Information Retrieval Book Review Homepage

Book Reviews Completed

An Introduction to Support Vector Machines and Other Kernel-based Learning Methods
Nello Cristianiniand John Shawe-Taylor

New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Reviewed By: Wille Luc T., Department of Physics, Florida Atlantic University

This is the first comprehensive introduction to Support Vector Machines (SVMs), a new generation learning system based on recent advances in statistical learning theory. Students will find the book both stimulating and accessible, while practitioners will be guided smoothly through the material required for a good grasp of the theory and its applications. The concepts are introduced gradually in accessible and self-contained stages, while the presentation is rigorous and thorough. Pointers to relevant literature and web sites containing software make it an ideal starting point for further study.

Information Representation and Retrieval in the Digital Age
Heting Chu

Medford: Information Today Inc, 2003.

Reviewed By: Soergel Dagobert, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland

This is the first book to offer a clear, comprehensive view of Information Representation and Retrieval (IRR). With an emphasis on principles and fundamentals, author Heting Chu, Ph.D. (College of Information and Computer Science at Long Island University) first reviews key concepts and major developmental stages of the field, then systematically examines information representation methods, IRR languages, retrieval techniques and models, and Internet retrieval systems. Chu discusses the retrieval of multilingual, multimedia, and hyper-structured information, explores the user dimension and evaluation issues, and analyzes the role and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in IRR. Chu’s thoroughly researched monograph is an indispensable guide for the individual who needs broad and current knowledge of this rapidly growing field.

Information, Knowledge, Text
Julian Warner

Lanham: Scarecrow Press Inc., 2001.

Reviewed By: Wacholder Nina, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University

This book is concerned with connections between computing and writing and precursors to modern information technologies. It brings historical and humanistic perspectives to bear on contemporary information developments, enabling a deepening understanding of those developments. Rather than developing a single overarching thesis, Warner weaves together several themes, basing his chapters on carefully edited journal articles and conference presentations. Chapters treat the history of writing and signal transmission, the concept of exactness as it relates to human semiotic constructions, forms of representation in formal logic and automata studies, copyright, and graphic communication. A final chapter offers a review of literature that further explores the established themes.

Knowledge Management - Classic and Contemporary Works
Daryl Morey, Mark Maybury and Bhavani Thuraisingham, Editors

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002.

Reviewed By: Kim Jeff, Information School, University of Washington

This book provides an introduction to the field of knowledge management. Taking a learning-centric rather than information-centric approach, it emphasizes the continuous acquisition and application of knowledge. The book is organized into three sections, each opening with a classic work from a leader in the field. The first section, Strategy, discusses the motivation for knowledge management and how to structure a knowledge management program. The second section, Process, discusses the use of knowledge management to make existing practices more effective, the speeding up of organizational learning, and effective methods for implementing knowledge management. The third section, Metrics, discusses how to measure the impact of knowledge management on an organization. In addition to the classic essays, each section contains unpublished works that further develop the foundational concepts and strategies.

Mapping Scientific Frontiers: The Quest for Knowledge Visualization
Chaomei Chen

New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc, 2003.

Reviewed By: Melody Ivory-Ndiaye, Information School, University of Washington

"Mapping Scientific Frontiers" examines the history and the latest developments in the quest for knowledge visualization from an interdisciplinary perspective, ranging from theories of invisible colleges and competing paradigms, to practical applications of visualization techniques for capturing intellectual structures, and the rise and fall of scientific paradigms. Containing simple and easy to follow diagrams for modeling and visualization procedures, as well as detailed case studies and real world examples, this is a valuable reference source for researchers and practitioners, such as science policy analysts, funding agencies, consultancy firms, and higher education institutions. It presents 163 illustrations, 111 in color, including maps, paintings, images, computer visualizations and animations. Topics and features: * Simple and easy-to-follow diagrams for modeling and visualization procedures. * Interdisciplinary perspectives, involving bibliometrics, cartography, information visualization, and philosophy of science. * Real-world examples of co-word analysis, co-citation analysis, and patent citation analysis. * Detailed case studies of visualizing scientific paradigms, including the mass extinction debates, the active galactic nuclei paradigm and mad cow disease. * Full-color reproduction of 163 figures from maps, paintings, images, visualizations, and animations. This book is essential for researchers and practitioners. It is a valuable reference source for science policy analysts, funding agencies, consultancy firms, and higher education institutions. The book is suitable for graduate courses on knowledge domain visualization, scientometrics, information visualization, and bibliometrics.

Natural Language Processing for Online Applications - Text retrieval, extraction and categorization
Peter Jacksonand Isabelle Moulinier

Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2002.

Reviewed By: Pratt Wanda, Information School, University of Washington

This text covers the emerging technologies of document retrieval, information extraction, and text categorization in a way which highlights commonalities in terms of both general principles and practical issues. It seeks to satisfy a need on the part of technology practitioners in the Internet space, faced with having to make difficult decisions as to what research has been done and what the best practices are. It is not intended as a vendor guide (such things are quickly out of date), or as a recipe for building applications (such recipes are very context-dependent). But it does identify the key technologies, the issues involved, and the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches. There is also a strong emphasis on evaluation in every chapter, both in terms of methodology (how to evaluate) and what controlled experimentation and industrial experience have to tell us.

Tracing Genres through Organizations A Sociocultural Approach to Information Design
Clay Spinuzzi

Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.

Reviewed By: Hendry David, Information School, University of Washington

In Tracing Genres through Organizations, Clay Spinuzzi examines the everyday improvisations by workers who deal with designed information and shows how understanding this impromptu creation can improve information design. He argues that the traditional user-centered approach to design does not take into consideration the unofficial genres that spring up as workers write notes, jot down ideas, and read aloud from an officially designed text. These often ephemeral innovations in information design are vital components in a genre ecology (the complex of artifacts mediating a given activity). When these innovations are recognized for what they are, they can be traced and their evolution as solutions to recurrent design problems can be studied. Spinuzzi proposes a sociocultural method for studying these improvised innovations that draws on genre theory (which provides the unit of analysis, the genre) and activity theory (which provides a theory of mediation and a way to study the different levels of activity in an organization). After defining terms and describing the method of genre tracing, the book shows the methodology at work in four interrelated studies of traffic workers in Iowa and their use of a database of traffic accidents. These workers developed an ingenious array of ad hoc innovations to make the database better serve their needs. Spinuzzi argues that these inspired improvisations by workers can tell us a great deal about how designed information fails or succeeds in meeting workers' needs. He concludes by considering how the insights reached in studying genre innovation can guide information design itself.

Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries
Katy Bφrnerand Chaomei Chen, Editors

New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc, 2002.

Reviewed By: Hendry David, Information School, University of Washington

Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries exploit the power of human vision and spatial cognition to help individuals mentally organize and electronically access and manage large and complex information spaces. They draw on progress in the field of information visualization and seek to shift the users' mental load from slow reading to faster perceptual processes such as visual pattern recognition. Based on two workshops, the book presents an introductory overview as well as a closing listing of the top ten problems in the area by the volume editors. Also included are 16 thoroughly reviewed and revised full papers organized in topical sections on visual interfaces to documents, document parts, document variants, and document usage data; visual interfaces to image and video documents; visualization of knowledge domains; cartographic interfaces to digital libraries; and a general framework.

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