World Forests for the Future. Edited by Kiliparti Ramakrishna and George M. Woodwell. Yale University Press: 1993. Pp. 156. £14.95, $20.

/pdf/seeing-the-wood-for-the-trees-4c6270ssca.pdf

Seeing the wood for the trees

The usefulness of controlled vocabularies, exemplified by Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), was evaluated by a controlled user experiment.MeSH terms were most useful for domain experts in terms of precision measure.Domain knowledge was correlated with the precision score, whereas search training correlated with the recall score.This study demonstrated the feasibility of re-using a test collection originally created for evaluating the effectiveness of retrieval techniques for a controlled user experiment. To what extent do MeSH terms improve search effectiveness for different kinds of users? We observed four different kinds of information seekers using an experimental information retrieval system: (1) search novices; (2) domain experts; (3) search experts and (4) medical librarians. Participants searched using either a version of the system in which MeSH terms were displayed or another version in which they had to formulate their own terms. The information needs were a subset of the relatively difficult topics originally created for the Text REtrieval Conference (TREC). Effectiveness of retrieval was based on the relevance judgments provided by TREC. The results of the study provide experimental evidence of the usefulness of MeSH terms and further identify the significant relationship between the user characteristics of domain knowledge and search training and the search performance in an interactive search environment.

Evaluating the impact of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms on different types of searchers

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is described as a material which is indispensably arisen from construction and demolition (C&D) activities and ought to be effectively managed, otherwise, its improper management can produce negative economic, environmental, and social impacts. Effective management of CDW leads to the corroboration of structures and leading to an authentic impact on natural systems. Therefore, it is vital to consider a potent concept capable of analyzing effective construction and demolition waste management (CDWM). This study aims at developing a framework to assess the effectiveness of CDWM. The proposed conceptual framework includes three main categories, namely CDWM contributing factors, CDWM hierarchy, and effective CDWM. CDWM contributing factors consist of four main categories, namely CDWM stakeholders’ attitudes, CDWM from sustainability point of view, CDWM tools, and CDW project life cycle. In developing this framework, and in addition to the contributing factors, supportive theories have been applied for the purpose of justification. Based on a systematic research method, 214 research documents were revealed initially and after refining process, 32 relevant research documents were unveiled and then thoroughly considered. It was revealed that sustainability concept is the main foundation of CDWM. Accordingly, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was identified as a fundamental pillar that supports stakeholders’ attitudes in effective CDWM assessment.

A conceptual foundation for effective construction and demolition waste management

For decades, Indigenous experiences of mass killings, atrocities, ethnic cleansing, and assimilation have been marginalized from genocide studies due to the ways in which knowledge is constructed in the field, specifically in terms of its focus on definitions and prototype-based conceptions. This article argues that these exclusions are not merely owed to discourses internal to genocide studies, but are affirmed by conventional library terminologies for the purposes of knowledge organization and information retrieval in the form of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and classification, as applied to books regarding genocidal colonial encounters with Indigenous Peoples. These headings largely exhibit euphemistic tendencies and omissions that often fail to reflect the contents of the materials they seek to describe, not only impeding retrieval of books on this subject, but also their incorporation into current scholarship.
To determine the extent to which the assignment of LCSH and call numbers corresponded reasonably to the stated intent of the authors, searches in OCLC’s global WorldCat catalogue were conducted for books related to the Library of Congress subject “Indians of North America” and some variation of the keywords genocide, holocaust, or extermination, yielding a list of 34 titles. The subject headings and classification designations assigned to these books were then analyzed, with particular attention paid to euphemisms for genocide, colonial narratives, the exercise of double standards when compared to non-Indigenous genocides, or outright erasure of genocide-related content. The article argues that Western epistemologies in both genocide studies and library science have marginalized Indigenous genocides, reproducing barriers to discovery and scholarship, and contributing to a social discourse of Native American Holocaust denial. Instead a pragmatic view in library science is proposed, in which claims of genocide on the part of authors are taken as given and which would recognize the legitimacy of Indigenous perspectives concerning their relationship to land and how processes of assimilation (such as Canada’s residential school system) were consistent with Raphael Lemkin’s original definition of genocide. It argues that enabling our ability to name and discuss genocide in North America can contribute to a more honest reckoning with our history and hence the basis for reconciliation and social justice.

