The Engineer

IM tool bridges conversational knowledge gap

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Conversations between groups of laypeople and experts can suffer because of the difference in knowledge levels between them. The expert may use jargon and buzzwords or simply assume a level of understanding of basic principles that is lacking in the layperson.

For conversations taking place in the digital realm, via instant messaging (IM) for instance, researchers in Japan believe they have developed a solution to the problem.

Fumio Hattori and colleagues at Ritsumeikan University have developed a tool that works in parallel with the IM protocols for carrying text chat back and forth between connected IM programs on the internet.

They have extended the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) so that it not only carries the data for IM to allow users to communicate, but can carry additional information at the same time.

The additional information is driven by an extra software agent that rides ’piggyback’ on the XMPP and controls which users see additional glossary information when particular terms are typed. The users’ level of expertise is assigned and the agent then decides during the IM session what extra information any given user needs to allow them to gain the most from the IM.

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