David Kirsh | University of California, San Diego (original) (raw)

Papers by David Kirsh

Intellectica. Revue de l'Association pour la Recherche Cognitive, 2000

Why do people create extra representations to help them make sense of situations, diagrams, illus... more Why do people create extra representations to help them make sense of situations, diagrams, illustrations, instructions and problems? The obvious explanation – external representations save internal memory and computation – is only part of the story. I discuss eight ways external representations enhance cognitive power: they provide a structure that can serve as a shareable object of thought; they create persistent referents; they change the cost structure of the inferential landscape; they facilitate re-representation; they are often a more natural representation of structure than mental representations; they facilitate the computation of more explicit encoding of information; they enable the construction of arbitrarily complex structure; and they lower the cost of controlling thought – they help coordinate thought.

AVANT. The Journal of the Philosophical-Interdisciplinary Vanguard

Annals of emergency medicine, Jan 29, 2017

The use of a double check by 2 nurses has been advocated as a key error-prevention strategy. This... more The use of a double check by 2 nurses has been advocated as a key error-prevention strategy. This study aims to determine how often a double check is used for high-alert medications and whether it increases error detection. Emergency department and ICU nurses worked in pairs to care for a simulated patient. Nurses were randomized into single- and double-check groups. Errors intentionally introduced into the simulation included weight-based dosage errors and wrong medication vial errors. The evaluator recorded whether a double check was used, whether errors were detected, and observational data about nurse behavior during the simulation. Forty-three pairs of nurses consented to enroll in the study. All nurses randomized to the double-check group used a double check. In the single-check group, 9% of nurses detected the weight-based dosage error compared with 33% of nurses in the double-check group (odds ratio 5.0; 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 27.74). Fifty-four percent of nurses in...

Design Computing and Cognition '16, 2017

To study how designers explore ideas when making physical models we ran an experiment in which ar... more To study how designers explore ideas when making physical models we ran an experiment in which architects and undergraduate students constructed a dream house made of blocks. We coded their interactions in terms of robotic pick and place actions: adding, subtracting, modifying and relocating blocks. Architects differed from students along three dimensions. First, architects were more controlled with the blocks; they used fewer blocks overall and fewer variations. Second, architects appear to think less about house features and more about spatial relationships and material constraints. Lastly, architects experiment with multiple block positions within the model more frequently, repeatedly testing block placements. Together these findings suggest that architects physically explore the design space more effectively than students by exploiting material interactions. This embodied know-how is something next generation robots will need to support. Implications for material-based robotic interaction are discussed.

AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. AMIA Symposium, 2005

We study how Metropolitan Medical Response System units conceptualize the physical space of a dis... more We study how Metropolitan Medical Response System units conceptualize the physical space of a disaster and their organized response. Using a variety of ethnographic methods before, during, and after a disaster drill, we have developed an initial ontology for geospatial and context-aware technology. The conceptual map of first responders is far more complex than a geographical map. Zones and Areas are used to describe documented concepts critical to MMRS operations. Ad hoc locations also play a critical role, helping first responders communicate tactics in spatial terms. Such distinctions play an important role in the way our experts think about their activity. Successful geoaware alerting systems must incorporate these notions if they are to seamlessly fit into the work flow of first responders.

Imaging and Multimedia Analytics in a Web and Mobile World 2014, 2014

ABSTRACT Video surveillance systems are of a great value to prevent threats and identify/investig... more ABSTRACT Video surveillance systems are of a great value to prevent threats and identify/investigate criminal activities. Manual analysis of a huge amount of video data from several cameras over a long period of time often becomes impracticable. The use of automatic detection methods can be challenging when the video contains many objects with complex motion and occlusions. Crowdsourcing has been proposed as an effective method for utilizing human intelligence to perform several tasks. Our system provides a platform for the annotation of surveillance video in an organized and controlled way. One can monitor a surveillance system using a set of tools such as training modules, roles and labels, task management. This system can be used in a real-time streaming mode to detect any potential threats or as an investigative tool to analyze past events. Annotators can annotate video contents assigned to them for suspicious activity or criminal acts. First responders are then able to view the collective annotations and receive email alerts about a newly reported incident. They can also keep track of the annotators' training performance, manage their activities and reward their success. By providing this system, the process of video analysis is made more efficient.

