IRLIST Digest April 5, 1991 Volume VIII, Number 13 Issue 56 ********************************************************** I. NOTICES A. Meetings Announcements/Calls for Papers 1. Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Symposium & Open House Center for Automation Research University of Maryland June 7, 1991 2. Management of Information in Science and Technology (MIST) Brussels, Belgium September 2 - November 29, 1991 ********************************************************** I. NOTICES I.A.1. Fr: Ben Schneiderman Re: Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Symposium & Open House Center for Automation Research University of Maryland June 7, 1991 The Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory will hold a Symposium and Open House on Friday June 7, 1991 in celebration of its eighth anniversary. As usual we will serve Birthday cake. We cordially invite you to attend. During the past year we shifted from development of hypertext software to its application, refinement and evaluation. Applications of touchscreens flourished (home automation, tiny keyboards, fingerpainting programs), work continued on Programming in the User Interface, and we began work on a teleoperated pathologist's workstation. Visualization of tables of contents, boolean queries, hierarchical directories, and general tree structures (2-d planar space filling tree-maps) were also new directions for our design, prototype building, and empirical evaluations. We believe that the ideas and research results will be useful to you and hope that you can help us chart our course for the future. --Theories--Prototypes--Usability testing--Experiments-- --Hypertext--Information visualization--Collaborative Classroom-- --Graphical queries--Teleoperation--Touchscreens--Online manuals-- 8th Annual Symposium and Open House: June 7, 1991, Friday Lectures: Computer and Space Science Building, Room 2324 9:00am Welcome: Ben Shneiderman and Azriel Rosenfeld 9:15am Psychology Department HyperTools for HyperText: Supporting the use of electronic documents: Kent L. Norman Serious users of electronic documents do more than browse. They seek to use them in support of other activities such as problem solving, decision making, design generation, and planning. Yet hypertext systems have only sporadically provided tools to support users in activities other than navigating the hypertext. This presentation focuses on a cognitive needs analysis for a vast set of tools (hypertools) that assist the users of vast sets of electronic information (hypertext). Typically, the user of hypertext needs tools to plan a course of action, to find relevant information, to gather and store that information, to manipulate and analyze it, and to generate products from it. It is argued that the design and availability of such tools will be a critical determinant of the usefulness of hypertext databases beyond the browsing of novices. HyperTool examples are given for (a) activity planning using a hypertext document of tourist information and (b) anomaly resolution using hypertext technical manuals. The Application of Hypertext to Legal Reasoning: Leslie E. Carter A model of how interface design can affect human judgement is being developed and will be applied to reasoning in the domain of law. The domain of law was choosen because of its treamendous requirements for text management (a perfect task for hypertext) and because of the reasoning problems characteristic of law which require thoughtful human judgement. This research is the beginings of a dissertation study on the effects of screen design, information structure, and information access on users' attention, mental models, and the effectiveness of users' judgement when asked to solve reasoning problems. It is hoped that this research can lead to better designs for hypertext systems and for systems designed to train users' to reason more reliably. 9:50am College of Library and Information Services Multiple access methods for hypertext databases: Peter Liebscher A hypertext system (Hyperties) was used to examine the information seeking behavior of end-users in a full-text database. University undergraduates performed a number of information searches during 4 sessions lasting between 2 and 3 hours each. Four different access methods were provided, first separately and then combined. These were an alphabetical index, a conceptual index, boolean string search, and navigation of a hypertext semantic network. Participants searched for the answers to a series of fact retrieval questions of various degrees of complexity. The study examined 1. The appropriateness of access method for various tasks, 2. The learnability of the system, 3. User success, 4. User satisfaction, and 5. Ability of users to retain knowledge of system functions over time. Information seeking and learning in a large hypermedia database: Peter Evans Over the last two years we have been engaged in the evaluation of the Perseus project--a large hypermedia database containing Greek and English text, graphics, and still and motion video on ancient Greek culture. The evaluation has involved questioning the way Perseus impacts on the work of both instructors and students and also the way in which users are able to effectivly use nagivational tools to seek and use the vast amounts of information which are available within Perseus. The study draws on HCI, information science and also educational frameworks. Data which has been collected includes interviews with Perseus users and also the collection of keystroke interaction logs. Effects of user's knowledge on fulltext database searching: Xia Lin A series of experiments were conducted to study effects of user's knowledge on fulltext database searching. This report presents results from one of the experiments on comparisons of searches made by computer scientists and by librarians in a fulltext database called Computer Library. Searching and browsing behaviors of the two groups are interpreted through analysis of the verbal protocols and keystroke data. System features, including searching and browsing functions, the indexing of the database, and the user interface, will be discussed in light of our findings. 