From knowledge presentation to knowledge representation to knowledge construction: Future directions for hypermedia

Relationships between human memory systems and hypermedia systems are discussed with particular emphasis on the underlying importance of associational memory. The distinctions between knowledge presentation, knowledge representation, and knowledge constructions are addressed. Issues involved in actually developing individualizable hypermedia based knowledge construction tools are presented

Implementing adaptability in the standard reference model for intelligent multimedia presentation systems

This paper discusses the implementation of adaptability in environments that are based on the Standard Reference Model for Intelligent Multimedia Presentation Systems. This adaptability is explored in the context of style sheets, which are represented in such formats as DSSSL. The use of existing public standards and tools for this implementation of style sheet-based adaptability is described. The Berlage environment is presented, which integrates these standards and tools into a complete storage-to-presentation hypermedia environment. The integration of the SRM into the Berlage environment is introduced in this work. This integration illustrates the issues involved in implementing adaptability in the model

Generating Presentation Constraints from Rhetorical Structure

Hypermedia structured in terms of the higher-level intent of its author can be adapted to a wider variety of final presentations. Many multimedia systems encode such high-level intent as constraints on either time, spatial layout or navigation. Once specified, these constraints are translated into specific presentations whose timelines, screen displays and navigational structure satisfy these constraints. This ensures that the desired spatial, temporal and navigation properties are maintained no matter how the presentation is adapted to varying circumstances. Rhetorical structure defines author intent at a still higher level. Authoring at this level requires that rhetorics can be translated to final presentations that properly reflect them. This paper explores how rhetorical structure can be translated into constraints, which are then translated into final presentations. This enables authoring in terms of rhetorics and provides the assurance that the rhetorics will remain properly conveyed in all presentation adaptation

Supporting Adaptive and Adaptable Hypermedia Presentation Semantics

Having the content of a presentation adapt to the needs, resources and prior activities of a user can be an important benefit of electronic documents. While part of this adaptation is related to the encodings of individual data streams, much of the adaptation can/should be guided by the semantics in and among the objects of the presentation. The semantics involved in having hypermedia presentations adapt can be divided between adaptive hypermedia, which adapts autonomously, and adaptable hypermedia, which requires presentationexternal intervention to be adapted. Understanding adaptive and adaptable hypermedia and the differences between them helps in determining the best manner with which to have a particular hypermedia implementation adapt to the varying circumstances of its presentation. The choice of which type of semantics to represent can affect speed of the database management system processing them. This paper reflects on research and implementation approaches toward both adaptive and adaptable hypermedia and how they apply to specifying the semantics involved in hypermedia authoring and processing. We look at adaptive approaches by considering CMIF and SMIL. The adaptable approaches are represented by the SGML-related collection of formats and the Standard Reference Model (SRM) for IPMS are also reviewed. Based on our experience with both adaptive and adaptable hypermedia, we offer recommendations on how each approach can be supported at the data storage level

Mix'n'Match: Exchangeable Modules of Hypermedia Style

Making hypermedia adaptable for multiple forms of presentation involves enabling multiple distinct specifications for how a given collection of hypermedia can have its presentation generated. The Standard Reference Model for Intelligent Multimedia Presentation Systems describes how the generation of hypermedia presentation can be divided into distinct but cooperating layers. Earlier work has described how specifications for generating presentations can be divided into distinct modules of code corresponding to these layers. This paper explores how the modules for each layer of a presentation specification can be exchanged for another module encoded for that layer and result in the whole specification remaining well functioning. This capability would facilitate specifying presentation generation by allowing for the use of pre-programmed modules, enabling the author to focus on particular aspects of the presentation generation process. An example implementation of these concepts that uses current and developing Web standards is presented to illustrate how wide-spread modularized presentation generation might be realized in the near future

Hypermedia and the semantic web: a research agenda

Until recently, the Semantic Web was little more than a name for the next generation Web infrastructure as envisioned by its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee. Now, with the introduction of XML and RDF, and new developments such as RDF Schema and DAML+OIL, the Semantic Web is rapidly taking shape. In this paper, we first give an overview of the state-of-the-art in Semantic Web technology, the key relationships with traditional hypermedia research, and a comprehensive reference list to various sets of literature (Hypertext, Web and Semantic Web). The core of the paper presents a research agenda b

