Integrating case-based reasoning and hypermedia documentation: an application for the diagnosis of a welding robot at Odense steel shipyard

Reliable and effective maintenance support is a vital consideration for the management within today's manufacturing environment. This paper discusses the development of a maintenance system for the world's largest robot welding facility. The development system combines a case-based reasoning approach for diagnosis with context information, as electronic on-line manuals, linked using open hypermedia technology. The work discussed in this paper delivers not only a maintenance system for the robot stations under consideration, but also a design framework for developing maintenance systems for other similar applications

Effective CAL: Theory and practice

This paper looks at the creation of CAL material in theory and practice through the perspective of a CAL development unit, the Hypertext Support Unit at the University of Kent. With similar units now in place in other institutions, the production of CAL is taking place at a rapid pace, often with the evaluation of the applications disproportionately lagging behind. This inevitably raises questions of whether what we are producing is effective CAL, and what approaches should be taken to use the potential of multimedia in a learning environment

Life sciences on-line: A study in hypermedia application

The main objective was to determine the feasibility of using a computer-based interactive information recall module for the Life Sciences Project Division (LSPD) at NASA, Johnson Space Center. LSPD personnel prepare payload experiments to test and monitor physiological functions in zero gravity. Training refreshers and other types of online help are needed to support personnel in their tasks during mission testing and in flight. Results of a survey of other hypermedia and multimedia developers and lessons learned by the developer of the LSPD prototype module are presented. Related issues and future applications are also discussed and further hypermedia development within the LSPD is recommended

Linking with Meaning: Ontological Hypertext for Scholars

The links in ontological hypermedia are defined according to the relationships between real-world objects. An ontology that models the significant objects in a scholar’s world can be used toward producing a consistently interlinked research literature. Currently the papers that are available online are mainly divided between subject- and publisher-specific archives, with little or no interoperability. This paper addresses the issue of ontological interlinking, presenting two experimental systems whose hypertext links embody ontologies based on the activities of researchers and scholars

Agents for Distributed Multimedia Information Management

This paper discusses the role of agents in a distributed multimedia information system (DMIS) engineered according to the principles of open hypermedia. It is based on the new generation of Microcosm, an open hypermedia system developed by the Multimedia Research Group at the University of Southampton. Microcosm provides a framework for supporting the three major roles of agents within open information systems: resource discovery, information integrity and navigation assistance. We present Microcosm and its agents, and discuss our current research in applying agent technology in this framework

The Anatomy of an adaptive multimedia presentation system

The use of multimedia presentations within learning environments is described and guidelines for the design of good E-Learning systems are identified. It is argued that a linear sequential presentation of knowledge segments is effective, but that the user is provided with optional links to relevant segments during the presentation. The synchronisation of multiple media is considered and the design of a prototype E-Learning system is discussed. The segmentation of material is then discussed and how the information can be stored in a data repository consider with respect to the requirement of accessing linked segments. Finally, the nature of adaptivity is discussed leading to a discussion of the salient parts of an adaptive multimedia presentation system

Reviews

Teaching and Learning Materials and the Internet by Ian Forsyth, London: Kogan Page, 1996. ISBN: 0–7494‐ 20596. 181 pages, paperback. £18.99

Reviews

Brian Clegg, Mining The Internet — Information Gathering and Research on the Net, Kogan Page: London, 1999. ISBN: 0–7494–3025–7. Paperback, 147 pages, £9.99