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September 1994 LANL Research Library Monthly Newsletter
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ASK - Anomalous State of Knowledge: An anomaly in one's state of knowledge, or lack of
knowledge, with respect to a problem faced. The start of the information retrieval
process. Call 7-5809 or e-mail ref@lanl.gov to ASK.
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1. Patron journal orders
2. Whoever said libraries are quiet places??
3. Researching "Swords to Plowshares"
4. The Electronic Green Journal
5. News from the Report Collection
6. Favorite web servers
7. September Training Opportunities
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1. Patron journal orders
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Non-library copies of journal subscriptions will no longer be renewed or ordered through
the Research Library, effective October 1. After carefully analyzing what should be our
core activities, we determined that our efforts should focus on activities that support
the Library's own collections and resources.
Henceforth, one year subscriptions may be ordered through BUS-1 (Accounts Payable), MS-P240. Requests should be submitted on Form 1632 (stock item #5454) for new orders and/or to continue receiving current journals after December 1994. Provide the journal title, publisher, publisher's address, any special price consideration and membership number if applicable. Always attach any relevant page(s) from the journal that will assist the Accounts Payable staff to expeditiously handle the order.
If you have any questions about the details of this new procedure, contact the Accounts Payable Team at 7-6251.
Jackie Stack, jstack@lanl.gov
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2. Whoever said libraries are quiet places??
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Last month we reported on physical changes that were planned for the Research Library. For
those who have been fortunate enough to be in the Library lately, you'll know we're true
to our word about noise and mess -- and eventually improvements. There's just the matter
of living through the road to those improvements in the meantime!
Walls have been knocked out, and not all the holes in the walls have been replaced yet with doors, so feel free to peer, so long as it's from the outside and not in any construction worker's way or compromising to your safety. The major portion of the work at this stage involves electrical enhancements. Contrary to popular belief, electrical work is noisy! As new conduit is run in the ceiling, holes must be bored into the concrete for the support devices for the conduit. Not only is the noise an obvious indicator of progress, but so also is the patchwork ceiling and the occasional brief light outage.
Marie Harper, mharper@lanl.gov
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3. Researching "Swords to Plowshares"
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In recent months we have been exploring different current awareness services. The alert
service from DIALOG was covered in July's newsletter. Below is a very pertinent search and
possible current awareness topic that appeared in the July issue of DIALOG's Chronolog.
The end of the Cold War has set in motion significant changes for the defense industry. Converting swords to plowshares dominates the agenda, and the message from William Perry, U.S. Secretary of Defense, is that "the military drawdown is permanent, and they (the defense industry) will never again see business-as usual" ("Perry delivers contractors' survival message," "Defense & Aerospace Electronics," 7/19/93). The end result is a redefinition of the defense industry, led by dual use, defense conversion, and diversification.
How will this transition affect non-defense industries? From lasers to composites, and from satellite communications to virtual reality, the benefits are expected to be significant in areas such as health care, transportation, communications, and manufacturing. Certainly, there is an economic disadvantage to downsizing defense. However, change can also bring great opportunity. The Information Access Company (IAC) family of files contains a timely and thorough collection of business information to help companies develop strategic battle plans to address such change.
PTS PROMT(TM) (File 16), Trade & Industry ASAP(TM) (File 148), PTS Newsletter Database(TM) (File 636), and, of course, PTS Aerospace/Defense Markets & Technology(R) (A/DM&T) (File 80) provide comprehensive information on marketing strategies, contracts, mergers, inventions, and commercial applications, as well as many other topics concerned with the "swords to plowshares" scenario, nationally or worldwide. You will find valuable information on the topic of defense conversion in each of these files.
Sample Search in PTS PROMT(TM) (File 16)
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?BEGIN 16
File 16:PTS PROMT(TM) 1972-1994/May 13
(c) 1994 Information Access Co.
Set Items Description
--- ----- -----------
?SELECT DEFEN?E(S)CONVERSION
86224 DEFEN?E
36172 CONVERSION
S1 1116 DEFEN?E(S)CONVERSION
?SELECT DUAL(W)PURPOSE OR DUAL(W)USE OR COMMERCIAL
OR PRIVATE(W)SECTOR
29303 DUAL
42064 PURPOSE
691 DUAL(W)PURPOSE
29303 DUAL
715640 USE
723 DUAL(W)USE
308237 COMMERCIAL
146007 PRIVATE
133984 SECTOR
18277 PRIVATE(W)SECTOR
S2 324238 DUAL(W)PURPOSE OR DUAL(W)USE OR COMMERCIAL
OR PRIVATE(W)SECTOR
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Include Product Codes for National Defense (PC=9104) and
Department of Defense (PC=9123):
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?SELECT S2 AND (DEFEN?E OR PC=(9104 OR 9123))
324238 S2
86224 DEFEN?E
7796 PC=9104
2333 PC=9123
S3 11342 S2 AND (DEFEN?E OR PC=(9104 OR 9123))
?SELECT S1 OR S3
1116 S1
11342 S3
S4 12037 S1 OR S3
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PC=3573 is the Product Code for Computers:
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?SELECT PC=3573 .
S5 231336 PC=3573
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EC=3 is the Event Code for Products and Processes:
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?SELECT S4 AND S5 and EC=3
12037 S4
231336 S5
1210543 EC=3
S6 248 S4 AND S5 AND EC=3
?SELECT S6/1993:1994
248 S8
709931 PY=1993 : PY=1994
S7 52 S8/1993:1994
?TYPE S7/9/1
7/9/1
DIALOG(R)File 16:PTS PROMT(TM)
(c) 1994 Information Access Co. All rts. reserv.
