Introduces a generic, application-independent model of human-computer information-seeking dialog, the Conversational Roles (COR) Model, and reviews the theoretical background. COR is represented as a recursive state-transition-network that determines legitimate types and possible sequences of dialog acts, and categorizes dialog acts on the basis…

This paper focuses on graphics and how they can be created, in real time, from information stored in a database, and the application of this technique to computer-assisted instruction (CAI). It is noted that this is a special case of the general trend towards endowing instructional systems with a degree of decision-making or design expertise, as…

Model building techniques from Artifical Intelligence and Information-Processing Psychology are applied to human-computer interface tasks to evaluate existing interfaces and suggest new and better ones. The model is in the form of an augmented transition network (ATN) grammar which is built by applying grammar induction heuristics on a sequential…

The paper attempts to provide a general framework for dealing with management information systems (MIS). An MIS is defined to have the following characteristics: (1) related to ongoing activities of an organization, (2) a man-machine system, (3) composed of a collection of subsystems, and (4) oriented around a large data base. An MIS places a…

The response to the question "What next?" is a synthesis--a combination of philosophical, psychological, and linguistic scholarship with electronic and computational technologies, under the pressure of commercial requirements for improved man-computer communication. (Author/VT)

Provides an example that illustrates the interrelationship of the factors that influence educational software portability. Nielsen's seven-level approach to human-computer interaction is used as the basis for a model for factors that influence portability, and five phases in the life cycle of a software product being adapted are considered. (10…

This paper explores interactivity, and considers what should be done to create a mass market for interactive media. It is suggested that one way to do so is to examine the video game phenomenon, and a model of interactivity is proposed. The model, a "home interactive theater," would involve interaction in the telling of a story, with the…

Designed for student use in solving linear programming problems, the interactive computer program described (EZLP) permits the student to input the linear programming model in exactly the same manner in which it would be written on paper. This report includes a brief review of the development of EZLP; narrative descriptions of program features,…

A recently developed cost-effectiveness model for on-line retrieval systems is discussed through use of an example utilizing performance results collected from several independent sources and cost data derived for a recently completed study for the American Psychological Association. One of the primary attributes of the model rests in its great…

Examines various ways of dividing the labor of an information search between the person and the system. Different configurations of two dimensions--degree of system involvement in searching and types of search activity carried out by the person or system--are discussed. Recommendations for further research and development are offered. (49…

Describes an information system interface that allows specification of uncertain queries and combines evidence about the relevance of documents to produce an overall ranking. Results of an experiment that addressed some of the cognitive aspects of such an interface are also reported. (22 references) (Author/MES)

Describes the Case Hierarchy, a model of the case system of unconstrained natural language, and ways in which the case system is specialized in a restricted domain. Results of a feasibility study which examined the utility of the Case Hierarchy and the Case Hierarchy Tool (an intelligent editor supporting the domain analysis process) are…

Presents a new model of searching in online and other information systems, and reviews the literature of manual information seeking behavior for suggestions of capabilities users might like in online systems. Based on the model--called "berrypicking"--and research, suggestions are made for how new search capabilities could be implemented…

Presents a model for the a priori analysis of natural language queries which uses an algorithm to transform the query into a logical pattern that is used to determine the answerability of the query. The results of testing by a prototype system implemented in PROLOG are discussed. (20 references) (CLB)