tailieunhanh - Báo cáo khoa học: "Cues and control in Expert-Client Dialogues"

We conducted an empirical analysis into the relation between control and discourse structure. We applied control criteria to four dialognes and identified 3 levels of discourse structure. W e investigated the mechanism for changing control between these structures and found that utterance type and not cue words predicted shifts of control. Participants used certain types of signals when discourse goals were proceeding successfully but resorted to interruptions when they were not. | Cues and control in Expert-Client Dialogues Steve Whittaker Phil Stenton Hewlett-Packard Laboratories Filton Road Bristol BS12 6QZ UK. email sjw@ April 18 1988 Abstract We conducted an empữical analysis into the relation between control and discourse structure. We applied control criteria to four dialogues and identified 3 levels of discourse structure. We investigated the mechanism for changing control between these structures and found that utterance type and not cue words predicted shifts of control. Participants used certain types of signals when discourse goals were proceeding successfully but resorted to interruptions when they were not. 1 Introduction A number of researchers have shown that there is organisation in discourse above the level of the individual utterance 5 8 9 10 The current exploratory study uses control as a parameter for identifying these higher level structures. We then go on to address how conversational participants co-ordinate moves between these higher level units in particular looking at the ways they use to signal the beginning and end of such high level units. Previous research has identified three means by which speakers signal information about discourse structure to listeners Cue words and phrases 5 10 Intonation 7 Pronomi- nalisation 6 2 . In the cue words approach Reichman lO has claimed that phrases like because so and but offer explicit information to listeners about how the speaker s current contribution to the discourse relates to what has gone previously. For example a speaker might use the expression so to signal that s he is about to conclude what s he has just said. Grosz and Sidner 5 relate the use of such phrases to changes in attentional state. An example would be that and or but signal to the listener that a new topic and set of referents is being introduced whereas anyway and in any case indicate a return to a previous topic and referent set. A second indirect way of signalling discourse structure is .