| Moving face-to-face communication to Web-based systems | | BIB | Full-Text | 1-6 | |
| Jane Coughlan; Robert Macredie; Nayna Patel | |||
| Consumers, channels and communication: Online and offline communication in service consumption | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 7-19 | |
| Geke van Dijk; Shailey Minocha; Angus Laing | |||
| This paper reports on a study that investigated consumer use of e-services
in a multi-channel context. Many HCI studies on the use of e-services focus on
the use of the online channel in relative isolation. This study attempts to
develop a deeper understanding of what makes consumers decide to use the online
channel in examining consumer channel-choice beyond the instances of internet
use. The consumption behaviour of its participants was investigated across
channels in an in-depth qualitative study. The analysis of the rich data
produced specifically focused on the investigation of voluntary consumer
movements between online and offline channels during the course of a
consumption process. The results indicate that participants often use multiple
channels in parallel and frequently switch between channels. Literature from
marketing and consumer research was used as the perspective to explore the
rationale for the complex and dynamic reported consumer behaviour. Keywords: E-commerce; Human-computer interaction; Consumer Research; Self-Service
Technology; Consumer channel choice | |||
| Intentional and unintentional consequences of substituting face-to-face interaction with e-mail: An employee-based perspective | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 20-31 | |
| Paula O'Kane; Owen Hargie | |||
| In this article, we undertake empirical research into e-mail communication
in the workplace to provide organizations with practical information about how
employees can effectively manage their e-mail interactions. We employ an
interpretative, qualitative methodology to examine their views of e-mail.
Specifically, we consider the interaction between this and traditional
face-to-face (F2F) contact. Theoretical ideas are subject to empirical scrutiny
from a database of 29 in-depth interviews with users. The findings suggest that
as computer-mediated communication (CMC) intensifies, communication is
increasingly characterized by a complex interplay between CMC and F2F, with
e-mail affecting communication in positive and negative ways, and also with
intended and unintended outcomes. For organizations, the key is to raise
employee awareness about their e-mail communications in order to maximize
effectiveness and prevent negative outcomes such as back-covering and
relationship breakdown. The results inform the development of a conceptual
framework for the interpretation and investigation of e-mail communications. Keywords: CMC; Face-to-face; E-mail; Technology; Communication; Media choice | |||
| Health Websites that people can trust -- the case of hypertension | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 32-42 | |
| Elizabeth Sillence; Pam Briggs; Peter Harris; Lesley Fishwick | |||
| Traditionally health advice has been anchored in face-to-face settings but
increasingly patients are using the Internet for their health advice needs.
This means that patients are now offered inconsistent advice from a range of
sources and must determine which sites to trust and which to reject. To
understand how consumers make these choices, 13 participants diagnosed with
hypertension took part in a longitudinal study in which they searched for
information and advice relevant to their condition. A content analysis of the
group discussions revealed support for a staged model of trust in which
mistrust or rejection of Websites is based on design factors and trust or
selection of Websites is based on content factors such as source credibility
and personalization. Based on this model, a set of guidelines for developing
trust in health Websites is proposed and key differences between face-to-face
communication and web-based systems are discussed. Keywords: E-health; Trust; Hypertension; Computer-mediated communication; Advice;
Decision-making | |||
| The role of social presence in establishing loyalty in e-Service environments | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 43-56 | |
| Dianne Cyr; Khaled Hassanein; Milena Head; Alex Ivanov | |||
| Compared to offline shopping, the online shopping experience may be viewed
as lacking human warmth and sociability as it is more impersonal, anonymous,
automated and generally devoid of face-to-face interactions. Thus,
understanding how to create customer loyalty in online environments (e-Loyalty)
is a complex process. In this paper a model for e-Loyalty is proposed and used
to examine how varied conditions of social presence in a B2C e-Services context
influence e-Loyalty and its antecedents of perceived usefulness, trust and
enjoyment. This model is examined through an empirical study involving 185
subjects using structural equation modeling techniques. Further analysis is
conducted to reveal gender differences concerning hedonic elements in the model
on e-Loyalty. Keywords: e-Loyalty; Social presence; Gender; Trust; e-Commerce; Technology acceptance
model (TAM) | |||
| A study of the usability of handwriting recognition for text entry by children | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 57-69 | |
| Janet C. Read | |||
| This paper describes a pilot study that investigated the usability of
handwriting recognition for text entry in a free writing activity. The study
was carried out with eighteen children aged 7 and 8; each used three different
writing methods to construct short pieces of text. The methods used were;
pencil and paper, the QWERTY keyboard at a computer, and a pen and graphics
tablet. Where the pen and graphics tablet was used, the handwritten text was
recognised by the software and presented back to the children as ASCII text.
