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Cognitive aspects of computer-supported tasks
complex society crossed with diverse forces can make of it. One is grateful to the authors who have demonstrated this, not with science-fiction articles which would have called to mind Orwell’s 1984, but with simple experimental demonstrations. In this respect, the article of Lemelshtrich on the expression of opinions, through the new electronic mass media deserves a special mention. However, the second reason, and that which constitutes the charm of the work, is the cybernetic wink of the eye for which the editor must be thanked. The book opens with a prologue containing an article of Paul Sheridan, the son of Tom. He evokes his father at home and in his laboratory, and points out his curious relationship to technique. “I became familiar with his office, his lab, with some of the people there and with some of his projects. And the more I saw, the more I began to understand that my father did not work for a livinehe played!” This playful dimension, which excludes neither the seriousness not the importance of the work, but which, on the contrary, emphasizes them, is present throughout the book. In order to be convinced of this the reader only has to refer to J. Sender’s article, “How often should a lecturer look at a sleeping student?” And if Paul opens the loop, Tom Sheridan close it with an epilogue which is a commentated reading of different articles making up the work. This loop, closed so to speak, is only a “trompe-l’oeil”. In fact, the reflections it gives expand the reader’s horizon and open many doors. If there were one thing to retain from this work, it would be to offer this marvelous epilogue as a gift to technocrats and politicians, and to have students read it. As long as techniques are developed, analysed and discussed by scientists combining this rigour and this humanity, there are reasons to maintain faith. Cognitive Aspects of Computer-Supported T&S Y. Waem. Chichester: Wiley (1989). 327 pp.
ISBN O-471-91141-0, f35.95 (hardback), ISBN o-471-930-660, 06.95 (paperback). Reviewed
by: J. Richardsont
This book has an attractive title and a novel way of organizing the material on HCl. t Universite of Paris-Sud, France.
Yvonne Waern has widely published on HCl in both Swedish and English and this book is a personal view of the cognitive aspects of HCI drawing considerably from her research. In the introduction she attempts to position her approach within the large area covered by HCI, cognitive psychology and ergonomics. The book is not aimed at any particular readership but provides an introduction to the subject seen through the eyes of a cognitive ergonomist. The emphasis has been placed on studying the tasks carried out by the computer user in collaboration with the computer system rather than the interaction per se between a user and a technical system. There are 17 chapters in the book which are grouped under four sectioncthe Cognitive perspective, the Task perspective, the Interface perspective and the Effects perspective. The Cognitive perspective takes up about one third of the book and consists of an introduction to basic topics in cognition. This section is intended to provide background material for the other sections. This is an ambitious undertaking and with the space available in one book only a superficial treatment can be given to each topic. Frequent references are made to HCI and a section on the implications for HCI is included where the chapter content is not specifically directed to towards an HCI application. The Task perspective section covers four applications areas in a chapter each: text production and manipulation, database knowledge-based search, systems and computer-aided design. This section proposes the most original approach for presenting material on HCI in the book. The emphasis is on the co-operative nature of interaction between the user and the computing system to carry out a particular task. The introductory chapter provides a frame of reference for the different concepts that are central to the analysis of user computer interaction in this context. Dr Waem bases the approach around the concept of the task, division of tasks between the computer and the user, user and task models and different levels of communication between user and the computing system. The treatment of these four apphcations areas is rather uneven with the most comprehensive discussion being reserved for the chapter on design and computer-aided design.
903
NEWS, VIEWS AND REPORTS
The Interface perspective is covered in 35 pages, covering Communication styles, Physical aspects of communication, and Metacommunication. This section does not go into great detail and the author herself explains that the chapter on Communication styles draws heavily from Shneiderman (1987). She makes the point that the choice of communication style cannot be treated in isolation but depends on the task and the user requirements. However, a certain number of general recommendations are valid for designing the lower levels of communication and these are presented in this section. The Effects perspective is the shortest of the sections and speculates on the effects of using computers on “thinking habits and how computer-related ideas may invade our everyday thinking.” Dr Waem shows how computer technical terms can be adopted by certain groups and used in a colloquial fashion. She provides another example on how problem-solving behaviour can be influenced by using computers.
