Link draws data from various electronic sources including online catalogs and databases, CD-ROMs, electronic news sources, and electronic data subscription services to produce briefing booklets on environmental issues. It can be accessed by…

Discussion of downloading from online public access catalogs focuses on downloading to MS-DOS microcomputers from the INNOPAC online catalog system. Tools for capturing and postprocessing downloaded files are described, technical and institutional constraints on downloading are addressed, and an innovative program for overcoming such constraints…

Examines the challenges of using the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Indexes to perform citation searches for personnel decisions and offers specific guidelines for searchers to follow during the presearch interview. Potential obstacles, search techniques, and systems commands are also described. (five references) (KRN)

An online service uses a desktop computer, equipped with a modem, to obtain a variety of services in electronic form such as electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, special interest forums, and databases. Describes the features and costs of six commercial online services and how some school board members are using them. (MLF)

Discusses developments in document management systems based on a survey of over 400 corporations and government agencies. Text retrieval and imaging markets, architecture and integration, purchasing plans, and vendor market leaders are covered. Five graphs present data on user preferences for improvements. A sidebar article reviews the development…

Reports on searching behavior of humanities scholars who were given unlimited, subsidized access to DIALOG databases. How much searching the scholars did, the kinds of techniques and DIALOG features they used, and their learning curves are analyzed. Search features studied included commands, Boolean logic, types of vocabulary, and proximity…

Searches of ERIC, Medline, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature found 22 studies on allied health continuing education (eliminating nursing and medicine). Allied health appeared to be a catchall term. Most studies assessed knowledge acquired but not satisfaction, performance, or patient effects; 17 evaluated only 1 outcome.…

Reviews electronic language data oriented specifically toward linguistic and language research, including machine-readable versions of established dictionaries; text databases, including newspapers and books; speech databases with phonetic/orthographic transcriptions; and bulletin boards and news groups available over computer networks. (17…

Discusses conversion projects that move information from one format to another. Planning considerations are discussed; types of conversion processes are described, including conversion between computers using software, cables, or networks; special conversions are examined, including CD-ROMs and online databases; and companies that specialize in…

Discusses women's use of computers and considers how the principles of feminism affect computerization. Highlights include the computerization process; gender differences in learning; models for feminist use of computers, including information processing and telecommunications; and a resource list of women's organizations that use computers.…

Discusses searching techniques in print indexes and describes the development of computer-assisted search (CAS) services and CD-ROM systems that focus on education. The ERIC database and other databases for education-related information are described, advantages of online searching are discussed, and the question of who should conduct the search…

This third article in a series describes a study that investigated database selection behavior of end-users of the EasyNet Scan feature in the areas of social sciences and arts and humanities. Databases are ranked in order of user selection, and variables that influence file selection are briefly discussed. (Three references) (LRW)

When names of 24,000 children from migrant education censuses were cross-referenced with abuse registries, it was found that migrant children were significantly more likely to be maltreated than other children, although incidence rates varied from state to state. The paper emphasizes research methodology, access to central registers, and…