Human systems design criteria: State of the art[1979] and future perspectives

This paper deals with the problem of designing more humanised computer systems. This problem can be formally described as the need for defining human design criteria, which — if used in the design process - will secure that the systems designed get the relevant qualities. That is not only the necessary functional qualities but also the needed human qualities.The author's main argument is, that the design process should be a dialectical synthesis of the two points of view: Man as a System Component, and System as Man's Environment. Based on a man's presentation of the state of the art a set of design criteria is suggested and their relevance discussed.The point is to focus on the operator rather than on the computer. The crucial question is not to program the computer to work on its own conditions, but to “program” the operator to function on human conditions.     

Computer graphics input methods for building energy analysis

An interactive computer graphics system for the determination of the thermal loads of residential structures is presented. This Graphic Load Analysis System, GLAS, consists of the graphical input routines, a weather simulation model, a dynamic thermal-analysis program and automated graphic output routines, all linked by a common database. The paper describes in detail the graphical input routines required to describe a building's thermal envelope.     

Graphic design for computer graphics

Because computer graphics systems are capable of sophisticated displays of typography, symbols, color, spatial organization, and temporal sequencing, it is appropriate to seek principles for designing effective communication from the discipline of graphic design whose expertise lies in programming visible language. Examples of the author's work are cited to demonstrate how graphic design can improve three different types of computer graphics.     

Social facilitation effects resulting from locus of control using human and computer experimenters

The present experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that people with an internal locus of control (Rotter, 1966) will perform equally well in a paired associate verbal learning task regardless of whether the trials are administered by a computer or human experimenter, while people with an external locus of control will perform better when learning trials are administered by a human experimenter. A computer and a human experimenter were used to test 60 subjects who had been divided into either internal or external locus of control groups in a one-trial-to-learn paired associate task. An analysis of variance confirmed the study's hypothesis, revealing a significant interaction between subjects' locus of control and their performance in the two testing conditions. Implications for the use of the computer in psychological research are discussed.     

3D input for CAAD systems

It is often acknowledged that the main advantage of computer aided architectural design (CAAD) systems is that they can be used by architects to quickly and accurately evaluate alternative design solutions using a variety of performance measures which would be too time consuming to apply by hand calculation.To gain the full advantage of interactive CAAD requires the architect to use a computer terminal with graphic capabilities so that he can create and modify his design geometry in a form which can also be directly interpreted by the evaluate routines within the CAAD system. However, it is suggested that it is often difficult for the user of such conventional, graphic, CAAD systems to conceptualise the building being designed by only inspecting and manipulating drawings displayed on the terminal screen.This problem may be accentuated when building users who are not professional architects wish to use a CAAD system so as to participate in the design process.A computerised building block system (BBS) is proposed with which the designer can physically build a model of his design as he would if he was using ‘Lego’¹ blocks. Such a physical representation may allow him to evaluate many of the visual and spatial qualities of his design in a more direct way than could be achieved using computer graphics. However, because the electronic system can ‘read’ the arrangement of blocks and input this information into a computer, the user's design can be evaluated with the same performance measures that are used in existing CAAD systems.     

Operating systems,compilers, assemblers and application programs: audit trails of user satisfaction

The influence of manufacturer's software on overall computer user satisfaction, as determined by multiple regression, is analysed. Operating systems, number of systems and number of users are found to be the most significant variables affecting overall user satisfaction. The average life of a computer system (in months) and the microcomputer (as the type of installation) have the least significant effect in the user satisfaction equation.An interactive expert system for manufacturer's software is designed, developed and demonstrated. The application of such an expert system is explained along with the use of artificial intelligence techniques. The implications for improvements in manufacturer's software by updates to an artificial-intelligence-based expert system database are discussed and analysed.     

