Lorraine Borman

Evaluating the "friendliness" of a timesharing system

The decade of the Sixties served to introduce most university campuses to the computer; the Seventies brought the computer, via a terminal, into every facet of university life. Computing in the Eighties will cause every university and college to evaluate and reconsider its exploitation of modern computing equipment for education and research.

Interactive Search of Bibliographic Data Bases in an Academic Environment.

A surprising difference is found in the acceptance of on-line bibliographic search between university research workers and students in the classroom. The typical research worker, even after careful preparation and individual help, abandons the on-line system in favor of more traditional searching techniques. The student and the seminar participant, on the other hand, take to this new tool with enthusiasm and profit. Bibliographic data bases in physics, astronomy and urban systems are available to users through on-line access to the Remote Information Query System (RIQS). Examples of introductory on-line sessions are presented and a report of one of the professors participating is included.

Information retrieval, statistical analysis and graphics: An integrated approach

Abstract The social sciences require multiple methods of analysis of information from complex data bases. Data bases have been constructed which contain hierarchical, spatial, and temporal associations among information elements. To provide effective processing capability for dealing with these types of data, an integrated approach has been taken to facilitate storage and retrieval, statistical analysis and graphical display. Two existing systems have been combined: RIQS, Remote Information Query System and SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. A sample data base, taken from a study of social stratification and mobility in Puerto Rico, is used to illustrate on-line retrieval, statistical analysis and interactive graphics.

Directions in human/computer interaction

In 1981 a workshop was held in Atlanta, GA to review, consider and exchange ideas on research in the area of interactive system design and information processing. The ten papers in this book (as are so many publications in this field) are a result of that workshop. The following paragraphs form a descriptive review of this new contribution to the literature on Human/Computer Interaction.

Evaluating the “friendliness” of a timesharing system

This paper describes the processes which were developed and used for the evaluation of the user interface, or as it came to be known, the “friendliness” study [1].