5,282 research outputs found
Synchronous collaborative information retrieval with relevance feedback
Collaboration has been identified as an important aspect in information seeking. People meet to discuss and share ideas and through this interaction an information need is quite often identified. However the process of resolving this information need, through interacting with a search engine and performing a search task, is still an individual activity. We propose an environment which allows users to collaborate to satisfy a shared information need. We discuss ways to divide the search task amongst collaborators and propose the use of relevance feedback, a common information retrieval process, to enable the transfer of knowledge across collaborators during a search session. We describe the process by which co-searchers can collaborate effectively with little redundancy and how we can combine relevance judgements from multiple searchers into a coherent model for synchronous collaborative information retrieva
User Models for Information Systems: Prospects and Problems
Expert systems attempt to model multiple aspects of human-computer
interaction, including the reasoning of the human expert, the knowledge
base, and characteristics and goals of the user. This paper focuses on
models of the human user that are held by the system and utilized in
interaction, with particular attention to information retrieval
applications. User models may be classified along several dimensions,
including static vs. dynamic, stated vs. inferred, and short-term vs. longterm
models. The choice of the type of model will depend on a number
of factors, including frequency of use, the relationship between the user
and the system, the scope of the system, and the diversity of the user
population. User models are most effective for well-defined tasks,
domains, and user characteristics and goals. These user-system aspects
tend not to be well defined in most information retrieval applications.published or submitted for publicatio
A rapid prototyping/artificial intelligence approach to space station-era information management and access
Applications of rapid prototyping and Artificial Intelligence techniques to problems associated with Space Station-era information management systems are described. In particular, the work is centered on issues related to: (1) intelligent man-machine interfaces applied to scientific data user support, and (2) the requirement that intelligent information management systems (IIMS) be able to efficiently process metadata updates concerning types of data handled. The advanced IIMS represents functional capabilities driven almost entirely by the needs of potential users. Space Station-era scientific data projected to be generated is likely to be significantly greater than data currently processed and analyzed. Information about scientific data must be presented clearly, concisely, and with support features to allow users at all levels of expertise efficient and cost-effective data access. Additionally, mechanisms for allowing more efficient IIMS metadata update processes must be addressed. The work reported covers the following IIMS design aspects: IIMS data and metadata modeling, including the automatic updating of IIMS-contained metadata, IIMS user-system interface considerations, including significant problems associated with remote access, user profiles, and on-line tutorial capabilities, and development of an IIMS query and browse facility, including the capability to deal with spatial information. A working prototype has been developed and is being enhanced
The development of an intelligent interface to a computational fluid dynamics flow-solver code
Researchers at NASA Lewis are currently developing an 'intelligent' interface to aid in the development and use of large, computational fluid dynamics flow-solver codes for studying the internal fluid behavior of aerospace propulsion systems. This paper discusses the requirements, design, and implementation of an intelligent interface to Proteus, a general purpose, 3-D, Navier-Stokes flow solver. The interface is called PROTAIS to denote its introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) concepts to the Proteus code
A usability approach to improving the user experience in web directories
PhDWeb directories are hierarchically organised website collections that offer users subjectbased
access to the Web. They played a significant part in navigating the Web in the past
but their role has been weakened in recent years due to their cumbersome expanding
collections. This thesis presents a unified framework combining the advantages of
personalisation and redefined directory search for improving the usability of Web
directories.
The thesis begins with an examination of classification schemes that identifies the
rigidity of hierarchical classifications and their suitability for Web directories in contrast
to faceted classifications. This leads on to an Ontological Sketch Modelling (OSM) case
study which identifies the misfits affecting user navigation in Web directories from
known rigidity issues. The thesis continues with a review of personalisation techniques
and a discussion of the user search model of Web directories following the suggested
directions of improvement from the case study. A proposed user-centred framework to
improve the usability of Web directories which consists of an individual content-based
personalisation model and a redefined search model is then implemented as D-Persona
and D-Search respectively. The remainder of the thesis is concerned with a usability test
of D-Persona and D-Search aimed at discovering the efficiency, effectiveness and user
satisfaction of the solution. This involves an experimental design, test results and
discussions for the comparative user study.
