Search (29 results, page 1 of 2)

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Source

Subject control in online catalogs. Ed.: R.P. Holley

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Abstract

PRECIS was introduced, mainly as an English language system, in the first paper in this series (1), and that account was followed by a generalised logicolinguistic explanation in the second (2). The present paper sets out to consider more practical matters of two kinds. Firstly, it describes some of the experiments in multilingual indexing which have been carried out already, noting in particular the lessons, leading to new procedures, drawn from these experiences. Secondly, the theoretical model proposed in the second paper, together with some of the new codes and procedures found to be necessary as the result of experiment with non-English languages, are related specifically to work in the Germanic languages.

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Abstract

The present paper is offered as the first of a series of articles in which PRECIS will be reviewed as a potential multi-lingual system, having in mind the obvious need, notably in a European context, for standard and language independent methods of subject analysis and document description. This first paper outlines the origins of PRECIS, and considers its use in English language indexing. A second paper will deal in general terms with the syntactical model which is used for producing PRECIS input strings and index entries. Later papers will then review the application of this model to indexing in, firstly, the Germanic languages (e.g. German and Danish), and, secondly, the Romance languages, illustrated by French.

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Series

Contributions in librarianship and information science; no.3

Source

Subject retrieval in the seventies: new directions. Proc. of an Int. Symp. ... College Park, May 14-15, 1971. Ed.: H.H. Wellisch et al

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Abstract

Dieser Aufsatz beschäftigt sich mit Management-Aspekten der Sacherschließung in der British Library, Bibliographic Services Division, wo computergestützte, nicht völlig "automatische" Verfahren angewendet werden. In einer ausführlichen Darstellung des Arbeitsablaufes im Subject Systems Office wird der Weg eines Dokumentes durch die verschiedenen Sektionen verfolgt, und die betriebswirtschaftlichen Folgen der besonderen Rolle von PRECIS in diesem Arbeitsablauf werden erörtert. Das Mehrdateiensystem der British-Library-Datenbank wird beschrieben; es wird gezeigt, wie diese Struktur den effektiven Wiedergebrauch von Daten ermöglicht. Weiterhin wird die Verbesserung des on-line Retrieval durch den Einbau von präkoordinierten Themenangaben in den Suchablauf behandelt; abschließend wird die Rolle des Computers in der Sacherschließung einer IuD-Einrichtung wie der British Library diskutiert

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Abstract

89 articles from a small, Danish left-wing newspaper were indexed by PRECIS and KWIC. The articles cover a wide range of social science subjects. Controlled test searches in both indexes were carried out by 20 students of library science. The results obtained from this small-scale retrieval test were evaluated by a chi-square test. The PRECIS index led to more correct answers and fewer wrong answers than the KWIC index, i.e. it had both better recall and greater precision. Furthermore, the students were more confident in their judgement of the relevance of retrieved articles in the PRECIS index than in the KWIC index; and they generally favoured the PRECIS index in the subjective judgement they were asked to make

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Abstract

Report on research carried out in Brazil for a doctoral thesis, investigating the possibility of using the PRECIS indexing system for documents in Portuguese. Discusses the theoretical basis of PRECIS, and presents the resultss of a study in comparing the use PRECIS to index 2 samples of documents, in English and Portuguese respectively. Concludes that, with minor modifications to take account of the differences in structure between the 2 languages. PRECIS could produce satisfactory results for documents in Portuguese. This suggests the further possibility that PRECIS - because of its sound logical basis rather than its complex linguistic theory - could become a multilingual indexing system.

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Source

Neue Regelwerke zum Schlagwortkatalog: Einführung in RSWK u. PRECIS. Vorträge e. Fortbildungsveranstaltung der FHBD in Köln am 9. u. 10.7.1984

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Footnote

Simultaneously published as Subject Control in Online Catalogs

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Abstract

This fourth paper in the series on PRECIS will consider the theoretical model of the indexing operation proposed in an earlier paper, and extend its application to one of the Romance languages, namely French. The present author has noted, throughout the publication of this series, how closely these logico-linguistic explanations could be applied to indexing in the French language. It is realised that experiments into PRECIS as a multilingual system are not complete, and that a new phase has undoubtedly started with the current British Library investigation of its translingual potential. Nevertheless, it would appear that the major problems still facing the researchers, such as the treatment of inflections, infixes, etc., are mostly related to the Germanic languages. As far as French is concerned, it is a relatively simple matter to give a positive answer to the question posed in the first paper: " . . . Do the codes and procedures developed so far (including the specified additions) amount to a general system which is capable of operating in any of the major European (and other) languages?"