Measures of user satisfaction, quantity of text produced, and quality of
writing produced, were taken. In addition, for the handwritten work, the
recognition process was evaluated by comparing what the child wrote with the
resulting ASCII text. The results show that the children that took part in the
study generally produced lengthier texts at the graphics tablet than at the
QWERTY keyboard but that the non-technical solution, the pencil and paper was,
in this instance, the overall best method for composing writing. To further the
debate on the possibilities for digital ink and tablet technologies, key
usability problems with the handwriting recognition interface are identified
and classified, and solutions to these usability problems, in the form of
design guidelines for both recognition-based and pen-based computer writing
interfaces, are presented. Additionally, some reflections on how studies of
text input and free writing composition can be evaluated are offered. Keywords: Handwriting recognition; Usability; Text entry; Writing; Pen computers;
Children; Education | |||
| Disrupting digital library development with scenario informed design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 70-82 | |
| Ann Blandford; Suzette Keith; Richard Butterworth; Bob Fields; Dominic Furniss | |||
| In recent years, there has been great interest in scenario-based design and
other forms of user-centred design. However, there are many design processes
that, often for good reason, remain technology-centred. We present a case study
of introducing scenarios into two digital library development processes. This
was found to disrupt established patterns of working and to bring together
conflicting value systems. In particular, the human factors approach of
identifying users and anticipating what they are likely to do with a system
(and what problems they might encounter) did not sit well with a development
culture in which the rapid generation and informal evaluation of possible
solutions (that are technically feasible and compatible with stable system
components) is the norm. We found that developers tended to think in terms of
two kinds of user: one who was exploring the system with no particular goal in
mind and one who knew as much as the developer; scenarios typically work with
richer user descriptions that challenge that thinking. In addition, the
development practice of breaking down the design problem into discrete
functions to make it manageable does not fit well with a scenario-based
approach to thinking about user behaviour and interactions. The compromise
reached was scenario-informed design, whereby scenarios were generated to
support reasoning about the use of selected functions within the system. These
scenarios helped create productive common ground between perspectives. Keywords: Digital libraries; Scenario based design; Usability evaluation; Software
development processes | |||
| Evaluating the effectiveness of customers' communication experiences with online retailers -- A study of e-mortgages | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 83-95 | |
| Jane Coughlan; Robert D. Macredie; Nayna Patel | |||
| Retailers increasingly use the Internet for supporting customer interaction
in the delivery of products and services online, whilst simultaneously
displacing direct communication to a seller with 'faceless' technology.
Research has tended to marginalise the importance of this communication change,
possibly because of the lack of appropriate models for evaluating communication
effectiveness. This paper therefore seeks to develop and apply such an
evaluative model, which is underpinned by communication theory. The context of
application is e-mortgage lending -- based on the selection of two banks'
interfaces -- as evidence suggests that this type of e-commerce activity
presents difficulties in electronic communication where, for example, the
customer need for face-to-face mortgage advice prevails. Findings from the
model's application reveal that whilst users respond socially to the
interfaces, a number of communication problems can be identified by theme.
Reflection is provided on the model's usefulness for evaluating the
effectiveness of customers' online communication experiences. Keywords: Communication; Interactivity; E-mortgages; Online banking; E-commerce | |||
| Exploring virtual team-working effectiveness in the construction sector | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 96-112 | |
| Yacine Rezgui | |||
| In defining a virtual team-working solution as with any new organisational
form, success relies not merely on the introduction and adoption of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs), but also on critically analysing the
underlying social and organisational aspects. The paper investigates the
effectiveness of virtual teams, and any other suitable form of virtual
collaboration, in the Construction sector and explores the factors that
influence their successful adoption. The positivist strand adopted in the
research emphasises a particular approach that promotes software application
hosting through a dedicated application service provider, as opposed to the
traditional software-licensing model. The research identifies important
socio-organisational challenges inherent to the project-based nature of
Construction, including issues related to technology adoption, team
identification, trust, and motivation. Action research techniques have been
employed to conduct the research involving two Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises (SME) from France and Finland. Keywords: Virtual team; Virtual enterprise; Web-services; Socio-organisational issues;
Virtual project management; Construction industry | |||
| Cursor type and response conflict in graphical user interfaces | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 113-120 | |
| M. A. Finch; J. G. Phillips; J. W. Meehan | |||
| Arrowhead cursor shape may offer irrelevant cues that conflict with desired
positioning movements. To assist cursor design this study considered how cursor
shape can influence the preparation or execution of cursor positioning
movements. An experiment varied cursor shape on-line such that its shape cued
the required direction of movement or better afforded hitting the target.
