The development of a natural language interface to a geographical information system

This paper will discuss a two and a half year long project undertaken to develop an English-language interface for the geographical information system GRASS. The work was carried out for NASA by a small business, Netrologic, based in San Diego, California, under Phase 1 and 2 Small Business Innovative Research contracts. We consider here the potential value of this system whose current functionality addresses numerical, categorical and boolean raster layers and includes the display of point sets defined by constraints on one or more layers, answers yes/no and numerical questions, and creates statistical reports. It also handles complex queries and lexical ambiguities, and allows temporarily switching to UNIX or GRASS

Australian coder workforce survey 2002 - managers’ responses

In 1994–5, the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) Ltd conducted a nation-wide survey of clinical coders working in Australian hospitals. The survey (National Coder Workforce Issues Project (NCWIP) funded by the then Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health) provided baseline data about the coder workforce in terms of its size, the educational backgrounds of coders, circumstances relating to their employment and their needs in terms of continuing support and training. Importantly, the survey was conducted before casemix-based classification and funding had been implemented by all states and territories. It has now been nearly eight years since the original survey was conducted and casemix is in use in some form in all states and territories

Correlates of undefined cause of injury coded mortality data in Australia

The objective of this research was to identify the level of detail regarding the external causes of death in Australia and ascertain problematic areas where data quality improvement efforts may be focused. The 2003 national mortality dataset of 12591 deaths with an external cause of injury as the underlying cause of death (UCOD) or multiple cause of death (MCOD) based on ICD-10 code assignment from death certificate information was obtained. Logistic regression models were used to examine the precision of coded external cause of injury data.---- It was found that overall, accidents were the most poorly defined of all intent code blocks with over 30% of accidents being undefined, representing 2314 deaths in 2003. More undefined codes were identified in MCOD data than for UCOD data. Deaths certified by doctors were more likely to use undefined codes than deaths certified by a coroner or government medical office.---- To improve the quality of external cause of injuries leading to or associated with death, certifiers need to be made aware of the importance of documenting all information pertaining to the cause of the injury and the intent behind the incident, either through education or more explicit instructions on the death certificate and accompanying instructional materials. It is important that researchers are aware of the validity of the data when they make interpretations as to the underlying causes of fatal injuries and causes of injury associated with deaths

Modernity, method and minimal means: typewriters, typing manuals and document design

This essay is about the contribution that typing manuals and typists have made to the history of graphic language and communication design, and the role that typewriter composition has played in typographic education and design practice, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. The limited technical capabilities of typewriters are discussed in relation to the rules in typing manuals for articulating and organising the structure of text. Such manuals were used to train typists who went on to produce documents of considerable complexity within what typographers would consider to be minimal means in terms of flexibility in the use of letterforms and space

Effective antimicrobial resistance communication: the role of information design

Getting the message across about the dangers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and how to prevent it is a global priority. This article discusses the role of information design in the effective communication of information about AMR, and suggests that the design process – user input, iteration and consideration of circumstances of use – is key to successful communication. To illustrate this, using material from the Otto and Marie Neurath Isotype Collection at the University of Reading, this article considers the work of Otto and Marie Neurath who developed the Isotype system for visual education in the 1920s. They collaborated with scientists, writers and illustrators to ensure that messages were both accurate and relevant for their intended audiences, so that people could make their own decisions based on factual explanation. Their use of pictograms and schematic illustrations, consistent use of colours to represent meaning, and carefully considered relationships between text and image provided a distinctive visual ‘look and feel’. The charts designed by the Neuraths to educate people about health included a series made in the 1930s for the US National Tuberculosis Association to explain the dangers of, and how to prevent TB. This article reviews how these charts were designed, including the designated role of the ‘transformer’ who worked to ensure that scientific facts were presented in an understandable form. The way of working and the verbal and graphic characteristics of the charts deserve serious consideration for effective communication of information about AMR today. Particularly relevant are the use of schematic images using scale and simplification to attract attention, the use of story-telling to engage people, not overwhelming readers with too much information, and using straightforward language. The article asserts that cross-disciplinary working is key to successful explanation about the dangers of AMR. It illustrates this with reference to a research project, influenced by the Isotype approach to public health communication, that brings together academics and practitioners in information design, architecture, ergonomics and human factors, and pharmacy in communicating information about AMR to people using community pharmacies

The contribution of typography and information design to health communication

This chapter is about the role that information design, and typography and graphic communication play in effective public health communication. It introduces the way that information designers work, particularly in relation to what have been called ‘functional texts’ – those that enable people to take some kind of action, or to better understand something. Examples of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century printed ephemera are used to draw attention to the ways that language and visual presentation work together to enhance the meaning of a particular message. The role of pictures in health communication is discussed with reference to Isotype and the work of Otto and Marie Neurath

Fabula: type design

Originally a screen font for the Fabula project in 2004-5 redesigned for print for Collins publishers for their children's dictionary cover

Oral History Interview: Sue V. Walker

This interview is one of a series conducted concerning rural life in West Virginia. Mrs. Sue V. Walker was born in Beckley, West Virginia, and has lived there her entire life. She discusses her life history including clothes, quilting, preserving meat, Christmas, and her family\u27s first car.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1094/thumbnail.jp