Attention support in digital environments. Nine questions to be addressed

Abstract

Research in attention aware systems, i.e. systems that support users in their attentional choices, promises to address many of the problems related to information overload, cyber collaboration, and mobility, by providing features helping users in coping with attentional limitations. However, the design of attention aware systems necessitates a deep understanding of human attentional processes, of the knowledge a system needs to support those processes, and of the manner in which such knowledge may be acquired. Because the conceptualization of such systems requires understanding users' cognitive states in terms of their past interactions with the environment, the interactivist framework may provide a strong basis for analyzing attention aware systems. This paper briefly introduces the services that attention aware systems may provide, suggests how attention may be modeled within the interactivist framework, and proposes nine questions that may be answered within such framework to gain the knowledge necessary for the creation of attention aware systems.