Twelve participants performed cursor positioning movements with systematic
variations in cursor shape affecting preparation (neutral, pre-cuing target
direction), cursor flight (arrowhead, comet) and terminal guidance (big, small
target). Kinematic analysis determined the effects on phases of cursor
placement. Cursor shape primarily affected terminal guidance and implies
conventional cursor designs should be reconsidered. Keywords: Cursor; Fitts' law; Preparation; Movement; Kinematic | |||
| Haptic recognition of shapes at different scales: A comparison of two methods of interaction | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 121-132 | |
| Mounia Ziat; Olivier Gapenne; John Stewart; Charles Lenay | |||
| In order to design a "haptic zoom", in this fundamental study, we compare
two scaling methods by focusing on the strategies adopted by subjects who are
using a sensory substitution device. Method 1 consists of a reduction of the
sensor size and of its displacement speed. Speed reduction is obtained by a
"human" movement adjustment (hand speed reduction). Method 2 consists of a
straightforward increase in the dimensions of the image. The experimental
device used couples a pen on a graphics tablet with tactile sensory
stimulators. These are activated when the sensor impinges on the outline of the
figure on the computer screen. This virtual sensor (a square matrix composed of
16 elementary fields) moves when the pen, guided by human hand movements, moves
on the graphics tablet. The results show that the recognition rate is closely
dependent on the size of the figure, and that the strategies used by the
subjects are more suitable for method 2 than for method 1. In fact, half of the
subjects found that method 1 inhibited their movements, and the majority of
them did not feel the scaling effect, whereas this was clearly felt in method
2. Keywords: Sensory substitution; Zooming interfaces; Personal Digital Assistants (PDA);
Haptic perception | |||
| Corrigendum to "Desktop virtual environments: a study of navigation and age" [Interacting with Computers 16 (2004) 939-956] | | BIB | Full-Text | Original Article | 133 | |
| H. Sayers | |||
| HCI issues in computer games | | BIB | Full-Text | 135-139 | |
| Panayiotis Zaphiris; Chee Siang Ang | |||
| Bimanual text entry using game controllers: Relying on users' spatial familiarity with QWERTY | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 140-150 | |
| Frode Eika Sandnes; Andre Aubert | |||
| A strategy for entering text using two-handed game controllers with two
analogue joysticks is proposed where the QWERTY keyboard layout is used as a
spatial mnemonic. The technique is inspired by two-finger QWERTY typing where
the fingers are represented by the two joysticks. Characters are organized into
a QWERTY layout with the joystick resting position conceptually located where
the index fingers are in touch position. The user moves the relevant joystick
in the direction of the desired character. The technique is easy to learn for
users already familiar with QWERTY two-finger typing or touch-typing.
Furthermore, text can potentially be entered with limited visual feedback, and
the bimanual nature of the approach implies a potential for high input speed as
the operation of each hand can be overlapped. The technique can be realized
with commonly available off-the-shelf hardware and it is especially applicable
to online gamers communicating textually. Experimental evaluations show that
text can be entered at a mean rate of 6.75 words per minute with less than one
hour of practice. Keywords: Game-console; Text entry; Mobile text entry; Bimanual input; Spatial memory;
Spatial mnemonics; Skill transfer; Joystick controller | |||
| High-resolution gaming: Interfaces, notifications, and the user experience | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 151-166 | |
| Andrew J. Sabri; Robert G. Ball; Alain Fabian; Saurabh Bhatia; Chris North | |||
| Advances in technology and display hardware have allowed the resolution of
monitors -- and video games -- to incrementally improve over the past three
decades. However, little research has been done in preparation for the
resolutions that will be available in the future if this trend continues. We
developed a number of display prototypes to explore the different aspects of
gaming on large, high-resolution displays.
By running a series of experiments, we were not only able to evaluate the benefits of these displays for gaming, but also identify potential user interface and hardware issues that can arise. Building on these results, various interface designs were developed to better notify the user of passive and critical game information as well as to overcome difficulties with mouse-based interaction on these displays. Different display form factors and user input devices are also explored in order to determine how they can further enhance the gaming experience. In many cases, the new techniques can be applied to single-monitor games and solve the same problems in real-world, high-resolution applications. Keywords: Games; Large displays; Notifications; Resolution; User interfaces;
Multi-monitor | |||
| A model of cognitive loads in massively multiplayer online role playing games | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 167-179 | |
| Chee Siang Ang; Panayiotis Zaphiris; Shumaila Mahmood | |||
| Being one of the most commercially successful entertainment software
applications, massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs)
continue to expand in term of the revenue they generate as well as the
involvement of users who congregate in their virtual space and form communities
around them to support each other. Unlike conventional offline computer games,
or networked games with limited numbers of players, MMORPGs are not merely
software applications as they are usually seen as a space with complicated
dynamics of social interactions. Hence, it is believed that playing these games
might cause cognitive overload problems among the players as they have to
constantly interact with the game world as well as with other users. We
conducted an exploratory study using qualitative methods to explore cognitive
overloads in Maple Story, a typical MMORPG. Our results reveal that several
types of cognitive overloads emerge during the game playing. While some of
these overloads pose serious problems even to expert players, players seem to
develop strategies to overcome them. It is found that some forms of cognitive
load are actually desirable in order to make the game challenging. We have also
created a set of recommendations that can help game developers handle cognitive
load problems in MMORPGs. Keywords: Games; MMORPG; Cognitive load | |||
| Video game values: Human-computer interaction and games | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 180-195 | |
| Pippin Barr; James Noble; Robert Biddle | |||
| Abstract Current human-computer interaction (HCI) research into video games
rarely considers how they are different from other forms of software. This
leads to research that, while useful concerning standard issues of interface
design, does not address the nature of video games as games specifically.
