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This paper investigates the interplay among human cognitive processing differences (field dependence vs. field independence), alternative interaction device types (desktop vs. touch) and user authentication schemes (textual vs. graphical) towards task completion efficiency and effectiveness. A four-month user study (N = 164) was performed under the light of the field dependence-independence theory which underpins human cognitive differences in visual perceptiveness as well as differences in handling contextual information in a holistic or analytic manner. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of results revealed that field independent (FI) users outperformed field dependent users (FD) in graphical authentication, FIs authenticated similarly well on desktop computers as on touch devices, while touch devices negatively affected textual password entry performance of FDs. Users' feedback from a post-study survey further showed that FD users had memorability issues with graphical authentication and perceived the added difficulty when interacting with textual passwords on touch devices, in contrast to FI users that did not have significant usability and memorability issues on both authentication and interaction device types. Findings highlight the necessity to improve current approaches of knowledge-based user authentication research by incorporating human cognitive factors in both design and run-time. Such an approach is also proposed in this paper. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd 76 184 200

Innovation is a highly challenging social and epistemological process.Enabling Spaces are designed to be the locus of innovation processes.Designing Enabling Spaces is participatory.Enabling Spaces integrate many different dimension. This paper is about designing spaces enabling processes of collaborative knowledge creation and innovation. It is a theoretical paper on the role of artifacts as enablers for creating new knowledge. We refer to these artifacts as Enabling Spaces comprising an architectural, technological (ICT), social, cognitive, organizational, cultural, as well as emotional dimension.The claim of this paper is that innovation is a highly challenging social and epistemological process which needs supporting (infra-)structures facilitating and enabling these processes. These processes have to take into account on various levels and domains in an integrated and interdisciplinary manner. It will be shown that innovation can no longer be understood as a mechanistic knowledge creation process. The concept of enabling will be developed as an alternative approach to innovation and will be applied as a design principle for Enabling Spaces. We will discuss the role of ICT in such an alternative approach to innovation. Finally, we will derive design principles for such highly interdisciplinary Enabling Spaces from these considerations.

Research on the effectiveness of cross-media campaigns has shown that combining online advertising with advertising in offline media can result in more positive consumer responses than using only one medium. However, when using computers, people increasingly engage in more than one media activity at a time (i.e. media multitasking), which might influence how consumers respond to advertisements they encounter in these media. Therefore, this paper investigates advertising effects during media multitasking. More specifically, the paper gives insight into the effectiveness of simultaneous exposure to online and radio advertising, because simultaneously surfing the internet and listening to the radio is a common media multitasking combination. Results of an experimental study with 111 participants showed that combining online and radio advertising resulted in more positive affective and behavioral responses than using only one medium. However, media multitasking seemed to have a negative influence on the recall and recognition of auditory information as combining media did not result in superior cognitive responses compared to using online ads alone.

In contrast to routine knowledge and skills, flexible problem solving is associated with the ability to apply one's knowledge structures in relatively new situations. In the absence of specific knowledge-based guidance, such processes could be very cognitively demanding. This paper suggests that learning flexible problem solving skills could be enhanced by explicitly instructing learners in generalized forms of schematic knowledge structures that are applicable to a greater variety of problems. The paper presents results of an experimental study that has investigated this approach in learning the operation of a technical device, and discusses implications of these results for the design of computer-based instruction.

Different learners have different needs; they differ, for example, in their learning goals, their prior knowledge, their learning styles, and their cognitive abilities. Adaptive web-based educational systems aim to cater individual learners by customizing courses to suit their needs. In this paper, we investigate the benefits of incorporating learning styles and cognitive traits in web-based educational systems. Adaptivity aspects based on cognitive traits and learning styles enrich each other, enabling systems to provide learners with courses which fit their needs more accurately. Furthermore, consideration of learning styles and cognitive traits can contribute to more accurate student modelling. In this paper, the relationship between learning styles, in particular the Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM), and working memory capacity, a cognitive trait, is investigated. For adaptive educational systems that consider either only learning styles or only cognitive traits, the additional information can be used to provide more holistic adaptivity. For systems that already incorporate both learning styles and cognitive traits, the relationship can be used to improve the detection process of both by including the additional information of learning style into the detection process of cognitive traits and vice versa. This leads to a more reliable student model.