04896037
Logicon breeds neural hybrid
Electronic Engineering Times January 17, 1994 p. 31
ISSN: 0192-1541
BY R. COLIN JOHNSON
Los Angeles - Another example of defense-to-
commercial conversion, Logicon has decided to market a
unique neural-network technology it had originally developed
for the military. The Logicon Projection Network (LPN)
borrows techniques from two opposing neural camps to arrive
at a hybrid approach that in many ways outperforms its
precursors.
On the one hand are unsupervised neural networks that
learn quickly, but are prone to errors. On the other hand
are supervised neural networks that learn slowly, but
guarantee lower error rates. Gregg Wilensky, senior
scientist at Logicon, said, 'We've managed to combine the
best features of both approaches.'
.
.
.
the 26 characters of the alphabet were divided into 20 x 40-
pixel images. Back-propagation, when applied to the same
problem, only achieved less than 50 percent correct
classifications after 200,000 passes.
THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: Copyright 1994 CMP Publications, Inc.
WORD COUNT: 825
COMPANY:
*Logicon
PRODUCT: *Artificial Intelligence Systems (3573006)
EVENT: *Product Design & Development (33)
COUNTRY: *United States (1USA)
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Frances Knudson, fknudson@lanl.gov
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4. The Electronic Green Journal
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The University of Idaho Library has just begun the publication of the ELECTRONIC GREEN
JOURNAL. The ELECTRONIC GREEN JOURNAL is a professional refereed publication devoted to
disseminating information concerning sources on international environmental topics
including: assessment, conservation, development, disposal, education, hazards, pollution,
resources, technology, and treatment. Environmental issues frequently cross national
borders; therefore, this journal encourages the international sharing of environmental
expertise. The journal serves communities as an educational environmental resource, and
includes both practical and scholarly articles, bibliographies, reviews, editorial
comments, and announcements. It is academically sponsored; however, the focus is for the
educated generalist as well as the specialist.
Currently, the journal is available via gopher, worldwide web or ftp. Subscriptions are being planned for the near future. Addresses:
gopher: gopher.uidaho.edu (menu choice: University of Idaho Electronic Publications)
worldwide web: http://gopher.uidaho.edu/1/UI_gopher/library/egj/
anonymous ftp: ftp.uidaho.edu (directory: pub/docs/publications/EGJ/issue-1) PLEASE NOTE: gif files must be ftp-ed in BINAR
The first issue includes the following articles:
-- Fighting environmental racism : a selected bibliography;
-- Environmental equity : broadening the scope of environmental issues;
-- Information on China's environmental issues;
-- Polar information : an international approach;
-- Environmental education resources : government agencies, research facilities, and
professional associations;
-- Artists and the environment;
-- Local recycling information.
Jeane Strub, jstrub@lanl.gov
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5. News from the Report Collection
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Many of our patrons are still not aware that it is no longer necessary to come over the
bridge from the Administration Building to reach the Report Collection vault. A badge/palm
reader with disabled access, located at the front of the Study Center (street level)
became operational in January 1994. Personnel with a Q- or L-clearance can be "read
in" one time at the Badge Office nearby, and then reach the Report Collection quickly
and easily from the main level of the Study Center.
If you are Q-cleared and have been authorized for Sigma 1 document access as verified in the Laboratory's Signature Authority System, you are permitted to browse the stacks in the Report Collection vault. While this may not meet everyone's needs, there are times when being able to browse has its serendipitous payoffs.
Ken Collins, kac@lanl.gov
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6. Favorite web servers
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The PC Week Lab Web Server provides product reviews and general articles of interest. Most
interesting though is its constantly changing listings, "Best of the Web" and
"Coolest Web of the Week." This is a great way to link directly to some of the
most interesting new Web servers coming up all the time. URL: http://www.ziff.com/~pcweek/
The Fedworld (Beta) Web Server has been set up by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), a Department of Commerce agency whose mission is to sell to the public (unclassified) technical reports produced by government agencies and their contractors. Fedworld is the NTIS component dedicated to new electronic services that relate to NTIS' mission. The Home Page provides access to several new services such as ordering government documents. These services are still in beta testing and thus are not in final form -- not everyone will be set up to try them out. Of greatest interest at the moment, are links to approximately 140 other government agency Web sites, organized along broad subject areas (e.g., Material Science, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering). URL: http://www.fedworld.gov/
Ken Collins, kac@lanl.gov
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7. September Training Opportunities
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Date : Topic
1: Chemical Resources (1 pm)
6: Materials/Engineering Resources (1 pm)
8: Multidisciplinary Science Citation Index (1 pm)
13: Bioscience and Biotechnology Resources (1 pm)
15: High-Performance and Supercomputing (1 pm)
20: Earth and Environmental Systems (1 pm)
22: Analysis and Assessment Resources (1 pm)
27: Physics/Weapons Sciences Resources (1 pm)
29: Business Periodical Resources (1 pm)
Sessions begin at times indicated and will last approximately 30 minutes. Please call the Research Desk at 7-5809 or e-mail ref@lanl.gov for reservations, to arrange a special session or tour or for more information.
Marie Harper, mharper@lanl.gov
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