Unlike most software, video games are not made to support external,
user-defined tasks, but instead define their own activities for players to
engage in. We argue that video games contain systems of values which players
perceive and adopt, and which shape the play of the game. A focus on video game
values promotes a holistic view of video games as software, media, and as games
specifically, which leads to a genuine video game HCI. Keywords: Video games; Value; Play; Activity theory; Semiotics; Computer games | |||
| Design and evaluation of a tactile memory game for visually impaired children | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 196-205 | |
| Roope Raisamo; Saija Patomäki; Matias Hasu; Virpi Pasto | |||
| Visually impaired people have a lack of proper user interfaces to allow them
to easily make use of modern technology. This problem may be solved with
multimodal user interfaces that should be designed taking into account the type
and degree of disability. The purpose of the study presented in this article
was to create usable games for visually impaired children making use of
low-cost vibro-tactile devices in multimodal applications. A tactile memory
game using multimodal navigation support with high-contrast visual feedback and
audio cues was implemented. The game was designed to be played with a tactile
gamepad. Different vibrations were to be remembered instead of sounds or
embossed pictures that are common in memory games for blind children. The
usability and playability of the game was tested with a group of seven
12-13-year-old visually impaired children. The results showed that the game
design was successful and a tactile gamepad was usable. The game got a positive
response from the focus group. Keywords: Visually impaired children; Multimodal user interfaces; Low-cost haptic
devices; Tactile games; Tactile feedback; Usability testing | |||
| Applying simulation experience design methods to creating serious game-based adaptive training systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 206-214 | |
| Elaine M. Raybourn | |||
| The purpose of the present paper is to briefly introduce adaptive training
systems, and describe the Simulation Experience Design Method. Adaptive
training systems are serious games whose goal it is to engender communication
opportunities for players to learn about their strengths and weaknesses,
receive real-time in-game performance feedback, and share diverse solutions and
strategies during, between, and after game play in order to update, or adapt,
player understanding. The Simulation Experience Design Method extends HCI
approaches to create engaging multiplayer learning experiences by focusing on
how dynamic game content, roles, scenarios, and assessment feedback contribute
to emergent culture. Preliminary evaluations of an earlier instantiation of
serious game-based adaptive training systems employing this design method have
been positive. The contribution of the present paper lies in describing how
designers create rich systems of experiences for serious games and adaptive
training systems by employing HCI principles and the Simulation Experience
Design Method. Keywords: Simulation Experience Design Method; Real-time in-game feedback assessment;
Serious games; Communication; Adaptive training systems | |||
| An HCI method to improve the human performance reduced by local-lag mechanism | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 215-224 | |
| Ling Chen; Gen-Cai Chen; Hong Chen; Jack March; Steve Benford; Zhi-Geng Pan | |||
| Local-lag mechanism can maintain consistency for replicated continuous
applications, but with a tradeoff of adding delay to local operations. To
relieve the negative effects of the delay, this paper proposes an HCI method
named echo. With the help of the echo method users can immediately perceive the
results of their operations and how large the lag is. In order to evaluate the
proposed method, a desktop collaborative virtual environment (CVE) system and a
virtual object control task were employed to study the effects of the echo
method on human performance (including task completion time, error count, and
interaction quality). Experimental results indicate that when the lag exceeds
100 ms the echo method can improve human performance with the effects becoming
more evident when a larger lag is used. Keywords: HCI; Delay; Collaborative virtual environments; Local-lag mechanism; Echo | |||
| Heuristic evaluation: Comparing ways of finding and reporting usability problems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 225-240 | |
| Ebba Thora Hvannberg; Effie Lai-Chong Law; Marta Kristín Lárusdóttir | |||
| Research on heuristic evaluation in recent years has focused on improving
its effectiveness and efficiency with respect to user testing. The aim of this
paper is to refine a research agenda for comparing and contrasting evaluation
methods. To reach this goal, a framework is presented to evaluate the
effectiveness of different types of support for structured usability problem
reporting. This paper reports on an empirical study of this framework that
compares two sets of heuristics, Nielsen's heuristics and the cognitive
principles of Gerhardt-Powals, and two media of reporting a usability problem,
i.e. either using a web tool or paper. The study found that there were no
significant differences between any of the four groups in effectiveness,
efficiency and inter-evaluator reliability. A more significant contribution of
this research is that the framework used for the experiments proved successful
and should be reusable by other researchers because of its thorough structure. Keywords: User interface; Heuristic evaluation; Reporting; Web tool; Effectiveness;
Efficiency; Comparison framework Note: Abbreviations: AE, actual efficiency; DV, dependent variable; HE, heuristic evaluation; ICT, Information and Communication Technology; IV, independent variable; PUP, predicted usability problems; SUPEX, Structured Usability Problem EXtraction; SUS, System Usability Scale; UAF, User Action Framework; UP, usability problem; UT, user test. | |||
| Functionality and usability in design for eStatements in eBanking services | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 241-256 | |
| Catherine Weir; Iain McKay; Mervyn Jack | |||
| The current Internet Banking (eBanking) marketplace is highly functionally
convergent. Electronic statement (eStatement) functionality is an area of
potential competitive advantage. This paper describes an experiment in which a
group of bank customers (N = 182) undertook information retrieval tasks using
