Design

Information processing in the human brain. Homework Functions performed by human organs when processing information

2. Storage and processing of information by a person, decision making and cognitive processes

3. Speech communications in operator activity.

1. Reception and primary processing of information by the operator.

The essence of mental phenomena lies in the fact that they are subjective, i.e. a construction that arises in the human mental world in the form of subjective images - sensations, perceptions, ideas, thoughts, feelings. The emerging psychic, subjective reality is characterized by the presence of consciousness, language, speech, will, manifests itself in the form of a person with self-consciousness, a certain freedom in the implementation of their plans and programs. There are no full-fledged analogues in the physical world of inanimate nature to these phenomena, which creates problems when they are taken into account in the process of creating human-machine systems. Let us also note the qualitative, not amenable to direct measurements, the nature of mental phenomena that are directly accessible only to their carrier, and to no one else.

The most important component of the operator's activity is the reception of information about the control object. This is a staged process, culminating in the perception of information and the creation of a sensual perceptual image.

There are four stages of perceptual action: detection, discrimination, identification and recognition.

At the detection stage, the observer distinguishes the object from the background, but cannot judge its shape and features.

At the stage of discrimination, the observer is able to separately perceive two objects located side by side, to highlight their details.

At the identification stage, the object is identified with the standard stored in memory.

At the identification stage, the observer singles out the essential features of the object and assigns it to a certain class.

Note that detection and discrimination are related to perceptual actions, and identifications and identifications are related to identification actions. The essential difference between these processes is that perception is the action of creating an image, a standard, and recognition is the action of comparing a stimulus with standards in memory and assigning it to a certain category.

The primary form of psychic perception is a sensation arising from the direct impact of objects and phenomena of the material world on human analyzers.

Based on the synthesis of sensations, a more complex form of reflection is formed - perception. In contrast to sensations, not individual properties are formed in it, but the image of the object as a whole. Perception is formed on the basis of the joint activity of a number of analytical systems. Perception is always holistic. We never confuse objects with each other, despite the many different sensations we get from them.

In the process of perception, a “perceptual image” is formed, which plays an important role in the regulation of human behavior and activity. A perceptual image has the properties of constancy - immutability when the conditions for the perception of objects change. The processes of constructing a perceptual image have an automatic cyclical nature, they go on constantly and are often not realized by us.

The image has the property of being objectified: in the image, the object is presented as being outside the perceiving system. The image is subjective - inaccessible to an outside observer.

The mechanisms for constructing a mental image are not clear in detail, they depend on many conditions, and one can only speak of the adequacy of perception from a practical point of view. Perception becomes the result of the constructive function of the psyche. Its content is determined by the experience of the person and the situation.

It is important to provide the operator with conditions of activity under which there would be no transformations of perceptions leading to inefficient actions.

On the basis of sensation and perception, a more complex form of sensory reflection of reality arises - represented leniya - a secondary sensual image of an object, which in this moment does not act on the senses, but acted in the past. Subjectively, representation is associated with such concepts as instability, fragmentation, fragility, inconstancy, in contrast to the certainty and constancy of perception. Representation accumulates in itself all the constant properties of the phenomenon and is its collective image, scheme. Acts as an "internal standard" against which perceived objects are compared. Representations serve as the basis for mental actions, the stage of transition to thinking - a form of indirect reflection.

Among the models that describe the properties of a person in the framework of engineering methodology as a system, the most common are cybernetic models with elements of the information approach. At the same time, a person is considered as a “black box”, having inputs and outputs (including motor ones). We study its behavior at the output when applying various signals to the inputs.

The main function of the human psyche from an informational point of view is the perception of changes in the external environment and the change in the internal state of the body and its behavior in accordance with these changes in order to obtain the maximum adaptive effect, which makes it possible to ensure the physiological integrity of a person and obtain reserves for existence for the longest time possible.

To solve this problem, the brain, as the main organ of mental regulation, has practically unlimited possibilities for the perception and processing of incoming vital energy. important information, its transformation on carriers of various physical nature - electrical, chemical, biochemical and others. The work of the brain is a process of continuous change and adaptation.