https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/download/7519/6163

A Library Matter of Genocide: The Library of Congress and the Historiography of the Native American Holocaust

Keyword searching and controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) proved to work well together in automated technologies and the two systems have been considered complimentary. When the Internet burst onto the information landscape, users embraced the simplicity of keyword searching of this resource while researchers and scholars seemed unable to agree on how best to make use of controlled vocabularies in this huge database. This research looked at a controlled vocabulary, LCSH, in the context of keyword searching of a full text database. The Internet and probably its most used search engine, Google, seemed to have set a standard that users have embraced: a keyword-searchable single search box on an uncluttered web page. Libraries have even introduced federated single search boxes to their web pages, another testimony to the influence of Google. UNT's Thesis and Dissertation digital database was used to compile quantitative data with the results input into an EXCEL spreadsheet. Both Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) and author-assigned keywords were analyzed within selected dissertations and both systems were compared. When the LCSH terms from the dissertations were quantified, the results showed that from a total of 788 words contained in the 207 LCSH terms assigned to 70 dissertations, 246 of 31% did not appear in the title or abstract while only 8, or about 1% from the total of 788, did not appear in the full text. When the author-assigned keywords were quantified, the results showed that from a total of 552 words from304 author-assigned keywords in 86 dissertations, 50 or 9% did not appear in the title or abstract while only one word from the total of 552 or .18% did not appear in the full text. Qualitatively, the LCSH terms showed a hierarchical construction that was clearly designed for a print card catalog, seemingly unnecessary in a random access digital environment. While author-assigned keywords were important words and phrases, these words and phrases often appeared in the title, metadata, and full text of the dissertation, making them seemingly unnecessary in a keyword search environment as they added no additional access points. Authors cited in this research have tended to agree that controlled vocabularies such as LCSH are complicated to develop and implement and expensive to maintain. Most researchers have also tended to agree that LCSH needs to be simplified for large, full text databases such as the Internet. Some of the researchers have also called for some form of automation that seamlessly links LCSH to subject terms in a keyword search. This research tends to confirm that LCSH could benefit from simplification as well as automation and offers some suggestions for improvements in both areas.

/pdf/controlled-vocabularies-in-the-digital-age-are-they-still-2q4pp8ved0.pdf

Controlled Vocabularies in the Digital Age: Are They Still Relevant?

In their 2005 study, Gross and Taylor found that more than a third of records retrieved by keyword searches would be lost without subject headings. A review of the literature since then shows that numerous studies, in various disciplines, have found that a quarter to a third of records returned in a keyword search would be lost without controlled vocabulary. Other writers, though, have continued to suggest that controlled vocabulary be discontinued. Addressing criticisms of the Gross/Taylor study, this study replicates the search process in the same online catalog, but after the addition of automated enriched metadata such as tables of contents and summaries. The proportion of results that would be lost remains high.

http://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=lrs_facpubs

Still a Lot to Lose: The Role of Controlled Vocabulary in Keyword Searching

Data Spreadsheet for Still a Lot to Lose: The Role of Controlled Vocabulary in Keyword Searching

In this interview, Sanford (“Sandy”) Berman discusses his career and his efforts to promote responsive, user-friendly cataloging practices over uncritical deference to prevailing standards. Topics covered include his work at Hennepin County Library, his thoughts on the campaign to change the subject heading “Illegal aliens,” his ongoing practice of proposing new Library of Congress Subject Headings, and his relationship with the Library of Congress.

Tina Gross

Papers

Still a Lot to Lose: The Role of Controlled Vocabulary in Keyword Searching

Data Spreadsheet for Still a Lot to Lose: The Role of Controlled Vocabulary in Keyword Searching

Expand, Humanize, Simplify: An Interview with Sandy Berman

Report of the SAC Working Group on Alternatives to LCSH "Illegal aliens"

Authority Work as Outreach