This paper examines the impact of four Web site interface features on the cognitive process that trigger online shoppers' emotions, operationalized as mental states of readiness that arise from appraisal of events and considered as direct antecedents to approach or avoidance behaviors. A research model was tested with data collected from 215 Web shopping episodes for low-touch merchandise. Results show that shoppers experienced all six emotions posited in the model. The emotions of liking and joy were experienced intensively by a substantial number of shoppers. The results also demonstrate that interface features - key components of the usability of a Web site - influenced the three cognitive appraisals illustrated in the research model. Moreover, the cognitive appraisals of situational state and control potential impacted the six emotions examined. This paper also highlights several theoretical contributions and managerial implications that should help managers and Web site managers improve the interface design of their Web sites in order to facilitate information gathering and better support online shopping processes.

Throughout history, the development and widespread use of new technologies has impacted human cognition and social structures. By integrating a range of cognitive and socio-cultural theories we are better able to understand the impact of technological tools, such as the Internet, on children in the context of their local and global communities. An integrated theoretical approach enables us to more comprehensively ascertain the potential of the Internet to significantly impact children's cognitive processes and the larger social implications of this global phenomenon. This paper presents a small-scale exploratory study that, through the development of an Internet-mediated learning model, examines the skills and characteristics of young, competent Internet-users engaged in informal Internet activities. At present, there is much conjecture on the ways in which the Internet may affect learning and this paper describes an approach to research that could inform future data collection procedures and analysis in empirical studies.

This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the cognitive activities of web site designers and, more precisely, their articulation and satisfaction of various design constraints. In this paper, we first present an experiment in which professional and novice designers have to evaluate a web site developed for reflecting usability errors identified in web sites. Then, the results obtained in this evaluation task are compared with results previously obtained in a design task, in which professional and novice designers had to create a web site. Data analyses focused on the number and nature of constraints articulated by designers in these two types of tasks (evaluation vs design). In particular, we distinguished constraints linked with the client of the site and constraints linked with the future web users. The obtained results show effects of both the level of expertise and the task. While designing, all of the designers focused mainly on constraints linked with the client. In contrast, while evaluating the web site, novices focused on constraints linked with the user, whereas professionals shared their attention between these two kinds of constraints (client vs user-oriented constraints). Based on these results, we conclude with ways for supporting designers’ activities.

Intelligence and emotions differentiate humans from animals. Emotion is part of a persons behaviour and certain feelings can affect his/her performance, emotions can even prevent a person from producing an intelligent outcome. Therefore, when a computer aims to emulate human behaviour, not only should this computer think and reason, but it should also be able to show emotions. This paper presents a review of recent research that shows the importance of the emotions in human intelligence. This paper also presents the research that has been carried out into the incorporation of emotions to intelligent systems, how a computer can show affections and how to create intelligent agents that show emotions to other agents that communicate with them in the same environment.

The study deals with the effects of various conditions of problem presentation on solving complex problems, which are characterized by the use of dynamic models. In the framework of knowledge psychology external problem representations (“presentations”) are related to knowledge representations of a problem solver. In the paper, categories for the systematic description of semantic and formal aspects of presentations are introduced and discussed, and their implications for problem-solving demands and the formulation of hypotheses considered. An experiment is described where 36 novices had to solve complex problems in the field of pharmacokinetics. The presentation extent and presentation form of the model structure were varied (two levels each), and the effects on problem-solving behavior observed. A “high presentation extent” resulted in better problem-solving performance and more frequent retrieval of model-related presentations. No significant differences in problem-solving behavior were found when the presentation form was a model diagram emphasizing structural or process aspects, respectively. Finally, comparisons within groups were made and connections between performance on the complex problems and a paper-and-pencil test examined.