Communication with the outside world is carried out through evolutionarily acquired "analyzer systems", which always act in an integrated manner, in constant interconnection, realizing the functions of perception. For the purpose of scientific study, they are divided into visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, skin analyzers, analyzers of internal organs and a motor analyzer that assesses the state of muscles and tendons.

Any analyzer is a complex control system that consists of:

receptor;

Conducting nerve pathways;

center in the cerebral cortex.

The main function of the receptor is the transformation of the energy of the stimulus acting on it of various physical nature into a nervous process, accompanied by a change in the information carrier contained in the physical parameters of the stimulus, from its external carrier to the internal one.

So, an irritant for eye receptors is electromagnetic waves of a certain spectrum, for ear receptors - mechanical vibrations of the environment, for taste receptors - chemical composition active substance, etc.

The activity of receptors, their properties (sensitivity, selectivity, etc.) vary depending on the assessment by the central organs of the brain of the value and quality of the information received, and are regulated over a wide range.

The model we are considering is, of course, extremely crude and practically is a physiological reduction, in which mental processes in their qualitative certainty are practically not considered. However, at the same time, these ideas make it possible to solve many problems of an engineering-psychological plan with an accuracy acceptable for practice. First of all, this concerns the design of operator workplaces and their elements, the organization of information models, the choice of ranges and restrictions on the conditions for human interaction with the technical environment. All this can be considered as a solution to the problem of designing human-machine interfaces that provide communication between the operator and the technical system. This class of tasks for its solution requires knowledge about the work of the perceptual systems of the human body in a quantitative form, which is provided by the means of psychophysiology.

Characteristics of the visual analyzer.

Through vision, a person receives most of the information that allows him to carry out conscious purposeful activity. The visual analyzer forms primary visual sensations in the human psyche - colors, light, shapes, images of the outside world, provides visual activity of a person.

Paired eye interaction causes binocular Effect,

due to which there is a perception of the volume of objects, their remoteness in space.

The receptive part of the eye includes two types of receptors - rods and cones, which form the retina of the eye, which receives an image of objects from the outside world through the lens. The rods are the apparatus of achromatic (black and white), and the cones are the apparatus of chromatic (color) vision.

The absolute sensitivity of vision is very high and amounts to only 10-15 quanta of radiant energy, when exposed to the retina, a sensation of light arises in the human psyche.

The visual system operates in a very wide range of brightness. The maximum brightness that causes blinding is 32.2 stilba, and the minimum perceived by the eye illumination is about 8.10 -9 lux. Under ideal conditions, a person can see the light emitted by stars of the 6th magnitude.

The eye is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range from 380 to 760 microns, and the maximum light sensitivity of the eye shifts depending on the level of illumination. This explains the effect Purkinje": at dusk, blue and green objects appear lighter than red and yellow. Waves of different lengths cause sensations of color and its gradations: red - 610-620 microns; yellow - 565-590 microns; green - 520 microns; blue - 410-470 microns; violet - 380-400 microns.

The sensitivity of the eye to the distinction of color tone is different and has about one hundred and thirty gradations. In practice, these features of color vision are used in the creation of color coding and signaling systems. Usually no more than four colors are used - red, yellow, green and white. The wavelengths in the region of 494 µm (greenish-blue) and 590 µm (orange-yellow) are distinguished most subtly by the eye. In the middle part of the visible spectrum (green), as well as at its ends (violet and red), color differentiation is much coarser. The maximum color sensitivity of the eye in daylight lies in the yellow part of the spectrum (555 microns).

Most contrasting color ratios in descending order color contrast: blue on white, black on yellow, green on white, black on white, green on red, red on yellow, red on white, orange on black, black on magenta, orange on white, red on green.

Color and light play a significant role in human practice. When creating many products, it is necessary to take into account their color and light characteristics. Color can perform energy and informational functions. The states of indicators of technical systems are coded by color. For example, red color indicates critical and dangerous modes, green - about normal functioning system, yellow warns of a mode change. A traffic light is an example technical device, in which color plays a purely informational role, regulating traffic.

