This paper proposes an approach for modeling Social Media Collaborative Work (SMCW). We consider Social Media Collaborative Work to consist of multi-stakeholder viewpoints and human activity linked together by social media. SMCW has great potential within complex multifaceted domains such as healthcare. In this paper we describe how to model SMCW in a way which shows the multi-stakeholder intentions, concerns and priorities. We are conducting empirical studies to develop our approach for modeling SMCW. In particular we are using action research with a self-help community to develop and validate our SMCW modeling approach. In our approach we make use of the soft systems methodology in combination with i* modeling and social psychology.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Choreography describes the observable behaviour of component Web services that collaborate in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner. The highly distributed and dynamic nature of Web services results in performance degradation of choreography. This paper presents a new protocol which is based on the P2P paradigm. It exploits the capabilities of underlying networks such that part of the processing is carried out at the network nodes. The proposed protocol is formally specified using pi-calculus on which the Web services choreography description language (WS-CDL) is based. Efficiency of the proposed protocol is tested through various simulation experiments. These experiments show that the proposed protocol significantly improves performance by reducing the system response time in the choreography of Web services.

Abstract Significant progress has been made in the design and development of Grid middleware which, in its present form, is founded on Web services technologies. However, we argue that present‐day Grid middleware is severely limited in supporting projected next‐generation applications which will involve pervasive and heterogeneous networked infrastructures, and advanced services such as collaborative distributed visualization. In this paper we discuss a new Grid middleware framework that features (i) support for advanced network services based on the novel concept of pluggable overlay networks, (ii) an architectural framework for constructing bespoke Grid middleware platforms in terms of ‘middleware domains’ such as extensible interaction types and resource discovery. We believe that such features will become increasingly essential with the emergence of next‐generation e‐Science applications. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Grid computing provides a challenge for visualization system designers. In this research, we evolve the dataflow concept to allow parts of the visualization process to be executed remotely in a secure and seamless manner. We see dataflow at three levels: an abstract specification of the intent of the visualization; a binding of these abstract modules to a specific software system; and then a binding of software to processing and other resources. We develop an XML application capable of describing visualization at the three levels. To complement this, we have implemented an extension to a popular visualization system, IRIS Explorer, which allows modules in a dataflow pipeline to run on a set of grid resources. For computational steering applications, we have developed a library that allows a visualization system front-end to connect to a simulation running remotely on a grid resource. We demonstrate the work in two applications: the dispersion of a pollutant under different wind conditions; and the solution of a challenging numerical problem in elastohydrodynamic lubrication.

Recent activity within the UK National e-Science Programme has identified a need to establish an ontology for visualization. Motivation for this includes defining web and grid services for visualization (the ‘semantic grid’), supporting collaborative work, curation, and underpinning visualization research and education. At a preliminary meeting, members of the UK visualization community identified a skeleton for the ontology. We have started to build on this by identifying how existing work might be related and utilized. We believe that the greatest challenge is reaching a consensus within the visualization community itself. This poster is intended as one step in this process, setting out the perceived needs for the ontology, and sketching initial directions. It is hoped that this will lead to debate, feedback and involvement across the community.

Abstract Visualization is a powerful tool for analyzing data and presenting results in science, engineering and medicine. This paper reviews ways in which it can be used in distributed and/or collaborative environments. Distributed visualization addresses a number of resource allocation problems, including the location of processing close to data for the minimization of data traffic. The advent of the Grid Computing paradigm and the link to Web Services provides fresh challenges and opportunities for distributed visualization—including the close coupling of simulations and visualizations in a steering environment. Recent developments in collaboration have seen the growth of specialized facilities (such as Access Grid) which have supplemented traditional desktop video conferencing using the Internet and multicast communications. Collaboration allows multiple users—possibly at remote sites—to take part in the visualization process at levels which range from the viewing of images to the shared control of the visualization methods. In this review, we present a model framework for distributed and collaborative visualization and assess a selection of visualization systems and frameworks for their use in a distributed or collaborative environment. We also discuss some examples of enabling technology and review recent work from research projects in this field.

The earliest Web browsers focussed on the display of textual information. When graphics were added, essentially only image graphics and image file formats were supported. For a significant range of applications, image graphics has severe limitations, for example in terms of file size, download time and inability to interact with and modify the graphics client‐side. Vector graphics may be more appropriate in these cases, and this has become possible through the introduction of the WebCGM and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) formats, both of which are open standards, the former from ISO/IEC and W3C and the latter from W3C. This paper reviews the background to Web graphics, presents the WebCGM file format, and gives a more detailed exposition of the most recent format, SVG. The paper concludes with reflections on the current state of this area and future prospects.

Over recent years a wide variety of interaction devices involving haptic feedback have been brought to the market, but they vary widely in terms of input measures recorded. These range from one dimensional input on a haptic feedback steering wheel to a six degree of freedom position and orientation device and further, to assemblies of such devices. On the surface most of the variations can be accommodated logically with standardized input models combining existing logical input devices and haptic feedback processes as acknowledgement/echos. However it is very uncertain whether such a model can adequately model the system requirements for effective haptic feedback. In this paper we review the input models that have developed over the past 20 years and ask “Is it the end of the road for the conceptual model of input incorporated into the early graphics standards and elaborated over the years?” In addition, to highlight the problems of implementation with haptic interaction, we describe a typical application, the simulation of a collision with a virtual wall.

