While computer software that talks has become commonplace, software that listens still remains quite rare. A demonstration speech recognition program designed for early reading instruction developed in the mid-1980s never reached the market due to the immaturity of the technology and the volatility of the microcomputer hardware and software…

Messages entering an educational information distribution network may be ranked for an ordered introduction into the network to maximize the timeliness of message arrivals over the set of users. Electronic mail, EDI documents, and broadcast news may be ranked by the users who choose to examine those messages of interest or benefit to themselves.…

The current attitudes of users and non-users towards public online computer catalogs (OPAC's) were studied at the Library of Congress (LC) and responses were compared with those from an aggregate survey. Attitudes of both users and non-users toward the LC OPAC system were favorable. Problems experienced by patrons related to difficulty in…

This report focuses on a discussion of findings from analyses of computer transaction logs contributed by four of the online catalog systems used in the Public Access Project. It supplements the analyses of User and Non-User Questionnaires by providing analyses of data from the systems themselves. The four systems contributing data to this…

Transactional Analysis (TA) of teaching and learning process reveals actions and reactions triggered from the ego-states of teacher and learner. The teacher has to switch between these ego-states to achieve effective communication and learning results. Ego-states of teacher and learners are worth studying in the context of e-learning, as the…

The first phase of a project to design a prompting system to help semi-experienced end users to search Chemical Abstracts online, this study focused on the differences and similarities in the search approaches used by experienced users and those with less expertise. Four online searches on topics solicited from chemistry professors in small…

The Computerized Decision Training (CDT) system, which focuses on improving and sharpening higher order cognitive skills in judgmental decision making, incorporates an adaptive computer program which learns the student's value structure, and uses this structure to train the student in practical decision making. The application of decision models…

Two studies examined interactive cable technology as a potentially useful means of providing adult and continuing education outside conventional institutions. One set of experiments on the interactive cable system located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was aimed at adults who had not completed their high school education; the other study, which…

This investigation matches the emerging techniques in computerized natural language processing against emerging needs for such techniques in the information field to evaluate and extend such techniques for future applications and to establish a basis and direction for further research toward these goals. An overview describes developments in the…

A pilot television series reached some 100,000 Ontario elementary school students with a series on meteorology and ecology. Flexible interactive opportunities (via broadcast, newsletter, phone, mail, personal contact) were utilized; resources not available were provided, while at the same time local options were preserved and encouraged. Use of…

The five technical working papers that comprise the two volumes of this document are related to the problem of creating a valid process model of human communication in dialogue. In Volume 1 both papers consider reference as a phenomenon in text. The first surveys reference identification and resolution methods in various existing natural language…

The technical working papers that comprise the two volumes of this document are related to the problem of creating a valid process model of human communication in dialogue. In Volume 2, the first paper concerns study methodology, and raises such issues as the choice between system-building and process-building, and the advantages of studying cases…

Describes the design of a database interface for infrequent users of computers which consists of a graphical display of a model of a database and a natural language query language. This interface was designed for and tested with physicians at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. (LRW)

Identifies and describes sublevels of novices using a database management package, clustering those whose interaction is effective, partially effective, and totally ineffective. Among assistance documentation, functional tree diagrams (FTDs) were more beneficial to partially effective users than traditional reference material. The results have…

Discusses human-computer interaction and describes research that investigated coping strategies by college student computer users who experienced varying degrees of computer stress. Measures used to assess results of student questionnaires are explained, and results show high-stress users employed emotional-focused strategies while low-stress…