Adaptive fault diagnosis in interactive electronic technical manuals (IETMs)

An Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) is a technical manual that is prepared in digital format to provide information about the diagnostics and maintenance of complex systems.;In this thesis we present a methodology for adaptive fault diagnosis in IETMs, a methodology that constantly adapts the fault diagnosis procedure, according to the experience of the user performing the diagnosis. We develop a framework of adaptation that constantly monitors user behavior, and learns about the fault and its possible causes as the system is used, hence making it easier to perform such procedures, which increases efficiency of usage of such a manual, an essential factor in performing fault diagnosis. We will also extend S1000D to incorporate all information necessary for our adaptation methodology.;The outcome of our methodology will be an IETM which contains adaptable fault diagnosis procedures that adapt to users according to their expertise levels making these procedures less cumbersome for users to accomplish, hence increasing their productivity and efficiency. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Technical Data Interoperability (TDI) Pathfinder Via Emerging Standards

The TDI project (TDI) investigates trending technical data standards for applicability to NASA vehicles, space stations, payloads, facilities, and equipment. TDI tested COTS software compatible with a certain suite of related industry standards for capabilities of individual benefits and interoperability. These standards not only esnable Information Technology (IT) efficiencies, but also address efficient structures and standard content for business processes. We used source data from generic industry samples as well as NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) data from space systems

A Rhetoric Of Technology: The Discourse In U.S. Army Manuals And Handbooks

This dissertation examines the historical technical publications of the United States Army from 1775-2004. Historical research in Army technical communication reveals the persuasive characteristics of its technical publications. Elements of narrative, storytelling, and anthropomorphism are techniques writers used to help deliver information to readers. Research also reveals the design techniques writers adopted to unite the situated literacies of the troops. Analyses of print, comic, and digital media expose the increasing visualization of information since the eighteenth century. The results of such historical research can be applied to new media designs. Automating processes captured in paper-based technical manuals and adding intelligent functionality to these designs are two of many possible design options. Research also dispels a myth concerning the history of modern technical communication and illustrates the development of many genres and subgenres. Modern technical communication was not born of World War II as many scholars suggest, but was a legitimate field in eighteenth-century America. Finally, historical research in Army technical communication shows the systematic progression of a technological society and our increasing dependence on machine intelligence

The Art of Networking. European Networks in Education

Bienzle H, Gelabert E, Jütte W, Kolyva K, Meyer N, Tilkin G. The Art of Networking. European Networks in Education. Wien: die Berater - Unternehmensberatungs GmbH; 2007

Hypermedia-based performance support systems for the web.

The work reported in this thesis is an attempt to apply integrated knowledge-based and adaptive hypermedia technologies in the area of electronic performance support. Moreover, this work is a contribution in the direction of 'structured' hypermedia authoring of technical documentation. It tackles the main challenges associated with the systematic development of Web-based technical documentation which include the design, authoring, and implementation, and the creation of supporting CASE tools. The main contribution of this research is a systematic methodology for the development of hypermedia-based Performance Support Systems (PSSs) for the Web which adheres to the main characteristics of advanced PSSs. These characteristics are outlined in a conceptual model that complies with state-of-the-art technologies and current practices in the field of user performance support. First, the thesis suggests a conceptual model for advanced PSSs. These are characterised as mainly consisting of two loosely coupled components that are designed and accessed in a task-based and user-centred manner. The first component is a freely browsed technical documentation of the application domain. The second component is the expert advisor that provides assistance for more specific, complex, and difficult to learn tasks. The integrated technologies utilised in advanced PSSs include Web-based hypermedia and knowledge-based systems. Second, the thesis concentrates on the first component of advanced PSSs i.e. technical documentation. It suggests a usage-based data model for the design of technical documentation. The proposed model abstracts the intended purpose of the documentation, the tasks supported by the documentation, and the functional characteristics of documents. These abstractions are integrated in a usage-based semantic network where rules and valid relationships are identified. This design framework can then be used by authors in order to organise, generate, and maintain the technical documentation i.e. authoring. In addition, this model is also used to support a strategy for the adaptive retrieval of hypermedia documents. Third, the thesis suggests a model-driven hypermedia authoring approach for Web- based technical documentation. This approach utilises the usage-based data model for the design of technical documentation (described above). In addition, it complies with the principled guidelines of structured authoring. Finally, the thesis focuses on 'intelligent' PSSs. It promotes the provision of intelligent performance support through the utilisation and integration of technologies used in developing knowledge-based diagnostic Expert Systems (ES) and adaptive hypermedia systems. This integration is implemented through the use of hypermedia which allows supporting content to be synchronized with the diagnostic ES inference process. The integrated adaptive diagnostic ES supports the user by providing what-to-do and how-to-do type of information tailored (adapted) to the user's knowledge of the subject domain. The special organisation of displays in an HTML-based user interface allows users, while employing the ES for fault diagnosis, to request detailed information about a certain diagnosis procedure, and then return to the ES to continue from where they left off. The solutions proposed in this thesis are demonstrated through the development of a prototype PSS for an all-terrain fork-lift truck. The performance support is provided through (i) a technical manual, (ii) a diagnostic ES for locating and correcting braking system faults, and (iii) an adaptive information retrieval utility

Human-Computer Interaction

In this book the reader will find a collection of 31 papers presenting different facets of Human Computer Interaction, the result of research projects and experiments as well as new approaches to design user interfaces. The book is organized according to the following main topics in a sequential order: new interaction paradigms, multimodality, usability studies on several interaction mechanisms, human factors, universal design and development methodologies and tools

Independent Theatre in Contemporary Europe: Structures - Aesthetics - Cultural Policy

Over the past 20 years European theatre underwent fundamental changes in terms of aesthetic focus, institutional structure and in its position in society. The impetus for these changes was provided by a new generation in the independent theatre scene. This book brings together studies on the state of independent theatre in different European countries, focusing on the fields of dance and performance, children and youth theatre, theatre and migration and post-migrant theatre. Additionally, it includes essays on experimental musical theatre and different cultural policies for independent theatre scenes in a range of European countries