On data dependency structures of relational databases

The properties of the set of all functional dependencies (which is defined to be FD sub-structure), derivable from a given set of functional dependencies (FD's) and multivalued dependencies (MVD's) for a relational database, are studied. A necessary and sufficient condition that a set of FD's is a cover for the FD sub-structure is proved, which can be tested for validity by an efficient algorithm. An algorithm of generating a cover for the FD substructure is presented. It can be shown, however, that in at least one instance, the number of FD's in the cover may actually increase more than exponentially as the number of MVD's increases.     

Hierarchical control model for automated manufacturing systems

A mathematical model is presented to determine the hierarchical computer control requirements for a completely automated flexible manufacturing systems. This model can estimate the number and capacity of hierarchical computers needed to control a specified automated manufacturing system. The hierarchical control system is described by the major operating components common to all controlling computers and computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines: central processing unit, memory, input/output and communications. Each of these components is evaluated with respect to its operating speed and capacity. Costs are then determined as a function of the component's processing speed and capacity.A three-tier control system is examined. Starting with the CNC machines' speeds and capacities, each level of the computer hierarchical control system is modeled and related to the next tier by communication and data requirements. The physical machine layout required for a hierarchical control system is discussed. Part scheduling and process information requirements are also addressed. The model's utility is illustrated by an example using a typical manufacturing system.Optimization of this model is readily obtained using standard dynamic programming techniques. Being totally independent of any specific computer hardware technology, the model can be applied to present and future automated manufacturing systems.     

The prisoner's dilemma tournament

A tournament style computer competition eminently suitable for students is described here. It is based on the celebrated “Prisoner's Dilemma” paradox and is an interesting mix of logical analysis and knowledge of computer programming. Such a tournament has been run at the author's institution.     

Reduction to the magnetic pole using a fast fourier series algorithm

An algorithm is developed for making magnetic field “reduction-to-the-pole” computations using two-dimensional Fourier series. A significant saving in computer time is achieved by using a “look-up table” to reduce the number of trigonometric functions to be evaluated. The algorithm is incorporated into an efficient FORTRAN program, RPØLE, for processing magnetic anomalies caused solely by induction in the earth's field.     

Performance optimization of nonlinear electrical networks

A program suite for the optimization of nonlinear networks is described. This suite provides an interactive automated design aid within a small-machine environment.A unified approach for time-domain design is presented. A generalized form of performance function is used and is based on the development of the adjoint-network from Tellegen's theorem. A suitable set of the adjoint-network excitations is also obtained.The constrained optimization of the performance function is transformed by a change of variables into an unconstrained problem. Powell's algorithm for unconstrained minimization is used. The optimization algorithm requires the value of the performance function and its derivatives which are obtained from analyses of the network and its adjoint.The program is implemented on a small computer with 16k words of (16-bit) core store. The overall structure of the program suite is described and results of the optimization of some simple circuits are given.     

Problem-solving with diagrammatic representations

Diagrams are of substantial benefit to WHISPER, a computer problem-solving system, in testing the stability of a “blocks world” structure and predicting the event sequences which occur as that structure collapses. WHISPER's components include a high level reasoner which knows some qualitative aspects of Physics, a simulated parallel processing “retina” to “look at” its diagrams, and a set of re-drawing procedures for modifying these diagrams. Roughly modelled after the human eye, WHISPER's retina can fixate at any diagram location, and its resolution decreases away from its center. Diagrams enable WHISPER to work with objects of arbitrary shape, detect collisions and other motion discontinuities, discover coincidental alignments, and easily update its world model after a state change. A theoretical analysis is made of the role of diagrams interacting with a general deductive mechanism such as WHISPER's high level reasoner.     

Present and future color display technologies for graphics

This paper describes and compares the present and emerging technologies for color graphic displays. The current limits of the various technologies are described, along with the author's opinion as to what, if any, improvements might be expected in the future. Consideration is given to how new technologies may extend the current limits in size, resolution, and viewability of color displays. Emphasis is placed on high-performance displays for applications such as computer-aided design (CAD).     

