Resources reference guide 1 : a preliminary reference guide for the resources network database system

IT IS EMPHASIZED THAT THIS PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTATION FOR THE RESOURCES NETWORK DATABASE SYSTEM CONFORMS TO THE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS. RESOURCES REFERENCE GUIDE 1 is for limited distribution and review. It is not a user manual. Your interaction with the system may not always be exactly as described. All major features except keyword relations are supported in part, if not fully, at this time. Operation of some facilities are some what slow pending funding for optimization. Groups and individuals wishing to use RESOURCES on the Electronic Information Exchange System should make arrangements through the Computerized Conferencing and Communications Center at the New Jersey Institute of Technology to discuss their application and the establishing of user accounts, disk storage charges and monthly account charges, software maintenance, and consultation in the effective use of the system. (A current list of operational commands within RESOURCES is available by entering a single question mark (?) at COMMAND? while in any RESOURCES database.

A discussion of selected aspects of privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity in computerized conferencing

This paper presents a discussion of the potential uses of privacy, confidentiality and anonymity in computerized conferencing. Section I begins with definitions of the concepts, their aspects and allied terms; and briefly discusses their use in general communications and problem-solving activities. Section II explores their use in social research, particularly the survey method, a field that may yield useful analogues for computerized conferencing. Section III outlines the various functions of privacy, confidentiality and anonymity that have been proposed for their constructive use in computerized conferencing. Section IV reports various difficulties and compromises that have been encountered to date in striving to achieve true privacy, confidentiality or anonymity in computerized conferencing. Section V gives preliminary estimates of various ways of enhancing the concepts through computerized conferencing

Initial Specifications Electronic Information Exchange System (EIE)

This document is intended as a SPECIFICATIONS MANUAL to guide the development of the EIE System. It does not represent a User Manual although it contains the specification of the user abilities on the system. It is written in a highly segmented style which reflects the potential use of the material in the on-line EXPLANATION file which will be available as part of the EIE System and which will allow users to retrieve just enough information to satisfy a specific question on system use and options. This comprehensive specification document is much harder to utilize for learning the system than the actual process of learning by doing. We urge any potential user who comes across this document to not try and learn the details of the system from this document. The ordering of the contents is largely from general concepts to specific details and the individual not specifically interested in detailed specifications of interactive computer systems should read the material up to and including the USER\u27S GUIDE and begin skimming thereafter. As an initial specification, this document is subject to modification as it receives further review. At this stage we have not included a number of powerful features that have been considered but will probably wait until the second year in the development effort. We believe a decision on which of these are most beneficial should wait until some actual use is made of the system. However, the experienced Information System Designer will note that extensions to multi-leveled user defined procedures and in-line or indirect text-editing of a document preparation nature can logically be made within the context of these specifications. This system is being implemented on an INTERDATA 7/32 minicomputer with 256,000 bytes of core coupled to a DIVA dual disk system (DD-32) offering 232 million unformatted bytes of disk storage. The software is being implemented by members and staff of the Computer and Information Science Department of NJIT and of Language Systems Development Corporation of Silver Springs, Maryland. This work is supported by a grant from the Office of Science Information Services of the National Science Foundation (SIS 75-06783)

Moderating online conferences, Revised Manuscript

While considerable lore has accumulated about effective leadership techniques for groups interacting electronically, until now it has not been systematically presented. This material is culled from the experiences of those who have moderated past online conferences, the knowledge common to the EIES User Consultants, and observed behavior from thousands of conferences convened on EIES in the past. While this is a system-specific guide, the general principles ought to be generalizable to other systems, with different structures for group discussion. Robert Burns put it well: The best laid schemes o\u27 mice and men Gang aft a-gley; An\u27 lea\u27e us nought but grief and pain, For promis\u27d joy. Dashed hopes can be prevented. This manual attempts to synthesize the acquired wisdom by presenting a set of guidelines for the effective facilitation of electronic groups, rather than a list of programmed specifications or conventions. Whether or not a conference is successful depends on the leader\u27s skills, which are both intuitive and learned by experience. The leadership techniques needed to moderate an online conference are significantly different from those appropriate for face-to-face meetings. This is a compendium of lessons learned, written to help the leaders of future conferences. But since the rules change for each group, it is meant only as a set of guidelines. Desirable leadership qualities include sensitivity to the needs of participants, knowledge, persistence, willingness to spend the time and effort, enthusiasm, creativity, and flexibility. Although the ideal leader doesn\u27t exist, successful conferences have proliferated. Many items are not covered here, such as pre-conference preparations, selection of the leader and members, invitations, finances and sponsorship, the mechanics of establishing accounts and conferences, intermediary or follow-up face-to-face meetings, and post-conference implementation. Note that this manual references features on the EIES system, which differ from those of other computer-mediated communication systems