Réseaux, 1990

- Le monde comporte beaucoup trop de détails pertinents pour qu'il soit possible d'en d... more - Le monde comporte beaucoup trop de détails pertinents pour qu'il soit possible d'en donner des représentations simples dans un modèle donné. Par voie de conséquence, il ne sera pas possible, au moment de la prise de décision, de prédire de façon correcte quelles actions ...

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1988

... Article author query; kirsh d [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. David Kirsh a1. ... Competence model... more ... Article author query; kirsh d [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. David Kirsh a1. ... Competence models are causal. David Kirsh (1988) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 11, Issue 03, September 1988 pp 515-517 http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0140525X00058726. ...

1. control of attention: within an image produced by a given sensor certain elements can be selec... more 1. control of attention: within an image produced by a given sensor certain elements can be selected for additional processing; 2. control of gaze: the orientation and resolution (center of foveation of the sensor can be regulated to crate a new image; 3. control of activity: certain non‒percecptual actions can be performed to increase the probability of unearthing salient information that currently is unavailable, hard to detect, or hard to compute. ... In this note we shall discuss some experiments we have been performing on the last variety of active sensing. ... Copyright © 2000-2006 ...

ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction-TOCHI, 2000

Intellectica. Revue de l'Association pour la Recherche Cognitive, 2000

Why do people create extra representations to help them make sense of situations, diagrams, illus... more Why do people create extra representations to help them make sense of situations, diagrams, illustrations, instructions and problems? The obvious explanation – external representations save internal memory and computation – is only part of the story. I discuss eight ways external representations enhance cognitive power: they provide a structure that can serve as a shareable object of thought; they create persistent referents; they change the cost structure of the inferential landscape; they facilitate re-representation; they are often a more natural representation of structure than mental representations; they facilitate the computation of more explicit encoding of information; they enable the construction of arbitrarily complex structure; and they lower the cost of controlling thought – they help coordinate thought.

AVANT. The Journal of the Philosophical-Interdisciplinary Vanguard

Annals of emergency medicine, Jan 29, 2017

The use of a double check by 2 nurses has been advocated as a key error-prevention strategy. This... more The use of a double check by 2 nurses has been advocated as a key error-prevention strategy. This study aims to determine how often a double check is used for high-alert medications and whether it increases error detection. Emergency department and ICU nurses worked in pairs to care for a simulated patient. Nurses were randomized into single- and double-check groups. Errors intentionally introduced into the simulation included weight-based dosage errors and wrong medication vial errors. The evaluator recorded whether a double check was used, whether errors were detected, and observational data about nurse behavior during the simulation. Forty-three pairs of nurses consented to enroll in the study. All nurses randomized to the double-check group used a double check. In the single-check group, 9% of nurses detected the weight-based dosage error compared with 33% of nurses in the double-check group (odds ratio 5.0; 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 27.74). Fifty-four percent of nurses in...

Design Computing and Cognition '16, 2017

To study how designers explore ideas when making physical models we ran an experiment in which ar... more To study how designers explore ideas when making physical models we ran an experiment in which architects and undergraduate students constructed a dream house made of blocks. We coded their interactions in terms of robotic pick and place actions: adding, subtracting, modifying and relocating blocks. Architects differed from students along three dimensions. First, architects were more controlled with the blocks; they used fewer blocks overall and fewer variations. Second, architects appear to think less about house features and more about spatial relationships and material constraints. Lastly, architects experiment with multiple block positions within the model more frequently, repeatedly testing block placements. Together these findings suggest that architects physically explore the design space more effectively than students by exploiting material interactions. This embodied know-how is something next generation robots will need to support. Implications for material-based robotic interaction are discussed.

AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. AMIA Symposium, 2005

We study how Metropolitan Medical Response System units conceptualize the physical space of a dis... more We study how Metropolitan Medical Response System units conceptualize the physical space of a disaster and their organized response. Using a variety of ethnographic methods before, during, and after a disaster drill, we have developed an initial ontology for geospatial and context-aware technology. The conceptual map of first responders is far more complex than a geographical map. Zones and Areas are used to describe documented concepts critical to MMRS operations. Ad hoc locations also play a critical role, helping first responders communicate tactics in spatial terms. Such distinctions play an important role in the way our experts think about their activity. Successful geoaware alerting systems must incorporate these notions if they are to seamlessly fit into the work flow of first responders.

Imaging and Multimedia Analytics in a Web and Mobile World 2014, 2014

ABSTRACT Video surveillance systems are of a great value to prevent threats and identify/investig... more ABSTRACT Video surveillance systems are of a great value to prevent threats and identify/investigate criminal activities. Manual analysis of a huge amount of video data from several cameras over a long period of time often becomes impracticable. The use of automatic detection methods can be challenging when the video contains many objects with complex motion and occlusions. Crowdsourcing has been proposed as an effective method for utilizing human intelligence to perform several tasks. Our system provides a platform for the annotation of surveillance video in an organized and controlled way. One can monitor a surveillance system using a set of tools such as training modules, roles and labels, task management. This system can be used in a real-time streaming mode to detect any potential threats or as an investigative tool to analyze past events. Annotators can annotate video contents assigned to them for suspicious activity or criminal acts. First responders are then able to view the collective annotations and receive email alerts about a newly reported incident. They can also keep track of the annotators' training performance, manage their activities and reward their success. By providing this system, the process of video analysis is made more efficient.

Réseaux, 1990

- Le monde comporte beaucoup trop de détails pertinents pour qu'il soit possible d'en d... more - Le monde comporte beaucoup trop de détails pertinents pour qu'il soit possible d'en donner des représentations simples dans un modèle donné. Par voie de conséquence, il ne sera pas possible, au moment de la prise de décision, de prédire de façon correcte quelles actions ...

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1988

... Article author query; kirsh d [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. David Kirsh a1. ... Competence model... more ... Article author query; kirsh d [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. David Kirsh a1. ... Competence models are causal. David Kirsh (1988) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 11, Issue 03, September 1988 pp 515-517 http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0140525X00058726. ...

1. control of attention: within an image produced by a given sensor certain elements can be selec... more 1. control of attention: within an image produced by a given sensor certain elements can be selected for additional processing; 2. control of gaze: the orientation and resolution (center of foveation of the sensor can be regulated to crate a new image; 3. control of activity: certain non‒percecptual actions can be performed to increase the probability of unearthing salient information that currently is unavailable, hard to detect, or hard to compute. ... In this note we shall discuss some experiments we have been performing on the last variety of active sensing. ... Copyright © 2000-2006 ...

ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction-TOCHI, 2000

We define, classify and discover new functions, aspects and types of marking as a body skill. Th... more We define, classify and discover new functions, aspects and types of marking as a body skill. Through a cognitive ethnography of a top class dance company we collected extensive video data on the complete rehearsal process as well as concise speech extracted from multiple interviews made to the dancers and the choreographer. We provide a detailed qualitative explanation of the dancers’ activity to show how marking can be a vehicle for physical thinking. The dancers’ bodies perform multiple cognitive functions when marking. Dancers mark for recall, but also for refining, communicating and coordinating new relevant multimodal information during the rehearsal of a new choreography. Moreover, a quantification of the sequence of movements and the definition of invariant geometrical transformations provides an objective account of this interactive phenomenon.