Hypermuse: A Prototype Hypermedia Front-End for Museum Information Systems

A model is proposed of a hypermedia package fronting an existing database package. This would utilise the advantages of each. Museums have text databases of their collections that, for public use, would require navigational access. The paper focuses on the design of a hypermedia front end for a hypothetical museum, using services information and object records from real museums. The resulting Hypermuse system consists of a 386 PC running dBase as a back end and an Apple Macintosh LC running HyperCard as the front end: a serial link, managed at each end by the packages pcAnywhere and Commstalk respectively, connects these machines. The prototype system is evaluated and found basically sound but in need of minor improvements in the front end. It is concluded that the concept is a viable one for implementation in museums.     

Automating Hypermedia for Decision Support

Many ‘first generation’ hypermedia systems were designed to support applications, which do not require the dynamic and general characteristics necessary for our domain --- decision support systems (DSS). The heart of our research is a dynamic model of hypermedia incorporating virtual structures and computation, which we call generalized hypermedia. Generalized hypermedia broadens and automates the ‘static’ or non-virtual notion of first generation hypermedia for a knowledge-based DSS shell. The shell provides a hypermedia-style interface for navigating among DSS application models, data and reports. Such a shell should support applications in a variety of fields, e.g., engineering, manufacturing, finance, and therefore must provide hypermedia support as general, system-level functionality Generalized hypermedia superimposes a hypermedia network on a DSS application, generating all hypermedia nodes, links and link markers dynamically from the application's standard, non-hypermedia knowledge base. In this paper we demonstrate how automating hypermedia can enhance decision making with a DSS. We describe generalized hypermedia and discuss the challenges presented to it by a dynamic, real-time environment.     

A User-Configurable Hypermedia-Based Interface Via the Functional Model of the Link

Hypermedia management systems often make use of database management systems for the persistent storage of links and of the linked information components. In this paper, we argue that a hypermedia management system with its support for reader-directed navigation provides an attractive type of database system interface in that it facilitates ease of database access or more specifically, of locating (‘discovering’) relevant information.

Furthermore, our approach to hypermedia management, based on the Functional Model of the link, provides for extensive user-configurability of that interface. This configurability particularly applies to fully dynamic links, which free the user from much of the link creation and maintenance duties.

A prototype system incorporating this approach is overviewed in this paper.     

基于结构特性的超媒体模型

将超媒体的结构特性与形式语言学理论相结合,提供了一种有效地分析超媒体动态结构的特性的方法,该方法将超毁体组件集合映射为语言中的抽象符号集合,组件集合之上的链映射为语言中建立单词的方法,超媒体的结构化机械制映射为语言中的抽象符号集号,组件集合之上的链映射为语言中建立单词的方法,超媒体的结构化机制映射为语言中描述单词集合构造机制的语法,超媒体模拟为转换机,“链引导”动作模拟为“匹配对”序列,“链引导”的计算结果产生与上下文无关文法相对应的虚拟文档,从而为进一步研究超媒体的浏鉴语义及其它动态特性提供了理论基础。     

User-centered indexing for adaptive information access

We are focusing on information access tasks characterized by large volume of hypermedia connected technical documents, a need for rapid and effective access to familiar information, and long-term interaction with evolving information. The problem for technical users is to build and maintain a personalized task-oriented model of the information to quickly access relevant information. We propose a solution which provides user-centered adaptive information retrieval and navigation. This solution supports users in customizing information access over time. It is complementary to information discovery methods which provide access to new information, since it lets users customize future access to previously found information. It relies on a technique, called Adaptive Relevance Network, which creates and maintains a complex indexing structure to represent personal user's information access maps organized by concepts. This technique is integrated within the Adaptive HyperMan system, which helps NASA Space Shuttle flight controllers organize and access large amount of information. It allows users to select and mark any part of a document as interesting, and to index that part with user-defined concepts. Users can then do subsequent retrieval of marked portions of documents. This functionality allows users to define and access personal collections of information, which are dynamically computed. The system also supports collaborative review by letting users share group access maps. The adaptive relevance network provides long-term adaptation based both on usage and on explicit user input. The indexing structure is dynamic and evolves over time. Learning and generalization support flexible retrieval of information under similar concepts. The network is geared towards more recent information access, and automatically manages its size in order to maintain rapid access when scaling up to large hypermedia space. We present results of simulated learning experiments.Dr. Mathé and Dr. Chen are contractors with Recom Technologies, Inc.     