In contemporary education, students often need to use the Internet to find information for solving a problem and completing a learning task. Teachers assume that students are sufficiently skilled to do so, but research shows the skills necessary for effective information problem solving (IPS) are more often than not underdeveloped. This paper presents a study on embedded IPS training consisting of whole IPS tasks integrated in a 20-week course on vocabulary development, and its effects on student teachers' IPS skills. Skill measurements show that student teachers receiving the training search and select information more systematically in the short term, but their search queries, sources, and solutions are not of significantly higher quality than those of student teachers who received the regular course without IPS training. In addition, the improvements were no longer visible after five weeks. The training therefore succeeded in developing cognitive strategies for approaching an information problem, but did not create lasting improvements in all aspects of the IPS skill. Methodological and practical implications are discussed.

Mobile phones have become an integral part of life, drawing researchers' attention to their behavioral consequences. Yet, we know little about the psychological associations of mobile phones. It has been proposed that due to their role in maintaining social relationships, the mobile phone, as an object, has become the representation of a person's social network. This paper empirically investigates this idea. A sample of 154 university students participated in an experiment that tested the cognitive consequences of activating the concept of a mobile phone. We primed the concept of a mobile phone and measured the accessibility of thoughts related to social relationships with a word fragment completion task. People reminded of their mobile phones (vs. neutral personal objects) found significantly more words related to social networks, demonstrating the association between social relationships and the idea of mobile phones. Additionally, priming people with their mobile phones was associated with lower need to belong.

Many organizations support online communities of practice (OCOPs) as part of their knowledge management strategies. Despite some prior investigation of the potential benefits of OCOPs, the effects of OCOPs on behaviors and performance outcomes are not well understood. Drawing on social capital theory and absorptive capacity literature, this paper addresses three research questions: (1) How does social capital influence exchange and combination behaviors in online communities of practice? (2) How do exchange and combination behaviors affect the performance of individuals and the OCOP? (3) How does absorptive capacity moderate the impact of exchange and combination behaviors on individual and OCOP performance? The empirical study is based on online survey data from 253 participants in OCOPs and qualitative analysis of online postings. The results indicate that cognitive and structural capital facilitate exchange and combination behaviors in OCOPs, but relational capital does not. Moreover, exchange and combination behaviors facilitate the performance of individuals as well as the OCOP, and a higher level of absorptive capacity enhances these effects. The findings are discussed in detail, along with their theoretical and practical implications, and directions for future research.

Organizations are increasingly flooded with large amounts of data on which they base their business decisions. It is thus crucial to visualize relevant data efficiently so that employees are able to extract relevant information most accurately and quickly. However, at present, information visualization research lacks a coherent and evidence based theoretical framework providing clear guidelines on how to design efficient visualizations. When it comes to the use of redundant elements in charts like commonly used data labels, cognitive fit theory and cognitive load theory make different predictions. Whereas the latter assumes that redundant labels generally reduce visualizations’ efficiency due to increased cognitive load, cognitive fit theory predicts increased efficiency for some task types that shall be solved by means of the visualization. In the online experiment presented in this paper, we investigated the effect of data labels in line and bar charts on users’ accuracy and speed in solving chart-related business tasks dependent on different task types. Our results reveal that users perceive charts with redundant labels as significantly more efficient and answer related questions significantly more accurate and faster, which we explain by the help of cognitive fit theory. We provide valuable insights into cognitive processing of charts and encourage graph designers to consider redundant elements as a possible means to increase efficiency under particular circumstances.

Social tie maintenance has always had cognitive and emotional costs and has been leading to uneven distribution of communication volume among interaction partners of individuals. This distribution, known as social signature, is assumed to be stable for each person. Availability of digital traces of human communication allows testing whether this assumption is true and whether it holds in specific channels of computer-mediated communication. In this paper, we investigate private messaging on a popular social networking website on a sample of 39 users and 8063 communication partners of those users over the period of 18 months. We find that this communication channel does not reduce cognitive costs as the overall number of users' active contacts, on average, is equivalent to the cognitive limit known as Dunbar's number. Confirming some previous research, we show that the volume of communication is unevenly distributed, related to emotional closeness, and that changes in this distribution (that is, the changes in social signature) over time within an individual are smaller than the distances between social signatures of different individuals. However, as an absolutely novel finding, we demonstrate that the changes within individuals are statistically significant, thus questioning the concept of social signature as a stable phenomenon.

