Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 200 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews…

What is the current thinking about cyberinfrastructure for the liberal arts, what models for transinstitutional collaboration and institution building are emerging, and what steps can campuses take to move this agenda forward? (Contains 23 notes.)

Abduction is a method of reasoning that people use under uncertainty in a context in order to come up with new ideas. The use of abduction in this exploratory study is twofold: (i) abduction is a cross-disciplinary analytic tool that can be used to explain certain key aspects of human-computer interaction in advanced Information Society Technology…

The theme of this article concerns the sketching in of a number of the factors in man's evolutionary interaction with tools, leading toward the predicted eventuality in his development, the replacement of man by machines. (Author)

This discussion of the utilization by computer designers and users of metaphors as organizing structures for dealing with the complexity of behavior of human/computer interfaces begins by identifying three types of metaphor that describe various aspects of human-computer interface design, i.e., activity, mode of interaction, and task domain. The…

This review of the book, "Conceptual Structures: Information Processing in Mind and Machine," by John F. Sowa, argues that anyone who plans to get involved with issues of knowledge representation should have at least a passing acquaintance with Sowa's conceptual graphs for a database interface. (Used to model the underlying semantics of…

The paper examines several ideas for information handling implemented with new technologies that suggest directions for future development. These are grouped under the topic headings: Handling Large Data Banks, Providing Personalized Information Packages, Providing Information Specialist Services, and Expanding Man-Machine Interaction. Guides in…

A computer terminal network to enable "transparent stimulation" of the user of an on-line retrieval system has been designed, implemented, and pilot tested. Its basic purpose is to provide a suitable and effective framework and methodology for experimental identification/validation of those human characteristics which should be…

Describes expert systems which are computer programs which use inference schemes to apply generalized human expertise to the facts of a specific case. Basic concepts, potentials and implications are presented along with the issues involved in their development and use. A simple expert system, written in BASIC, is included to illustrate the…

This discussion of the role and effects of microcomputers in the information industry considers technological advances of recent times and how they may affect the future. Complexity of systems and systems control, problems of communication (machine-to-machine, machine-to-human), spread of microcomputers, and information networks and systems are…

The main purpose of this paper is to seek classes of design implications in data-base oriented languages. Its scope is not limited to library automation, but extends to the problem of scientific and business data-bases. (14 references) (Authors)

A collection of computer programs to do chemical information retrieval are described in terms of the interactions between the computer and the chemist. In interacting with the computer, the chemist can graphically specify two-dimensional structures as queries and view structures as search results. (18 references) (Author/NH)

Questions how anthropomorphic human computer interface design should be. Observes: the impulse to anthropomorphize technology has been longstanding, employed with artifacts besides computers; evolution of technologies proceeds through an introductory phase wherein a culture becomes acclimatized to the new technology; and the perception of…