three variants of eStatements functionality incorporated into a working
eBanking prototype. The experiment examined how the eStatements service design
could influence a customer's desire to switch from paper statements to online
delivery. Three different levels of functionality were assessed for usability
and for their impact on the customer's willingness to switch from paper to
eStatements. The methodology of the experimental approach utilised in this
research is described. The results provide detailed data to inform the
interface design and business case for eStatements. Usability and propensity to
switch away from paper were significantly correlated. The data confirm that
provision of a functionally sophisticated search engine offers high usability
perceptions and scope for significant levels of switching from paper to online
statements with associated costs savings. Keywords: Internet Banking; Usability experiment; User-interface design; Adoption;
Electronic statements | |||
| Drag-and-drop errors in young children's use of the mouse | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 257-266 | |
| Afke Donker; Pieter Reitsma | |||
| The main argument against the use of drag-and-drop in software for young
children is that it may be too difficult for them to maintain pressure on the
mouse button during movement. The present research findings refuted this
argument by showing that most errors made by children from Kindergarten 2 and
Grade 1 and university students occur at the beginning and end of a move and
not in between. The results also show that the number of errors are affected by
receptor size and movement direction, but not by movement distance. Based on
these results, design guidelines are formulated. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Children; Media in education; Navigation;
Computer mouse; Input device | |||
| Realism is not all! User engagement with task-related interface characters | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 267-280 | |
| H. C. van Vugt; E. A. Konijn; J. F. Hoorn; I. Keur; A. Eliëns | |||
| Human-like characters in the interface may evoke social responses in users,
and literature suggests that realism is the most important factor herein.
However, the effects of interface characters on the user are not well
understood. We developed an integrative framework, called I-PEFiC, to explain
'persona' and realism effects on the user. We tested an important part of the
model using an experimental design in which 140 middle school students were
class-wise shown an informative virtual reality demonstration that incorporated
either a realistic or an unrealistic (fantasy) interface character, or no
character. Findings show, first, no persona effect on task performance. We
discuss how user engagement might be related to persona effects. Second,
designed realism of the interface character contributed to user engagement when
controlled for various user perceptions. Moreover, perceived aesthetics and
task-relevance further influenced user engagement. Third, user engagement and
task performance combined better predicted satisfaction than either one of the
factors alone. In sum, several appearance- and task-related factors contributed
to user engagement and user satisfaction. Thus, realism is not all. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Media entertainment; Empirical study; Interface
characters; I-PEFiC model; Persona effect; Character realism; Engagement | |||
| Eye movements as indices for the utility of life-like interface agents: A pilot study | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 281-292 | |
| Helmut Prendinger; Chunling Ma; Mitsuru Ishizuka | |||
| Abstract We motivate an approach to evaluating the utility of life-like
interface agents that is based on human eye movements rather than
questionnaires. An eye tracker is employed to obtain quantitative evidence of a
user's focus of attention without distracting from the primary task. The
salient feature of our evaluation strategy is that it allows us to measure
important properties of a user's interaction experience on a moment-by-moment
basis in addition to a cumulative (spatial) analysis of the user's areas of
interest. We describe a pilot study in which we compare attending behavior of
subjects watching the presentation of a computer-generated apartment layout and
visualization augmented by three types of media: an animated agent, a text box,
and speech only. The investigation of eye movements revealed that deictic
gestures performed by the agent are more effective in directing the attentional
focus of subjects to relevant interface objects than the media used in the two
control conditions, at a slight cost of distracting the user from visual
inspection of the object of reference. The results also demonstrate that the
presence of an interface agent seemingly triggers natural and social
interaction protocols of human users. Keywords: Animated interface agents; Evaluation; Eye movements; Focus/shift of
attention; Web based presentation | |||
| Are interface agents scapegoats? Attributions of responsibility in human-agent interaction | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 293-303 | |
| Alexander Serenko | |||
| This paper presents an investigation of the self-serving biases of interface
agent users. An experiment that involved 202 MS Office users demonstrated that,
in contrast to the self-serving hypothesis in attribution theory, people do not
always attribute the successful outcomes of human-agent interaction to
themselves and negative results to interface agents. At the same time, it was
found that as the degree of autonomy of MS Office interface agents increases,
users tend to assign more negative attributions to agents under the condition
of failure and more positive attributions under the condition of success.
Overall, this research attempts to understand the behavior of interface agent
users and presents several conclusions that may be of interest to
human-computer interaction researchers and software designers working on the
incorporation of interface agents in end-user systems. Keywords: Interface agents; Human-agent interaction; Attribution theory; Self-serving
bias | |||
| Usefulness of VRML building models in a direction finding context | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 305-313 | |
| Pietro Murano; Dino Mackey | |||
| This paper describes an experiment which aims to examine the effectiveness
and efficiency of a Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) building model
compared with equivalent architectural plans, for direction finding purposes.