US military standards establish the following augmented color code alphabet:

Red - used to alert the operator that the system or part of it is not working;

Flashing red - to indicate a situation requiring immediate response;

Yellow- to indicate the limit modes in which caution is necessary;

Green color - normally working system;

White color- used to indicate functions that are not known to be correct or erroneous, for example, to indicate intermediate states of the system;

Blue color- reference and advisory information.

When organizing complex control and display panels containing a large number of coding features, complex interactions of lightness and color arise, which requires special procedures for measuring and color selection. For this purpose, special scales and methods for constructing an isotropic space for distinguishing lightness and color are used. The advantage of color coding in solving detection problems has been proven. The search time for objects by color is minimal.

The illumination of the workplace affects the performance of the operator. A decrease in illumination leads to a decrease in performance. Visual comfort and performance depend on the ratio between the brightness of the observed object and the brightness of the background surrounding the object.

The human visual system has a certain inertia with a quick change of light stimuli, which, after a certain threshold, called the "critical flicker fusion frequency" (CFFM), are perceived as a continuous signal. Film and television systems operate on this effect, presenting an image in the form of a sequence of pictures for a short time. CFFF, depending on the parameters of the presented signal and the functional state of the visual analyzer, varies in the range from 14 to 70 Hz.

Human visual acuity - the minimum angle of view at which two equidistant points are seen as separate, is a few tenths of a minute of arc and depends on the illumination and contrast of the object, its shape and position in the field of view. This characteristic plays a large role in the tasks of information search and discovery, which make up a significant part of the operator's activities.

Intensity perception range luminous flux human is very large and is achieved in the process of light and dark adaptation, the time of which is from 8 to 30 minutes.

Dark adaptation occurs when the background brightness decreases from a certain value to the minimum brightness (practically dark). There are a number of changes in the visual system:

Transition from cone vision to rod vision;

The pupil expands;

The area on the retina increases, over which the summation of the effects of light occurs;

The time of summation of light effects increases;

The concentration of photosensitive substances in the visual receptors increases;

The sensitivity of the visual system increases.

Light adaptation is a phenomenon opposite to dark adaptation. It occurs in the process of adaptation of the visual system after a long stay in the dark.

The phenomenon of successive visual images that arise immediately after the cessation of retinal stimulation is also associated with the inertia of vision. At the same time, overlays and distortions of perceptions are possible, leading to erroneous actions of a person. Illusions of movement and inertia of vision owe their development to cinema and television.

The human visual system allows us to perceive movement. The lower absolute threshold for speed perception is:

If there is a fixed reference point in the field of view, 1-2 arc. min/s.;

Without reference 15-30 arc. min/s

Uniform movement at low speeds (up to 10 arc min/s) in the absence of fixed landmarks in the field can be perceived as discontinuous.

Field of view of each eye: up 50 degrees; down 70 degrees; towards the other eye 60 degrees; in the opposite direction 90 deg. General field horizontal vision 180 degrees. Accurate perception of visual signals is possible only in the central part of the field of view. It is here that the most important elements of the operator's workplace should be located.

The maximum bandwidth of the visual analyzer at the level of photoreceptors is 5.6 x 10 bps. As you move towards the cortical structures, it drops to 50-60 bps. Despite such a low speed of perception, a person in his subjective world deals with images of perceptions that have high resolution and detail. This is due to the constructive functions of the psyche, which builds an image on the basis of not only external information, but also information circulating in the systems of memory and fixation of experience.

Currently, there is no satisfactory scientifically based theory explaining the work of the human visual system as a whole, there are only a number of assumptions about the principles of operation of individual parts of the system. However, its properties are fully described and presented in the form of reference data. Their use requires great care from designers, since the parameters of the visual system are very variable and strongly depend on the conditions and methods of measurement.

Information processing consists in obtaining some "information objects" from other "information objects" by executing some algorithms and is one of the main operations carried out on information, and the main means of increasing its volume and diversity.