Live video streaming has been a global economic and social phenomenon in recent years. Many streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Live have been founded and demonstrated unprecedented growth across the world. Yet, researchers have paid insufficient attention to understanding the massive participation behavior exhibited by live video streaming audiences. Based on social identity theory, this paper aims to explain audiences' continuous watching behavior intention via a dual identification framework including identifications with streaming broadcasters and audience groups. Analysis of data collected from two live streaming platforms in mainland China indicates that audiences identification with broadcasters and audience groups are positively associated with their continuous watching intention. Broadcaster identification is driven by individual experience including experience of parasocial interaction, actual and ideal self-congruity, whereas group identification is enhanced by co-experience consisting of participation, cognitive communion, and resonant contagion. In addition, live streaming genres partially moderate the impact of identification on continuous watching intention. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are provided. We studied users' continuance intention on live streaming platforms.Broadcaster identification and group identification increase continuance intention.Parasocial interaction and self-congruity increase broadcaster identification.Co-experience among audiences increases group identification.Streaming genres moderate the effects of identifications on continuance intention.

Consumers increasingly rely on online product reviews when making purchase decisions. However, assessing the credibility of online reviewers presents consumers with unique challenges. This paper examines how consumer perceptions of reviewer credibility are influenced by the presence and type of textual errors in the review itself. The results of an online experiment indicate that consumers’ reactions to textual errors are moderated by their general trust in others. Low-trust consumers are relatively insensitive to textual errors in judging reviewer credibility. However, high-trust consumers are less forgiving of typographical errors (which may signal carelessness) than orthographical errors (which may indicate cognitive challenges). Implications for future research are discussed.

This paper presents the SIG-Blocks system developed for automated cognitive assessment via tangible geometric games (TAG-Games). Computerized game administration and real-time cognitive and behavior assessments were realized by wireless self-synchronization in communication, decentralized hybrid-sensing, assembly and motion detection, and graphical visualization. The measurable performance data included time and accuracy at each manipulation step, overall speed of manipulative motions, and the total number of rotational motions. For preliminary evaluation, three types of TAG-Games were designed: TAG-GameA for assembly, TAG-GameS for shape matching, and TAG-GameM for memory. As a part of the game design, a computational measure of play complexity was defined for each TAG-Game based on the geometric properties and the number of blocks in the item. An evaluation with 86 participants assessed both reliability of the TAG-Game items using split-half and test-retest reliability tests and validity of the proposed complexity measures by comparing the results with three subtests of the Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale 4th Edition (WAIS-IV), i.e. Block Design (BD), Matrix Reasoning (MR), and Digit Span (DS). The high reliability coefficients showed that TAG-Games were reliable. Regarding validity, correlations were found between TAG-GameA and BD and between TAG-GameS and MR. Behavioral analysis also showed that the TAG-Game performance was positively correlated with the manipulation speed, but not correlated with the total number of rotations applied to the blocks. A new tangible game technology, called SIG-Blocks, is presented.TAG-Games, using SIG-Blocks as game control, are designed for automated cognitive assessment.Performance data in TAG-Games were correlated with selected standardized measures.SIG-Blocks and TAG-Games enable automated, remote assessment of cognitive skills.

The Polish version of Davis's Online Cognition Scale (OCS) is presented.The results show that the test's internal consistency is excellent.The Polish OCS is proved to be a valid instrument for measuring Internet addiction.The gender differences in the OCS are explored. Internet use is increasing every year and it involves a risk of pathological use that worsens users' quality of life in every aspect. A good instrument to diagnose this problem is essential. The first purpose of this paper is to present the Polish version of Davis's Online Cognition Scale (OCS). The second purpose is to discuss the gender differences in OCS scores that were found in the study. A sample of 626 individuals aged 11-84years, Mage=21.68years, SD=5.15, 40.3% males took part in the study. On this sample, the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the OCS were investigated. The Corrected Item-Total Correlation values ranged from .377 to .679, indicating that the scale's items measured the same construct: pathological Internet use. Also, the internal consistency was very good (α=.817). Consonant with the original version, we obtained a four-factor model comprising impulsivity, loneliness/depression, distraction, and social comfort. Our conclusion is that the Polish version of the OCS is a valid instrument for measuring Internet addiction. Gender differences were discussed.