This thesis extracts a formal definition of the rigidity of hierarchies from their
characteristics and justifies why hierarchies are still better suited than facets in
organising Web directories. Second, it identifies misfits causing poor usability in Web
directories based on the discovered rigidity of hierarchies. Third, it proposes a solution
to tackle the misfits and improve the usability of Web directories which has been
experimentally proved to be successful
A Usability Approach to Improving the User Experience in Web Directories
Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Queen Mary, University of Londo
Thesaurus-assisted search term selection and query expansion: a review of user-centred studies
This paper provides a review of the literature related to the application of domain-specific thesauri in the search and retrieval process. Focusing on studies which adopt a user-centred approach, the review presents a survey of the methodologies and results from empirical studies undertaken on the use of thesauri as sources of term selection for query formulation and expansion during the search process. It summaries the ways in which domain-specific thesauri from different disciplines have been used by various types of users and how these tools aid users in the selection of search terms. The review consists of two main sections covering, firstly studies on thesaurus-aided search term selection and secondly those dealing with query expansion using thesauri. Both sections are illustrated with case studies that have adopted a user-centred approach
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Navigational patterns in interactive multimedia
The central purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether users have distinct preferences for specific navigational patterns in multimedia: that is preferences for moving through multimedia. Subsidiary questions are whether users have preferences for working strategies, (the mental approach to investigating software) whether these preferences are similar for specific groups and whether these preferences are affected by the software's system and navigational design. Four groups were investigated within two ranges: children to adults, and novices to experts. The literature review revealed four different perspectives of investigating navigation: user, designer, pedagogy and human computer interaction and although this research concentrates on the first two perspectives the other two are integral and of equal importance.Two empirical studies elicited the navigational information. The first studied pairs of children undertaking set tasks in multimedia, and demonstrated that although each pair had definite preferences, each group did not utilise the full pattern range discerned from the observations, literature review and multimedia package analysis. The second study was redesigned using individual adults to ascertain the full range of preferred patterns in use. The essential element from the investigations was the wide range of variation between individuals and within groups. There was a gradual progression in their range and speed using these patterns, related to their skills, abilities and experience, and each individual could be placed along a continuum. Topologies of the multimedia packages and diagrams of the fit of the navigation patterns were included. Finally an expert panel was convened to verify the pattern range and their comments supported the new classification.The research outcomes included navigational patterns and working strategies classifications, future techniques for designers, and user methods. These will create more successful and informed multimedia, and forward developments and improvements in the design of high quality user preference software
An examination of the weaknesses in current online help systems and a proposed solution using an integrated information base
This thesis reports results of a research study into the usefulness of On-line Help
Systems for application software users. The main objective of the research was to
examine existing On-line Help systems, identify their weaknesses, and propose a
means of rectifying the problems identified.
A study of the available relevant literature revealed that both users and designers
have divergent views as to the overall usability and efficacy of On-line
Information, and this diversity has contributed to the problems inherent in On-line
Help systems.
An initial user survey was conducted with a group of computer users who were
professionals in their own areas, many of whom also have considerable experience
in the applications examined. The results are in agreement with the hypothesis that
in spite of the long history of software development and the existence of research
in the area, users of On-line Help Systems still find them unsatisfactory. The
results also revealed that even experienced users find some aspects of existing Online
Help Systems difficult to use, and that, in general current versions are not well
received.
A set of exploratory experiments has been carried out with users interacting with
Microsoft Excel, using the On-line Help system at one sitting and the User
Manual at another. These investigations revealed the existence of design and
accessibility problems. Three terms best describe the problems identified -
Vocabulary, Compartmentalisation, and the lack of an Integrated Base. An
optimal approach to the design of On-line Help systems that will overcome these
problems is proposed and a prototype system implemented and evaluated.
The research has achieved its aim of providing a contribution to the design and
implementation of On-line Help Systems that should enhance both the usability
and efficacy of On-line support systems
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