Allegheny College (Pennsylvania), which uses NeXT computers, was dismayed when the technically superior operating system was orphaned but are now delighted that the company has been bought by Apple Computer and will make the operating system standard on Apple computers. The object-oriented operating system allows relatively unsophisticated users…

Discussion of automated information services focuses on information classification and collaborative agents, i.e. intelligent computer programs. Highlights include multi-agent systems; distributed artificial intelligence; thesauri; document representation and classification; agent modeling; acquaintances, or remote agents discovered through…

Describes the experiences of librarians at Lehigh University in implementing campus-wide use of EndNote, a citation management software package that allows users to create a searchable library of downloaded or manually entered references for any type of publication to be able to insert citations and format footnotes or endnotes within a…

Describes Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL), an international standard for the formatting and processing of SGML documents. Outlines DSSSL structure as the key to enabling interchange of formatting information in a standardized non-proprietary format, the processing model, areas of standardization, and DSSSL language.…

Describes the development and maintenance of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing's (ATTW) Web site for course syllabi ranging from communication theory to Web design at Texas Tech University. Examines the rationale behind a central site; site design issues; updating method; and software used--Rich Text Format (RTF), RTFtoHTML, Fetch…

Electronic performance support systems (EPSS) can be used as a nucleus of a network fostering organizational learning within an organization. Presents a model for EPSS; explores three facets of the model: knowledge management, system design and individual behavior, and electronic communication. Outlines studies of computer use in the workplace.…

Presents the architecture and algorithms behind Matchsimile, an approximate string matching lookup tool designed for extracting person and company names from large texts. Highlights include name formation rules, defining the search problem, system architecture, recognizing pattern words, recognizing whole patterns, and performance. (Author/MES)

Discusses the need for people with object-oriented (OO) skills, explains benefits of OO in software development, and addresses some of the difficulties in teaching OO. Topics include the evolution of programming languages; differences between OO and traditional approaches; differences from data modeling; and Unified Modeling Language (UML) and…

Compares textbook software with professional packages such as Peachtree for teaching accounting, in terms of cost, availability, ease of teaching and learning, and applicability. Makes suggestions for choosing accounting software. (SK)

Describes how many companies are cutting back on once-generous software donations to cash-strapped colleges, and are seeking quid pro quos when they do give. (EV)

Exposes difficulties encountered when using interactive geometry software to teach the methodology of proofwriting (observing, conjecturing, and proving) in secondary geometry courses. (Author/NB)

Describes how to modify old QBASIC programs to run in visual Basic. (NB)

Describes how a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), a centralized maintenance operations database that facilitates work order procedures and staff directives, can help individual school campuses and school districts to manage maintenance. Presents the benefits of CMMS and things to consider in CMMS selection. (EV)

Offers a descriptive table of databases that help higher education institutions orchestrate advancement operations. Information includes vendor, contact, software, price, database engine/server platform, recommended reporting tools, record capacity, and client type. (EV)

Describes how Cleveland State University implemented a strategy that includes a standard, support, and training for use of personal digital assistants (PDAs). Explains how this has helped put the campus in control of how the technology is used in the enterprise. (EV)