Bert R. Boyce
This issue is mostly devoted to the special topic ``User-Centered Cooperative Systems,'' the articles which are described by the guest editor in his introduction. It also contains several book reviews. This leaves the latest European Research Letter, a Brief Communication from Falkowski, and the article by Schacter and his associates, to be covered here.

769

Introduction
Michael D. McNeese

773

Coordinating Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: A Review of Research Issues and Strategies
Jonathan K. Kies, Robert C. Williges, and Mary Beth Rosson

776

Distributed Teamwork: The Impact of Communication Media on Influence and Decision Quality
Maryalice Citera

792

A Distributed Representation Approach to Group Problem Solving
Jiajie Zhang

801

A User-Centered Cooperative Information System for Medical Imaging Diagnosis
Enrique J. Gómez, José A. Quiles, Marcos F. Sanz, and Francisco del Pozo

810

A Case History in Applying Task Analysis in the Design of a Multimedia Cooperative Document Production System
Ian Denley and Andy Whitefield

817

Computer Support of Collaborative Planning: An Applications Report
William B. Rouse

832

Children's Internet Searching on Complex Problems: Performance and Process Analyses
John Schacter, Gregory K. W. K. Chung, and Aimée Dorr
Schacter studies thirty-two fifth and sixth grade students who were automatically tracked while searching the world-wide web for both a well, and a less well, defined question. Children prefer browsing strategies to systematic search and they search the Internet more effectively on ill-defined rather than well-defined tasks.

840

Networked Learner Support in Higher Education: Initiatives in Professional
Development and Research for a New Role
Sarah Ashton and Philippa Levy

The latest European Research Letter is supplied by Sarah Ashton and Philippa Levy, and concerns networked learner support activities, beginning with project NetLinkS at the Department of Information Studies at the University of Sheffield. In this study focus groups found a need for strategic planning, involving multi-disciplinary groups in collaboration and co-ordination to produce professionals with resource discovery skills, information technology skills, and a knowledge of on-line pedagogy. The groups believe a cultural change in attitudes and relationships is also required.

IMPEL2 at the University of Northumbria is studying such cultural change and recommends collaborative project groups and joint training. TAPin, at the University of Central England, is attempting to establish models for the effective transfer of skills from library to academic staff. Telematics for Teacher Training based at the University of Exeter involves a consortium of European Universities conducting a user's needs analysis and developing a web based course for library staff in teachers colleges. INTO-INFO, another consortium co-ordinated by Limerick University, also developed a web-based education package on the selection and use of information tools in Physics and in Electrical Engineering.

850

On Certain Generalizations of Inner Product Similarity Measures
Bernd-Jürgen Falkowski

Falkowski's Brief Communication provides a new definition for a class of linear similarity measures, which include the cosine measure and the product-moment correlation measure, and further for what he terms asymptotic inner product measures which include the Dice and Jaccard coefficients. An existence theorem for ranking functions is proved for these classes of measures. 

854

Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives
edited by Susan C. Herring
reviewed by Gretchen Whitney

859

Computer and Information Ethics
by John Weckert and Douglas Adeney
reviewed by Andrew Dillon

861

Complete Internet Companion for Librarians
by Allen C. Benson
reviewed by Derek G. Smith

861

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© 1998 , Association for Information Science
Last update: November 06, 1998