This special issues comprises nine papers presenting a wide selection of approaches to handling subjectivity, vagueness, and imprecision in information retrieval (IR) and database management necessary for success in designing, developing and implementing effective tools for information access. (LRW)

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Curriculum Management & Information Tool (CurrMIT) is a relational database containing curriculum information from medical schools throughout the United States and Canada. This article gives an overview of the technology upon which the system is built and the training materials and workshops…

Discussion of image database systems focuses on semantic queries and shows how an image is abstracted into a hierarchy of entity names and features; how relations are established between entities visible in the image; and how a "fuzzy" matching technique is used to compare semantic queries to image abstractions. (Author/LRW)

Automated geographic information systems (GIS) consist of integrated digital databases containing information about geographic features; hardware, software, and people used in the analysis of features; and descriptions of features. Currently no standard method of accessing widely scattered geographic data exists. Argues that this can solved by…

Discusses genetic algorithms in information retrieval, especially for relevance feedback, and evaluates the efficacy of a genetic algorithm with various order-based fitness functions for relevance feedback in a test database. Compares results with the Ide dec-hi method, one of the best traditional methods. (Contains 56 references.) (Author/LRW)

Discusses the impact of digital technology on copyright issues. Topics include the balance between copyright holders and users; pending amendments to the Copyright Act; legislation relating to databases; copyright regulations and reports; court cases; and future possibilities that special librarians should be aware of. (LRW)

Discusses course-related academic library Web pages and their use in library instruction. Describes course-related Web pages at the University of Nevada-Reno library that are designed on a template that includes main features of the library Web site, subject-specific online indexes and databases, links to electronic journals, and recommended Web…

Investigates the acquisition of elements that instantiate the grammatical category of "inflection"--copula "be," auxiliary "be" and 3sg present agreement--in longitudinal transcripts from five children, aged from 1 year and 6 months to 3 years and 5 months in the corpora examined. Aimed to determine whether inflection emerges as a unitary…

Discusses results of a survey designed to investigate the role of technology in research, both from the instructor and student standpoints. Results indicate a wide discrepancy between instructor and student expectations and methods, as well as an increasing demand on the part of students for full-text sources. (Author/LRW)

Secondary analysis of datasets can extend previous work in the field, provide a greater quantity of material, and has the advantages of speed and lower cost. More use of secondary data could improve the low esteem of educational research. (Contains 15 references.) (SK)

Describes the structure and functioning of a computerized database of student information within an admissions testing program (the University of Port Elizabeth's Admissions and Placement Assessment Programme). Discusses how it could serve as a model to foster development and accountability through information sharing. (EV)

Discussion of information retrieval from online databases focuses on sorting techniques to help the user analyze the increasing number of references that may result from a search. Link analysis and Datalink software are described, and examples using keyword factorial analysis and research pole analysis are presented. (16 references) (LRW)

The first of four articles describes the move by the European Space Agency to eliminate connect time charges on its online retrieval system. The remaining articles describe the pricing structure of DIALOG, compare the two pricing schemes, and discuss online pricing from the user's point of view. (CLB)

The ways in which alumni associations trace missing alumni are described. Methods vary from listing lost names in alumni periodicals to paying credit bureaus to trace alumni by Social Security number. The U.S. Postal Service, which runs National Change of Address, sells access to its database of forwarding addresses. (MLW)

To enhance each student's ability to choose career options and increase the amount of available career information, an Ohio high school instituted a computer-based management program called the Pathfinder. Starting in sophomore year, students develop a specific postgraduation plan by selecting one of three pathways (college, career, or undecided)…