We theoretically develop and empirically validate a three-dimensional scale of email affinity.Email affinity consists of email preference (behavioral), email comfort (emotional), and email clarity (cognitive).In our negotiation study, we show that email comfort predicts joint and individual gain positively.Email comfort also influences subjective value in negotiation. Email has profoundly influenced the way we communicate personally and professionally and, for many, email negotiations have become a common, every day experience. While many studies have investigated email negotiations by relying on and discussing the characteristics of the medium, this paper focuses on the user's attitude toward the medium and its respective influence on email negotiation. Specifically, we investigate which dimensions make up negotiators' attitude toward email, i.e. their email affinity, and how these attitudes, in turn, influence the negotiation outcomes. In our scale development, three facets of email affinity are theoretically considered, empirically explored and validated: email preference, email comfort and email clarity. Our negotiation study contains a quasi-experimental email negotiation exercise where subjects were paired according to their email affinity. Email comfort emerged as a significant predictor of individual profit, joint gain, and different dimensions of subjective value. Theoretical implications and further research are discussed.

This paper describes the process of monitoring obese people through a cloud-based serious game that promotes them to engage in physical exercises in a playful manner. The monitoring process focuses on obtaining various health and exercise-related parameters of obese during game-play, such as heart rate, weight, step count and calorie burn, which contributes to their weight loss. While the obese are engaged in the game session, therapists/caregivers can access their health data anytime, anywhere and from any device to change the game complexity level and accordingly provide on the spot recommendation. In our study, we evaluate how the different physical activities performed through this game impact their cognitive behavior in terms of attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction. The evaluation was based on the participation of 150 undergraduate obese and overweight students who were asked to play the game and fill a questionnaire after game-play. The data analysis conducted on their feedback showed that they were self-aware and motivated to play the game for weight loss.

Intelligent tutoring systems often make use of students' answers to adapt instruction or feedback on a task. In this paper, we explore the alternative possibility of adapting a system based on the perceived affective and cognitive state of a student. A system can potentially better adapt to the needs of each individual student by using non-verbal behavior. We used a new experimental paradigm inspired by 'brain training' software to collect primary school children's answers to easy and difficult arithmetic problems and made audiovisual recordings of their answers. Adult observers rated these films on perceived difficulty level. Results showed that adults were able to correctly interpret children's perceived level of difficulty, especially if they saw their face (compared to hearing their voice). They paid attention to features such as 'looking away', and 'frowning'. Then we checked whether we could also automatically predict if the posed problem was either easy or difficult based on the first second of their response. This 'thin-slice analysis' could correctly predict the difficulty level in 71% of all cases. When trained on sufficiently many recordings, Adaptive Tutoring Systems should be able to detect children's state and adapt the difficulty level of their learning materials accordingly.

Cognitive style was once a popular research topic in the field of decision support systems (DSS), but because of the lack of usable results, it has not received much attention from the research community in recent years. This paper argues that it can be both promising and worthwhile to revive research efforts into cognitive style in the modern decision-making environment. Several reasons are offered to support this argument: First, the decision-making environment is now more integrated with technology, particularly the Internet, making it more uniform and easier to define. Second, the potential benefit of such studies is greater because more people are using Internet-based technology to make decisions. Third, data on the cognitive behavior of decision makers are captured and available for analysis because of the close integration between technology and the decision-making process. Research questions are raised and potential variables are proposed and discussed.

Virtual environments provide a model of the world that can simulate real spaces or represent new, previously unexplored worlds. Effective navigation within these virtual worlds is a key to user satisfaction and goal achievement. Empirical research, however, shows large differences in navigation performance due to gender. This paper presents conceptual background on the nature of the gaps and how navigation tools might reduce them. Patterns of findings for empirical studies published after the year 2000 provide insight into the performance gaps and potential mechanisms for their reduction. Proven relationships between performance improvement and use of navigation tools are yet to be established, so user testing remains critical. Potential new research can provide additional understanding of the nature of performance by gathering user behavior and cognitive rationale data, further investigating gender differences in visuospatial working memory capacity, and applying metacognitive training approaches used in other navigable media such as hypermedia.

