A hypertext writing environment and its cognitive basis (panel session)

ABSTRACT

WE is a hypertext writing environment that can be used to create both electronic and printed documents. It is intended for professionals who work within a computer network of professional workstations. Since writing is a complex mental activity that uses many different kinds of thinking, WE was designed in accord with an explicit cognitive model for writing. That model raises several important questions for both electronic and printed documents. The paper includes a discussion of the underlying cognitive model, a description of WE as it currently exists and as it will be extended in the near future, as well as a brief outline of experiments being conducted to evaluate both the model and the system. It concludes by re-examining some of the issues raised by the cognitive model in light of WE, especially the rote of constraints in hypertext systems.

REFERENCES

• 1: Ausubel, D. P. (1963). The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning. New York: Grune & Stratton.
• 2: Beard, D. V. & Walker, J. Q. (1987). Navigational techniques to improve the display of large two-dimensional spaces. Chapel Hill, NC" UNC Department of Computer Science Technical Report 87-031.
• 3: Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. Atlantic Monthly, 176(1), 101-108.
• 4: Engelbart, D. & English, W. (1968). A research center for augmenting human intellect. Proceedings of 1968 FJCC. Montvale, NJ: AFIPS Press, pp. 395-410.
• 5: Kieras, D. E. (1980). Initial mention as a signal to thematic content in technical passages. Memory and Cognition, 8(4), 345-353.
• 6: Kintsch, W. (1974). The representation of meaning in memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
• 7: Kintsch, W. & van Dijk, T. A. (1978}. Toward a model of text comprehension and production. Psychological Review, 85, 363-394.
• 8: Meyer, G. J. F. (1975). The organization of prose and its effects on memory. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company.
• 9: Meyer, G. J. F., Brandt, D. M., & Blurb, G. J. (1980). Use of top-level structure in text: key for reading comprehension of ninth grade students. Reading Research Quarterly, 1, 72-103.
• 10: Schwartz, M. N. K. & Flammer, A. (1981). Text structure and title-effects on comprehension and recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 20, 61-66.
• 11: Smith, J. B. & Lansman, M. (1987). A theoretical basis for a computer writing environment. Chapel Hill, NC" UNC Department of Computer Science Technical Report 87-032.
• 12: Smith, J. B., Weiss, S. F., & Ferguson, G. J. (1986). MICROARRAS: An overview. Chapel Hill, NC" UNC Department of Computer Science Technical Report 86-017.
• 13: Thompson, B. & Thompson, B. (1987). KnowledgePro. Software distributed by Knowledge Garden, Nassau, NY.
• 14: Williams, J. P., Taylor, M. B., & Ganger, S. (1981). Text variations at the level of the individual sentence and the comprehension of simple expository paragraphs. Journal a{ Educational Psychology, 73(6), 851-865.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.7 DOCUMENT AND TEXT PROCESSING
      I.7.2 Document Preparation
          Subjects: Hypertext/hypermedia

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Languages, Management, Performance, Theory