10:40am Coffee Break 11:00am Computer Science Department: Ben Shneiderman Browsing hierarchical tables of contents: An evaluation of three interfaces: Rick Chimera Three different interfaces were used to browse a medium (174 lines) and large (1296 lines) table of contents. A fully expanded stable interface, expand/contract interface, and multi-pane interface were studied in a between-subject experiment with 41 participants. Timed tasks and incidental learning tasks were performed, and subjective satisfaction ratings were collected. We found that both the expand/contract and multi-pane interfaces produced significantly faster performance times than the stable interface for large hierarchies; other advantages of e/c and m-p over the stable interface are discussed. The importance of animation characteristics of the expand/contract interface is explicated. Further research on extending the multi-pane interface will be covered. Remote direct manipulation: the case of a telepathology workstation: Catherine Plaisant Direct manipulation is traditionally described as a visual representation of the world of action with rapid, incremental and reversible actions. The objects and actions are shown continuously and feedback indicating changes is immediate. However, when devices being operated are remote, the realization of these requirements becomes a complex design problem. The main issues we recognize for remote direct manipulation are the time delays, the reduced or estimated feedback and the increased chances of breakdowns. We have been studying these problems in the context of a remotely controlled microscope system to be used by pathologists who must make diagnoses based on seeing microscopic slides of specimens. We have built prototypes and are evaluating their usability. A graphical filters/flows representation of boolean queries: Degi Young Many users have difficulty composing boolean queries with standard languages such as SQL. To overcome the difficulties in expressing complex combinations of AND, OR, and NOT, we have developed a prototype system with a graphical representation based on water flow and filters. This representation shows the filtering effect of each query component, avoiding the complications of nested parentheses and operator precedence. Design considerations, sample queries, and the results of empirical testing will be presented. A new era in touchscreen applications and predictive theories: Andrew Sears A study was conducted comparing four touchscreen keyboards ranging from 2 3/4 inches to 9 inches wide. The results were encouraging: 10 to 20 words per minute for novices, 20 to 30 WPM for experts, depending on the size of the keyboard. The results of this study will be presented with respect to a new effort to predict user performance. This effort focuses on combining perceptual, cognitive, and motor demands created by the interface to determine overall user performance. Additional studies will also be analyzed with respect to this new performance predictive theory. Gestural input and remote tele-operation are being explored. 12:15pm Wrap up and Discussion: Ben Shneiderman 12:30pm Lunch buffet - with Birthday cake! 1:30pm - 2:15pm AT&T Teaching Theater: A collaborative classroom The Interactive Lecture: Glenn Ricart Computer technology can transform the traditional lecture class into an interactive experience for the students that encourages critical thinking and active learning. In a classroom just opened at College Park, we intend to make careful use of intuitive feedback controls to allow students to have important steering effects on the lecture without disrupting its normal flow. In addition, the classroom is potentially capable of capturing a hypertext version of the lecture indexed to the student's own notes. Our Teaching Theater will have 20 high resolution monitors with AT&T 6386 computers networked together, a powerful instructor's console, a multimedia file server, and two large screen projectors to support collaborative educational experiences. 2:30pm - 5:00pm Open House demonstrations and informal discussions: Demos (Psychology): Zoology Psychology Building Room 3111 HyperTools: Helping the user gather and use information (Kent Norman) HyperQUIS ! Online Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction (Leslie Carter) Diagnostic problem solving and heuristics (Daniel Wallace) Demos (Library and Information Services): Hornbake Library Room 4121 Multiple access methods for hypertext databases (Peter Liebscher) Perseus: Hypermedia tool for Scholars, Instructors and Students (Peter Evans) Effects of user's knowledge on fulltext database searching (Xia Lin) Demos (Computer Science): AV Williams Building Room 4166 Toggle switches & Periodic device scheduling for home automation (Catherine Plaisant) Data visualization with treemaps: Planar 2-D color & size coded representations of tree structures (Brian Johnson & Ram Naresh Singh) Touchscreen keyboards: From big to tiny (Andrew Sears) Hyperties database in a kiosk: Computer Science Department Introduction (Chris Williamson) A filter/flow model of graphical boolean queries (Degi Young) Interfaces for browsing hierarchies in Open Windows (Richard Chimera) Demos (Teaching Theater): Engineering Building 3140 AT&T Teaching Theater: (Walt Gilbert & Ellen Yu) Videotape: Registrants will receive a 1-hour VHS videotape containing reports on HCIL projects: 1. Scheduling home control devices 2. Touchscreen toggle design & small keyboards 3. Three interfaces for browsing tables of contents 4. Pie menu variations 5. PlayPen II: A novel fingerpainting program 6. Home automation overview Technical Reports and Handouts: Registrants will receive a set of recent HCIL technical reports plus copies of slides used in the morning lectures. Registration Information: Full fee includes catered lunch, videotape, technical reports, and handouts: Advance registration up to May 17 $ 90 Late registration after May 17 $130 University faculty & staff fee includes catered lunch, videotape, technical reports, and handouts: Advance registration up to May 17 $ 60 Late registration after May 17 $100 Special arrangements can be made for groups from a single organization. A limited number of free registrations (without materials or lunch) will be granted to full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Please apply in writing prior to May 17. Payment should be in checks made out to the University of Maryland. Your check is your receipt. We cannot accept charge cards, purchase orders, or cash. Parking: A four story parking garage is available. If you enter campus from Route #1 onto Campus Drive, go to the circle with the big "M" in the middle, then go right at Regents Drive. The garage will be on your left. Yellow capped meters on the First and Second Levels allow up to 8-hours parking at 50 cents/hour (bring quarters!). The Computer Science Building is just across the street. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For planning purposes we would like your response by May 17. Thank you. Please enclose checks made out to the UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. Name: ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ Mail to: Mildred Johnson Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Department of Computer Science University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 ********** I.A.2. Fr: P. Nieuwenhuysen Re: Management of Information in Science and Technology (MIST) Brussels, Belgium September 2 - November 29, 1991 INVITATION to participate to training activities and courses organised during the 3-month period 2 September 1991 - 29 November 1991 in Brussels, BELGIUM: MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ( M I S T ) with an emphasis on information related to water and the environment Approved by: the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) Sponsored by: the Belgian General Administration of Cooperation for Development (ABOS) and by the Unesco International Hydrological Programme (IHP) COSTS: - Free of charge(!) for participants from developing countries. - Others pay a fee for the right to participate during the whole period (30,000 Belgian Francs = about 1000 US$) or to particular items selected from the programme. (1000 Belgian Francs per day = about 30 US$) - Participants pay themselves for travel, meals, and housing. The following text is an electronic mail version of a similar leaflet which we can send on request: CONTACT: Tel. ++32-2-641 24 29 (preferably first half of the week), Fax ++32-2-641 22 82, Telex 61051 vubco-b, E-mail (Internet): PNIEUWEN@RC1.VUB.AC.BE Mail: P. Nieuwenhuysen or P. Vanouplines MIST University Library 318B Free University Brussels Pleinlaan 2 B - 1050 Brussels BELGIUM COURSE CONTENTS: (Theory - seminars - individual work - ...) - Introduction to the Unesco International Hydrological Programme. - Orientation tour of the University Library. - Orientation tour of the Laboratory of Hydrology. - Introduction to microcomputer systems: software and hardware. - Microcomputer operating systems. - The flow of information. - Text editing, word processing, and presentation of information. - Bibliographic descriptions. - Exchanging bibliographic data. - Subject classification schemes; thesauri; ... - Telematics. - Online information retrieval. - CD-ROM. - Bibliographic databases related to water and the environment. - Downloading of information. - Software packages for local storage and retrieval of bibliographic information, including the Unesco Micro - CDS/ISIS package. - Bibliometrics-informetrics and quantitative methods in information science. - Library automation. - Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs). - Interlibrary lending and cooperation. - Document collection development. - Information networks, electronic mail, computer mediated communication. - Marketing of information and documentation. - Introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) - ... STUDY VISITS: - International Reference Centre (IRC) for Water Supply and Sanitation (The Hague - The Netherlands). - Library of the University of Antwerp (U.I.A.) + Inter-university Postgrauate School for Information and Library Science at the University of Antwerp. - Documentation centre of the national asssociation for the prevention of accidents. - Information service of the Geology Department of the Royal Museum on Africa in Tervuren near Brussels. - ... PERSONAL PROJECT: