Ronald M. Baecker

Bio: Ronald M. Baecker is an academic researcher from University of Toronto. The author has contributed to research in topics: Webcast & Usability. The author has an hindex of 48, co-authored 171 publications receiving 8756 citations. Previous affiliations of Ronald M. Baecker include National Institutes of Health & Apple Inc..

A Principled Taxonomy of Software Visualization

Abstract: In the early 1980s researchers began building systems to visualize computer programs and algorithms using newly emerging graphical workstation technology. After more than a decade of advances in interface technology, a large variety of systems has been built and many different aspects of the visualization process have been investigated. As in any new branch of a science, a taxonomy is required so that researchers can use a common language to discuss the merits of existing systems, classify new ones (to see if they really are new) and identify gaps which suggest promising areas for further development. Several authors have suggested taxonomies for these visualization systems, but they have been ad hoc and have relied on only a handful of characteristics to describe a large and diverse area of work. Another major drawback of these taxonomies is their inability to accommodate expansion: there is no clear way to add new categories when the need arises. In this paper we present a detailed taxonomy of systems for the visualization of computer software. This taxonomy was derived from an established black-box model of software and is composed of a hierarchy with six broad categories at the top and over 30 leaf-level nodes at four hierarchical levels. We describe 12 important systems in detail and apply the taxonomy to them in order to illustrate its features. After discussing each system in this context, we analyse its coverage of the categories and present a research agenda for future work in the area.

Readings in human-computer interaction : toward the year 2000

Abstract: Chapter 1 A Historical and Intellectual Perspective Chapter 2 Design and Evaluation Chapter 3 Considering Work Contexts in Design Chapter 4 Software Development Contexts Chapter 5 Development Tools Chapter 6 Vision, Graphic Design, and Visual Display Chapter 7 Touch, Gesture, and Marking Chapter 8 Speech, Language , and Audition Chapter 9 Human Information Processing Chapter 10 Designing to Fit Human Capabilities Chapter 11 Groupware and Computer-Supported Work Chapter 12 From Customizable Systems to Intelligent Agents Chapter 13 Hypertext and Multimedia Chapter 14 Cyberspace

Information archiving with bookmarks: personal Web space construction and organization

Abstract: Bookmarks are used as "personal Web information spaces" to help people remember and retrieve interesting Web pages. A study of personal Web information spaces surveyed 322 Web users and analyzed the bookmark archives of 50 Web users. The results of this study are used to address why people make bookmarks, and how they create, use, and organize them. Recommendations for improving the organization, visualization, representation, and integration of bookmarks are provided. The recommendations include simple mechanisms for filing bookmarks at creation time, the use of time-based visualizations with automated filters, the use of contextual information in representing bookmarks, and the combination of hierarchy formation and Web page authoring to aid in organizing and viewing bookmarks.

Usability Engineering

Abstract: From the Publisher: Written by the author of the best-selling HyperText & HyperMedia, this book provides an excellent guide to the methods of usability engineering. Special features: emphasizes cost-effective methods that will help developers improve their user interfaces immediately, shows you how to avoid the four most frequently listed reasons for delay in software projects, provides step-by-step information about which methods to use at various stages during the development life cycle, and offers information on the unique issues relating to informational usability. You do not need to have previous knowledge of usability to implement the methods provided, yet all of the latest research is covered.

Intelligent Agents: Theory and Practice

Abstract: The concept of an agent has become important in both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mainstream computer science. Our aim in this paper is to point the reader at what we perceive to be the most important theoretical and practical issues associated with the design and construction of intelligent agents. For convenience, we divide these issues into three areas (though as the reader will see, the divisions are at times somewhat arbitrary). Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents. Agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents;researchers in this area are primarily concerned with the problem of designing software or hardware systems that will satisfy the properties specified by agent theorists. Finally, agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents; these languages may embody principles proposed by theorists. The paper is not intended to serve as a tutorial introduction to all the issues mentioned; we hope instead simply to identify the most important issues, and point to work that elaborates on them. The article includes a short review of current and potential applications of agent technology.

스크린 위의 삶 = Life on the screen : identity in the age of the internet

Abstract: From the Publisher: A Question of Identity Life on the Screen is a fascinating and wide-ranging investigation of the impact of computers and networking on society, peoples' perceptions of themselves, and the individual's relationship to machines. Sherry Turkle, a Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT and a licensed psychologist, uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, "bots," virtual reality, and "the on-line way of life." Turkle's discussion of postmodernism is particularly enlightening. She shows how postmodern concepts in art, architecture, and ethics are related to concrete topics much closer to home, for example AI research (Minsky's "Society of Mind") and even MUDs (exemplified by students with X-window terminals who are doing homework in one window and simultaneously playing out several different roles in the same MUD in other windows). Those of you who have (like me) been turned off by the shallow, pretentious, meaningless paintings and sculptures that litter our museums of modern art may have a different perspective after hearing what Turkle has to say. This is a psychoanalytical book, not a technical one. However, software developers and engineers will find it highly accessible because of the depth of the author's technical understanding and credibility. Unlike most other authors in this genre, Turkle does not constantly jar the technically-literate reader with blatant errors or bogus assertions about how things work. Although I personally don't have time or patience for MUDs,view most of AI as snake-oil, and abhor postmodern architecture, I thought the time spent reading this book was an extremely good investment.

Childhood and Society.

Abstract: Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and