The book has not been aimed at a particular audience; it combines an introductory text on cognition for HCl with a taskoriented approach to analysing user interaction with computing systems. The sources for the material are well referenced and in some cases extensive quotations from the original paper are included in the text. The book is well produced and there are only odd minor typographical errors. An interesting idea has been to include a glossary at the beginning of the book, “consisting mainly of terms which may be interpreted in different ways by psychologists and computer specialists.” In conclusion, this book is not for the specialist but can be recommended as a readable introduction to the subject. References SHNEIDERMAN, B. (1987). Designing the User
Effective Strategies Interface. for Human-Computer Interaction. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
ISBN O-471-91141-0, f35.95 (hardback), ISBN o-471-930-660, 06.95 (paperback). Reviewed
by: J. Richardsont
This book has an attractive title and a novel way of organizing the material on HCl. t Universite of Paris-Sud, France.
Yvonne Waern has widely published on HCl in both Swedish and English and this book is a personal view of the cognitive aspects of HCI drawing considerably from her research. In the introduction she attempts to position her approach within the large area covered by HCI, cognitive psychology and ergonomics. The book is not aimed at any particular readership but provides an introduction to the subject seen through the eyes of a cognitive ergonomist. The emphasis has been placed on studying the tasks carried out by the computer user in collaboration with the computer system rather than the interaction per se between a user and a technical system. There are 17 chapters in the book which are grouped under four sectioncthe Cognitive perspective, the Task perspective, the Interface perspective and the Effects perspective. The Cognitive perspective takes up about one third of the book and consists of an introduction to basic topics in cognition. This section is intended to provide background material for the other sections. This is an ambitious undertaking and with the space available in one book only a superficial treatment can be given to each topic. Frequent references are made to HCI and a section on the implications for HCI is included where the chapter content is not specifically directed to towards an HCI application. The Task perspective section covers four applications areas in a chapter each: text production and manipulation, database knowledge-based search, systems and computer-aided design. This section proposes the most original approach for presenting material on HCI in the book. The emphasis is on the co-operative nature of interaction between the user and the computing system to carry out a particular task. The introductory chapter provides a frame of reference for the different concepts that are central to the analysis of user computer interaction in this context. Dr Waem bases the approach around the concept of the task, division of tasks between the computer and the user, user and task models and different levels of communication between user and the computing system. The treatment of these four apphcations areas is rather uneven with the most comprehensive discussion being reserved for the chapter on design and computer-aided design.
903
NEWS, VIEWS AND REPORTS
The Interface perspective is covered in 35 pages, covering Communication styles, Physical aspects of communication, and Metacommunication. This section does not go into great detail and the author herself explains that the chapter on Communication styles draws heavily from Shneiderman (1987). She makes the point that the choice of communication style cannot be treated in isolation but depends on the task and the user requirements. However, a certain number of general recommendations are valid for designing the lower levels of communication and these are presented in this section. The Effects perspective is the shortest of the sections and speculates on the effects of using computers on “thinking habits and how computer-related ideas may invade our everyday thinking.” Dr Waem shows how computer technical terms can be adopted by certain groups and used in a colloquial fashion. She provides another example on how problem-solving behaviour can be influenced by using computers.
The book has not been aimed at a particular audience; it combines an introductory text on cognition for HCl with a taskoriented approach to analysing user interaction with computing systems. The sources for the material are well referenced and in some cases extensive quotations from the original paper are included in the text. The book is well produced and there are only odd minor typographical errors. An interesting idea has been to include a glossary at the beginning of the book, “consisting mainly of terms which may be interpreted in different ways by psychologists and computer specialists.” In conclusion, this book is not for the specialist but can be recommended as a readable introduction to the subject. References SHNEIDERMAN, B. (1987). Designing the User
Effective Strategies Interface. for Human-Computer Interaction. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.