At the highest level, numeric and non-numeric processing can be distinguished. Different interpretations of the content of the concept of "data" are embedded in these types of processing. Numerical processing uses objects such as variables, vectors, matrices, multidimensional arrays, constants, and so on. In non-numeric processing, objects can be files, records, fields, hierarchies, networks, relationships, and so on. Another difference is that in numerical processing, the content of the data has no of great importance, while in non-numerical processing we are interested in direct information about objects, and not in their totality.

In terms of implementation based on modern achievements computer science distinguish the following types of information processing:

sequential processing used in the traditional von Neumann architecture of a computer with a single processor;
parallel processing, used when there are several processors in a computer;
pipeline processing associated with the use of the same resources in the computer architecture for solving different problems, and if these tasks are identical, then this is a sequential pipeline, if the tasks are the same, a vector pipeline.

It is customary to attribute existing computer architectures in terms of information processing to one of the following classes.

Architecture with single stream of instructions and data (SISD). This class includes traditional von Neumann single-processor systems, where there is a central processor that works with "attribute-value" pairs.

Architectures with single streams of commands and data (SIMD). A feature of this class is the presence of one (central) controller that controls a number of identical processors. Depending on the capabilities of the controller and processor elements, the number of processors, the organization of the search mode and the characteristics of route and leveling networks, there are:

matrix processors used to solve vector and matrix problems;
associative processors, used to solve non-numerical problems and using memory, in which you can directly access the information stored in it;
processor ensembles used for numerical and non-numerical processing;
pipeline and vector processors.

Multiple instruction stream, single data stream (MISD) architectures. Pipeline processors can be assigned to this class.

Architecture with multiple command stream and Multiple Data Stream (MIMD). The following configurations can be assigned to this class: multiprocessor systems, systems with multiprocessing, computing systems from many machines, computer networks.

The main data processing procedures are shown in fig. 4.5.

Creation of data, as a processing process, provides for their formation as a result of the execution of some algorithm and further use for transformations at a higher level.

Data modification is associated with the display of changes in the real subject area, carried out by including new data and deleting unnecessary ones.

Rice. 4.5 Basic data processing procedures

Control, security and integrity are aimed at an adequate display of the real state of the subject area in the information model and ensure the protection of information from unauthorized access (security) and from failures and damage to hardware and software.

The search for information stored in the computer's memory is carried out as an independent action when responding to various requests and as an auxiliary operation in information processing.

Decision support is the most important activity performed in information processing. A wide range of decisions made leads to the need to use a variety of mathematical models.

The creation of documents, summaries, reports consists in converting information into forms suitable for reading by both a person and a computer. Associated with this action are operations such as processing, reading, scanning, and sorting documents.

When information is transformed, it is transferred from one form of representation or existence to another, which is determined by the needs that arise in the process of implementing information technologies.

The implementation of all actions performed in the process of information processing is carried out using a variety of software tools.

The most common area of application of the technological operation of information processing is decision making.

Depending on the degree of awareness of the state of the controlled process, the completeness and accuracy of the models of the object and the control system, interaction with environment, the decision-making process takes place in various conditions:

1.Making decisions under certainty. In this problem, the models of the object and the control system are considered given, and the influence of the external environment is considered insignificant. Therefore, there is an unambiguous relationship between the chosen strategy for using resources and the final result, which implies that under certainty it is enough to use a decision rule to evaluate the utility of decision options, taking as optimal the one that leads to the greatest effect. If there are several such strategies, then all of them are considered equivalent. To search for solutions under certainty, methods of mathematical programming are used.
2. Decision making under risk. In contrast to the previous case, for decision-making under risk conditions, it is necessary to take into account the influence of the external environment, which cannot be accurately predicted, and only the probability distribution of se states is known. Under these conditions, the use of the same strategy can lead to different outcomes, the probabilities of which are considered given or can be determined. Evaluation and selection of strategies is carried out using a decision rule that takes into account the probability of achieving the final result.
3. Decision making under uncertainty. As in the previous problem, there is no single-valued relationship between the choice of strategy and the final result. In addition, the values of the probabilities of the occurrence of final results are also unknown, which either cannot be determined or do not have meaningful meaning in the context. Each pair of "strategy - final result" corresponds to some external estimate in the form of a payoff. The most common is the use of the criterion for obtaining the maximum guaranteed payoff.
4. Decision making in conditions of multi-criteria. In any of the tasks listed above, multicriteria arises in the case of the presence of several independent, not reducible to one another goals. The presence of a large number of solutions complicates the evaluation and selection of the optimal strategy. One possible solution is to use simulation methods.

