Semantic Content of Tactical Planning Analysed Through Multimodal Dialogues,
Abstract
This study addresses the semantic content of tactical planning conveyed through human multimodal dialogues over a map. Specifically, the aim of this study is to determine the significants (e.g., spatial objects, tactical concepts) of a tactical planning task that commanding officers convey through the concurrent use of verbal and graphical (hand) actions. Seven military officers provided verbal and graphical estimates of a tactical situation portrayed on a topographic map. These sessions were videotaped. The graphical components consisted of graphical actions involving a physical reference to a topographic map. These graphical actions were defined as visual-graphical signifiers in a previous report. A set of significants was determined from the analysis of the commanders multimodal dialogues in their verbal and visual-graphical components. These multimodal dialogues were analysed using lexical, syntactical, pragmatic (planning phases) and semantic levels of linguistic analysis. The significants (N=382) were categorised, in a representational scheme, along two dimensions: spatial classes and type. The first dimension grouped the significants in four classes: geographical features of the area of operation, tactical features of the area of operation, combat power, and courses of action. The second dimension categorised the significants according to their type, i.e., whether they consisted in objects, concepts, attributes of objects (or concepts), or relations pertaining to objects (or concepts). The significants identified in this study represent an intrinsic part of the knowledge used during tactical planning.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA315271
Entities
People
- Carol Mccann
- Ginette Boudreau
Organizations
- DRDC Toronto