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Abstract

In this second paper in the series on PRECIS we set out to establish a theoretical model of the indexing operation to account for the growing empirical evidence that PRECIS can be applied successfully to the terms and phrases of more than one natural language (NL). For this purpose, the system is examined from two different but related viewpoints, the first linguistic and the second logical. In linguistic terms, the schema of role operators is related to certain features of NL which are regarded by linguists as language-independent, particular attention being paid to Chomsky's 1965 theory, the notion of deep cases, and the idea that roles, as used in an indexing language (IL) are related to deep cases in NL. It is realised that we should not rely too heavily on analogies between NL and IL, on the grounds that these two kinds of language have different structures and to some extent different functions, Consequently, the structure of a PRECIS string is also considered in terms of an alternative logic, and it is suggested that the order of terms in strings and entries, explained in the earlier paper through reference to the dual properties of context-dependency and one-toone relationships, is also amenable to a different but reinforcing explanation in terms of time-dependency. These two types of explanation, the linguistic and the logical, form the basis for a proposed theoretical model of the 'stages of indexing'. Finally, the authors consider the implications of this model for multilingual indexing.

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Abstract

The terms which comprise an entry in an index can be arranged in various ways. The use use roles or facets such as 'thing-action-part-effect' under which terms can be categorized allows the use of citation orders which preserve the syntactic relationships between terms in a string. Alphabetization and rotation in context are simple methods but with certain disadvantages for the users. The citation order of BTI results in a detailed index using punctation to indicate relationships. PRECIS incorporates prepositions which preserve necessary entries. Articulated indexes use natural language phrases displayed under selectes subject headings. These methods could be used to construct book indexes

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Abstract

PRECIS ist ein Indexierungssystem, das ursprünglich zur Herstellung des Sachregisters für die 1971 auf maschinelle Verarbeitung umgestellte BNB entwickelt wurde. Obwohl für das Englische entworfen, hat sich PRECIS bisher in einer Reihe anderer Sprachen bewährt. Die British Library finanziert seit 1976 ein Projekt, dessen Aufgabe es ist, das Potential von PRECIS als zwischensprachliche Indexsprache zu ermitteln. Es wird vor allem mit Deutsch, Französisch und Englisch gearbeitet. Das Forschungsteam hat eine Anzahl Mechanismen entwickelt, die verbale Indexierungsdaten in Form von "Eingabeketten" von einer Ausgangssprache in eine Zielsprache maschinell umsetzen. Jeder Begriff wird dabei einzeln umgesetzt. Diese Begriffe, die ein Sachverhaltspaket bilden, werden dann von einem Standardprogramm gelesen, das auch Registereinträge in einer Zielsprache oder Zielsprachen erstellt

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Abstract

Kurze Beschreibung des verbalen Indexierungssystems PRECIS, seiner Ursprünge und Entwicklung, seiner Bestandteile und seiner Ziele. Im einzelnen wird an Beispielen gezeigt, wie das Format einer PRECIS-Eintragung aussieht und wie die "Mechanik" der Eintragungsgenerierung mit Computerhilfe abläuft, wobei auch auf die Rollenoperatoren eingegangen wird. Abschließend eine Darstellung der Anwendung von PRECIS in anderen Sprachen, hier in Deutsch. An der Produktion von Eintragungen zum Austausch zwischen den 4 Sprachen Englisch, Französisch, Deutsch und Polnisch wird gegenwärtig gearbeitet. Untersuchungen für die skandinavischen Sprachen sind geplant

