Gary W. Strong

A thesaurus for end-user indexing and retrieval

Abstract Direct end-user data entry and retrieval is a major factor in achieving an economical information retrieval system. To be effective, such a system would have to provide a thesaurus structure which leads novice end-users to browse subject areas before retrieval and yet provides control and coverage of terms in a domain. A faceted hierarchical thesaurus organization has been designed to accomplish this goal.

Visual guidance for information navigation: a computer-human interface design principle derived from cognitive neuroscience

Abstract Cognitive neuroscience describes the important function of the ‘where’ cortical processing system in directing attention to locations in space at which the ‘what’ cortical processing system identifies information. Spatial information detected by the ‘where’ system therefore indexes content information. Studies have shown that such spatial indexing can occur in recall as well as of computer interfaces would more closely couple computer applications to in the direction of perception within a stimulus array. Application of spatial indexing, as understood in cognitive neuroscience, to the design human information processing capabilities. A principle of computer-human interface design is offered which takes spatial indexing into account at both the screen and application levels. The principle states that designers should communicate via a spatial code the range of possible behaviours available from each location within the application. In other words, the designer must define an information space and present it to users from each location-relative point of view as they navigate through the space rather than from an absolute, location-independent point of view as if they are looking down from above. The goal of this paper is to get computer-human interface designers to recognize that people are actually highly skilled navigators within three-dimensional space and that interfaces would improve if designers would take such skills into account.

Adaptive system: The study of information, pattern, and behavior

Even though the word “information” has a number of different meanings, most scientific conceptions of information are unidimensional and quantitative. Such information concepts ignore the major issues of information processing in adaptive systems. A brief look at the information processing requirements of adaptive systems (focusing upon humans) suggests the existence of another dimension of information—that having to do with behavior and thus with pattern.

Meeting federal accessibility/disability requirements in interface design

TOPIC IFIP Working Group 13.3, “Human Computer Interaction and People with Disabilities” was formed in 1993 and announces itself with this SIG session devoted to US regulations and interface design. The Americans with Disabilities Act and recent Federal Acquisition Regulations have alerted software developers to the need to accommodate people with disabilities in the design of interfaces. Efforts that have been made will be discussed and assistance will be provided to help those needing to make accommodations to get started.