Ian Heath

Towards an integrated information environment with open hypermedia systems

This paper examines open hypermedia systems and presents the case that such systems provide a step forward for dealing with large, dynamic data sets in distributed, heterogeneous environments by allowing users to access and integrate information and processes in richer and more diverse ways than has previously been possible. In particular, the enhanced Microcosm model for open hypermedia is examined, and the ways in which it provides such an environment are discussed. The paper continues by investigating the advantages and the shortcomings of this model and identifies the areas in which further work must be completed before such systems can become widely adopted, such as the granularity of source and destination anchors, editing and version control. Some attempts to provide solutions to these problems are presented and discussed.

Integration of manufacturing information using open hypermedia

This paper discusses some of the benefits from using an open hypermedia system to deliver the diverse range of information found within the manufacturing environment. The open hypermedia approach to information management and delivery allows a single multimedia resource base to be used for a range of applications, and permits a user to have controlled access to the required information, in an easily accessible and structured manner. Our approach is illustrated by the presentation of a case study of a system delivering maintenance and process information on the factory floor, within a fully automated manufacturing plant. The development of the application is discussed, together with guide lines for the authoring and delivery of information. It is our contention that with the integration of open hypermedia, and knowledge based systems together with network technology giving access to external databases, the concept of industrial strength hypermedia can be realised.

Towards A New Authoring Methodology for Large-Scale Hypermedia Applications

As the amount of information technology increases, managing information resources, so that the correct people can find the information easily, becomes a critical issue. Hypermedia systems are considered one solution to this problem as they provide a means for representing higher level relationships between the underlying information. However, the amount of information available electronically is increasing at an accelerated rate. Using standard hypermedia authoring techniques, the effort required managing and maintaining large-scale hypermedia systems is enormous. Hypermedia authoring in the large requires new methodologies if it is going to be feasible.This paper presents a new model for building and structuring large-scale hypermedia applications. It describes a case study that explored the delivery of hypermedia information in an industrial environment on a small scale. Models and techniques developed for that case study were then refined and augmented so they could support the construction of large-scale hypermedia systems. In order to support such endeavors a new linking model is presented that allows the author to explicitly represent abstract concepts contained within the underlying information and interconnect them in some meaningful manner. A prototype system applying this linking technique is presented.

Industrial strength hypermedia : Design, Implementation and Application.

Many organizations are seeking to improve their competitiveness through the use of information technology. The industrial strength hypermedia approach to information management and delivery allows a single multimedia resource base to be used for a range of applications, and permits a user to have controlled access to the required information, in an easily accessible and structured manner. The development of an industrial hypermedia application requires the adoption of procedures for system design, authoring, and delivery. This paper presents a design model that allows the structured development of industrial strength hypermedia. The authoring approach adopted at Southampton is discussed in this paper, and includes the use of Modular-Hypermedia Applications and clustering to reduce authoring effort. This approach to information management is illustrated by the development of a large-scale hypermedia information system for Pirelli Cables Ltd, Southampton, UK. In order to assess user acceptance, trials have been undertaken, the results of which are presented.

The application of a hypermedia research system in industry

The requirement for industrial strength hypermedia is well known [5]. If hypermedia is to be used in such an environment, then a great deal of work is required in integrating with the factory practices. This means any proposed model must be simple to maintain and implement whilst providing a real benefit for the organization as a whole. This technical briefing presents a new model for developing large scale, industrial hypermedia applications.

The Application of Large-Scale Hypermedia Information Systems to Training

SUMMARY A hypermedia system permits a user to have access to a wide range of stored information, in both structured and unstructured ways. While this technology is now generally accepted in education, it has not yet been widely exploited in industry. This paper discusses the implementation of a large‐scale hypermedia information system for an industrial application. By the use of an open hypermedia system, the details of which are discussed in this paper, a common resource base can be used with different sets of links for a number of engineering activities, including maintenance and fault diagnostics. Having established the information system, the same resource base can be used as a training tool both to train personnel how to use the computer‐based system and to train them in operational and maintenance tasks. The principle can be extended to many other application areas and represents a powerful and cost‐effective method of on‐the‐job training in the use of computer‐based information systems.

Authoring a Large Scale Industrial Hypermedia Application: A Case Study

This paper describes the creation and development of a large-scale industrial application using the open hypermedia system, Microcosm [Davies 92]. Microcosm allows the user to construct a hypermedia database of documents, and re-uses that data for a range of applications. This is achieved by storing the links in separate linkbases, which are then overlaid on the data when the user recalls a file. No markup is therefore imposed on the data. This project highlights the ways in which such an approach can be used to reduce authoring effort and to facilitate future modification and maintenance of the resource base. We have also experimented with the automatic generation of links and in creating different link databases to provide different views on a common set of data.