clarke@utcsri.UUCP (Jim Clarke) (09/19/86)
(GB = Galbraith Building, 35 St. George Street)
(SF = Sandford Fleming, 10 King's College Road)
COLLOQUIUM, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 11 am, SF1101
William Buxton
C.S.R.I.
"Chunking & Phrasing in Human-Computer Dialogues"
(Abstract below)
SYSTEMS SEMINAR, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2 pm, GB120
Ms. Abha Moitra
Cornell University
"Scheduling for Hard Real-Time"
A.I. SEMINAR, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 3 pm, GB119
Eugene Charniak
Brown University
"A Neat Theory of Marker Passing"
(Abstract below)
THEORY SEMINAR, Thursday, Sept. 25, 3 pm, GB220
Mauricio Karchmer
Hebrew University
"Delta Vertex Colouring is in NC"
ABSTRACTS
William Buxton
Chunking and Phrasing in Human-Computer Dialogues
User interface design is more of a collection of ad hoc techniques
than the application of any strict methodology. A few models have been
introduced, however, that open up the potential for more structured design.
These include those by Card, Moran, and Newell, Foley & Van Damn, and Reis-
ner. In this presentation we will discuss how we can build on this work
and develop our understanding of user interfaces. Our approach will be to
take a look at input, and demonstrate how the performance of certain types
of compound tasks can be facilitated by exploiting kinesthetic, or gestural
"chunking". The argument made is that low-level tasks that are associated
together can be bound together into a whole, whose cognitive burden on the
user is less than the sum of its parts. The discussion will be made in the
context of real-world relevant tasks, such as transactions found in CAD and
in office information systems. The talk will be illustrated by video-taped
examples and 35 mm slides.
Eugene Charniak
A Neat Theory of Marker Passing
We describe the theory behind the language comprehension program Wimp.
Wimp understands by first finding paths between the open-class words in a
sentence using a marker passing, or spreading-activation technique. The
talk is primarily concerned with the "meaning" (or interpretation) of such
paths. We argue that they are best thought of as backbones of proofs that
the terms (words) at either end of the paths exist in the story and show
how viewing paths in this way naturally leads to the kinds of inferences
which are normally thought to characterize "understanding". We touch on
the topic of how this interpretation also accomplishes much of the work
normally expected in the parsing of language.
--
Jim Clarke -- Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto, Canada M5S 1A4
(416) 978-4058
{allegra,cornell,decvax,linus,utzoo}!utcsri!clarke