The task analysis methods discussed in this presentation stem from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Ethnography (as applied for the design of Computer Supported Cooperative Work CSCW), different disciplines that often are considered conflicting approaches when applied to the same design problems. Both approaches have their strength and weakness, and an integration of them does add value to ...

As one of the major resources for competitive intelligence (CI), the Internet not only provides a large amount of public data but also exposes a variety of business relations that may not otherwise be well-known. However, finding such information can be tedious and time-consuming for end-users without proper tools or expertise. In this paper, we examine the nature of CI tasks, classify and deco...

Task complexity is a construct widely used in the behavioral sciences to explore and predict the relationship between task characteristics and information processing. Because the creation and use of IT in the performance of tasks is a central area of informing science (IS) research, it follows that better understanding of task complexity should be of great potential benefit to IS researchers an...

A detailed study is presented on the combinatorial optimization problem of allocating parallel tasks to a parallel computer. Depending on two application/machine-specific parameters, both a sequential and a parallel optimal allocation phase are shown to exist. A sudden “phase” transition is observed if one of these parameters is varied. Simulated annealing is used to find the optimal allocation...

Transferring knowledge across a sequence of reinforcement-learning tasks is challenging, and has a number of important applications. Though there is encouraging empirical evidence that transfer can improve performance in subsequent reinforcement-learning tasks, there has been very little theoretical analysis. In this paper, we introduce a new multi-task algorithm for a sequence of reinforcement...

The main goal of this current study is to contribute to the cognitive Information Systems (IS) literature by examining the effect of individuals’ focus ability and mind-wandering in influencing IS task performance at different levels of task complexity. The effects of focus ability and mind-wandering on IS task performance as well as the moderating roles of IS task complexity were examined in a...

The degree of manual asymmetry is generally assumed to vary with task complexity. However, task complexity as a factor in manual asymmetries has rarely been examined directly. Further, the results of psychophysical studies indicate that manual asymmetry increases with task complexity, while physiological studies consistently report a reduction of manual asymmetries in more complex tasks. The us...