Department of Computer Science
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburg, PA
The Hypertext model of structuring and presenting information leads to the question of how people, as readers, ordinarily classify texts. A new approach (repertory grid analysis) from Personal Construct Theory provides insights. The classes of criteria ("constructs") emerge, dealing with how text is read (such as once, or repeatedly), why it is read (for example, for professional or personal reasons), and what type of information it contains (such as technical or nontechnical).
A. Dillon, C. McKnight, "Towards a classification of text types: a repertory grid approach," International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 33, 623-36, December 1990. (HUSAT Research Institute, Elms Grove, Lercestershire, England)
A robot uses probes (such as laser sensors) to determine shapes of objects in its environment and requires an algorithm to reconstruct each object's contour from the probe data. For objects of arbitrary shape, the reconstruction problem is considerably ...
