Discussion of information handling tools focuses on natural language processing and linguistically-based techniques that help improve retrieval performance. Topics include difficulties in information retrieval, including poor questions and ambiguous words; phrase detection; disambiguation; automatic categorization; entity extraction; concept…

Evaluates the current state of natural language processing information retrieval systems from the user's point of view, focusing on the structure and components of the systems' help mechanisms. Topics include user/system interaction; semantic parsing; syntactic parsing; semantic mapping; and concept matching. (Author/LRW)

We examined the effect of localized brain lesions on processing of the basic speech acts (BSAs) of question, assertion, request, and command. Both left and right cerebral damage produced significant deficits relative to normal controls, and left brain damaged patients performed worse than patients with right-sided lesions. This finding argues…

In this article, Annick Janson and Robin Janson introduce research from the Microsoft New Zealand's Partners in Learning Programme by documenting the impact of digital learning objects (DLOs) on educational practice. Janson and Janson describe the impact of DLOs on the teaching practice of a primary school in New Zealand, tracing the effects of…

In this article we investigate the use of latent semantic analysis (LSA), critiquing systems, and knowledge building to support computer-based teaching of English composition. We have built and tested an English composition critiquing system that makes use of LSA to analyze student essays and compute feedback by comparing their essays with…

It is often assumed that engaging in a one-on-one dialogue with a tutor is more effective than listening to a lecture or reading a text. Although earlier experiments have not always supported this hypothesis, this may be due in part to allowing the tutors to cover different content than the noninteractive instruction. In 7 experiments, we tested…

This brochure discusses, in lay terms, how computers process language and why they may have difficulty in processing English. The brochure points out that English is a more difficult language to process than most people think, and that the brain is far more complex than the computer in its ability to decipher meaning. The examples of the word…

Discusses general problems of thesaurus construction theory and practice. Highlights include lexical control and its tools in various databases; natural language versus conceptual networks; systems approach; thesaurus versus classification, including associative relations; and thesaurus role in information storage and retrieval. (110 references)…

Discussion of Internet use for information searches on health-related topics focuses on a study that examined complexity and variability of natural language in using search terms that express the concept of electronic health (e-health). Highlights include precision of retrieved information; shift in terminology; and queries using the Pub Med…

Reports on the use of an electronic dictionary to research and develop a large-scale language database that will help computers process and understand natural languages, and will greatly contribute to future developments in information science. Also discusses the need for and uses of linguistic and world knowledge databases. (JMV)

Describes research conducted at the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) interactive track that compared Boolean and natural language searching, showing they achieved comparable results; and assessed the validity of batch-oriented retrieval evaluations, showing that the results from batch evaluations were not comparable to those obtained in…

Discussion of natural language processing focuses on a multi-strategic integrated text preprocessing method for difficult problems of sentence boundary disambiguation and word boundary disambiguation of Web texts. Describes an evaluation of the method using Korean Web document collections. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study that investigated the use of natural language questions on Web search engines. Highlights include query languages; differences in search engine syntax; and results of logistic regression and analysis of variance that showed aspects of questions that predicted significantly different performances, including the number of words,…

Proposes a structure for natural language descriptions of the semantic content of visual materials that requires descriptions to be (modified) keywords, phrases, or simple sentences, with components that are grammatical relations common to many languages. This structure makes it easy to implement a collection's descriptions as a relational…

In examining the titles of this year's conference presentations, the author noticed quite a few papers that focus on learner-specific issues, for instance, papers that address learning styles, learner needs, personality and learning, learner modeling and, more generally, pedagogical issues that deal with individual learner differences in…