Solving problems with the help of artificial intelligence is to reduce the enumeration of options when searching for a solution, while the programs implement the same principles that a person uses in the process of thinking.

The expert system uses the knowledge that it has in its narrow area to limit the search on the way to solving the problem by gradually narrowing the range of options.

To solve problems in expert systems use:

a method of logical inference based on a proof technique called resolution and using the refutation of negation (proof "by contradiction");
a method of structural induction based on the construction of a decision tree to determine objects from a large number of input data;
the method of heuristic rules based on the use of the experience of experts, and not on the abstract rules of formal logic;
a method of machine analogy based on the presentation of information about the compared objects in a convenient form, for example, in the form of data structures called frames.

The sources of "intelligence" that manifests itself in solving a problem may turn out to be useless or useful or economical, depending on certain properties of the area in which the problem is posed. Based on this, the choice of a method for constructing an expert systems or use of a ready-made software product.

The process of developing a solution based on primary data, the scheme of which is shown in fig. 4.6 can be divided into two stages: the development of feasible solutions through mathematical formalization using a variety of models and the choice optimal solution based on subjective factors.

The information needs of decision makers are in many cases focused on integral technical and economic indicators that can be obtained as a result of processing primary data reflecting the current activities of the enterprise. Analyzing the functional relationships between the final and primary data, it is possible to build the so-called information scheme, which reflects the processes of information aggregation. Primary data, as a rule, are extremely diverse, the intensity of their arrival is high, and the total volume in the interval of interest is large. On the other hand, the composition of integral indicators is relatively small, and the required

Rice. 4.6.

the period of their actualization can be much shorter than the period of change of primary data - arguments.

To support decision-making, the presence of the following components is mandatory:

general analysis;
forecasting;
situational modeling.

Currently, it is customary to distinguish two types of decision support information systems.

DSS (Decision Support System) decision support systems select and analyze data according to various characteristics and include tools:

access to databases;
extracting data from heterogeneous sources;
rule modeling and strategy business activities;
business graphics for presenting analysis results;
"if anything" analysis;
artificial intelligence at the level of expert systems.

Online analytical processing systems OLAP (OnLine Analysis Processing) use the following tools to make decisions:

powerful multiprocessor computing equipment in the form of special OLAP servers;
special methods of multivariate analysis;
special data warehouses Data Warehouse.

The implementation of the decision-making process is to build information applications. Let us single out typical functional components in the information application that are sufficient to form any application based on the database (2).

PS (Presentation Services) - tools representation. Provided by devices that accept input from the user and display what the PL presentation logic component tells them, plus appropriate software support. Can be a text terminal or X terminal, or a PC or workstation in software terminal or X terminal emulation mode.

PL (Presentation Logic)– presentation logic. Manages the interaction between the user and the computer. Handles the user's actions to select a menu alternative, click a button, or select an item from a list.

BL (Business or Application Logic) – applied logics. A set of rules for making decisions, calculations, and operations that an application must perform.

DL (Data Logic) - data management logic. Database operations (SQL SELECT, UPDATE, and INSERT statements) that must be performed to implement the data management application logic.

DS (Data Services) - operations with the database. DBMS actions called to perform data management logic, such as data manipulation, data definitions, transaction commit or rollback, etc. The DBMS usually compiles SQL applications.

FS (File Services) - file operations. Disk read and write operations for DBMS and other components. They are usually OS functions.

Among the tools for developing information applications, the following main groups can be distinguished:

traditional programming systems;
tools for creating file-server applications;
tools for developing "client-server" applications;
office automation and document management tools;
Internet/Intranet application development tools;
application design automation tools.

