REX-J: Japanese referring expression corpus of situated dialogs

Identifying objects in conversation is a fundamental human capability necessary to achieve efficient collaboration on any real world task. Hence the deepening of our understanding of human referential behaviour is indispensable for the creation of systems that collaborate with humans in a meaningful way. We present the construction of REX-J, a multi-modal Japanese corpus of referring expressions in situated dialogs, based on the collaborative task of solving the Tangram puzzle. This corpus contains 24 dialogs with over 4?h of recordings and over 1,400 referring expressions. We outline the characteristics of the collected data and point out the important differences from previous corpora. The corpus records extra-linguistic information during the interaction (e.g. the position of pieces, the actions on the pieces) in synchronization with the participants’ utterances. This in turn allows us to discuss the importance of creating a unified model of linguistic and extra-linguistic information from a new perspective. Demonstrating the potential uses of this corpus, we present the analysis of a specific type of referring expression (“action-mentioning expression”) as well as the results of research into the generation of demonstrative pronouns. Furthermore, we discuss some perspectives on potential uses of this corpus as well as our planned future work, underlining how it is a valuable addition to the existing databases in the community for the study and modeling of referring expressions in situated dialog.     

Keeping the peace: A model of conversational positioning in collaborative design dialogues

This paper presents findings from a linguistic and psychosocial analysis of nine design dialogues that sets out to investigate the interweaving of transactional and interpersonal threads in collaborative work. We sketch a model of the participants' positioning towards their own or their partner's design proposals, together with the conversational cues which indicate this positioning. Our aim is to integrate the role of interpersonal relationships into the study of cooperation, to stress the importance of this dimension for the quality of collective work and to reflect on its potential for integration into the design of dialogue systems.     

Learning from technical documents: the role of intermodal referring expressions

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the impact of two types of intermodal referring expressions on efficiency of instructions for use. BACKGROUND: User manuals for software or technical devices such as a video recording system frequently combine verbal instructions and illustrations. Much research has shown that the presence of an illustration has a beneficial effect on learning. The present study focuses on a factor that modulates this beneficial effect. The combination of text and an illustration can be effective only if the user integrates the information coming from these two media. This integration depends largely on the intermodal referential expressions, the function of which is to mark explicitly the relations between the text and the illustration. METHOD: In an experiment (N = 104), we compared the effectiveness of two intermodal referring expressions often used in procedural texts: indexes (numbers introduced in the illustrations and in the instructions to establish cross-references) and icons (visual representations of the components of the device, which are inserted in the verbal instructions). RESULTS: The icons condition led to the most efficient use of the device. CONCLUSION: This experiment shows that learning from multimedia documents depends on the possibility of effectively connecting the verbal instructions to the illustration. APPLICATION: Taking into account the ergonomic properties of the cross-media referring expressions should allow text designers to improve the effectiveness of technical documents.     

面向网络化协同设计的任务分解研究

针对目前网络化协同设计系统研究的现状,分析了协同设计的特点及优势,研究了协同设计系统中的任务规划、任务分解。在此基础上,提出了一种基于满意度的任务分解方法。     

Types of feedback in a computer-based collaborative problem-solving group task

This study measured collaborative problem-solving processes and outcomes in a computer-based knowledge mapping environment. One hundred and twenty Asian American high school students were randomly assigned to be either a group leader, whose responsibility was to construct the map, or a group searcher, whose responsibility was to seek information and access feedback from a Web environment. Each group was randomly assigned to a feedback condition (knowledge of response feedback or adapted knowledge of response feedback). Results showed that adapted knowledge of response feedback was significantly more beneficial than knowledge of response feedback. Further, most of the study hypotheses were supported regarding the relationship between problem-solving processes and outcomes.     

A formal model of adjudication dialogues

This article presents a formal dialogue game for adjudication dialogues. Existing AI & law models of legal dialogues and argumentation-theoretic models of persuasion are extended with a neutral third party, to give a more realistic account of the adjudicator’s role in legal procedures. The main feature of the model is a division into an argumentation phase, where the adversaries plea their case and the adjudicator has a largely mediating role, and a decision phase, where the adjudicator decides the dispute on the basis of the claims, arguments and evidence put forward in the argumentation phase. The model allows for explicit decisions on admissibility of evidence and burden of proof by the adjudicator in the argumentation phase. Adjudication is modelled as putting forward arguments, in particular undercutting and priority arguments, in the decision phase. The model reconciles logical aspects of burden of proof induced by the defeasible nature of arguments with dialogical aspects of burden of proof as something that can be allocated by explicit decisions on legal grounds.