This study aims at understanding the fundamental factors influencing users' intentions to continually use smartphones as a ubiquitous learning (u-learning) tool. This study examines consumers' experiences with smartphone learning in order to investigate the areas of its development as a u-learning application. In this paper, the modified unified theory of acceptance and usage technology (UTAUT) model is used with constructs from expectation-confirmation theory (ECT). While the findings confirm the significant roles of users' cognitive perceptions, the findings also shed light on the possibility of the smartphone serving as an enabler of u-learning. Users may want to use the smartphone as a telecommunication tool, as well as a u-learning application. The proposed model brings together extant research on smartphones and provides an important cluster of antecedents to eventual technology acceptance via constructs of continuance intention to use and actual usage of u-learning. The empirical findings demonstrate that employing perceived usability and perceived quality would be a worthwhile extension of the UTAUT/ECT in the smartphone learning context, as both were found to be influential in predicting smartphone users' attitudes and behavioral intentions. Practical implications for industry can be drawn from these findings in terms of strategies and new models for u-learning and beyond.

This paper provides a human-centered analytical approach to learning dynamic and complex tasks using the Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) and the State, Operator And Result (SOAR) models by comparing the task times of the model and the subjects. Twenty-one full time assembly line workers at a local computer company (14 men and 7 women) from ages 18-32 (Mean=19.86years, SD=0.96years) were randomly selected for this analysis. The task involved the placement of printed circuit board (PCB) components on the flow line of the desktop computer mother board manufacturing process. The overall timed performance of the subjects indicated that the match between the model and the subjects was good, resulting in an R^2 - value of 0.94. At the unit task level performance, and R^2 - value of 0.96 for placing the PCBs on the flow line. For tasks involving picking and searching of PCBs, the obtained R^2 - value was 0.76 and R^2 of 0.68 at the keystroke level. Findings revealed that the model already started out with a complete strategy of performing the task, whereas the human participants had to acquire additional learning information during the trials. Efforts will be made in the future to determine how the performance of the human subjects could be enhanced to meet or the same level as the model performance.

Computer- and web-based testing procedures are increasingly popular for the assessment of cognitive abilities and knowledge. This paper identified color red as a critical context factor that may influence the results. Two studies showed that color red may harm the performance in web-based tests of general knowledge. In Study 1 (N=131) a red (vs. green) progress bar impeded the performance in a knowledge test, but only for the male participants. In Study 2 (N=190) the color of the survey's forward-button was manipulated (red vs. blue vs. mixed color) which led to a replication of the gender-dependent color effect. Evolutionary psychology and stereotype threat research explain why red impedes the activation of knowledge among men, but not among women.

The aim of this paper is to assess whether there is firm evidence for the informal observation that text message abbreviations have been absorbed into every day language use. Such abbreviations are most frequently used on mobile telephones and in electronic communication. We report data from a study investigating the linguistic status of text abbreviations. We tested this using a modified Stroop task. Participants were regular text message users. To-be-ignored stimuli of interest were text message abbreviations, chosen for high recognition rates among users (e.g. CUL8R for ''See you later''). We also used real words, non-words (pronounceable and non-pronounceable) and non-alphanumeric symbol strings. Text abbreviations led to increased colour-naming latencies when compared to words and non-words, while all alphanumeric stimuli led to slower response times than non-alphanumeric symbol strings. The findings show that reading text message abbreviations is unavoidable to those who have adapted to their use. Therefore they are likely to have been absorbed into the language. We explore the possible reasons for the increased Stroop interference we observed with text message abbreviations. We also suggest that using text abbreviations in research can enhance understanding of word recognition processes.

In this paper the assumption of cognitive overhead in hypermedia learning is specified by cognitive load theory. This analysis is based on different types of cognitive load, the dimension of linearity/non-linearity as well as text characteristics. We propose a model stating that extraneous cognitive load in hypermedia learning is basically determined by the interaction of text presentation format (linear/non-linear) with text type (text with and without narrative structures). This assumption was tested by means of a 2x2 experimental design. Sixty participants completed a computer-based learning program that contained a narrative text or an encyclopaedia text in either linear or non-linear presentation format. Results confirm the suggested interaction hypothesis postulating that non-linear information presentation of narrative text structure increases cognitive load and decreases knowledge acquisition. However, for encyclopaedia text participants' knowledge acquisition was not affected by linear or non-linear presentation format. Furthermore, results suggest a cross-validation of cognitive load measures and propositional analysis.

