Alexander Feinman
This is my academic web page, complete with out-of-date academic picture,
detailing PhD work as a part of GROUP, the Group for Research On
Usability and Pragmatics, here at Brandeis University.
I have moved on and currently am a Senior Usability Specialist at The MathWorks, improving the usability of their internal tools.
(Alex Feinman)s that are not me:
- Alex Feinman, who wrote a
TAPI wrapper and ISO Recorder and bunch of other cool utilities for Windows.
- Alex Feinman, who is involved with a Boston-based construction company.
- Alex Feinman, a Russian meterologist.
There are also a bunch of Alex's I'm not, but that's usually easier to figure
out. Also, if you're named Feinman and you don't already know me, we're not
related -- the name was imposed on my family at Ellis Island a few scant generations
ago, and as far as I know we are still in contact with all the descendents. But
it is a nifty name. (It's pronounced Fine-man, not Feen-man.)
Research Topics
I am primarily interested in how people interact, and how to make that
interaction work better using a computer. This boils down to computer-mediated
collaboration, which means work in computer science, cognitive science,
sociology, and a little psychology on the side.
I have created a method, Referential Structure Analysis (RSA), for analyzing group
interaction in same-time / different-place groupware. By tracking the
referential structure of the discourse generated by participants engaged in
collaboration, the method gives an analyst redesign recommendations. The method
uses the referential structure to indicate which representations are
appropriate for information by selecting representations whose properties match
the features of information flows discovered by examining the discourse.
I have investigated a number of domains for verifying the utility of our analysis
methods. Our first domain is VesselWorld, a simulated task where three users
must cooperate to clear a harbor of toxic waste. GROUP has collected upwards of
300 hours of usage data using VesselWorld. Our group is also exploring
additional domains along such lines as:
- collaborative coding domain where users must work together to code a
simple programming project
- distance learning
- collaborative editing domain; a pair of users write and review an academic
paper or news article
- business travel; two or more users collaborate to plan a short business trip
Data from these domains was used to demonstrate the feasibility of RSA. Details are
available in the papers below and the thesis, which includes a comprehensive history
of the project and a number of examples. Feel free to contact me directly if you have
inquiries about the method.
Selected publications
2008
Feinman, A., Farry, M., Kilgore, R., and Pfautz, J. Designing Visualizations to Support Collaborative Environments. In "Proceedings of the 8th Symposium on Human Interaction with Complex Systems (HICS)", Norfolk, VA
2007
Feinman, A. Toxic In Large Quantities: Personal Information in the Information Age. Interface: The Journal of Education, Community, and Values. Berglund Center for Internet Studies, Pacific University Oregon.
2006
Feinman, A, Oexner, J., Das, S.K. Using Formalized Concept Maps To Model Role-based Workflows, CMC-2006, Costa Rica.
Feinman, A. From Discourse Analysis to Groupware Design Ph.D. Thesis, Brandeis University.
2005
Feinman, A., and Alterman, R. Designing Representations for Groupware by Examining Discourse. Brandeis University Technical Report CS-05-26_
Feinman, A., and Alterman, R. Discourse Analysis Techniques for Modeling Computer-Mediated Collaboration. Brandeis University Technical Report CS-05-26_
Feinman, A., and Hickey, T. "Groupware". In Bainbridge, William Sims (Ed).
Berkshire
Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire
Publishing Group, 2005. Note that despite repeated requests, that website does not list my contribution.
2004
Feinman, A., and Alterman, R. Modeling Cognitive Load in Groupware. Technical Report CS-04-250, Department of Computer Science, Brandeis University, 2004
2003
Feinman, A., and Alterman, R. Discourse Analysis Techniques for Modeling
Group Interaction. Ninth International Conference on User Modeling, 2003
Alterman, R., Feinman, A., Landsman, S., and Introne, J. A Runtime Model
of Common Ground. In press.
2001
Alterman, R., Feinman, A., Introne, J., and Landsman, S. Coordinating Representations in Computer-Mediated
Joint Activities. Proceedings of 23rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive
Science Society, 2001.
Alterman, R., Feinman, A., Landsman, S., and Introne, J. Coordination of Talk: Coordination of
Action. Technical Report CS-01-217, Department of Computer Science,
Brandeis University, 2001
2000
Landsman, S., Alterman, R., Feinman, A. and Introne, J. Vesselworld and
ADAPTIVE. Brandeis University Tech Report CS-01-213; Presented as a
demonstration at Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW-2000)
Introne., J., Alterman, R., Feinman, A., and Landsman, S. Extracting
Procedural Knowledge from a Groupware for Planning System. TR-2000-??
1998
Alterman, R., Landsman, S., Feinman, A., and Introne, J. Groupware for Planning. Technical
Report CS-98-200, Computer Science Department, Brandeis University.
1997
Feinman, A. Message Types in Discourse.
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