Towards a dynamic multiscale personal information space: beyond application and document centered views of information (original) (raw)
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Towards a Dynamic Multiscale Personal Information Space
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The historical moment when a person worked in front of a single computer has passed. Computers are now ubiquitous and embedded in virtually every new device and system, connecting our personal and professional activities to ever-expanding information resources with previously unimaginable computational power. Yet with all the increases in capacity, speed, and connectivity, our experiences too often remain difficult, awkward, and frustrating. Even after six decades of design evolution there is little of the naturalness and contextual sensitivity required for convivial interaction with computer-mediated information. We envision a future in which the existing world of documents and applications is linked to a multiscale personalized information space in which dynamic visual entities behave in accordance with cognitively motivated rules sensitive to tasks, personal and group interaction histories, and context. The heart of the project is to rethink the nature of computer-mediated information as a basis to begin to fully realize the potential of computers to assist information-based activities. This requires challenging fundamental presuppositions that have led to today's walled gardens and information silos. Our goal is to catalyze an international research community to rethink the nature of information as a basis for radically advancing the human-centered design of information-based work and helping to ensure the future is one of convivial, effective, and humane systems. In this paper, we propose a new view of information systems, discuss cognitive requirements for a human-centered information space, and sketch a research agenda and approach.
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Human information interaction investigates the interaction between people and information with its multiple forms and purposes. That is, HII focus on the relationships between people and information, rather than on those between people and technology (as in human-computer interaction) or between people and the information agency (as in librarianship. The field of human-computer interaction (HCI) is an example of a relatively new field that is part of the HII area. It focuses on users of computers with the aim of defining principles and ways to present information that facilitate effective human information interaction. Computer interface is, therefore, the central object of study. HCI researchers develop models and theories of interaction, as well as methodologies and processes for designing interfaces and for implementing and evaluating them. In their work they rely on both technological developments and human sciences, such as physiology, organizational sciences, sociology, anthropology, and industrial design. The degree to which HCI researchers actually investigate HII varies. At the same time, the boundaries of HCI are elastic and constantly expanding. Investigating a conceptual foundation for context in human-information interaction, information, information retrieval, and information behavior.