协同设计系统中任务分解和信息分层的研究

针对复杂的协同设计系统存在任务量大,协同参与者众多等问题,提出了一种在协同设计系统中分解任务的方法;在此基础上,根据把所有的协同参与者分成若干开发小组协同开发的原则,对系统信息分层的概念和模型进行了深入的研究,实现了任务分解和信息分层相结合,从而有效地降低了协同开发任务的复杂度,以减少用户进行设计时的网络流通量,同时也可减少计算资源的消耗。     

协同环境下基于角色任务的个性化服务模型

针对多人协作的动态任务分配、动态资源推送等问题,建立了一种基于角色任务的个性化服务模型以支持网络大规模应用。将工作流中涉及到的用户、角色、任务、资源等要素抽象出来,构建统一的元模型作为整体应用基础;根据每个用户的角色特征、任务负载量等因素建立了针对用户的任务和资源匹配算法,并实时根据协同环境中任务的状态迁移将相关任务和资源推送给用户;通过一个实例来验证该模型的可行性和有效性。结果表明该模型为大规模网络服务应用中的资源推送机制提供了参考实现途径。     

Lessons learned from the design of situated learning environments to support collaborative knowledge construction

The main characteristics of situated learning environments (SLEs) are: to provide authentic contexts, activities, expert performances and integrated assessment; to support multiple roles and perspectives, collaborative knowledge construction, coaching and scaffolding; and to promote reflection and articulation. However, current SLEs have two limitations: (1) not all of these characteristics are included, particularly lacking collaborative knowledge construction, in most cases; and (2) most SLEs are designed to support learning activities outdoors, but not indoors. This paper presents the implementation of an SLE that overcomes these two limitations. This SLE is based on bidirectional Quick Response (QR) codes, which are enhanced QR codes that not only provide information when scanned but also collect user-generated content. This “Bidirectional SLE” is evaluated in an experiment in which it is compared with an equivalent “Traditional SLE”, which is built upon traditional QR codes. The purpose of this comparison is to understand if using bidirectional QR codes as a mechanism to support collaborative knowledge construction in indoor settings has an impact on students' learning outcomes and on their impression of the learning experience. Two hundred fifty-three students participated in this experiment. Data collected from this experiment indicate that the students who worked in the Bidirectional SLE (1) received better scores, providing better and more complete answers, and (2) evaluated their learning experience better than their peers' who worked in the Traditional SLE. Finally, a cross-analysis of these results including teachers' opinions led to a set of lessons learned about the design of SLEs to support collaborative knowledge construction.     

A modeling methodology for collaborative evaluation of future automotive innovations

Software and Systems Modeling - The rapid introduction of innovations plays a major role in automotive industries. Today, once a member of the automotive value chain devises an innovation, the...     

A corpus for studying addressing behaviour in multi-party dialogues

This paper describes a multi-modal corpus of hand-annotated meeting dialogues that was designed for studying addressing behaviour in face-to-face conversations. The corpus contains annotated dialogue acts, addressees, adjacency pairs and gaze direction. First, we describe the corpus design where we present the meetings collection, annotation scheme and annotation tools. Then, we present the analysis of the reproducibility and stability of the annotation scheme.

基于学习者个性特征的协同学习任务生成方法

现有协同学习系统无法自动生成学习任务,满足学习者个性化学习,针对此问题,提出了基于学习者个性特征的协同学习任务生成方法。该方法以学习者的个性特征为输入,用改进的贪婪算法进行分组,根据学习单元及所需角色的耦合度确定协同学习模式,结合贝叶斯网络技术生成符合学习者个性特征的学习任务,实验结果表明,基于该任务进行学习,显著提高了学习者的学习效率和学习深度。     

A multi-criteria model for the evaluation of business benefits in horizontal collaborative networks

Despite many advantages that could be gained through belonging to enterprise networks, only a few networks continue running businesses after the governments stop their funding. One of the reasons is the lack of a model that evaluates the benefits from the firm’s point of view. The objective of this work is to develop a model that estimates the benefits in horizontal collaborative networks, for a considered business opportunity, and determines the optimal network configuration in terms of the selected enterprises. We propose a method for evaluating the profits for a collaborative network based on a combination of product realisation graph and core competences identification. Through the case study of a Swiss horizontal collaborative network, the proposed approach proves its efficiency in selecting the optimal network of partners and evaluating their corresponding turnover and profits.     

A case study of online instructional collaborative discussion activities for problem-solving using situated scenarios: An examination of content and behavior cluster analysis

In some higher education courses that focus on case studies, teachers can provide situated scenarios (such as business bottlenecks and medical cases) and problem-solving discussion tasks for students to promote their cognitive skills. There is limited research on the content, performance, and behavioral patterns of teaching using online discussions and integrated situated scenarios. This case study empirically explored the learning process of adopting collaborative online instructional discussion activities for the purpose of problem-solving using situated scenarios in a higher education course. Thirty-two university students carried out problem-solving activities on case scenarios and problem-solving tasks assigned by the teacher on the discussion forum. Two forms of instructional activities were considered: 1) problem-solving in a given scenario and 2) problem-solving when learners play roles in a given scenario. The activities mentioned above were each implemented for a week.