Source

Kooperation in der Klassifikation II. Proc. der Sekt.4-6 der 2. Fachtagung der Gesellschaft für Klassifikation, Frankfurt-Hoechst, 6.-7.4.1978. Bearb.: W. Dahlberg

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Footnote

In Chinesisch

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Source

Perspectives in library and information science (Viswanathan Festschrift). Ed.: S.N. Agawahl

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Abstract

Probably the most interesting, original and controversial indexing system of the 1970s has been PRECIS (the Preserved Context Index System) developed by Derek Austin. It attracted such attention that the short courses given at the British National Bibliography offices in London -initiated as a means of teaching the staff of BNB who did subject indexing-were repeated all over the world, in the form of three-day or three-week sessions. A few fortunate non-BNB indexers were taken into London classes, taught by Austin and Digger, and had the advantage of a week's work with the regular staff theresomething that could not be done elsewhere. In addition, descriptions of the system were published from time to time as progress was made an the system itself and clarification or updating were needed. This article has been selected as an example of clarification. A second edition of the original 1974 Manual describing PRECIS appeared in early 1984, so the system may now be regarded as fully mature. PRECIS, which is the culmination of Austin's research for the Classification Research Group plus considerable additional input from the science of linguistics, is a highly sophisticated indexing system, deliberately created to be used with a computer. The motive behind it was that the indexer should do the brain work and the computer the nitty-gritty work of manipulating index terms. Chosen combinations and permutations are used as head words under strict rules to ensure that the context which defines the specific meaning of these words is always present, thus avoiding the ambiguity problem in indexing. The system also has classifi ation features, in part drawn from the Group's long interest in faceted classification. The actual index produces a large number of index entries, each carrying with it the basic context of the item being described. A weIl-defined terminology, in addition to contextdependency, is a feature of PRECIS. Role operators define the types of terms used and control the manipulations of the terms, which are originally entered as a string. The indexer is able to analyze and reduce to string form any document, process, or material that can be described in words, making it ideal for most audiovisual material.
The system itself has two major aspects: - a syntactic approach in which relationships between terms are identified and tagged. Suitable algorithms for manipulation produce a very thorough index in which each head word is kept in context. - a semantic approach in which terminology is weIl defined by ensuring that the relationships of equivalence, hierarchy, and association are clearly established. Charts of relationships are created by inductive means (i.e., from the ground up). A special code for computer manipulation is used with each line of the string. This translates the string format into one that, with specially derived algorithms, can be used by the computer, to produce the actual index headings with all parts rotated by following the algorithm. The PRECIS system has been translated and utilized for languages other than English, notably French, German, and Danish. Modifications needed for idiosyncracies of each language have been made. Some, such as those modifications needed for German, have turned out to have usefulness with English as weIl. All in all, the system has such advanced indexing concepts that it provides a kind of indexing not possible before the computer came into common usage. Austin, who joined the staff of the British National Bibliography in 1963, is currently a member of the British Library staff. His early work included a NATO-sponsored research assignment for the Classification Research Group (q.v.). This, in turn, led to the development of PRECIS.

Footnote

Original in: Library resources and technical services 21(1977) no.1, S.13-30.

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Abstract

The efficiency of the role operators of PRECIS may be studied from two viewpoints - quantitative as well as qualitative. The frequency of appearance of different role operators in an input string may be taken as a measure of such quantitative parameters of efficiency. The scope of this paper lies in measuring the efficiency of role operators through their frequency of appearances in input strings. Most of the earlier research on PRECIS focused either on its general descriptions or its application to various subjects, media, languages, institutions, countries and to any regional/national/international information exchange network. No work has so far been reported which makes a quantitative evaluation of the system through its role operators except some general evaluative studies against different subject fields

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Abstract

The first opportunity to assess a largescale application of the PRECIS indexing system in North America came with its adoption by the National Film Board of Canada as the method of subject access to a national information system for Canadian audiovisual materials. The authors provide an overview of PRECIS use by this automated bibliographic service - the reasons for its choice, the challenge involved in the subject analysis and indexing of audiovisual documents, the methodology and software used to process PRECIS records, the resulting catalogue subject indexes and user reaction