Knowledge-based systems and geological survey

This personal and pragmatic review of the philosophy underpinning methods of geological surveying suggests that important influences of information technology have yet to make their impact. Early approaches took existing systems as metaphors, retaining the separation of maps, map explanations and information archives, organised around map sheets of fixed boundaries, scale and content. But system design should look ahead: a computer-based knowledge system for the same purpose can be built around hierarchies of spatial objects and their relationships, with maps as one means of visualisation, and information types linked as hypermedia and integrated in mark-up languages. The system framework and ontology, derived from the general geoscience model, could support consistent representation of the underlying concepts and maintain reference information on object classes and their behaviour. Models of processes and historical configurations could clarify the reasoning at any level of object detail and introduce new concepts such as complex systems. The up-to-date interpretation might centre on spatial models, constructed with explicit geological reasoning and evaluation of uncertainties. Assuming (at a future time) full computer support, the field survey results could be collected in real time as a multimedia stream, hyperlinked to and interacting with the other parts of the system as appropriate. Throughout, the knowledge is seen as human knowledge, with interactive computer support for recording and storing the information and processing it by such means as interpolating, correlating, browsing, selecting, retrieving, manipulating, calculating, analysing, generalising, filtering, visualising and delivering the results. Responsibilities may have to be reconsidered for various aspects of the system, such as: field surveying; spatial models and interpretation; geological processes, past configurations and reasoning; standard setting, system framework and ontology maintenance; training; storage, preservation, and dissemination of digital records

Staging Transformations for Multimodal Web Interaction Management

Multimodal interfaces are becoming increasingly ubiquitous with the advent of mobile devices, accessibility considerations, and novel software technologies that combine diverse interaction media. In addition to improving access and delivery capabilities, such interfaces enable flexible and personalized dialogs with websites, much like a conversation between humans. In this paper, we present a software framework for multimodal web interaction management that supports mixed-initiative dialogs between users and websites. A mixed-initiative dialog is one where the user and the website take turns changing the flow of interaction. The framework supports the functional specification and realization of such dialogs using staging transformations -- a theory for representing and reasoning about dialogs based on partial input. It supports multiple interaction interfaces, and offers sessioning, caching, and co-ordination functions through the use of an interaction manager. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the promise of this approach.Comment: Describes framework and software architecture for multimodal web interaction managemen

Using hypermedia to improve the dissemination and accessibility of syllabus documents with particular reference to primary mathematics

The fundamental question that this study set out to investigate was: Can the advantages of hypermedia be extended to curriculum materials that are for the sole use of teachers? To consider this question, three areas needed to be investigated: hypermedia (the medium); teachers (the target) and curriculum documents (the content). Hypermedia has a long history dating back to Bush (1986) who in 1945 imagined his Memex system as building information trails between ideas. However, it was not until the mid 1980s that technology caught up with the theory and hypermedia came of age. The evaluation of hypermedia documents is still in its infancy and design standards are still being formlulated. Social acceptability and usability will be of major concern in the evaluation process of hypermedia. Therefore this study needed to investigate whether this medium of presentation is socially acceptable to teachers? Advances in Information Technology (IT), both in hardware and software in the last few years have brought the potential of hypermedia to the personal computer (PC). Information, be it text, sound, graphics or video, or a mixture of these, can now be presented on the same screen and the movement between screens can be seamless. The movement between screens is no longer limited to sequential movement as it is when the information is presented in a hard copy form, but can be randomly accessed. This access allows the user to move about the information as they would move about within their own minds, that is, by association. Already commercial hypermedia products are being produced for the education and leisure markets. Teachers\u27 work loads are increasing, as they take on more curriculum responsibilities, while at the same time, information is expanding at a rapid rate. The challenge today is to encourage teachers to use new information technology to overcome these problems. However, since their inception into schools fifteen years ago, computers have not delivered the results that had been expected of them. Can the access to hypermedia curriculum documents help teachers to lessen their work load and encourage them to use IT? Firstly, it is important to consider whether curriculum materials for teacher use are suitable for hypermedia presentation. The literature indicated that textual materials that are not meant to be read sequentially like a novel, arc suitable to be presented in hypermedia form. At present, curriculum materials for teachers contain the content in hard copy form but the presentation is lacking in quality. This hard copy material is expensive, hard to correct and slow to update. Hypermedia offers the potential to overcome these limitations and to provide easy access to much more information. This new medium could allow teachers for the first ti.me to truly integrate their teaching programme by enabling them to access multiple curriculum documents. The methodology used in this study was based on two types of descriptive research, survey and correlation methods. The target population for this study was all K-7 teachers using the Western Australia Mathematics syllabus within Western Australia. The instrument was a mailed survey questionnaire that consisted of five parts. The first part consisted of collecting personal data such as age and gender. The second part was the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), designed by Loyd and Gressard (1984), and was used to measure attitudes towards learning and using computers. The third part consisted of questions that asked teachers for their views and impressions on the social acceptability and utility of the present hard copy. The fourth part consisted of questions on computer experience and use, both in and outside the classroom. The final part consisted questions on the likely acceptance and usefulness of a hypermedia copy of the syllabus. This study found that the likely medium-based anxiety for this type of application is low for the teachers sampled, with 70 percent indicating that they were likely to accept this type of application. The findings indicated that the acceptance rate increased as the teachers\u27 positive attitude towards computers increased. Teachers that rated themselves competent at using a computer were also more likely to accept this type of application. Time spent using a computer at school showed that teachers who frequently use them at least several times a week were more likely to accept this type of application. The study also found that the majority of teachers sampled considered the ability to link the syllabus to other teaching material was very useful. Many of the problems identified by the teachers sampled concerning the usability of the present hard copy could be overcome using a hypermedia version