Distributed cognitionin HCI Take any task and analyze it from the perspective of
ID: 3845922 • Letter: D
Question
Distributed cognitionin HCI
Take any task and analyze it from the perspective of distributed cognition.
100 words:First, identify and briefly describe the task you’ve chosen and the interface associated with it.
100 Words: Then, describe the pieces of the system.
200 words: Then, describe what cognitive tasks are performed by each member of the system, both human and artifact alike. Make sure to choose interfaces that touch on multiple cognitive roles in the non-human portions of the system; memory is easy, but what about reasoning, perception, and acting? To make this question easier, make sure to focus on a task that involves multiple pieces, such as multiple users and an interface, or a user and multiple interfaces.
Explanation / Answer
Solution :-
Introduction to Distributed Cognition -
Distributed cognition is used in Human Compuer interaction to understand the tasks fulfilled by human and non-human components of a system. Analysing a task and apllying the concept of distributed cognition a simple information flow of a system instead of complex calculations. A task comprises of human and non-human elements and interfaces between them. A task is represented by it's goal and the process to achieve it's goal. To perform task the Human and Non-Human elements takes inputs and interacts each other to produce an output or required information. In today's sceneario the HCI is uses everywhere to automate the activities. First understand the activity and analyze to know inon flow and the necessory transformatio of information to fulfil the requirements.
To understand this we will take case study of 'Airlines cockpit interface'.
Understanding the Task 'Airlines cockpit interface' -
The airlines cockpit interface is a complex system where many controls are given and these controls are handled by two pilots. The pilots interacts with the interfaces and performs the required action. The pilots are Human element and the cockpit's control system is non-human element and the information is flows between them. Soppose the Aircraft is landing. Then it is required to set the minimum speed of aircraft and set the flap of the wings to reduce the unnecessory lift. The distributed system should maintain the safe during the landing. So the activities involved are -
1) As the aircraft reaches to ground system slows down the speed but at the same time the wings flap creates the lift.
2) So there is a certain safe speed for flap of wings depending on the weigh of the aircraft.
3) The information about safe speed , flap setting and weight is represented in the cockpit. Then how these data transformed to a simple information that the pilots can set the required parameters for landing. The elements of the systems interacts with each other to set the paramaeters,
4) So by analysing the task a simple representation is created which contains the relations between safe speed and wings flap according to the weight of the aircraft. This representation can be look up table visible to both pilots.
5) So this transformation of information is available to both pilots in the cockpit at the time of landing. So this this representation transforms the complex calculation in simple relation and pilots need to look at the table and estimate the spped, and wings flap setting according to weight.
6) The pilots keeps this information in mind for a short term in absence of the lookup table so everytime it needs to calculate the required paramaters. But when this lookup table is available then pilots have a permanent meomry tool to set teh parameters at the time of landing.
It can be seen here that the required decision is made boyh Human and no-human elements interaction. And by analyzing the system process it can be simplified so that the inputs are given to human agents with short term memory and the it given to the non-human agents which creats a permanent record of the input information and transformed output information. This is a distri cognictivr approach to perform a task under Human Computer Interaction.
Conclusion -
In the discussed case study the human agents are pilots and non-human agents are Cockpit control system. There is a interaction between them to perform a task. The congnitive tasks are -
a) The inputs to the pilots as safe speed, wings flap setting and aircraft weights and relate them to get a safe combination.
b) The input is given to the control system to generate the required transformation.
c) The interaction between agents of the system to createt the effects.
So these are the cognitive activities performed by the system agents. This is concept of distributed cognition used in Human Computer Interacion.