Addressing hypertext design and conversion issues

Hypertext is a network of information units connected by relational links. A hypertext system is a configuration of hardware and software that presents a hypertext to users and allows them to manage and access the information that it contains. Hypertext is also a user interface concept that closely supports the ways that people use printed information. Hypertext concepts encourage modularity and the elimination of redundancy in data bases because information can be stored only once but viewed in any appropriate context. Hypertext is such a hot idea because it is an enabling technology in that workstations and personal computers finally provide enough local processing power for hypertext user interfaces

(In)Appropriate Online Behavior

This descriptive and comprehensive study on the discursive struggle over interpersonal relations in online message boards is located at the fascinating interface of pragmatics and computer-mediated discourse – a research area which has so far not attracted much scientific interest. It sets out to shed light on the question how interpersonal relations are established, managed and negotiated in online message boards by giving a valid overview of the entire panoply of interpersonal relations (and their interrelations), including both positively and negatively marked behavior. With the first part of the book providing an in-depth discussion and refinement of the pivotal theoretical positions of both fields of research, students as well as professionals are (re-)acquainted with the subject at hand. Thus supplying a framework for the ensuing case study, the empirical part displays the results of the analysis of 50 threads (ca. 300,000 words) of a popular British message board

Data Showcases: the Data Journal in a Multimodal World

   As an experiment, the Research Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences (RDJ) has temporarily extended the usual format of the online journal with so-called ‘showcases’, separate web pages containing a quick introduction to a dataset, embedded multimedia, interactive components, and facilities to directly preview and explore the dataset described. The aim was to create a coherent hyper document with content communicated via different media (multimodality) and provide space for new forms of scientific publication such as executable papers (e.g. Jupyter notebooks). This paper discusses the objectives, technical implementations, and the need for innovation in data publishing considering the advanced possibilities of today's digital modes of communication. The data showcases experiment proved to be a useful starting point for an exploration of related developments within and outside the humanities and social sciences. It turns out that small-scale experiments are relatively easy to perform thanks to the easy availability of digital technology. However, real innovation in publishing affects organization and infrastructure and requires the joint effort of publishers, editors, data repositories, and authors. It implies a thorough update of the concept of publication and adaptation of the production process. This paper also pays attention to these obstacles to taking new paths

Assisting the hypertext authoring process with topology metrics and information retrieval

As more and more documents become available in electronic format, the use of hypertext systems is becoming more common as a way to organise information. However as the size of a hypertext database grows, the ‘lost in hyperspace’ problem may limit efficient and meaningful usage of hypertext systems. In order to increase local coherence at net level, authors should limit 'the fragmentation characteristics of hypertext’. These characteristics seem to be endemic to hyperdocuments and result from the segmentation of information into disjointed nodes. Fragmentation may result in a lack of interpretative context and thus lead to the impression that the hyper-document is an aggregation of loosely linked pieces of information rather then a coherent whole. In an attempt to understand a new node, readers try to extract information and relate it in context to other nodes that they have viewed. In this thesis we describe an application which incorporates an apprentice link editor to suggest candidate information/hypertext links for the hypertext author to validate. These ‘suggestions’ use node-to-node comparison and metrics to present the author with the most appropriate choices in adding a new node to the hypertext they are authoring. Although this project is intended to provide a hypertext author with the tools needed to enhance the construction of a large hypertext, the assumption of trusting the author, and the notion that the best quality control tool is a skilled author is never forgotten

New trends in content and design at the Spanish cybermedia

In the last years, the cybermedia and the Internet itself have marked as medium and support of communication. Nevertheless, constant technologic evolution, the training of the newsroom people and the absence of a clear definition of the business model make continuous modifications in the final structure of the new media environment. This communication focuses in four important aspects: the hypertext –as a basis and essence of the Internet and the cybermedia as well–, the information architecture –as a managing system for big amounts of content–, the journalistic genres –as the main expression of the journalistic work–, and the design –the final layout of the product and, at the same time, the content access interface–. All these issues are continuously subjected to changes. In this paper, starting from the four axis mentioned before, we present an overview of the evolution of cybermedia in Spain and we suggest a perspective about the current situation of the sector