Related to the trainee's personal interest, based on the newly acquired knowledge. LOCATION: The training is mainly organized at the University Library of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), close to the rich cultural city of Brussels, Belgium. The participants will have the opportunity to participate also free of charge to the 2-day 3rd International Seminar on the Management of Information Related to Water and the Environment, also in Brussels, on 14-15 November 1991, organised in the framework of the Unesco IHP. Previous seminars were organised in London, England (1989) and in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (1990). LANGUAGE USED: English. GRANTS: 15 grants can be awarded for travel and accommodation by the Belgian General Administration of Cooperation for Development (ABOS) to participants from developing countries. AIMS: - To stimulate the use of internationally available information systems (Which systems are available and how to use them?). - To stimulate the development of local and national information and documentation systems (How to develop a document collection? How to build a bibliographic data base?). CONTRIBUTORS: Information-experts, librarians and engineers from Belgium, The Netherlands, England, Yugoslavia and Unesco. ORGANIZERS: - Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuysen, Science and Technology Librarian, and Head of Information and Documentation - Frank Provost, hydrologist, information specialist - Patrick Vanouplines, hydrologist, course assistant and secretariat. Participants will obtain a certificate at the end of their training. The Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB): The university campus is located just outside the centre of the city, and can easily be reached by Metro (subway). tram and bus. The UNIVERSITY LIBRARY offers - more than 200,000 books and 3000 journals - CD-ROM facilities - access to external databanks and networks - the computerized library information management system VUBIS - advice on hard- and software - for word processing - communication via networks - storage and retrieval of structured textual information - etc. ... Candidates should return the "Registration form" as soon as possible! A separate application for a grant is not necessary. REGISTRATION FORM 1.a. Family name (surname): ......................... (married female candidates should fill in their maiden-name, NOT the name of their husband) b. First or given names: .......................... (according to your official passport) 2. Personal address: ................................ .................................................. .................................................. 3.a. Date of birth: ................................. b. Place of birth: ................................ 4. Nationality: ..................................... 5. Sex: ............................................. 6. Present employment: a. Name and address of employer: ................. ............................................... ............................................... b. Since: ../../.. c. Position - function: ...... d. Specialization: .............................. 7. Education - studies: Name of institute Number of Degree Grade Date and address years .................... ......... ............ ............ ../../.. .................... ......... ............ ............ ../../.. .................... ......... ............ ............ ../../.. 8. Knowledge of English and other languages: ......................... ................................................................... 9. Computer knowledge (please tick appropriate box): advanced basic no experience knowledge knowledge at all IBM-PC or compatible: O O O MS-DOS: O O O Word processing O O O Software: O O O please specify:................................... Data base program: O O O please specify: CDS/ISIS: O O O other (please specify) .............................. 10. Professional work done during last 5 years (details of employment and duties) Name & address of employer Period Position/Function a. ................................. ../../.. ............. b. ................................. ../../.. ............. c. ................................. ../../.. ............. 11. Have you ever been abroad for: a. business reasons (please specify): ..... b. studying (please specify): ..... 12. Duties which you consider to carry out on your return: ....................................... ....................................... 13. I enclose herewith ...... (number) enclosures. 14. Recent photograph Date: Signature: ********************************************************** IRLIST Digest is distributed from the University of California, Division of Library Automation, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA. 94612-3550. Send subscription requests to: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET Send submissions to IRLIST to: IR-L@UCCVMA.BITNET Editorial Staff: Clifford Lynch lynch@postgres.berkeley.edu calur@uccmvsa.bitnet Mary Engle engle@cmsa.berkeley.edu meeur@uccmvsa.bitnet Nancy Gusack ncgur@uccmvsa.bitnet The IRLIST Archives will be set up for anonymous FTP, and the address will be announced in future issues. These files are not to be sold or used for commercial purposes. Contact Mary Engle or Nancy Gusack for more information on IRLIST. The opinions expressed in IRLIST do not represent those of the editors or the University of California. Authors assume full responsibility for the contents of their submissions to IRLIST.