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Dissertation Information for Robert Helfer

NAME:
- Robert Helfer

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Texas, Austin (USA) (1997)

ADVISORS:
- Francis L. Miksa

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Ronald E. Wyllys
- Billie Grace Herring
- Michael Anthony Carpenter
- William Ray Koch

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: An examination of families of texts as a characteristic of bibliographic works

Abstract: As new forms of library catalogs develop and new formats of library materials are collected, the concept of a bibliographic work and its importance in the proper functioning of the library catalog as a tool for information retrieval has developed in the theory and practice of library cataloging This study examines the relationships among manifestations of the same work in different media, which can be described in terms of a "text family," a collection of texts descended from the same "progenitor text."

The specific questions addressed are: (1) Is there a consistent text throughout the members of a text family? (2) Are there substantive differences among the various manifestations of a text in different media? (3) Are differences between the print text and the spoken text typically different from differences between two different print manifestations of the same text?

A sample set of ten text families was assembled, each consisting of five members: a commercial print edition, a Talking Book produced by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a commercially-produced audio book, a large-print edition, and another commercial print edition. Audio manifestations were included to focus attention on the words of the texts rather than typographical characteristics of the printed manifestations.

A set of 4 passages of 100 words each was extracted from each member of each text family. These passages were then compared using two methods, one preserving the exact order of words in the passages, and one converting the passages to alphabetical lists.

Within the text families examined, the text remained the same in most manifestations. In those cases in which a substantial difference did occur between manifestations, the manifestation exhibiting the difference showed some other indication that it was different.

Manifestations in different media did not tend to differ from each other more than manifestations in the same medium. There was no typical difference between manifestations in different media.

MPACT Scores for Robert Helfer

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:25:40

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Students under Robert Helfer

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None