Today, laypersons often consult the Internet to inform themselves about health-related issues. However, the competent use of these often complex and heterogeneous information provisions cannot be taken for granted, because many Internet users are lacking the necessary metacognitive prerequisites. Therefore, we developed the metacognitive computer-tool met.a.ware, which supports laypersons' Internet research for medical information by the means of metacognitive prompting and ontological classification. In an experimental investigation of met.a.ware a total of 118 participants with little medical knowledge were asked to conduct an Internet research on a medical topic. Participants were randomly assigned to four experimental groups that worked with met.a.ware and either received evaluation prompts, monitoring prompts, both types of prompts, or no prompts. All experimental conditions were additionally provided with ontological classification. One control group took paper and pencil notes. A further control group took notes using a blank text window. Results showed that laypersons receiving evaluation prompts outperformed controls in terms of knowledge about sources and produced more arguments commenting on the source of information in an essay task. In addition, laypersons receiving monitoring prompts acquired significantly more knowledge about facts, but did not perform better on a comprehension test than the controls. The availability of ontological categories helped to structure the notes laypersons in the conditions working with ontological classification took during Internet research. Analyses of the notes further demonstrated that the availability of ontological categories guided information search in direction of the selected categories. It is concluded, that met.a.ware is an effective tool that supports laypersons' Internet research.

This paper is primarily conceptual in nature and explores issues pertaining to the interdisciplinary nature of research and practice in learning and instruction with particular emphasis on 21st technology-facilitated means and methods (e.g., modeling tools and online discussions). Examples of new concept mapping tools used to support and assess learning in complex domains are provided. A context for designing instruction that integrates new approaches and tools (model-facilitated learning) is presented, and research findings from a particular concept-mapping assessment methodology are presented. Research methods and perspectives to assist in understanding learning that is associated with online discussions are also suggested. The implications for competency development in educational technology are discussed, and suggestions for further research are provided.

Recent studies have demonstrated that specific instruction about metacognitive strategies improves achievement, the accuracy of knowledge monitoring, and the application of learning strategies in hypermedia environments. However, there are no models to date for instructional designers who design and develop learning objects for the incorporation of specific scaffolds to aid student reflection about their metacognitive skills; thus making it difficult to identify tasks to orientate learners in improving such skills. In this paper, we propose the use of specific ontologies as the basis for incorporating information about metacognition in learning objects so that a Learning Management System can select and recommend tasks designed for the development and/or improvement of the learners' metacognitive skills within the context of e-learning.

Today, technology users are faced with a multitude of different interfaces for computer applications, web sites, vehicle navigation, and cellular phones. In most cases, training to use these technologies is minimal or none and is left up to the user to learn the use of the technology at hand. Subsequently, their initial impression, which is dependent on how successful they can achieve simple tasks during their self-directed learning process, plays an important role in their intention to adopt the technology. Many users have trouble learning and remembering information presented on the screen. Disorientation and cognitive loading are two primary cognitive conditions that may be used to learn more about human behavior while using different type of interfaces. This paper presents the results of an experiment on computer user’s behavior while using one of two types of software interfaces: a menu-driven and an icon-based interfaces. Disorientation and cognitive loading theories are used to explain observations. A research model based on the technology acceptance model is used. Results show a strong relationship between performance and perceptions. The mediating effects on the different interfaces on perceptions are evident and significant considering that perceptions have been shown to predict computer user’s attitudes towards their intentions to use a technology. The experiment demonstrated the need to consider standard consistent interfaces when training is not provided.

