Access Insights
How did we improve Data Harmony documentation for the 3.9 software release?
In 2014, we improved the instruction manuals significantly – to be more comprehensive without being harder on the eyes. We upgraded the documentation to be even clearer, more consistent and complete than before, while removing extraneous material.
Read MoreMy favorite M.A.I upgrades in Data Harmony v3.9, continued
I like the variety of exports available. We’re still creating custom ones for content and web content management systems that require specialized formats, and we’ll continue to do that. But now we can offer exports of limited (top) levels of a hierarchy and exports that include only the fields that you want.
Read MoreMy favorite M.A.I upgrades in Data Harmony v3.9
I think the changes in the TestMAI function are really exciting. If you’re loading files from a directory, Data Harmony now remembers that directory rather than requiring you to find the full path each time. And, once you have loaded or pasted in text to index and press the M.A.I. button, in addition to seeing the suggested terms, you see the matches that activated rules to suggest those terms – or not; it’s really easy to turn off the highlighting with a Ctrl+L key press.
Read MoreData Harmony® Software Version 3.9 Now Available
Access Innovations, Inc. has announced that version 3.9 of its Data Harmony suite of software tools is now available. The Data Harmony® suite provides content management solutions to improve information organization by systematically applying a taxonomy or thesaurus, in total integration with patented natural language processing methods. MAIstro™, the award-winning flagship software module of the Data Harmony product line, combines Thesaurus Master® (for taxonomy creation and maintenance) with M.A.I.™ (Machine Aided Indexer) for interactive text analysis and better subject tagging.
Read MoreMiles Conrad Memorial Lecture Available for Viewing
A few weeks ago, we proudly announced Marjorie (Margie) M. K. Hlava’s impending Miles Conraad Memorial Lecture and award from the National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS). Margie delivered her lecture, “Tales from the Field: Our Changing World” on February 24, 2014, during the 2014 NFAIS Annual Conference to a standing-room-only auditorium.
Read MoreThesaurus Software Directory Takes Up New Residence
It is difficult to find a list of taxonomy management software that is both comprehensive and up to date, yet not overwhelmed with related products and services. For a long time the most comprehensive directory of taxonomy software was that of the British consultant Leonard Will, who has since retired. Considering the valuable and respected content, we at Access Innovations recognize our good fortune and huge responsibility of now hosting and maintaining the Willpower Thesaurus software directory.
Read MoreIntro to Taxonomies – Learning Opportunity
Learn from professionals with decades of experience all while enjoying the Canadian hospitality in beautiful Vancouver. The “Introduction to Taxonomies” all day workshop features our own Marjorie Hlava and Bob Kasenchak, and is part of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference in Vancouver, June 6-10, 2014. The SLA Annual Conference is an excellent international venue for learning new ideas and identifying information trends.
Read MoreLimitations of Fuzzy Matching of Lexical Variants
Some vendors of text analytics software claim that their software can identify the occurrences of text reflecting specific taxonomy terms (with the strong, and false, implication that it identifies all such occurrences) using “fuzzy matching” or “fuzzy term matching.” Some explanations of the technology, from Techopedia and Wikipedia, show that it is a fairly crude mathematical approach, similar to the co-occurrence statistical approaches that such software also tends to use, and no match for rule-based indexing approaches that derive their effectiveness from human intelligence.
Read MoreThe Semantics of Whisk(e)y
As noted last week in our article, “A Spirit of Another Name”, Saveur has created a glossary of Whisk(e)ys. However, as we all know, a glossary does not a taxonomy make –it can, however, be a good starting point. One of the problems, of course, is that national styles – and even spellings—are mutable. In general, “whiskey” comes from Ireland and the United States, while “whisky” (no ‘e’) comes from Canada and Scotland. However, well-known bourbon Maker’s Mark long ago decided to buck the semantic trend and drop the “e” despite being an all-American brand.
Read MoreKnowledge Organization Systems and Return on Investment (KOSs and ROI)
Let’s call him George. George was having a very bad day. He needed legal advice. So, over his lunch hour he scheduled an appointment. After George described his situation, the lawyer pulled a book from the shelf behind him. After briefly scanning it and checking precedent, he confidently told George with a smile, “Relax. This is a slam dunk.” On his way out of the office, George gazed at the consultation invoice and muttered to himself: “15 minutes! Only 15 minutes and he charged me $325.00!”
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