Organizing refers to methods of distributing physical and symbolic tasks among multiple agents in order to achieve goals. My dissertation investigates the dynamics of organizing in hybrid information processing systems that incorporate both humans and computers. To explain the behavior of these hybrid systems, I develop and partially test a theory…

Over the past several years there has been considerable speculation concerning the role, direction, and characteristics of information processing systems in the future. The gap between the technological state of the art in computer-based information processing and today's applied practices in management information systems further clouds the…

IN GENERAL, PROBLEM SOLUTIONS CAN BE FOUND ALONG A CONTINUUM OF ABSTRACTION FROM THE SPECIFIC TO THE GENERAL. THERE IS, AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOLUTION, A MOST EFFICIENT OR OPTIMUM STRATEGY. IN INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION IS USUALLY OBTAINED, AT A MORE SPECIFIC RATHER THAN AT A MORE ABSTRACT LEVEL. THE…

Progress is reported on four research tasks. An experiment tested the effectiveness of a computer-based phonology instructional system for second-language learning. In research on models of human-computer interactions, experiments were performed demonstrating that the provision of certain incentives to the users of a time-sharing system can have…

Online searching is a complex problem solving task requiring the searcher to combine multiple sets into Boolean expressions. Since spatial ability has been correlated with problem solving tasks which involve abstract conceptual associations, this report argues that it is a significant factor in the information user's ability to both comprehend and…

The work of a three-year series of experimental studies of human cognition is summarized in this report. Proglem solving and learning in man-machine interaction was investigated, as well as relevant variables and processes. The work included four separate projects: (1) computer-aided problem solving, (2) computer-aided instruction techniques, (3)…