CAD in the dress-making industry

An action started several years ago in a dress-making factory permitted us to develop the automation of their cutting-out workshop, notably by designing and implementing a method which assumes the automatic research of the garment pieces imbrication over the woven material. In addition, a decision-aid system was developed to determine the medium-term supplying and manufacturing plans.We actually carried out this action within the framework of a project backed by the D.G.R.S.T. (Délégation Générale à la Recherche Scientifique et Technique) to study a computer-aided design system which assists the modelist in the choice of standard elements in function of indicators of costs, cutting-out, making up, assembling and raw material.We analyse, in a first part, the various steps of the design process (from the stylist's sketch to the manufacture ranges) by displaying the computer tools we can associate with them. We then approach the problems linked with the utilized materials, by introducing first, in reference to a library or a trial, the dimensional adjustments to introduce so as to eliminate some deformations which can appear in wearing, and then, by studying the quantify of material required for the manufacture and by verifying that the consequent cost allows to attain the commercial objective that we have defined. In the end of the dialogue, the retained garment prototype responds to a compromise between the production cost and respecting the initial stylist's idea.We at last develop the methodology retained to build and manage the data base which represents the factory savoir-faire, and to integrate the whole graphic and technological information which permits products to continue at each production step.     

Advanced topics of a computer center audit

An auditor's review is concerned mostly with the faithfulness of accounts. The opinion is always achieved after carrying out an audit in which various types of appropriate control measures are applied, depending on the actual situation. An investigation into the organization and procedures of the computer center (hereafter called the computer center audit) forms a professionally necessary complement to activities traditionally carried out by the auditor in environments where the opinion is not merely achieved on the basis of the application of control measures directed towards the results of data processing, but where the opinion is also based on the conditions under which automatic data processing takes place.After a concise introduction about the place of a computer center audit in the whole spectrum of internal control measures and related factor, this article will deal with two specific subjects which may be covered in a computer center audit: the security of data communication networks and data dictionary/directory systems. This article is aimed especially at auditors who carry out computer center audits. The authors hope that it will lead to further discussion.     

A computer-based system for the acquisition and analysis of data from a field tillage study

A computer-based data acquisition system is described that enables both continuous real-time control of data collection from some 250 sensors deployed at a remote field site, and immediate conversion from analogue data to the required physical parameter. In addition, data analysis programs can be developed and run concurrently with data collection. Important aspects of the computer operating system are discussed, as is the overall programming strategy for a field experiment. An account is given of the control of scanning and measuring instruments (connected to the computer via a standard parallel-interface bus), and of the technique adopted for utilizing the file management software to store processed data in an easily retrievable form. A FORTRAN program to control the measurement of soil temperatures is discussed; and an assessment is given of the equipment's performance in use.     

Real time animation of dynamic processes

Animation and simulation processes are facilitated by the use of high level graphic languages. The results of these processes are not generally available in real time, developing of microfilm delaying the screening of the process until some time after the computer run.A technique is described which overcomes this problem whilst still allowing the use of a high level graphical language.The addition of a single feature to a ‘static’ graphical language has transformed it into a ‘dynamic’ graphical language allowing real time illustration of time varying processes.The technique is not restricted to the language described but may well be employed by other high level graphical languages.     

Making computational sense of Montague's intensional logic

Montague's difficult notation and complex model theory have tended to obscure potential insights for the computer scientist studying Natural Language. Despite his strict insistence on an abstract model-theoretic interpretation for his formalism, we feel that Montague's work can be related to procedural semantics in a fairly direct way. A simplified version of Montague's formalism is presented, and its key concepts are explicated in terms of computational analogues. Several examples are presented within Montague's formalism but with a view toward developing a procedural interpretation. We provide a natural translation from intensional logic into lisp. This allows one to express the composition of meaning in much the way Montague does, using subtle patterns of functional application to distribute the meanings of individual words throughout a sentence. The paper discusses some of the insights this research has yielded on knowledge representation and suggests some new ways of looking at intensionality, context, and expectation.