Discusses the use of microcomputer-based testing methods in media and community research, with descriptions of the Programme Evaluation Analysis Computer (PEAC) developed for the Ontario Education Communications Authority and of the application of the PEAC system in a study of second-by-second responses to Orson Welles'"War of the…

The integration of data processing and word processing is seen as a new frontier for Management Information Systems. A system developed by the University of Massachusetts for the admissions office is described. Online admissions system, data processing overview, word processing interface, and System/6 programing aspects are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the problem of access in managing image collections and describes a prototype system for the University of California Berkeley which would include the University Art Museum, Architectural Slide Library, Geography Department's Map Library and Lowie Museum of Anthropology photographs. The system combines an online public access catalog…

Discusses information technology and its effects on developmental psychology and children's education. Topics discussed include a theory of child-computer interaction (CCI); programing; communication and computers, including electronic mail; cognitive science; artificial intelligence; modeling the user-system interaction; and the future of…

Argues that treatments of the concept of interaction in distance education based on Moore's (1989) discussion of interaction are inadequate and presents a concept of learner-interface interaction. Instructional design strategies that will facilitate students' acquisition of the skills needed to participate effectively in the electronic classroom…

Describes the "Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials," a joint venture of OCLC and the American Association for the Advancement of Science that is the first electronic peer-reviewed science journal with graphics and searchable full text. Topics discussed include library automation, document delivery, benefits of electronic journals,…

Describes the design and development of the Mercury Electronic Library Project at Carnegie Mellon University that resulted in a library information system that provides access to the library's online catalog as well as to other databases. The distributed architecture of the system is explained, and future plans are discussed. (two references) (LRW)

Describes 12 constraints imposed by culture on educational software portability. Nielsen's seven-level virtual protocol model of human-computer interaction is discussed as a framework for considering the constraints, a hypothetical example of adapting software for Mexico is included, and suggestions for overcoming constraints and making software…

Describes the redesign of a CD-ROM database interface by the Congressional Information Service (CIS) that addressed the needs of novice, casual, and expert searchers in academic libraries. Topics discussed include the user profile, the task profile, redesign goals, interaction style, menu design and implementation, system structure and the search…

Defines playfulness in human-computer interactions in terms of flow theory and explores the dimensionality of the flow concept. Two studies are reported that investigated the factor structure and correlates of flow in human-computer interactions: one examined MBA students using Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, and one examined employees using…

Discussion of human/system interactions that are fundamental to online searching focuses on studies that examined online searchers' performance on DIALOG when they searched specific users' questions. Cognitive tests that were given to searchers are described; and calculating the odds for relevance, precision, and recall is explained. (four…

Discussion of issues involved in planning a multimedia CD-ROM product explains the selection of authoring tools, the design of a user interface, expert systems, text conversion and capture (including scanning and optical character recognition), and problems associated with image files. The use of audio is also discussed, and a 14-item glossary is…

Human-computer interface design concepts are used as the criteria for evaluating the benefits and shortcomings of San Diego State University Library's online catalog, INNOPAC (the PAC). Features discussed include integrated files, search capabilities, system availability, user interface, record-to-record links, boolean operations, subject access,…

Introduces a vision for how a multimedia learning system might work, and describes the design parameters involved in developing the EyeCue System, a large-scale interdisciplinary research-and-development project under development at North Carolina State University. (AEF)

Discusses individual differences between users of information systems that can influence search performance, and describes two experiments that addressed user-centered design of information systems. Highlights include interaction between cognitive abilities and design features; compensation and capitalization perspectives; recall and precision;…