A Corpus-Based Learning Method of Compound Noun Indexing Rules for Korean

In Korean information retrieval, compound nouns play an important role in improving precision in search experiments. There are two major approaches to compound noun indexing in Korean: statistical and linguistic. Each method, however, has its own shortcomings, such as limitations when indexing diverse types of compound nouns, over-generation of compound nouns, and data sparseness in training. In this paper, we propose a corpus-based learning method, which can index diverse types of compound nouns using rules automatically extracted from a large corpus. The automatic learning method is more portable and requires less human effort, although it exhibits a performance level similar to the manual-linguistic approach. We also present a new filtering method to solve the problems of compound noun over-generation and data sparseness.     

Book reviews

Association of Research Libraries     

E-mail in government: Not post-bureaucratic but late-bureaucratic organizations

Empirical research provides evidence that electronic communication does not change government agencies into post-bureaucratic organizations. Structuration Theory is used to explore the interaction between e-mail use, communication patterns of civil servants, and two bureaucratic characteristics: formalization and hierarchy. Previous research suggested that the use of e-mail leads to less formalization and less hierarchy, but empirical research in three bureaucratic organizations in the Netherlands leads to different conclusions. First, the use of e-mail leads to informal formalization: the style of communication is more informal but the content focuses less on personal issues and emphasizes efficient recordings of agreements. Second, the use of e-mail leads to hierarchical horizontalization: horizontal contacts take a more central position in bureaucratic organizations but these horizontal contacts are tightly linked to vertical structures. The result of the interaction between e-mail and government bureaucracy is horizontal communication directly linked to vertical structures. Electronic communication turns government agencies into late-bureaucratic organizations.     

UnCover on the Web: search hints and applications in library environments

Among the huge maze of resources available on the Internet, UnCoverWeb stands out as a valuable tool for medical libraries. This up-to-date, free-access, multidisciplinary database of periodical references is searched through an easy-to-learn graphical user interface that is a welcome improvement over the telnet version. This article reviews the basic and advanced search techniques for UnCoverWeb, as well as providing information on the document delivery functions and table of contents alerting service called Reveal. UnCover's currency is evaluated and compared with other current awareness resources. System deficiencies are discussed, with the conclusion that although UnCoverWeb lacks the sophisticated features of many commercial database search services, it is nonetheless a useful addition to the repertoire of information sources available in a library.     

Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekte

Zusammenfassung. Information ist der wichtigste Grundbegriff der Informatik. Ein semantischer Ansatz erklärt Information als Bedeutung einer Nachricht für ihren Empfänger. Als Folge davon hängt der Informationsgehalt einer Datei, einer Datenbank, eines Buches oder eines Filmes von der Interpretation ab, die ein Nutzer vornehmen kann oder gerade vornimmt. Informationsmaße werden sowohl von der Lesbarkeit einer Nachricht als auch von der Qualität des Interpreten bestimmt. Information kann neu entstehen, verloren gehen oder verändert werden.CR Subject Classification: E.4, H.1     

Manufacture and Date of a Goryeo dynasty Sutra Box with Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Decoration at the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam

Currently, about ten Goryeo dynasty (918–1392 CE) sutra boxes are preserved in museums in Korea, Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. This article is the result of an examination of a sutra box in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (hereafter ‘Rijksmuseum sutra box’), which was first introduced to a European audience in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Japanese Society, in 1913–1914. The Rijksmuseum sutra box differs from other Goryeo sutra boxes. With its altered structure and modified motifs, this box bears significant value, not only for the research of thirteenth-century Goryeo mother-of-pearl art, but also for the study of cross-cultural adaptations in East Asian lacquer art. This article investigates the date of manufacture of the sutra box by analysing the manufacturing techniques and its various original and modified parts. For this, an X-ray radiograph was carried out for the first time. As a result, discoveries have been made regarding the structure and decoration of the lower part, which has been modified and is different from Goryeo mother-of-pearl sutra boxes. Finally, this paper reconsiders conservation and repair of Goryeo sutra boxes, as illuminated by an understanding of the original and repaired parts of this box.