Storing user experiences in mixed reality using hypermedia

This paper describes HyperMem, a system to store and replay user experiences in mixed environments. The experience is stored as a set of hypermedia nodes and links, with the information that was displayed along with the video of the real world that was navigated. It uses a generic hypermedia model, implemented as software components, to handle mixed reality environments. This model includes components for storing and replaying experiences and integrating them in the overall set of hypermedia graphs that can be accessed by a given user. The paper presents the goals of the system, the underlying hypermedia model, the application scenarios, and the architecture and tools for replaying and repurposing stored information.     

由西门子利多富和思爱普公司共同成立之德国社会市场经济基金会向浙江大学信息与管理软件中心提供捐赠

由西门子利多富和思爱普公司共同成立之德国社会市场经济基金会向浙江大学信息与管理软件中心提供捐赠德国社会市场经济基金会于浙江大学百年校庆之际，向浙江大学信息与管理软件中心捐赠软硬件设备。德国社会市场经济基金会是由德国西门子利多富（ＳＮＩ）和思爱普（ＳＡ...     

Automatic generation of instructional hypermedia with APHID

This research investigates the use of patterns in designing adaptable, flexible hypermedia applications. While patterns are particularly applicable to software design, they can also be used to assist designers of other types of applications. We have developed a method (APHID) that guides a hypermedia creator through the analysis and design process. The method ensures that good design principles are followed, both for the hypermedia application and for the interface that presents the hypermedia application. Our method uses a concept map, constraints, and patterns (instructional and presentation) to support partial automation for creating hypermedia applications. We also present a prototype software system that uses the APHID method to create instructional hypermedia applications semi-automatically. The applications created using APHID are tailored to specific types of learners. We conclude with a claim that this approach is applicable not just to instructional hypermedia, but to the larger problem of generating adaptable interfaces.     

Open hypermedia as user controlled meta data for the Web

This paper introduces an approach to utilise open hypermedia structures such as links, annotations, collections and guided tours as meta data for Web resources. The paper introduces an XML based data format, called Open Hypermedia Interchange Format, OHIF, for such hypermedia structures. OHIF resembles XLink with respect to its representation of out-of-line links, but it goes beyond XLink with a more rich set of structuring mechanisms, including e.g. composites. Moreover OHIF includes an addressing mechanisms (LocSpecs) that goes beyond XPointer and URL in its ability to locate non-XML data segments. By means of the Webvise system, OHIF structures can be authored, imposed on Web pages, and finally linked on the Web as any ordinary Web resource. Following a link to an OHIF file automatically invokes a Webvise download of the meta data structures and the annotated Web content will be displayed in the browser. Moreover, the Webvise system provides support for users to create, manipulate, and share the OHIF structures together with custom made Web pages and MS Office 2000 documents on WebDAV servers. These Webvise facilities goes beyond earlier open hypermedia systems in that it now allows fully distributed open hypermedia linking between Web pages and WebDAV aware desktop applications. The paper describes the OHIF format and demonstrates how the Webvise system handles OHIF. Finally, it argues for better support for handling user controlled meta data, e.g. support for linking in non-XML data, integration of external linking in the Web infrastructure, and collaboration support for external structures and meta-data.     

Engineering the Design of Usable Hypermedia

This paper presents a systematic method for designing hypermedia that are easy to use for various types of users, along with its application to a specific case study. The design phase is supported by the use of task models. We have identified criteria that indicate how information in task models can be used to identify links, design presentations, and structure the data of the hypermedia considered. Different types of users imply different task models and thus different hypermedia designs. We then show how the design obtained was evaluated using both empirical testing and metrics for hypermedia navigation. We discuss the results obtained by these two evaluation methods and how they affected the original design.     