1.4.3. Before a person can react to the received information, he must first become aware of it. This is where the possibility of error lies, because the range of functioning of sensory systems is extremely narrow. From the senses, information enters the brain, where it is processed, resulting in a conclusion about the nature and meaning of the received message. This activity, called learning, provides a fertile environment for errors to occur. Expectation, experience, attitudes, motivation, and drive all have some influence on learning and possibly sources of error.

1.4.4. After the conclusions about the content of the received message are made, the decision-making process begins. Many factors can lead to an erroneous decision, for example: features of training or past experience; emotions or considerations of a business nature; fatigue, medication exposure, motivation, and physical or psychological disorders. Decision-making is followed by action (inaction). This is another, also error-prone stage, because it (the action) may not function correctly and the error will occur sooner or later. As soon as the action has taken place, the feedback mechanism begins to function. The shortcomings of this mechanism can also lead to errors. All this can be represented by the following diagram.

Control over human error.

1.4.5. Managing human error involves two different approaches

· First, it is necessary to minimize the possibility of errors. This is achieved through the training of highly qualified personnel; development of appropriate management procedures so that they meet the individual characteristics of the individual; developing proper checklists, rules, guidelines, maps, plans, SOPSs, etc., and reducing noise, vibration, temperature limits and other stressors. Training programs designed to improve interaction and communication between individual crew members can also reduce errors. (Absolutely eliminating the possibility of human error is a difficult task, since errors are a normal part of human behavior.)

· A second approach to controlling human error is to minimize the consequences of errors through cross-observation and improved crew communication. Designing equipment that is capable of correcting errors (ensuring the execution of a given program automatic device), and equipment that can control or even complement human actions and improve their performance, also leads to a decrease in the likelihood of errors and contributes to the elimination of them. negative consequences.

(The specialist involved in the training of personnel who plans, prepares, provides and executes flights must be highly qualified. Since it is not possible for each individual to develop an appropriate procedure, due to their large number. The specialist must have the ability to generalize characteristics behavior of people, their reaction to the manifesting factors of a non-standard situation and, in accordance with this, develop generalizing procedures. At present, for the most part, this work is entrusted to the leadership of civil aviation. But the appointment procedure for a managerial position does not take into account the ability of the person appointed to analyze and generalize human activities, even within the framework of professional duties. At the same time, developing a specialist training program aimed at reducing the number of errors made is not an easy task and requires a thorough analysis of the production activities of each member of the production team, whether it is an aircraft crew or a work shift of a traffic service or a transportation organization service.).

At the highest level, numeric and non-numeric processing can be distinguished. Different interpretations of the content of the concept of "data" are embedded in these types of processing. At numerical processing objects such as variables, vectors, matrices, multidimensional arrays, constants, etc. are used. At non-numeric processing objects can be files, records, fields, hierarchies, networks, relationships, and so on. Another difference is that with numerical processing, the content of the data does not matter much, while with non-numerical processing, we are interested in direct information about objects, and not their totality as a whole.

From the point of view of implementation based on modern achievements in computer technology, the following types of information processing are distinguished:

sequential processing, used in the traditional von Neumann architecture of a computer with one processor;

parallel processing, used when there are several processors in the computer;

pipeline processing, associated with the use of the same resources in the computer architecture for solving different problems, and if these tasks are identical, then this is a sequential pipeline, if the tasks are the same - a vector pipeline.

It is customary to attribute existing computer architectures in terms of information processing to one of the following classes.

Single Stream Instruction and Data (SISD) architectures. This class includes traditional single-processor systems, where there is a central processor that works with attribute-value pairs.

Single instruction and data stream (SIMD) architectures. A feature of this class is the presence of one (central) controller that controls a number of identical processors. Depending on the capabilities of the controller and processor elements, the number of processors, the organization of the search mode and the characteristics of route and leveling networks, there are:

Matrix processors used to solve vector and matrix problems;

Associative processors, used to solve non-numerical problems and using memory, in which you can directly access the information stored in it;

Processor ensembles used for numerical and non-numerical processing;

Pipeline and vector processors.

Multiple instruction stream, single data stream (MISD) architectures. Pipeline processors can be assigned to this class.