Communication Processes in the Design and Implementation of Models, Simulations and Simulation-Games: A Selective Review and Analysis, From the Vantage Point of Computerized Conferencing

Computerized conferencing is a new form of communication which permits a group of individuals, who could be separated in time as well as space, to engage in an interactive dialogue with each other through the convenience of their computer terminals. The software for a computerized conferencing system is designed to keep track of all messages communicated in the system, as well as insure that the various protocols for communication are observed by all. Our objectives in this report are to examine the communication processes found in the design and implementation of models, simulations and simulation-games, and to identify those areas where computerized conferencing, as a new form of communication, has the potential to impart a significant impact on the aforementioned disciplines. The theme which underlies this report is that computerized conferencing presents us with the capability to structure a communication process to satisfy a set of preformulated design objectives. In Part I, we introduce the reader to some basic terminology used to identify models, simulations and simulation-games. Part II attempts to enumerate the potential impacts computerized conferencing is expected to have on the model building process. A key component of this section is the author\u27s causal-loop model of the modeling process which seeks to capture the feedback relationships responsible for both the growth processes and limitations inherent in modeling, and the key role computerized conferencing is expected to play. Our attention next turns to the area of simulation-games. In Part III, we define a simulation-game as a gestalt communication process, and reiterate many of Richard Duke\u27s thoughts on the communication processes found in simulating-games. The next chapter examines the marriage of computerized conferencing and simulation-games, and identifies the numerous benefits to be achieved by this union. These benefits include not only logistic breakthroughs and the attainment of new degrees of verisimilitude to the object human interaction systems being modeled, but an opening up of the simulation-game as a research tool to gain theoretical insight into the sociological processes that take place in human interaction systems. In Part V, we present to the reader summaries of those major efforts relating to conferencing based simulation-games. These include the work of Lincoln Bloomfield and his associates at MIT (the CONEX simulation-games), the Polis system of R. Noel at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the experiments conducted by the Institute for the Future with the CRISIS simulation-game. In Part VI, we explicity prescribe some methodologies by which a simulation-game designer can structure the communication processes found in simulation-games to satisfy certain design objectives. We refer to this as a constrained computerized conference (i.e., dynamic constraints are imposed on the communication process). A mathematical model is developed for the communication that takes place in the simulation-game. Design applications are then discussed as specific extensions of the mathematical model. The penultimate chapter presents a hypothetical language for describing the communication processes found in simulation-games and other group communication models. The language begins with the world view of SIMSCRIPT 11-5, acknowledged to be the most powerful discrete event simulation language, and builds in some powerful features designed to model and structure human communication processes. The language is illustrated with both a university fiscal crisis simulation-game and the SYNCON communication model. The final chapter synthesizes the ideas expressed in the preceding chapters by an analogy of models, simulations and simulation-games with the conceptual foundations of the scientific method, and sees computerized conferencing as a key aspect in making scientists out of systems scientists. It calls for a conferencing-based International Archives of models, simulations and simulation-games, both to aid in model scrutinization and confirmation as well as to provide a mutual pooling of resources from which users can draw as they please

Learning in a virtual classroom : volume 1 of a virtual classroom on EIES : final evaluation report

The Virtual Classroom [TM] is a system for learning and communicating via connected computers. Students in the Virtual Classroom share their thoughts, questions and reactions with professors and classmates using computers equipped with specially designed software. The software enables students to send and receive messages, interact with professors and classmates, read and comment on lecture material, take tests and receive feedback, and more, without having to attend scheduled classes. Learning can take place at any location in the world and at any time of the day using a computer on campus, at home or in the workplace. The primary goal of the project is to demonstrate that it is possible to use computer-mediated communication systems to improve access to, and the effectiveness of, post-secondary educational delivery. The most important product of the project is knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of this new technology. The two key research questions that arise are: Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational delivery? That is, are outcomes, on the whole, at least as good as outcomes from face-to-face, traditional classroom courses? What variables are associated with especially good and especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and learning environment

Communications and Group Decision-Making : Experimental Evidence on the Potential Impact of Computer Conferenging