This paper describes the generation of iconic and categorical representations of word meaning, in propositional form, from the WordNet lexical database. These are derived from the list of synonyms, the descriptive gloss, and from the hypernym and meronym relations of each WordNet word sense. We demonstrate that these representations promote identification and discrimination, these being suggested qualities of representations of meaning, and finally suggest that these representations have further applications in language engineering. 1.

A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI.

Abstract. Many of the reported experiences in the industrial use of formal methods concern the development of products or product families, where the utility of the method is linked to direct savings in development costs or improved assurance of quality. However, one other area in which formal description techniques make a valuable contribution is in the development and documentation of International Standards, where the cost of using formal methods can be paid off both through increased quality of products that implement a given standard, and through the improved inter-operability of different implementations that comes from having a precise definition of the expected behaviour of a conforming implementation. Standards development, however, has some significant differences from product development, and comes with specific needs and constraints that affect the use of formal description techniques. This paper describes the role that formal methods played in the development of a new standard for distributed multimedia presentation. It describes a number of issues that arose from this experience, and which have longer term importance for formal methods in standards, particularly given the changes that are taking place in the way that standards are developed.

Abstract. Software systems are not just mathematical structures. The majority are also cognitive artefacts that rely on the ability of their users to understand and interpret information provided via an interface, and to act on that information using actions provided by the system. The design of an interactive system must thus account for both the technical requirements of the given domain, and the cognitive abilities of the user. However, the disciplines involved (computer science and psychology) traditionally operate with quite different methods and techniques, making it difficult to integrate their respective insights into system design. This paper reports on work that is creating a framework for interaction that encompasses both the description of complex software systems and the cognitive resources needed to operate those systems. An interface for supporting gestural interaction is used to illustrate the approach. The paper concludes with an assessment of the prospects for this kind of integrative modeling and sets out key areas for future progress.

In this paper reference models for visualization systems that have appeared in the literature are surveyed and a new reference model for distributed cooperative visualization developed in the MANICORAL project (funded by the EU Telematics Programme) is described. The relationship of earlier models to the new model is discussed. A number of cooperative visualization systems that have been reported in the literature are compared in the framework of the MANICORAL model.

User and system models typically are viewed as independent representations that provide complementary insights into aspects of human-computer interaction. Within system development, it is usual to see the 2 activities as separate, or at best loosely coupled, with either the design artifact or some third "mediatiag" expression providing the context in which the results of modelling can be related. This article proposes that formal system models can be combined directly with a representation of human cognition to yield an integrated view of human-system interaction: a syndetic model. Aspects of systems that affect usability then can be described and understood in terms of the conjoint behavior of user and computer. This article introduces and discusses, in syndetic terms, 2 scenarios with markedly different properties. We show how syndesis can provide a formal foundation for reasoning about interaction.

The problem of developing software to meet precise specifications has lead to the development of mathematical notations for expressing and reasoning about the behaviour of a required or extant system. We describe a different use of formal models: as tools for gathering and consolidating requirements on interaction between engineered systems and their users. This change in focus reflects the growing use of sophisticated interactive technology in domains such as medicine, where human comfort or safety is an issue. Not only must software systems function correctly, but the demands that the interface places on users of those systems need to be understood. This problem cannot be addressed by formal models in isolation. Instead, we describe an approach that uses formal models of human information processing to augment models of system functions. As a result it becomes possible, at an early stage in system design, to consider the role of human cognition in the correct behaviour of the system.

PREMO is a major new ISO/IEC standard for graphics and multimedia, which addresses many of the concerns that have been expressed about existing graphics standards. In particular, it addresses the issues of configuration, extension, and interoperation of and between PREMO implementations. This paper gives an overview of PREMO and highlights its most significant features.

Abstract Many descriptions of multimedia programming systems are starting to appear in the literature, but little work has yet been done on how to formally specify and reason about such systems. This paper is a contribution on the use of formal description techniques for the specification of multimedia systems and explores a style in which the Object‐Z notation from the University of Queensland can be used to specify some of the properties and functionality of such systems. The work has been carried out with reference to the role of formal description techniques in the presentation of ISO/IEC International Standards and in particular to the Premo project in ISO/IEC JTCl/SC24.

Abstract This paper describes an approach to the formal definition of the design primitive introduced in the revision of the ISO/IEC computer graphics standard, GKS. The paper starts with a general description of the design primitive and then describes the specification (which is given in the Z notation) and the motivation for the approach taken in some detail. The paper concludes with a reflection on the contribution of this work, and the descriptive style adopted an the GKS revision, to the role of formal description in the presentation of graphics standards.

Abstract The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) was published as an ISO standard for computer graphics programming in August 1985. GKS is now undergoing revision in ISO/IEC and at the time of writing the text of the Draft International Standard of GKS‐9x was being finalized. This paper presents a way in which a key part of the new functionality in GKS‐9x, namely namesets and selection criteria, can be implemented effectively.