Multiple Instruction Stream Multiple Data Stream (MIMD) architectures. The following configurations can be assigned to this class: multiprocessor systems, systems with multiprocessing, computing systems from many machines, computer networks.

The main data processing procedures are shown in the figure.

Data Creation, as a processing operation, provides for their formation as a result of the execution of some algorithm and further use for transformations at a higher level.

Data modification associated with the display of changes in the real subject area, carried out by including new data and deleting unnecessary ones.

Ensuring data security and integrity is aimed at an adequate display of the real state of the subject area in the information model and ensures the protection of information from unauthorized access (security) and from failures and damage to hardware and software.

Search for information, stored in the computer's memory, is carried out as an independent action when responding to various requests and as an auxiliary operation when processing information.

Figure - Basic data processing procedures

Decision Support is the most important step in information processing. A wide alternative of decisions made leads to the need to use a variety of mathematical models.

Depending on the degree of awareness of the state of the managed object, the completeness and accuracy of the models of the object and the control system, interaction with the external environment, the decision-making process takes place in various conditions:

1) decision making under certainty. In this problem, the models of the object and the control system are considered given, and the influence of the external environment is considered insignificant. Therefore, there is an unambiguous relationship between the chosen strategy for using resources and the final result, which implies that under certainty it is enough to use a decision rule to evaluate the utility of decision options, taking as optimal the one that leads to the greatest effect. If there are several such strategies, then all of them are considered equivalent. To search for solutions under certainty, methods of mathematical programming are used;

2) risk decision making. Unlike the previous case, for decision-making under risk conditions, it is necessary to take into account the influence of the external environment, which cannot be accurately predicted, and only the probabilistic distribution of its states is known. Under these conditions, the use of the same strategy can lead to different outcomes, the probabilities of which are considered given or can be determined. Evaluation and selection of strategies is carried out using a decision rule that takes into account the probability of achieving the final result;

3) decision making under uncertainty. As in the previous problem, there is no single-valued relationship between the choice of strategy and the final result. In addition, the values of the probabilities of the occurrence of final results are also unknown, which either cannot be determined or do not have meaningful meaning in the context. Each pair of "strategy - end result" corresponds to some external assessment in the form of a gain. The most common is to use the criterion for obtaining the maximum guaranteed payoff;

4) decision making in conditions of multi-criteria. In any of the tasks listed above, multi-criteria arises when there are several independent, not reducible goals. The presence of a large number of solutions complicates the evaluation and selection of the optimal strategy. One possible solution is to use simulation methods.

Creation of documents, summaries, reports is to convert information into forms that are readable by both humans and computers. Associated with this action are operations such as processing, reading, scanning, and sorting documents.

When processing information, it is transferred from one form of representation or existence to another, which is determined by the needs that arise in the process of implementing information technologies.

The implementation of all actions performed in the process of information processing is carried out using a variety of software tools.

Data processing -the process of systematic change in the content or form of information presentation.

Information processing is carried out in accordance with certain rules by some subject or object (for example, a person or an automatic device). We will call him information processing executor.

The processing performer, interacting with the external environment, receives from it input information which is being processed. The result of processing is imprint transmitted to the external environment. Thus, the external environment acts as a source of input information and a consumer of output information.

Information processing occurs according to certain rules known to the performer. Processing rules, which are a description of the sequence of individual processing steps, are called the information processing algorithm.

The processing executor must include a processing unit, which we will call a processor, and a memory block in which both the processed information and the processing rules (algorithm) are stored. All of the above is shown schematically in the figure.

Information processing scheme

Example. The student, solving the problem in the lesson, carries out the processing of information. The external environment for him is the atmosphere of the lesson. The input information is the condition of the task, which is reported by the teacher leading the lesson. The student memorizes the condition of the problem. To facilitate memorization, he can use notes in a notebook - an external memory. From the teacher's explanation, he learned (remembered) the way to solve the problem. The processor is the mental apparatus of the student, using which to solve the problem, he receives an answer - output information.

The scheme shown in the figure is a general information processing scheme that does not depend on who (or what) is the executor of the processing: a living organism or technical system. It is this scheme that is implemented by technical means in a computer. Therefore, we can say that the computer is technical model"live" information processing system. It includes all the main components of the processing system: processor, memory, input devices, output devices (see “ Computer Device” 2).