This paper is a selective review of small group experiments in the area of the relationship between communication (modes, structures, processes) and group decision-making or problem solving. There are literally hundreds of these experiments; the purpose of this effort has been to isolate and summarize the results of those experimental traditions which may have the most bearing upon: our understanding of the probable social effects of computer conferencing as a communication mode; the identification of possible experiments utilizing computer conferencing which appear to be potentially most fruitful in terms of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of computer conferencing in facilitating or inhibiting group decision-making processes; determining the potential for gaining further insight into the nature of human communications processes by employing computerized conferencing as a communications tool; understanding the characteristics and capabilities of conferencing software which would be necessary in order for a non-programmer social scientist to carry out such experimentation. For those who are not familiar with computerized conferencing as a communications medium, the paper begins with a brief overview of its nature and social characteristics. It then proceeds to review several classes of experiments on communications and group problem solving, and to deduce the implications of their findings for group decision making using communication via computerized conferencing. A section on the desirable characteristics of software and monitoring systems in order to facilitate similar controlled experiments utilizing computer conferencing follows. Finally, the conclusions which flow from the literature review are presented in the form of a summary of potentially fruitful experiments and an inventory of hypotheses. I am indebted to the other members of the NJIT research team for many excellent suggestions, and particularly to Murry Turoff, the Principal Investigator for the project, who made extensive, constructive criticisms of earlier drafts. Peter Anderson coauthored the chapter on software requirements. I would also like to thank Alphonse Chapanis of Johns Hopkins and Andrew Van deVen of Kent State for their cooperation. Finally, I would like to thank Daisy Lane of N.J.I.T. for a job well done in deciphering my handwriting and typing the manuscript

The impact of a computerized conferencing system on scientific research communities

The author is indebted to Murray Turoff for coauthoring the sections describing the EIES system and for his suppport and encouragement for this study at all stages. Mary Anne Solimine served as a research assistant, supervising the distribution, coding and tabulations of questionnaire responses. Without her diligent efforts, the study would not have been possible. Ann Marie Rabke, Joanne Garofalo, Diane Price, Duchess Brooks, Margaret Wnorowski, Christine Naegle, Sonia Khalil, and Marion Whitescarver provided valuable assistance with coding and data entry and editing tasks. Larry Landwebber was most cooperative in providing access to the Theory Net group. Alan Leurck, Thomas Moulton, and Sanjit Chinai are among those at NJIT who prepared statistical data from information on users recorded by the system monitor. Among those who have made helpful contributions to the project are Diana Crane, Kenneth Johnson, Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz, Elaine Kerr, Ian Mitroff, Nicholas Mullins, Ronald Rice, Julian Scher, and Barry Wellman. Initial interest in the sociology of science was inspired by the work of Robert Merton, who of course bears no responsibility for the directions taken by his student. Last but certainly not least, Fred Weingarten, formerly of the National Science Foundation, has the author\u27s gratitude for his support of research in the interdisciplinary (and therefore controversial) area of computers and society

Integrating working at home with information systems management

The history of computerization has its origin in the automation of manual processes - searching out the segments that could be put on a computer. The intended result was that the entire job would be done faster and cheaper. Thus, current computer-based information systems tend to make more efficient use of computers than people. The management function, on the other hand, often seems to focus on competitive skills and salesmanship rather than on the ability to attract and hold talented people. But, such impersonal factors that have driven management practices are changing. There has been a complete reversal in the relative costs of one computer versus one employee. The cost of a computer is now a fraction of that of an information worker. Another change to be reckoned with is the emergence of computers as facilitators of human communications (Turoff, 1985). Since there are other costs besides salary that must be considered in maintaining the office workforce, some corporate managers are looking for alternatives to the traditional locational and temporal aspects of office work. Recognizing that technology for personal computing has progressed in just a few short years from video games to some very sophisticated applications, management may even consider if it would be beneficial to encourage employees to buy personal computers for use at home. One way to do this is a computer purchase program subsidized by the employer. There are many different views of what working at home really is; there is much conjecture as to the success or failure of such programs. This paper attempts to review the current literature associated with the subject of remote work and to provide a framework for further understanding. The author thanks Dr. Murray Turoff, professor at the Computerized Conferencing and Communications Center of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for his help and guidance in the preparation of this paper. The author also thanks Ms. Carol D\u27Agostino, Electronic Services Unlimited, New York City; Mr. John L. Johnsen, Integrated Resources Life Companies, Fort Lee, New Jersey, Mr. Ralph S. McCrae, Control Data Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Mr. Charles W. Schmidt, Lift, Inc., Northbrook, Illinois, for their valuable input

Programming Language Requirements for Human Communication Structures or Computer Conferencing

Our overall goal is to be able, simply and quickly, to construct computer conferencing systems for new requirements, applications, and even experimental ideas or fantasies. One way to view this requirement is as the creation of a highly parameterized conferencing system itself. Our view, however, is that of a programming language; i.e., an integrated notational system for the specification of communication structures and the associated actions or computation to be taken by the computer system hosting the structure. A communication structure consists of a group of people (and storage devices) each endowed with some characteristics, and some means of person-to-person communication. We view the expression of such structure as a set of rules, R (a,b,c), that expresses the actions to be performed in case a participant of characteristics -a sends a communication of type –b to a participant (or set) of characteristics -c. These rules and characteristics may change over time -- a dynamic structure. The new language to be developed must be able to express the formation of these rules (the details can be supported, of course, by existing coding systems). It must support the organization of such a scheme of dynamic rules. This Report details the consideration (and examples) for such a language that we have unearthed in our studies