Abstract This paper is motivated by the emerging ISO/IEC Reference Model for Computer Graphics (CGRM) and the revision of the ISO/IEC computer graphics standard, the Graphical Kernel System (GKS). The paper explores the use of the CGRM as a framework for structuring a specification of apart of the current draft of the revised GKS and the use of the LOTOS formal description technique for specifying graphics systems.

Abstract ARGOSI is a project concerned with the relationship between standards for graphics and networking, as rejected in its full title: Applications Related Graphics and OSI Standards Integration. It is a collaborative project between eleven European organizations and is funded under the Esprit‐Il programme of the Commission of the European Community. In order to achieve integration of graphics and OSI standards and to meet the requirements of applications, it is necessary to understand the needs of applications to transfer graphical information and the networking services required to support this. A major part of the ARGOSI project has been to derive a classification framework for applications based on a set of metrics describing their use of graphics and networking. Once classified, a study is to be made to determine the set of graphics and OSI standards that will satisfy the requirements of each group of applications or to identify deficiencies or omissions in the set of current standards that prevent the requirements being met. The classification scheme is believed to be a major stepforward in the field.

Abstract The first ISO/IEC standard for computer graphics, the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) was published in August 1985. In accordance with ISO/IEC procedures, GKS is now being reviewed and revised. This paper describes how formal specification techniques are being used by the authors to analyse key parts of proposals being made for changes to the framework of GKS to bring the standard into line with the requirements of applications and the operating environment likely to be found in the mid‐1990's.

Abstract This paper shows how a formal description of the GKS input model can be extended to include hierarchically structured input devices

There are now three International Standards for application program interfaces for computer graphics programming, GKS, GKS-3D and PHIGS. In this paper a simplified model GKS-like system is described and a 2D PHIGS-like system is then described in terms of this and a centralized structure store. Formal specifications of the systems are given illustrating how the specification of a system can be built up from a hierarchy of simple components. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate one approach to the description of a compatible family of graphics standards and the use of formal specification techniques in this process.

This paper was inspired by the Components/ Frameworks approach to a Reference Model for computer graphics, currently under discussion in the ISO computer graphics subject committee. The paper shows how a formal description of the GKS input model may be given in Hoare’s CSP notation and explores some extensions in which some of the components in the GKS model are replaced by more interesting ones. The paper thus demonstrates some of the power and flexibility inherent in the Component/ Frameworks idea. The use of a formal notation led to a deepening of the authors’ understanding of the input model and suggested some different ways of looking at the input model.

Implicit regeneration is a fundamental concept of the Graphical Kernel System (GKS), an IS0 International Standard, but it is difficult to understand as presented in the English language specification of GKS. Consequently, it is a good example to use in determining whether formal specification techniques can be used effectively to describe and clarify graphics concepts of this kind. The problem is first motivated informally with a description of GKS concepts and terminology. A formal specification of implicit regeneration using a simplified model is then presented, and the notation that is used for its formalization (VDM) is described. Finally, properties of implicit regeneration are formulated and the specification is proved to conform to these properties. This demonstrates the applicability of formal specification to graphics software, because a sufficiently precise description of a complicated concept is provided that enables its consistency to be checked against an intuitive understanding of the concept as derived from the GKS document.

This paper describes a general framework for the formal specification of modular graphics systems. The approach is illustrated by an example taken from the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) and uses the Z specification notation.

There are two approaches to formal specification, algebraic techniques and constructive techniques. This paper compares representatives of these two approaches, OBJ, which is an algebraic technique, and VDM, which is a constructive technique. These approaches are compared in the context of an example taken from the ISO computer graphics standard, the Graphical Kernel System (GKS). The paper contains tutorial introductions to OBJ and VDM as well as a concise description of the GKS concepts contained in the example.

The literature contains a number of papers which look at the application of formal specification techniques to the specification of computer graphics systems [3,5,6,7,8,10,14]. A landmark in computer graphics was reached on 15 August 1985, with the publication of the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) as the first ISO standard for computer graphics programming [13]. This paper extends some of the ideas for defining graphics data types contained in [3] and [14] and applies them to GKS. Of particular interest, is a more formal definition of the geometry of the GKS output primitives than that given in the GKS document.

Abstract The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) is now registered as an ISO International Standard for computer graphics programming. One of the major innovations of the Standard is the bundled specification of aspects, a mechanism which gives the applications programmer the ability to tailor the appearance of a picture independently on each of the workstations on which it is displayed, using the capabilities of the workstations. GKS also incorporates the traditional method of individual specification of aspects in which each workstation does the best it can to represent global aspect values. In this paper a formal specification technique, the Vienna Development Method (VDM), is used to describe aspect specification. The GKS model of aspect specification is progressively constructed from simpler models. Properties of these simpler models are formulated and the specifications are proved to conform to these. The properties are then traced through the more complex models. The paper demonstrates the applicability of formal specification to the design of graphics software and the ability of formal techniques to catalyse the deeper understanding of designs.