An event-driven language for cartographic modelling of knowledge in software development organisations

With software engineering now being considered a fully-fledged knowledge industry in which the most valuable asset to an organisation is the knowledge held by its employees [BD08], high staff turnover rates are becoming increasingly worrying. If software engineering organisations are to maintain their competitive edge, they need to ensure that their intellectual capital continues to grow and is not lost as people move in and out of their employ. In this paper, the authors present work involving the formalisation of a language that enables organisations to create and analyse maps of their organisational knowledge. In a more elaborate version of the traditional yellow-pages approach utilised in the cartographic school of thought, the proposed language models various relationships between knowledge assets, uses an event-driven mechanism to determine who knows what within the organisation, and finally provides metrics for detecting three types of risk related to knowledge management in modern software engineering. A three month evaluation of the language is also outlined and results discussed.peer-reviewe

Multi-model adaptive spatial hypertext

Information delivery on the Web often relies on general purpose Web pages that require the reader to adapt to them. This limitation is addressed by approaches such as spatial hypermedia and adaptive hypermedia. Spatial hypermedia augments the representation power of hypermedia and adaptive hypermedia explores the automatic modification of the presentation according to user needs. This dissertation merges these two approaches, combining the augmented expressiveness of spatial hypermedia with the flexibility of adaptive hypermedia. This dissertation presents the Multi-model Adaptive Spatial Hypermedia framework (MASH). This framework provides the theoretical grounding for the augmentation of spatial hypermedia with dynamic and adaptive functionality and, based on their functionality, classifies systems as generative, interactive, dynamic or adaptive spatial hypermedia. Regarding adaptive hypermedia, MASH proposes the use of multiple independent models that guide the adaptation of the presentation in response to multiple relevant factors. The framework is composed of four parts: a general system architecture, a definition of the fundamental concepts in spatial hypermedia, an ontological classification of the adaptation strategies, and the philosophy of conflict management that addresses the issue of multiple independent models providing contradicting adaptation suggestions. From a practical perspective, this dissertation produced WARP, the first MASH-based system. WARPs novel features include spatial transclusion links as an alternative to navigational linking, behaviors supporting dynamic spatial hypermedia, and personal annotations to spatial hypermedia. WARP validates the feasibility of the multi-model adaptive spatial hypermedia and allows the exploration of other approaches such as Web-based spatial hypermedia, distributed spatial hypermedia, and interoperability issues between spatial hypermedia systems. In order to validate the approach, a user study comparing non-adaptive to adaptive spatial hypertext was conducted. The study included novice and advanced users and produced qualitative and quantitative results. Qualitative results revealed the emergence of reading behaviors intrinsic to spatial hypermedia. Users moved and modified the objects in order to compare and group objects and to keep track of what had been read. Quantitative results confirmed the benefits of adaptation and indicated a possible synergy between adaptation and expertise. In addition, the study created the largest spatial hypertext to date in terms of textual content

Postmodern Feminism, Hypertext, And The Rhetoric Of Cooking Websites

This study explores the ways cookbooks and their rhetorical dimensions have been re-imagined using hypertext and Web technology. Using the tenets of postmodern feminist rhetoric and Web design theory, the study considers how commercial cooking hypertexts construct users\u27 identities. Although hypertext is a potentially empowering technology, democratizing rhetoric and knowledge making practices, commercial hypertext often circumscribes agency formation and prohibits participation. Participatory, constructive hypertexts are difficult to design and costly to maintain. Of the three sites studied, Epicurious.com, BettyCrocker.com, and FoodNetwork.com, only Epicurious.com encourages meaningful communication between users and between users and designers. In many ways, Epicurious.com conceives of its users as active agents. Most of its content celebrates many knowledge making practices traditionally considered feminine and embodied. In contrast, BettyCrocker.com and FoodNetwork.com rely on closed, proprietary systems designs to maintain their authority. Users have little opportunity to participate as active agents. In small ways, however, users can begin to deconstruct the hypertexts, to resist the standards and strictures of expertly created recipes by reporting variations and opinions. The features that most reflect the tenets of a constructive feminist hypertext make possible some small movements toward agency