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…

Discusses human-computer interfaces in information seeking that focus on end users, and provides an overview of articles in this section that (1) provide librarians and information specialists with guidelines for selecting information-seeking systems; (2) provide producers of information systems with directions for production or research; and (3)…

Discusses effective communication with interactive video and suggests possible barriers. Topics addressed include identifying the user; the need for standards; algorithms; the rapid development of hardware; navigation in interactive media; and interactivity with the user. (LRW)

Presents an overview of the IR-NLI II system, an expert interface that allows users to access online information retrieval systems and that encompasses user modeling capabilities. Highlights include the design of the system, the structure and content of stereotypes that represent typical classes of users, and construction of user models.…

Proposes a conceptual reference architecture for information retrieval systems and discusses functional capabilities of a hypertext environment, based on the proposed architecture, for interaction with large textual databases. Functions of the prototype system HYPERLINE are described, and an example of a user session is provided. (17 references)…

Presents a theoretical framework for navigation in information retrieval systems and describes a prototype retrieval system that was developed to investigate navigation. The use of a visual interface in a spatial representation scheme is described, and results of a user-based evaluation of the system are reported. User questionnaires are appended.…

Reports preliminary results of a study that investigated the nature of feedback during 40 uses of user-intermediary-information retrieval system interaction through the use of microanalysis. Types of feedback based on human judgments include magnitude feedback, relevance feedback, term relevance feedback, tactical review feedback, and terminology…

Like a table of contents in print material, a computer-presented menu presents information. It informs a user of the topics that are available. Some menus present information by categories and thus communicate the organization as well as the content of the program. In addition to providing information, menus serve as a selection and retrieval…

Since the early 1980s the evolution of computer mediated communications (CMC) systems designed to support collaborative work has been characterized by two trends. One is the proliferation of new systems to take advantage of technological changes; the second is the incorporation of functionality into highly specialized or tailored application…

Presents a brief historical overview of research in individual differences in the context of virtual environments. Highlights the notion of structure in the perception of individual users of an information system and the role of individuals' abilities to recognize and use such structures to perform various information-intensive tasks. (Author/LRW)

Introduces the basic ideas that underpin applications of machine learning to information retrieval. Describes applications of machine learning to text categorization. Considers how machine learning can be applied to the query-formulation process. Examines methods of document filtering, where the user specifies a query that is to be applied to an…

Hypermedia and object oriented programming systems (OOPs) represent examples of "open" computer environments that allow the user access to parts of the code or operating system. Both systems share fundamental intellectual concepts (objects, messages, methods, classes, and inheritance), so that an understanding of hypermedia can help in…

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.…

Assesses the appropriateness of GUIs (graphical user interfaces), more specifically Windows-based interfaces for CD-ROM. An evaluation model is described that was developed to carry out an expert evaluation of the interfaces of seven CD-ROM products. Results are discussed in light of HCI (human-computer interaction) usability criteria and design…

Presents two methods for evaluating automatically generated hypertext links: one is based on correlations between shortest paths in the hypertext structure and a semantic similarity measure, and the other is based on measuring users' performances using hypertext. Advantages and disadvantages of computer versus human evaluation are discussed.…