Issue Of Information Overload Research Articles

SP0181 Apps That May Help Clinical Practice in Rheumatology

I am a rheumatologist working in public and private practice without formal background in computer science but with a special interest in software applications (apps) with the potential to streamline...

Customized products recommendation based on probabilistic relevance model

Product customization is attracting more attentions in industry as a viable strategy to better meet customer requirements and gain more profit. However the vast number of product variants in product customization process often makes it difficult for consumers to make purchase decisions, a phenomenon referred to as information overload. In this paper we take a two-prong approach to tackle the issue of information overload in customized products recommendation. Basically, the method answers two questions, namely, which products to recommend and in what order to present the recommendations. Firstly, a probability relevance model is deployed to calculate the probability of relevance for each end product. Then a probability ranking principle is exploited to present the recommendations. The approach also takes customer flexibility into consideration and thus mitigates the effect of inconsistent specifications from customers. It does not require any prior knowledge about an active customer's preference and can accommodate the new customers challenge facing by recommendation approaches. Analytical results show that the method is optimal in terms of customer's utility and product recommendation efficiency. Numerical experiments are also conducted to test the presented approach.

Are Quality Improvement Messages Registering?

Are Quality Improvement Messages Registering?

Sanicon: an Internet portal for information on sanitation

Paper presented at the Sixth Water Information Summit: Breaking The Barriers Let Water Information Flow! Waterweb Consortium and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre September 9-12 Delft, The Netherlands 2003. Presents a case study of the aims, development and functioning of Sanitation Connection (Sanicon) an Internet subject gateway for sanitation information. Considers aspects of Internet portals in general and the issue of information overload. Discusses the reasons for the development of Sanicon and its main design features, the usage of Internet resources, the tools available for measuring usage and the limitations of usage statistics. Considers the different ways in which content is selected and presented in Sanicon, the arrangements for editorial direction and the financial resources required for such an initiative. Presents the issues to be considered in planning an Internet-based subject gateway based on the Sanicon experience.

Reducing drivers’ mental workload by means of an adaptive man–machine interface

Modern in-vehicle information and communication devices are changing the nature of the driving task. Drivers take it for granted that they are able to divide their attention between the primary task of driving and secondary tasks like monitoring information displays or using mobile phones. While it is commonly accepted that driver information overload can compromise traffic safety, attempts to introduce attention management within the vehicle are nowadays limited to restrictive decisions by legislative bodies. In an increasing number of countries, the use of hands-free phones is enforced by law. In some countries, the use of phones while driving is prohibited altogether. We argue that there is a more intelligent solution to the information overload issue, namely an adaptive man–machine interface that filters information presentation according to situational requirements. We implemented such a filter as a projective real-time computational workload estimator which is based on the assessment of traffic situations detected from an on-board geographical database. Workload estimates are refined by data from sensors that monitor the traffic environment and variables of driving dynamics. The prototype system is operational in a demonstrator vehicle. Whenever the workload estimate exceeds a threshold value, incoming telephone calls are automatically redirected to the telephone mailbox without notifying the driver. An evaluation field experiment that employed objective and subjective methods of assessing workload yielded promising results in terms of the possibilities of reducing workload by means of the adaptive interface. The results are in favour of the idea of a futuristic, situation-aware vehicle which has the potential to enhance comfort and safety while driving.

SSA 1999 Annual Meeting Presidential Address: Storytelling, Scholarship, and Science

I believe that all of us are acutely aware of the information overload that swamps our professional lives. Each of us will return to our home institutions and find 50-100 e-mail messages (maybe more) and a mail box stuffed with all kinds of announcements, letters, junk mail, and our own scientific journals (at least electrons are an inexhaustible supply, while trees are not). The overall issue of information overload is too large a subject for me to tackle. (God knows you would all be fleeing for the exits if I were to try.) I want to confine my thoughts to an issue that affects us all as scientific scholars: How do we communicate our own ideas while giving proper credit to our colleagues? I won't speak for anyone but myself, though I suspect many have had similar experiences. Now and then I find an hour or so where I can...