The effectiveness and efficiency issues being primarily investigated were
number of tasks completed overall and task completion times. The experiment
involved a series of tasks where participants had to find a number of
locations/objects in a building unknown to them at the outset of the
experiment. Statistically significant results are presented for the benefit of
the research community, law enforcement officers and fire fighters where it is
clear that in this context, the VRML model led to better task completions than
the equivalent architectural plans. Regarding the task completion times, no
statistical significance was found. Given the current climate of security
issues and terrorist threats, it is important that law enforcement officers
have at their disposal the best information possible regarding the layout of a
building, whilst keeping costs down. This also applies to fire fighters when
rescuing victims. This experiment has shown that a VRML model leads to better
task completions in direction finding. Keywords: VRML; Direction finding; User interfaces | |||
| TAPRAV: An interactive analysis tool for exploring workload aligned to models of task execution | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 314-329 | |
| Brian P. Bailey; Chris W. Busbey; Shamsi T. Iqbal | |||
| Pupillary response is a valid indicator of mental workload and is being
increasingly leveraged to identify lower cost moments for interruption,
evaluate complex interfaces, and develop further understanding of psychological
processes. Existing tools are not sufficient for analyzing this type of data,
as it typically needs to be analyzed in relation to the corresponding task's
execution. To address this emerging need, we have developed a new interactive
analysis tool, TAPRAV. The primary components of the tool include; (i) a
visualization of pupillary response aligned to the corresponding model of task
execution, useful for exploring relationships between these two data sources;
(ii) an interactive overview + detail metaphor, enabling rapid inspection of
details while maintaining global context; (iii) synchronized playback of the
video of the user's screen interaction, providing awareness of the state of the
task; and (iv) interaction supporting discovery driven analysis. Results from a
user study showed that users are able to efficiently interact with the tool to
analyze relationships between pupillary response and task execution. The
primary contribution of our tool is that it demonstrates an effective
visualization and interaction design for rapidly exploring pupillary response
in relation to models of task execution, thereby reducing the analysis effort. Keywords: Mental workload; Pupil size; Task models; Visualization | |||
| Usable error message presentation in the World Wide Web: Do not show errors right away | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 330-341 | |
| Javier A. Bargas-Avila; Glenn Oberholzer; Peter Schmutz; Marco de Vito; Klaus Opwis | |||
| Online form validation can be performed in several ways. This article
discusses two empirical studies with 77 and 90 participants, which have found
evidence that the best way of presenting error messages is to provide the
erroneous fields after users have completed the whole form. Immediate error
feedback recommended by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) showed the worst performance in these studies. Where presented with
immediate feedback, users often simply ignored the messages on the screen and
continued completing the form as if nothing happened. These results lead to the
postulation of the "Modal Theory of Form Completion": Users are in either
"Completion" or "Revision Mode" when filling out online forms. These modes
affect the users' way of interaction with the system: During Completion Mode
the users' disposition to correct mistakes is reduced, therefore error messages
are often ignored. Keywords: Error handling; Error message presentation; Error message communication;
User feedback; Form validation; Field validation; Online forms; Validation
mechanisms; Interaction design; Interaction processes | |||
| Towards an empirical method of efficiency testing of system parts: A methodological study | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 342-356 | |
| Willem-Paul Brinkman; Reinder Haakma; Don G. Bouwhuis | |||
| Current usability evaluation methods are essentially holistic in nature.
However, engineers that apply a component-based software engineering approach
might also be interested in understanding the usability of individual parts of
an interactive system. This paper examines the efficiency dimension of
usability by describing a method, which engineers can use to test, empirically
and objectively, the physical interaction effort to operate components in a
single device. The method looks at low-level events, such as button clicks, and
attributes the physical effort associated with these interaction events to
individual components in the system. This forms the basis for engineers to
prioritise their improvement effort. The paper discusses face validity, content
validity, criterion validity, and construct validity of the method. The
discussion is set within the context of four usability tests, in which 40 users
participated to evaluate the efficiency of four different versions of a mobile
phone. The results of the study show that the method can provide a valid
estimation of the physical interaction event effort users made when interacting
with a specific part of a device. Keywords: Efficiency; Usability testing; HCI methodology; Usability evaluation method;
Log file analysis; Empirical method | |||
| Implicit measures of lostness and success in web navigation | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 357-369 | |
| Jacek Gwizdka; Ian Spence | |||
| In two studies, we investigated the ability of a variety of structural and
temporal measures computed from a web navigation path to predict lostness and
task success. The user's task was to find requested target information on
specified websites. The web navigation measures were based on counts of visits
to web pages and other statistical properties of the web usage graph (such as
compactness, stratum, and similarity to the optimal path). Subjective lostness
was best predicted by similarity to the optimal path and time on task. The best
overall predictor of success on individual tasks was similarity to the optimal
path, but other predictors were sometimes superior depending on the particular
web navigation task. These measures can be used to diagnose user navigational
problems and to help identify problems in website design. Keywords: Web navigation; Web navigation graph; Navigation path similarity; Implicit
measures; Lostness; Compactness; Stratum; User studies | |||
| An experimental study on the role of graphical information about hand movement when interacting with objects in virtual reality environments | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 370-381 | |
| Andrea H. Mason | |||
| In this series of experiments, we investigated whether a crude
representation of the hand that was extinguished at movement onset improved
performance when compared to a no-feedback situation. Subjects performed simple
reach to grasp movements in a virtual environment in two experiments. In
Experiment 1, trials were blocked so that subjects were aware that a graphical
representation of the hand would either be available throughout the movement
(FA), be removed at movement onset (FAB), or not be available (NF). In
Experiment 2, trials were randomized so that subjects were unaware of whether
feedback would be available throughout the trial or removed at movement onset.
