Journal of Information Science

This paper presents descriptions of four informa tion/system interface projects in progress at ESRIN, the estab lishment of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Italy. Each project demonstrates a somewhat different approach to mter face design, but all share the commonality of responding to user goals, tasks and charactenstics. It is suggested that next generation scientific information systems will have to be designed for direct access by end users to a large vanety of information sources, through a common interface. Design of such systems, including their interfaces, should be based on a multi-level analysis of user goals, tasks and domain views.

Report on a study of the work situation and informa tion-seeking behaviour of civil servants in state government ministries in Nigena A framework for analysing the need for specific information sources as components of the information systems in organisations is descnbed. The framework was used to identify some of the important work activates undertaken in state government ministries in Nigena, the types of informa tion most often required for the activities, and the information sources considered by the civil servants to be best providers of the types of information

Information workers are increasingly required to involve themselves in activities which may have ethical implica tions: deciding between information sources, evaluating out put, carrying out surveys of usage, etc. There is little guidance as to what constitutes reasonable behaviour and there is, as yet, no adequate code of conduct for the profession. Debates on the usefulness of such a code have often lacked direction and failed to address the major issue of whether information can ever by supphed on a neutral, value-free, basis This article considers the arguments for and against the neutral supply of information services and summanses the main areas of ethical concern in information work and information research before assessing whether a formal code of ethics is really the best solution for the profession.

The paper presents an empirical analysis of the utilisation of scientific and technological information (STI) in the industry of Croatia. The aim of the analysis is to enable better placement of STI within industnal firms. The analysis deals with the STI market conceived as a mechanism of STI exchange between STI suppliers and industrial users It incor porates two aspects of the STI market functioning—the use of the STI sources and the use of the STI distnbution channels. The results of this research, obtained by a questionnaire from large, medium and small-sized enterpnses, indicate that the biggest placement of STI can be expected in the segment of medium-sized organisations. However, new kinds of STI sources and distribution channels of much higher quality and greater sophistication should be offered