This discussion of the utilization by computer designers and users of metaphors as organizing structures for dealing with the complexity of behavior of human/computer interfaces begins by identifying three types of metaphor that describe various aspects of human-computer interface design, i.e., activity, mode of interaction, and task domain. The…

The discipline of software engineering can be extended in a natural way to deal with the issues raised by a systematic approach to the design of human-machine interfaces. The user should be treated as part of the system being designed and projects should be organized to take into account the current lack of a priori knowledge of user interface…

This paper presents a cognitive account of both the advantages and disadvantages of direct manipulation interfaces, i.e., the use of icons to manipulate and interact directly with data rather than writing programs or calling on a set of statistical subroutines. Two underlying phenomena that give rise to the sensation of directness are identified.…

Conducted in the attribution-research paradigm of social psychology, a study examined whether human-computer interaction is fundamentally social (as in human-human interaction) or parasocial (as in human-television interaction). All 30 subjects (drawn from an undergraduate class on communication) were exposed to an identical interaction with…

This document presents hypotheses about how much understanding a user needs to perform skillfully using a computer or a computer program. A framework for characterizing user understanding is presented which includes three criteria for evaluating the representation generated during problem solving: (1) internal coherence--whether the components of…

Arguing that sufficient theory exists about the interplay between human information processing, computer systems, and the demands of various tasks to construct useful theories of human-computer interaction, this study presents a structural model of human-computer interaction and reports the results of various statistical analyses of this model.…

Computer-based Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the key to enabling humans and their computer-based creations to interact with machines using natural languages (English, Japanese, German, etc.) rather than formal computer languages. NLP is a major research area in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics. Commercial…

Asks whether the computer is another channel of communication, if its interactive qualities make it an information source, or if it is an undefined hybrid. Concludes that computers are neither the medium nor the source but will in the future provide the possibility of a sophisticated interaction between human intelligence and artificial…

Describes the formation of the supercomputer system which reaches from Seattle to South Florida. Explains the major obstacles of international protocols, billing, priority routing, and security. (RT)

This report is a collection of 11 recent papers by the Human-Machine Interaction Group at the University of California, San Diego. The following papers are included: (1) "Stages and Levels in Human-Machine Interaction," Donald A. Norman; (2) "The Nature of Expertise in UNIX," Stephen W. Draper; (3) "Users in the Real…

This paper explores the thesis that advances in computer applications and artificial intelligence have important implications for the study of development and learning in psychology. Current approaches to the use of computers as devices for problem solving, reasoning, and thinking--i.e., expert systems and intelligent tutoring systems--are…

This document attempts to identify and promote human factors research that would likely produce results applicable to the evolutionary design of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) national space station to be launched in the 1990s. It reports on a symposium designed to yield information applicable to future space systems. The…

Surveys the current status of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Discusses intelligent tutoring systems, robotics, and applications for educators. Likens the status of AI at present to that of aviation in the very early 1900s. States that educators need to be involved in future debates concerning AI. (CW)