The homeless mentally ill : service needs of the population : a public information pamphlet.

Mode of access: Internet.

Motorists needs for services information on interstate and Federal-aid primary highways /

Mode of access: Internet.

Data and information report on service needs and issues affecting persons with developmental disabilities /

Cover title.

Congress needs better information on Forest Service's below-cost timber sales : report to the Congress /

"B-210983"--Prelim. p.

Database and narratological representation of Australian Aboriginal knowledge as information visualisation using a game engine

Current database technologies do not support contextualised representations of multi-dimensional narratives. This paper outlines a new approach to this problem using a multi-dimensional database served in a 3D game environment. Preliminary results indicate it is a particularly efficient method for the types of contextualised narratives used by Australian Aboriginal peoples to tell their stories about their traditional landscapes and knowledge practices. We discuss the development of a tool that complements rather than supplants direct experience of these traditional knowledge practices.

Representation and learning of visual information for pose recognition

Recovering position from sensor information is an important problem in mobile robotics, known as localisation. Localisation requires a map or some other description of the environment to provide the robot with a context to interpret sensor data. The mobile robot system under discussion is using an artificial neural representation of position. Building a geometrical map of the environment with a single camera and artificial neural networks is difficult. Instead it would be simpler to learn position as a function of the visual input. Usually when learning images, an intermediate representation is employed. An appropriate starting point for biologically plausible image representation is the complex cells of the visual cortex, which have invariance properties that appear useful for localisation. The effectiveness for localisation of two different complex cell models are evaluated. Finally the ability of a simple neural network with single shot learning to recognise these representations and localise a robot is examined.

Designing a safety management support system using open architecture databases: the requirements of information representation in the support of managers' risk-related decision-making

This research was conducted at the Space Research and Technology Centre o the European Space Agency at Noordvijk in the Netherlands. ESA is an international organisation that brings together a range of scientists, engineers and managers from 14 European member states. The motivation for the work was to enable decision-makers, in a culturally and technologically diverse organisation, to share information for the purpose of making decisions that are well informed about the risk-related aspects of the situations they seek to address. The research examined the use of decision support system DSS) technology to facilitate decision-making of this type. This involved identifying the technology available and its application to risk management. Decision-making is a complex activity that does not lend itself to exact measurement or precise understanding at a detailed level. In view of this, a prototype DSS was developed through which to understand the practical issues to be accommodated and to evaluate alternative approaches to supporting decision-making of this type. The problem of measuring the effect upon the quality of decisions has been approached through expert evaluation of the software developed. The practical orientation of this work was informed by a review of the relevant literature in decision-making, risk management, decision support and information technology. Communication and information technology unite the major the,es of this work. This allows correlation of the interests of the research with European public policy. The principles of communication were also considered in the topic of information visualisation - this emerging technology exploits flexible modes of human computer interaction (HCI) to improve the cognition of complex data. Risk management is itself an area characterised by complexity and risk visualisation is advocated for application in this field of endeavour. The thesis provides recommendations for future work in the fields of decision=making, DSS technology and risk management.

Ontological Approach to Domain Knowledge Representation for Information Retrieval in Multiagent Systems

An ontological representation of buyer interests’ knowledge in process of e-commerce is proposed to use. It makes it more efficient to make a search of the most appropriate sellers via multiagent systems. An algorithm of a comparison of buyer ontology with one of e-shops (the taxonomies) and an e-commerce multiagent system are realised using ontology of information retrieval in distributed environment.

AstroWeb – A Graphical Representation of an Astronomical WFPDB Database Using a Web-Based Open Source Geographical Information System

ACM Computing Classification System (1998): H.5.2, H.2.8, J.2, H.5.3.

Assessing an automated, information -sharing technology in the post "9 -11" era: Do local law enforcement officers think it meets their needs?

In the wake of the “9-11” terrorists' attacks, the U.S. Government has turned to information technology (IT) to address a lack of information sharing among law enforcement agencies. This research determined if and how information-sharing technology helps law enforcement by examining the differences in perception of the value of IT between law enforcement officers who have access to automated regional information sharing and those who do not. It also examined the effect of potential intervening variables such as user characteristics, training, and experience, on the officers' evaluation of IT. The sample was limited to 588 officers from two sheriff's offices; one of them (the study group) uses information sharing technology, the other (the comparison group) does not. Triangulated methodologies included surveys, interviews, direct observation, and a review of agency records. Data analysis involved the following statistical methods: descriptive statistics, Chi-Square, factor analysis, principal component analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, Mann-Whitney tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Scheffe' post hoc analysis. ^ Results indicated a significant difference between groups: the study group perceived information sharing technology as being a greater factor in solving crime and in increasing officer productivity. The study group was more satisfied with the data available to it. As to the number of arrests made, information sharing technology did not make a difference. Analysis of the potential intervening variables revealed several remarkable results. The presence of a strong performance management imperative (in the comparison sheriff's office) appeared to be a factor in case clearances and arrests, technology notwithstanding. As to the influence of user characteristics, level of education did not influence a user's satisfaction with technology, but user-satisfaction scores differed significantly among years of experience as a law enforcement officer and the amount of computer training, suggesting a significant but weak relationship. ^ Therefore, this study finds that information sharing technology assists law enforcement officers in doing their jobs. It also suggests that other variables such as computer training, experience, and management climate should be accounted for when assessing the impact of information technology. ^

UPDATE NEEDS OF PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY: Diagnosis of teachers and graduate degree from the School of Library, Documentation and Information (EBDI), National University of Costa Rica

This project is a diagnosis of update needs and training for professionals in bibliotecology and its results will be used for the design of a Program of Permanent training in bibliotecology, which will be implemented in Bibliotecology School, Documentation and Information of the National University.The studied population is composed by all the teachers of Bibliotecology School, Documentation and Information of the National University, in October, 2007, and all the graduated students of licentiate of the EBDI from 2000 to 2007.The results of this investigation were obtained by means of a questionnaire that was filled by each one of the members of these two populations, who corresponded to 25 teachers of the EBDI and 18 graduates of licentiate. This one also presents the information that was obtained in interviews realized to the managers of the principal institutions who are professionals contracted in bibliotecology.The results obtained of this diagnosis will allow the elaboration of the Program of Permanent training in bibliotecology, considering the formative needs of the professionals in bibliotecology of the EBDI. This project includes the following products:a) Description of the social and demographic characteristics of teachers and of graduated of licentiate of the EBDI.b) Diagnosis of needs to update and training of bibliotecology professional teachers and of graduated of licentiate of the EBDI.c) Determination of the knowledge and skills that the needs to satisfy what big employers ask for.d) Recommendations for the program. Implementation.