3 research outputs found
Interaction history for digital objects
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-143) and index.Digital information has no history. When we interact with physical objects, we are able to read the traces left by past interactions with the object. These traces, sometimes called "wear," form a basis for the interaction history of the object. In the physical world, we make use of interaction history to help come up with solutions and guidance. This is not possible in the digital realm, because the traces are missing. This dissertation describes a theoretical framework for talking about interaction history. This framework is related to work in anthropology, ethnomethodology, architecture, and urban planning. The framework describes a space of possible history-rich digital systems and gives properties which can be used to analyze existing systems. The space consists of six properties: proxemic/distemic, active/passive, rate/form of change, degree of permeation, personal/social, and kind of information. We also present an implementation of these ideas in a system called Footprints, a toolset for aiding information foraging on the World Wide Web. Our tools assume that users know what they want but that they need help finding it and help understanding - putting in context - what they have found. Footprints is a social navigation system, designed to show that information from past users can help direct present problem-solvers. We present results from informal use of the tools over the last two years, and from formal surveys and experiments on a controlled task. These experiments showed that people could achieve the same or better results with significantly less effort by using our tools.by Alan Daniel Wexelblat.Ph.D
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Three-Dimensional Interactive Connection Diagrams for Knowledge Engineering
This thesis describes research into human factors aspects of the use of 3-dimensional node and link diagrams, called Interactive Connection Diagrams (leDs), in the human-computer interface of tools for knowledge engineering. This research was carried out in two main stages: the first concentrated on perceptual aspects of 3-d ICDs, and the second on more general aspects of their use in realistic situations. A final section looked briefly at the possibility of formally specifying 3-d ICD representations.
The main aim of the first stage was to investigate whether users were able to make effective judgements about the relative depths of components in 3-d ICDs. Controlled experiments were carried out to determine the extent to which such judgements were supported by the use of a particular approach to creating the illusion of depth. The results of these experiments showed that users were able to make reasonably effective judgements about the relative depths of components in 3-d ICDs. 3-d ICDs produced using the approach of interest were therefore argued to be suitable for use in the second stage of the study.
In the second stage, case studies were used to investigate the utility in more realistic knowledge engineering situations of tools supporting 3-d ICDs, and the usability of depth-related features of a prototype tool which permits 3-d leDs to be viewed and edited. On the basis of the findings of these studies it is claimed that tools supporting 3-d ICDs will, in some situations, be more useful than those which employ only more conventional 2-d versions. It was found that depth-related features of the prototype tool were usable but should be improved upon in future implementations.
The third and final section of work involved a preliminary investigation into the formal specification of the 3-d ICD representations of the kind used in the second set of studies. A scheme for specifying the range of 3-d leO languages currently supported by the prototype tool was developed, and each of the particular 3-d ICD languages used in the case studies were specified.
Implications of the results of this work are discussed and a number of suggestions regarding directions for future work are made. The overall conclusion is that 3-d ICDs have considerable potential as a medium in which to represent knowledge structures for use in knowledge engineering