Input information represented in symbolic form(signs, letters, numbers, signals), is called input data. As a result of processing by the performer, output. Input and output data can be a set of values - individual data elements. If the processing consists in mathematical calculations, then the input and output data are sets of numbers. The following figure X: {x 1, x 2, …, xn) denotes the set of input data, and Y: {y 1, y 2, …, ym) - set of output data:

Data Processing Scheme

Processing is to transform the set X into the multitude Y:

P(X) Y

Here R denotes the processing rules used by the performer. If the executor of information processing is a person, then the processing rules according to which he acts are not always formal and unambiguous. A person often acts creatively, not formally. He can solve even the same mathematical problems different ways. The work of a journalist, scientist, translator and other specialists is a creative work with information that they do not follow formal rules.

To designate formalized rules that determine the sequence of information processing steps, computer science uses the concept of an algorithm (see “ Algorithm" 2). The concept of an algorithm in mathematics is associated with a well-known method for calculating the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two natural numbers, which is called the Euclidean algorithm. In verbal form, it can be described as follows:

1. If two numbers are equal, then take them as GCD general meaning, otherwise go to step 2.

2. If the numbers are different, then replace the larger of them with the difference between the larger and smaller of the numbers. Return to step 1.

Here the input is two natural numbers - X 1 and X 2. Result Y is their greatest common divisor. Rule ( R) is Euclid's algorithm:

Euclid's algorithm ( X 1, X 2) Y

Such a formalized algorithm is easy to program for a modern computer. The computer is the universal executor of data processing. The formalized processing algorithm is presented in the form of a program placed in the computer memory. For a computer, processing rules ( R) - This program.

Explaining the topic “Information processing”, one should give examples of processing, both related to obtaining new information, and related to changing the form of information presentation.

First type of processing: processing associated with obtaining new information, new content of knowledge. This type of processing is math problems. The same type of information processing includes the solution of various problems by applying logical reasoning. For example, the investigator on a certain set of evidence finds a criminal; a person, analyzing the circumstances, makes a decision about his next steps; a scientist solves the mystery of ancient manuscripts, etc.

Second type of processing: processing related to changing the form, but not changing the content. This type of information processing includes, for example, the translation of text from one language to another: the form changes, but the content must be preserved. An important type of processing for computer science is coding. Coding- This transformation of information into a symbolic form convenient for its storage, transmission, processing(cm. " Coding”).

Structuring data can also be attributed to the second type of processing. Structuring is associated with the introduction of a certain order, a certain organization in the information storage. The arrangement of data in alphabetical order, grouping according to some criteria of classification, the use of a tabular or graph representation are all examples of structuring.

A special type of information processing is Search. The search task is usually formulated as follows: there is some storage of information - information array(telephone directory, dictionary, train schedule, etc.), you need to find the necessary information in it that meets certain search terms(phone number of this organization, translation of this word into English language, the time of departure of this train). The search algorithm depends on the way information is organized. If the information is structured, then the search is faster, it can be optimized (see “ Data Search”).

In a propaedeutic informatics course, “black box” problems are popular. The processing performer is considered as a “black box”, i.e. system, the internal organization and mechanism of which we do not know. The task is to guess the data processing rule (P) that the performer implements.

Example 1

The processing executor calculates the average value of the input values: Y = (X 1 + X 2)/2

Example 2

At the input - a word in Russian, at the output - the number of vowels.

The deepest mastery of information processing issues occurs when studying algorithms for working with quantities and programming (in basic and high school). The executor of information processing in this case is a computer, and all processing capabilities are embedded in the programming language. Programming there is description of the rules for processing input data in order to obtain output data.

Students should be given two types of tasks:

Direct task: to create an algorithm (program) for solving the problem;

Inverse problem: given an algorithm, it is required to determine the result of its execution by tracing the algorithm.

When solving an inverse problem, the student puts himself in the position of a processing performer, step by step executing the algorithm. The results of execution at each step should be reflected in the trace table.