Dimensions structurales dans l'informatisation de la PME

This study considers the problematic of strategic intervention at the level of communication within organizations. It examines the problem of designing information systmes for small and medium-size businesses and seeks to adapt strategies appropriate to larger organizations. A variety of contingent factors are taken into account in order to adapt to the reality os smaller businesses. A case study of eleven medium and small plumbing supply businesses reveals relationships between business size, formalization of tasks, and expectations with respect to computerization. As a result of this study, certain proposals are advanced concerning the utility of various bureaucratic strageties with respect to the process of need specification and decision-making.La recherche touche la problématique de l'intervention stratégique au niveau des communications dans les organisations. Elle aborde le problème du design des systèmes d 'information dans les PME et cherche à y adapter les stratégies bureautiques définies pour les entreprises plus grandes. Divers facteurs de contingence sont pris en considération pour réaliser l'ajustement du système technique à la réalité organisationnelle des PME. Une étude de cas réalisée auprès de onze PME spécialisées dans les services et le commerce d'articles de plomberie fait ressortir diverses relations entre la taille, le niveau de formalisation des tâches et les attentes exprimées face à l'informatique. En conclusion de cette recherche, certaines considérations sont mises de l'avant sur l'utilité de diverses approches bureautiques par rapport au processus de spécification des besoins et de prise de décision dans ce contexte particulier.La investigación concierne el problema de la intervención estratégica de las comunicaciones en las organizaciones. Esta investigación aborda la situación del diseño de los sistemas de información en las PME y trata de adaptar las estrategias de la burótica definidas por las empresas más grandes. Diferentes factores de contige-cia son tomados en consideración para realizar la adaptación del sistema técnico a la realidad de la organización de las PME. Un estudio de caso realizado en once PME especializadas en los servicios y el comercio de materiales de plomería hace relaltar diversas relaciones entre el tamaño, el nivel de difinición de las tareas y las expectativas expresadas frente a la informática. Después de esta investigación, algunos aspectos son considerados en cuanto a la utilidad de diversos enfoques de la burótica en relación al proceso de especificación de las necesidades y la toma de decisión en ese contexto particular.Dufresne Aude. Dimensions structurales dans l'informatisation de la PME. In: Communication. Information Médias Théories, volume 11 n°1, printemps 1990. Organisations. pp. 131-152

Deuxièmes journées francophones "hypermédias et apprentissage"

Dufresne Aude. Deuxièmes journées francophones "hypermédias et apprentissage" . In: Sciences et techniques éducatives, volume 1 n°1, 1994. pp. 125-129

Model of an Adaptive Support Interface for Distance Learning

Abstract. We developed a distributed support model in an interface for distant learning. The support is integrated into the ExploraGraph navigator which makes it possible to navigate through conceptual graphs of activities and knowledge elements. The learner may specify goals using a Control Panel (Explore the calendar, the content, Plan my activities). He may specify his degree of completion of the elements of the course. These are used by the help system to display contextual help, using hypertext, graphical cues, Ms Agents avatars, voice, visual and force-feedback guiding. The graphs are used to display the overlay model of the learner as a feedback to his progression. The system is built in Visual Basic and operates under Windows. The support is described as a rule-based system in the database. A course on the design of learning application was developed using the interface and the support model was evaluated with it

Conception d’une interface adaptée aux activités de l’éducation à distance : ExploraGraph©

The research presents an environment for distance education that was developed following ergonomic principles, observation and conceptual analysis of existing environments. The system is based on a conceptual model, that aims at giving the learner both a better control on his learning, and more support in the pedagogical and collaborative dimensions. The ExploraGraph© was build following this model, it offers hierarchical graphs to browse in concepts and activities of the courses, navigation based on intentions, and the possibility for the teacher to implement contextual support interventions to guide the learner. The Agora Forum to support asynchronous collaboration is also presented.La recherche propose un environnement pour l’apprentissage à distance qui se fonde sur les principes ergonomiques, l’observation et l’analyse conceptuelle des activités et de l’ utilisation des dispositifs existants. Elle présente le modèle d’environnement, qui a été élaboré pour offrir une meilleure intégration et un meilleur soutien à l’ensemble des activités. Ce modèle cherche à offrir à l’apprenant un meilleur contrôle sur son apprentissage, mais aussi du soutien à la collaboration et des possibilités d’encadrement et de soutien pédagogique planifié par le professeur. Nous présentons le système ExploraGraph© qui a été conçu selon ce modèle et qui offre des graphes hiérarchiques pour la navigation, une navigation à partir des intentions, la possibilité de définir des conseils et l’adaptation de l’interface en fonction du contexte. Nous présentons également le forum AGORA© pour favoriser la collaboration asynchrone.Dufresne Aude. Conception d’une interface adaptée aux activités de l’éducation à distance : ExploraGraph©. In: Sciences et techniques éducatives, volume 8 n°3-4, 2001. Interaction homme-machine pour la formation et l'apprentissage humain, sous la direction de Elisabeth Delozanne et Pierre Jacobini. pp. 301-319

Deuxièmes journées francophones "hypermédias et apprentissage"

Dufresne Aude. Deuxièmes journées francophones "hypermédias et apprentissage" . In: Sciences et techniques éducatives, volume 1 n°1, 1994. pp. 125-129

ExploraGraph ©- Improving interfaces to improve adaptive support

Abstract. We will present the adaptive model of the ExploraGraph © Interface and explain how the interface can serve as a mean of communication between learners and an intelligent support system. The goal of the ExploraGraph © research project was to build an environment where both user models, task model and pedagogica

Modeling the Learner Preferences for Embodied Agents: Experimenting with the Control of Humor

This research presents a model and an experiment on the integration of personality preferences in support systems for learning. We will present briefly the context of the research on the access to learner and group models, than the theoretical background on personalization of interface and more specifically of the functions of humor in general and how it can be used to integrate affective dimensions in tutoring interaction. This research stems partly from the Reeves and Nass [1] postulate that people will react the same way to a computer mediated interaction, then they do to a real interaction, and thus that their reaction to an humoristic tutor would be generally more positive than to the non-humoristic tutor: the tutor attracts more attention, the perceived usability, social presence and personalization are improved. We will present the design and experimentation of an open model support system, where feedback is given to learners on their progression, but also where preferences for support may be defined. It was experimented under two conditions “with ” and “without humor ” and qualitative attitudes measures where taken. Though results are only preliminary, this study of the impact of humor suggests various considerations on how personality aspects can be integrated and their impact studied in ITS systems

Cognitive Style and Its Implications for Navigation Strategies

In this paper, we investigate the effect of cognitive styles (field dependence) for navigation strategies. The application teaches the use of the database features in Microsoft EXCEL. Two versions of the interface were developed offering free vs constrained hypermedia access to the information. A statistical analysis of the trace revealed important differences of exploration behaviors based on user characteristics. The paper provides extensive studies review and empirical validation for the need to consider cognitive styles to design more adapted user interface. It also highlights the importance of combining a log of user's actions and satisfaction measures, to better understand the user reaction to hypermedia. Keywords: Field dependence, cognitive styles, navigation strategies, information processing, computer-based instruction. 1. INTRODUCTION The field of computer technologies has exploded since we started to focus on human factors, in order to build more user-friendly interf..