Hypertext in Law: A New Paradigm to Explore Legal Sources

AutoreJacques Savoy
Pagine317-330

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@Introduction

Hypertext systems manage information using a network of information units or nodes that are interconnected according to different links or relationships [Halasz 1983]. In such an environment, users navigate through the information network by following existing links or ci eating new ones, and the semantics associated with the links can guide users co appropriate nodes in their information search.

In education, hypertext applications emphasize the linking capability of this approach. The links established by the author or by the readers depict interesting relationships between various sources of knowledge, may clarify some points of detail or some ambiguous concepts, Moreover, based on the principle of ´discovery learningª, these relationships allow different perspectives on a given subject and favour the integration and comparison with other areas of knowledge. However, the particular features of the underlying domain must also be taken into account. This paper Illustrates two essential difficulties appearing in legal applications namely: (1) the huge volume of documents that must be included to obtain an interesting legal hypertext, and (2) the need for an autonomous query-based search strategy to find relevant information in a large corpus.

Currently proposed hypertext systems do not provide an appropriate answer for the solution of these problems. As a primary means of accessing information, hypertext systems suggest browsing. Such an approach may be valid when working with -toy-sized hypertexts because we do not need additional help when searching information within a booklet of 20 pages.

´Even in a 500 node single-user network, navigational access can be difficult as the network changes and its structure becomes heterogeneous. In these cases, navigational access is problematic because users tend to get lost while wanderingPage 318 around in the network looking for some target information. Often, these users can describe exactly what information they are looking for, but simply cannot find it in the network.ª [Halasz 1988, p, 842]

Moreover, the construction of a small hypertext can be done manually (for example, see [Nielsen 1990]). However, when the database grows or when the content of the hypertext is subject to many modifications, an automatic construction mechanism must be provided. When faced with a large amount of information, browsing is far from satisfactory, even with the introduction of a table of contents, an index, etc. [Alschuler 1989]. To promote the usability of hypertext systems, experiments with larger information networks have to be considered [Halasz 1988], and our research represents a step in this direction.

This paper describes a hypertext system designed and implemented for students in law at the University of Montreal The first section provides an overriew current educational applications of hypertext systems and the features particular to the legal domain. In Section 2, we describe three characteristics of our prototype namely: (1) the automatic transformation of legal texts into hypertext; (2) the linking and browsing features; and (3) the principles of our autonomous search mechanism used to complement the navigational tools.

@1. Educational Applications

The physical composition of a book, a primary means of teaching, embodies three distinctive characteristics: it is portable, static and linear. The human brain by contrast does not work in a linear way. Humans think through association, comparison, inference, and they see many points of view when studying a given subject. In order to break with the two-dimensional structure of the classical book, hypertext offers an external support storing our thoughts in a manner that follows more closely the principles of action of the human brain.

If, as shown in Section 1.1, related educational applications are based on multimedia technology (sounds, images, photographs, video sequences, etc.), and natural language constitutes the primary medium to transfer information in legal studies. In this context, Section 1.2 specifies that not all textual databases may form an interesting hypertext application and that the legal sphere respects the golden rules of hypertext.

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@@1.1. Use of hypertext in education

The linking facility provided by hypertext systems enhances their appeal as a computer-based learning tool by presenting not only the content of nodes but also pertinent relationships that can be drawn from different sources of knowledge. The first reported experience based on this new paradigm was conducted by Catano [1979] using the fress system at Brown University. The purpose of this study was to study how one can teach poetry and how students may analyze poems on-line by establishing relationships between related text excerpts such as other poems or literature fragments, by introducing their own annotations or by following remarks written by other readers.

Hypertext systems can also be used to learn foreign languages by establishing implicit links from any text to dictionaries or glossaries, or by presenting an explanation of any word or. idiomatic phrase (see examples based on the InterMedia system [Yankelovich 1988]). Based on the hypermedia technology provided by the ATHENA project, Hodges et al. [1989] demonstrate how textual passages may be linked to video sequences to illustrate non verbal information such as speaker agitation and mannerism or hearing a conversation in a foreign language. The project PERSEUS [Crane 1987] provides hypertext support for the study of ancient Greek literature. Storing relevant information on a CD-ROM, this system gives access to large amounts of original source texts in Greek, including a parallel translation. The study of original Greek text fragments are reinforced through dictionary lookup and automatic morphology analysis tools. Various links provide information to other original Greek sources, to interpretations given by scholarly and encyclopedia articles or by access to additional background data by linking text excepts to cultural or historical notes, photographs and drawings.

Of course, the utility of hypermedia technology can also affirmed in other educational domains such as archaeology, chemistry or physics. For example, the specialized hypermedia system palenque [Wilson 1988] using DVi technology (digital video interactive), can be exploited to teach Mexican archaeology to children by letting them take a tour on the Palenque ruins. Through photographs, the user may see the site before its restoration or in the days of the Mayas. In the arts, the Shakespeare project [Friedlander 1988] proposes a hypertext containing film clips from plays like Hamlet and Macbeth. In this prototype, links establish relationships between corresponding scenes in different films to illustrate how the same play has been interpreted by various directors and actors. Moreover, a simulation toolPage 320 called TheaterGame gives students the opportunity to students to stage their own interpretations of the plays from a database of hundreds of costumed actors and props.

Other research has been done in other domains of...

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