Concept Demonstrators
The entire evolutionary series of projects - starting with ‘The HNS Browser’ in 1985/6 and ending in IMPFW in 1996 - may be regarded as a series of “concept demonstrators”; perhaps as “prototypes”. They each represent an user-driven step in the development of key features e.g. attraction to high quality interesting computer displays providing access, interactivity, enabling, cognitive support, supporting authors to build content, to support managers of applications on networks to manage their evolution and scaling etc etc etc.
Employing OOT in software engineering and the “prototyping” of applications provides for a logical and efficient method of evolution - where the essential classes of functionality are defined and constructed and progressively types and instances of functionality and features are developed to account for emerging and evolving systems features and user requirements.
The Spider Phobia Project has been selected here as a “concept demonstrator” - as a relatively simple example of concept demonstration with some popular appeal.
The - Spider Phobia Project - was developed in 1991/2 as a spin-off from the evolutionary series. While we were focused on the development of generic open systems objected oriented software tools for building and managing applications distributed on the network - I wanted to design a project with immediate `- attraction and appeal - to attract interest and to encourage further support for the main work programme.
The Spider Phobia Program illustrated the original concepts and principles of “interactivity” (computer-based cognitive modelling) and “visual browsing of information models”. My simplistic hypothesis was that through interactive and visual interaction with spiders (through trivial perhaps amusing cartoons through various pictorial representations to realistic and in situ etc.), and exploiting the simple psychological principal of graduated exposure, spider phobics may come to model/modify their fear/anxiety. My idea was that under their own control, spider phobics would interact with the Program and when they reached an individual personal point of anxiety, they could select a Button : My Safe Place and where they could browser through their favourite holiday snaps, pictures of their family, their pets etc and alternatively broswe through a juke box of their favourite music - to relax. To return - if and when they were ready - to the Spider Program and proceed further if they wished.
The ‘Spider Phobia Program’ shown here is but a simple illustration of a program where the original program is unfortunately lost . The program was part of a PhD study conducted by one of Peter Ward’s postgraduate students (a qualified practising clinical psychologist; examining the application of interactive multimedia techniques to the assessment and treatment of this model of simple animal phobia. See; Hassan. AAM Doctoral Dissertation (1992) “Comparison of Treatment of Spider Phobia” The University of Leeds Computer-Based Symbolic Modelling and Conventional PhD Thesis University of Leeds.
We intend to resurrect this program and provide it for user access once more.
Current Concept Demonstrator Projects
The AMAR Project - is a proposed project on the model of The CLCV Project; SEE: The CLCV Project Browser.
The Music Practice Journal - is an on-going project. Watch this space.
The Plant & Tree NurseryMan Project - is on-going. Watch this space.
Concepts & Principles
- interactive hypermedia
- information modelling
- classification, systematics, encapsulation, the object oriented paradigm and OOT
- information management & communication
- visual browsing
- simple models and simple access within an enabling framework
- things, pixels, rectangles, encapsulation, frameworks
- applied to a real world: project, enterprise, learning & knowledge resource