Adaptive Hypermedia

Adaptive hypermedia is a relatively new direction of research on the crossroads of hypermedia and user modeling. Adaptive hypermedia systems build a model of the goals, preferences and knowledge of each individual user, and use this model throughout the interaction with the user, in order to adapt to the needs of that user. The goal of this paper is to present the state of the art in adaptive hypermedia at the eve of the year 2000, and to highlight some prospects for the future. This paper attempts to serve both the newcomers and the experts in the area of adaptive hypermedia by building on an earlier comprehensive review (Brusilovsky, 1996; Brusilovsky, 1998).     

Toward an integrated digital museum system – the Chi Nan experiences

The essential activities of a museum are multifaceted and include collection, preservation, research, exhibition, education, and entertainment. Hence, the march toward a full-fledged digital museum must evolve from the digital library concept with the addition of various interactive edutainment modules. In this paper, we describe various phases of the digital museum systems constructed by the National Chi Nan University, Taiwan, over the past few years. The design concepts and integration issues of essential digital museum modules are addressed. We have as our long-term goal the construction of an integrated digital museum that provides digital archives with user-friendly information access interfaces, intriguing virtual exhibitions, adaptive online courseware, and adaptive interactive games. A mechanism to facilitate the implementation of large-scale aesthetic exhibitions has been proposed. Our approach, the fine-grained modularization of aesthetic hypermedia presentations, concerns the balance between the complexity in the authoring process, the aesthetic qualities of final hypermedia presentations, and efforts at style template implementation. Moreover, various experiences and evaluations of content-based image retrieval, online courseware, and online interactive games will also be addressed. Future work toward an integrated digital museum system is proposed. Our digital museums can be accessed at http://dlm.ncnu.edu.tw.     

Hypermedia Design Methodology in World Wide Web Applications

One approach to instruction based on a "learner-centered" view of learning is to provide rich environments in which learners can actually build their own knowledge. Therefore only educational software, carefully designed, can improve the efficiency of courseware. Within this framework, the World Wide Web provides a unique support for course material. Using a generalized hypermedia instructional design methodology, we integrated a hypermedia instructional module with simulation additional tools into an academic information system. This academic information system is a computer-supported environment in which collaborative discourse is the primary medium for knowledge advancement in the area of power electronics. It can be explored by learners in that they have both contextual access to knowledge displayed in a hypertext format and access to real experiences by means of simulation. In this article, we present an object-orientated approach that integrates the complete graphic user interface development.     

一种面向对象的开放式超媒体引擎

从讨论超媒体引擎的设计原则和设计方法入手,提出了一种基于面向对象数据库管理系统的开放式超媒体引擎.由于引入了元对象建模,该引擎不仅可以表达复杂的超媒体语义,而且可以直接支持开放性链接协议,从而实现了对第三方应用的开放性.     

Toward support for hypermedia on the World Wide Web

As organizations rush to embrace the World Wide Web as their primary application infrastructure, they should not bypass the benefit of hypermedia support. The Web's infrastructure can serve as an interface to all interactive applications and, over time, will become the graphical user interface model for new applications. Ubiquitous hypermedia support should become the jewel of the Web environment. Through Web integration, hypermedia could become an integral part of every interactive application. With the proper tools to support hypermedia in Web application development, it will become second nature for developers and individual authors to provide supplemental links and hypermedia navigation. However, as organizations adopt the Web as their primary application infrastructure, designers may use Java and other tools to recreate current application functionality, and not take advantage of the Web's hypermedia-augmented infrastructure. If users, designers, MIS departments and organizations don't demand hypermedia support, hypermedia may get lost in the frenzy of Web integration     