Our results indicated that when subjects were aware of the availability of
graphical feedback, the FAB condition improved performance compared to the NF
condition. Furthermore, movement time was similar in the two feedback available
conditions (FA, FAB). In contrast, for the randomized trial presentation, the
positive influence of the FAB condition was diminished. These results suggest
that visual feedback available prior to movement onset can be used to calibrate
the proprioceptive system and improve performance over a no feedback situation.
These results can be applied by designers of virtual environments to solve
problems related to occlusion of important environmental information by the
hand as users reach to grasp and manipulate objects. Keywords: Virtual reality; Kinematic data; Graphical feedback; Sensory information;
Empirical data; Interaction | |||
| Introducing task-based general computer self-efficacy: An empirical comparison of three general self-efficacy instruments | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 382-396 | |
| James P. Downey; Mark McMurtrey | |||
| Computer self-efficacy (CSE) operates at multiple levels, including general
and specific, although many studies operationalize it at the general level.
GCSE, or a judgment of ability across all computing domains, is particularly
useful because it can be generalized to all computing environments and it
matches the level of specificity for general constructs. However, there have
been problems with current instruments, among them the inability to capture the
entire computing domain and using levels of assistance instead of task-based
items. This study introduces and tests a new method of measuring general CSE,
one that is task-based and calculated from specific CSEs, called summated GCSE
(SGCSE). This instrument is empirically compared to two other GCSE instruments
in their relationship with three common self-efficacy outcomes. Results
demonstrate that SGCSE significantly related to all outcomes and that
task-based GCSE is the preferred instrument to use for some, but not all
outcomes. Implications are discussed. Keywords: Self-efficacy; Computer self-efficacy; General self-efficacy; Computer
attitudes; Computer competency; Structural equation modeling | |||
| Going online for health advice: Changes in usage and trust practices over the last five years | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 397-406 | |
| Elizabeth Sillence; Pam Briggs; Peter Harris; Lesley Fishwick | |||
| Abstract In recent years the number of health related websites has increased
dramatically and so have concerns regarding the quality of online information.
The sheer volume of sites and the variety of information available have left
health consumers potentially with greater choice but it is not clear whether
these online changes are reflected in user behaviour. This study addresses
whether users are becoming more proficient in searching for credible, high
quality information and whether they are more demanding of the type of
information being sought and less ready to trust online health advice. This
paper describes changes in the use of the Internet for health advice over a
five-year period. It compares findings from two large-scale online
questionnaire studies undertaken in 2000 and 2005. Key changes and similarities
in usage and trust practices are noted. The rise in unregulated sites is
discussed in terms of patients "acting as scientists" using websites to test
out theories regarding their health. The increasing importance of design issues
is also highlighted and implications for website designers and content
providers are presented. Keywords: Online advice; Trust; Credibility; Questionnaire; Internet; Health | |||
| User performance with trackball-mice | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 407-427 | |
| Poika Isokoski; Roope Raisamo; Benoît Martin; Grigori Evreinov | |||
| Abstract Trackball-mice are devices that include both a trackball and a
mouse. In this paper we discuss our experiences in building and testing
trackball-mouse prototypes. We report four experiments on user performance with
the prototypes used as trackball-mice, conventional mice, and in two-handed
configuration with a separate trackball for the non-dominant hand. The results
show that user performance with the two-handed configuration was better than in
one-handed operation of a trackball-mouse and in one-handed operation of a
mouse. Trackball-mouse use and conventional mouse use were more evenly matched.
However, Trackball-mouse operation involves a skill that most users do not have
whereas mouse operation is familiar to most. Therefore, widespread introduction
of trackball-mice does not appear to be justified on performance grounds alone.