In this paper, we describe the results of our programmatic research efforts aimed at investigating the use of interactive computer-based training technology to support knowledge acquisition and integration for complex task training environments. We present the theoretical rationale for our efforts and briefly describe the successive iterations of our investigation. Based upon the significant findings in our studies, we then present, within the following areas, a set of propositions for the design and evaluation of computer-based training programs for complex systems: (1) Diagrams and knowledge integration; (2) Multimedia and training evaluation; (3) Mental model development and training evaluation; (4) Instructional efficiency and training evaluation; (5) Fostering constructive metacognitive processes; (6) Supporting individual differences in ability. These propositions are presented in the context of the related theoretical rationale drawn from the literature and the relevant empirical support from the body of research conducted within our collective research efforts.

In this paper we describe an effort investigating the feasibility and utility of cognitively diagnostic assessment of problem solving when training for distributed team tasks. We utilized computer-based knowledge elicitation methods to assess both relational problem solving, requiring the semantic integration of concepts, and dynamic problem solving, requiring the ability to integrate and apply these concepts. Additionally, we addressed how metacognitive processes interact with learning outcomes when training for complex synthetic task environments. We find first, that multiple methods of assessing problem solving performance are diagnostic of knowledge acquisition for a complex synthetic team task, and second, that general metacomprehension predisposition is related to metacomprehension accuracy in synthetic task environments.

Despite a history of achieving only marginal benefits from using technology in education, many schools and other educational organizations are investing heavily in computer technology. This paper examines common criticisms of educational computer use, considers how society and schools have reacted to previous technological trends, and outlines relationships between diverse approaches to computer use and the ensuing outcomes that can be expected. Two approaches to media use, representational and generative, are described in an attempt to identify instructional approaches that improve educational quality.

In this paper, we conceptualize computer-based instruction (CBI) as involving both a primary task, learning a particular domain, and several secondary tasks centered around learning to use the instructional approach and manipulate the interface efficiently. We argue that the complexity and compatibility of the domain, instructional approach, and system interface separately and interactively influence the ease with which students are able to learn the subject matter. Examples show how looking at CBI in this way provides a framework for better understanding the results of some previous studies of CBI and CBI-related interface design. We also describe an experiment that attempted to dissociate the separate effects of these components on domain learning. The experiment examined the pretest-posttest performance differences of remedial subjects who learned to solve mathematics word problems.

Executive information systems (EIS) are becoming more and more important to executive decision makers in today's organizations. EIS have gained more popularity in the past few years in the scholarly and practitioner press. However, the researchers and writers have failed to recognize that an EIS is a highly personalized system. In view of this fact, the cognitive traits of the top manager, along with the related culture of the organization, should be taken into consideration in developing these systems. This paper suggests some guidelines for developing EIS in two opposing organizational cultures: a hierarchical culture and an adhocracy culture.

Differences between using a drawing program with a textual interface and an iconic interface were investigated, with a focus on interactions between abilities and interface characteristics. Subjects ( N = 81 thirteen-year-old students) used the program to copy a paper original, and measures were taken of time spent on choosing menu items and success in copying the drawing (correctness). Results from a battery of ability tests were used to form a hierarchical model of intelligence in which a general factor and specialized verbal and spatial factors were identified. The task-related parameters were then related to the ability factors in a series of LISREL (Linear Structural RELationships) models. An analysis of different components of the drawing indicated that for complex components the general factor was more strongly related to correctness in the verbal treatment. The results are interpreted to indicate the significance of general ability when transformations between subsystems for handling verbal and spatial information are demanded by the task. It is concluded that it is important to consider individual differences in cognitive abilities when comparing subjects' performance while using different interfaces. The results support the theoretical and methodological position that general and specific factors of ability should simultaneously be attended to in hierarchical models.

Two complementary processes may be distinguished in learning a complex cognitive skill such as computer programming. First, automation offers task-specific procedures that may directly control programming behavior, second, schema acquisition offers cognitive structures that provide analogies in new problem situations. The goal of this paper is to explore what the nature of these processes can teach us for a more effective design of practice. The authors argue that conventional training strategies in elementary programming provide little guidance to the learner and offer little opportunities for mindful abstraction, which results in suboptimal automation and schema acquisition. Practice is considered to be most beneficial to learning outcomes and transfer under strict conditions, in particular, a heavy emphasis on the use of worked examples during practice and the assignment of programming tasks that demand mindful abstraction from these examples.