Hypermedia systems without links

Although there is no universally accepted definition of what a hypermedia system really is, most hypermedia specialists seem to agree on one basic issue. A hypermedia system contains some pieces of information (often called nodes or chunks) that are tied together by links. Links in fact have almost become a defining characteristic of hypermedia.In this paper we contend that the importance of links has been grossly exaggerated. Hypermedia systems in which links play only a limited role are quite conceivable. Indeed, many burning issues in current day hypermedia systems can be better resolved if other navigational techniques are used. We believe that the emphasis on links has caused a rather myopic view of hypermedia systems. A serious re-evaluation of the extent to which links are beneficial is important. This fact has been previously observed by others, the earliest being Van Dam's keynote address at 'Hypertext'87'. In this paper we propose a first significant step in using structure to replace links.     

CRITON: A Hypermedia Design Tool

The WWW has turned into a development and run-time environment for large-scale and complex applications. Such sophisticated applications are being deployed in increasing numbers without having been developed according to appropriate methodologies, tools and quality standards. The reason is not only that the hypermedia industry resists to utilize formal methods, but also that these methods and corresponding tools are very few and of dubious standards. The consequence is that the hypermedia applications being developed are of poor functionality and lack qualities such as modifiability, usability and maintainability. Especially the design phase is one of the phases that lack sufficient support from methods and CASE tools. This paper presents CRITON, a cross platform tool, built to support a hypermedia design method within an integrated environment. CRITON manages all three aspects of hypermedia design: conceptual design, navigational design and graphical user interface design, utilizing well-established theories and practices from software as well as hypermedia engineering. It employs these designs to generate a preliminary, exemplary form of the hypermedia application for the purpose of assessing the designs before the implementation phase.     

Formal models for the description of timed behaviors of multimedia and hypermedia distributed systems

This paper presents two modeling approaches that can be used as a formal basis for designing distributed multimedia and hypermedia systems. Using these approaches, users and designers are able to express formally their multimedia and hypermedia synchronization and time requirements. The two different models considered are Hierarchical Time Stream Petri Nets and RT-LOTOS. It will be shown that both models, starting from a different formal basis, are of interest as they possess complementary advantages and can then be used at different stages of the system life cycle. For instance, HTSPN provides an user-friendly graphical specification framework, whereas RT-LOTOS offers an extensive simulation and validation framework applicable to specifications derived from HTSPN.     

A framework for automatic semantic video annotation

Hypermedia composite templates define generic structures of nodes and links to be added to a document composition, providing spatio-temporal synchronization semantics. This paper presents EDITEC, a graphical editor for hypermedia composite templates. EDITEC templates are based on the XTemplate 3.0 language. The editor was designed for offering a user-friendly visual approach. It presents a new method that provides several options for representing iteration structures graphically, in order to specify a certain behavior to be applied to a set of generic document components. The editor provides a multi-view environment, giving the user a complete control of the composite template during the authoring process. Composite templates can be used in NCL documents for embedding spatio-temporal semantics into NCL contexts. NCL is the standard declarative language used for the production of interactive applications in the Brazilian digital TV system and ITU H.761 IPTV services. Hypermedia composite templates could also be used in other hypermedia authoring languages offering new types of compositions with predefined semantics.     

A hybrid system approach for supporting digital libraries

A digital library (DL) consists of a database which contains library information and a user interface which provides a visual window for users to search relevant information stored in the database. Thus, an abstract structure of a digital library can be defined as a combination of a special purpose database and a user-friendly interface. This paper addresses one of the fundamental aspects of such a combination. This is the formal data structure for linking an object oriented database with hypermedia to support digital libraries. It is important to establish a formal structure for a digital library in order to efficiently maintain different types of library information. This article discusses how to build an object oriented hybrid system to support digital libraries. In particular, we focus on the discussion of a general purpose data model for digital libraries and the design of the corresponding hypermedia interface. The significant features of this research are, first, a formalized data model to define a digital library system structure; second, a practical approach to manage the global schema of a library system; and finally, a design strategy to integrate hypermedia with databases to support a wide range of application areas. Received: 15 December 1997 / Revised: June 1999