However, trackball-mice can be used as regular mice by ignoring the ball. This
makes them compatible with traditional graphical user interfaces while offering
two extra degrees of freedom in tasks where they are beneficial. Keywords: Trackmouse; Optical mouse; Trackball; Fitts' Law; Pointing device;
Two-cursor; Two-handed interaction; Dual-stream input | |||
| To do or not to do: Differences in user experience and retrospective judgments depending on the presence or absence of instrumental goals | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 429-437 | |
| Marc Hassenzahl; Daniel Ullrich | |||
| Recently, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) started to focus on experiential
aspects of product use, such as affect or hedonic qualities. One interesting
question concerns the way a particular experience is summarized into a
retrospective value judgment about the product. In the present study, we
specifically explored the relationship between affect, mental effort and
spontaneity experienced while interacting with a storytelling system and
retrospective judgments of appeal. In addition, we studied differential effects
of the presence or absence of instrumental goals. In general, active
instrumental goals did not only impact experience per se by, for example,
inducing mental effort, but also the way subsequent retrospective judgments
were formed. We discuss the implications of our findings for the practice of
product evaluation in HCI specifically, and more general aspects, such as the
role of affect in product evaluations and the importance of usage mode
compatibility (i.e., a compatibility of the way one ought to and actually does
approach a product). Keywords: User experience; Affect; Evaluation; User satisfaction; Task; Instrumental
goals; Context-dependency; Goal-mode; Action-mode | |||
| Dependable domestic systems design: A socio-technical approach | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 438-456 | |
| Ian Sommerville; Guy Dewsbury | |||
| This paper describes a model that defines the attributes of domestic systems
that lead to system dependability and a user-oriented specification method for
support systems based on this model. We start by discussing technical
dependability models and discuss how these have to be extended for use in a
domestic context. We present an extended dependability model based on a
socio-technical perspective. This extends the technical notion of dependability
to take into account fitness for purpose, acceptability and adaptability. We
then go on to discuss MDDS -- a questionnaire-based method that reflects the
socio-technical dependability model. It is intended for use by social care
professionals who are specifying and designing support systems for older or
disabled people. MDDS provides a basis for examining a design from a
dependability perspective. We illustrate the use of the method and conclude
with a discussion of its qualitative evaluation. Keywords: Socio-technical systems; Domestic computer systems; System dependability;
Design method | |||
| Lightweight techniques for structural evaluation of animated metaphors | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 457-471 | |
| Jorma Sajaniemi; Tuija Stützle | |||
| Visual metaphors in the form of still or animated pictures have been used in
user interfaces with the hope of enhancing learning and use of computer
applications. This paper studies animated metaphors with the intent to
understand how they relate to human cognition and how their quality can be
measured. We present a model of the relationships within metaphors, suggest
lightweight evaluation techniques based on this model, and test these
techniques in an empirical investigation. The results indicate that a
lightweight analysis based on still images and made by domain-aware but
metaphor-unaware judges can be used as a first step in deciding which metaphors
are worthy of further study, and to direct animation efforts to overcome the
most crucial problems. Furthermore, the results show that animation may
increase or decrease the quality of a metaphor by considerable amounts; hence
the final evaluation must be based on actual use of fully implemented
metaphors. The results also confirm earlier suggestions to use rich metaphors
and provides evidence that richness of the still image is important for the
effectiveness of animation. Keywords: Metaphor; Evaluation; Animation | |||
| User acceptance of mobile Internet: Implication for convergence technologies | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 472-483 | |
| Dong-Hee Shin | |||
| Abstract Using the Technology Acceptance Model as a conceptual framework and
a method of structural equation modeling, this study analyzes the consumer
attitude toward Wi-Bro drawing data from 515 consumers. Individuals' responses
to questions about whether they use/accept Wi-Bro were collected and combined
with various factors modified from the Technology Acceptance Model.
The result of this study show that users' perceptions are significantly associated with their motivation to use Wi-Bro. Specifically, perceived quality and perceived availability are found to have significant effect on users' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. These new factors are found to be Wi-Bro-specific factors, playing as enhancing factors to attitudes and intention. Keywords: Technology acceptance model; Wireless Internet; Structural equation
modeling; Convergence technologies | |||
| The effects of speech-gesture cooperation in animated agents' behavior in multimedia presentations | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 484-493 | |
| Stéphanie Buisine; Jean-Claude Martin | |||
| Until now, research on arrangement of verbal and non-verbal information in
multimedia presentations has not considered multimodal behavior of animated
agents. In this paper, we will present an experiment exploring the effects of
different types of speech-gesture cooperation in agents' behavior: redundancy
(gestures duplicate pieces of information conveyed by speech), complementarity
(distribution of information across speech and gestures) and a control
condition in which gesture does not convey semantic information. Using a
Latin-square design, these strategies were attributed to agents of different
appearances to present different objects. Fifty-four male and 54 female users
attended three short presentations performed by the agents, recalled the
content of presentations and evaluated both the presentations and the agents.
Although speech-gesture cooperation was not consciously perceived, it proved to
influence users' recall performance and subjective evaluations: redundancy
increased verbal information recall, ratings of the quality of explanation, and
expressiveness of agents. Redundancy also resulted in higher likeability scores
for the agents and a more positive perception of their personality. Users'
gender had no influence on this set of results. Keywords: Embodied conversational agents; Multimodal behavior; Redundancy;
Experimental evaluation | |||
| Evaluating a cross-cultural children's online book community: Lessons learned for sociability, usability, and cultural exchange | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 494-511 | |
| Anita Komlodi; Weimin Hou; Jenny Preece; Allison Druin; Evan Golub; Jade Alburo; Sabrina Liao; Aaron Elkiss; Philip Resnik | |||
| The use of computers for human-to-human communication among adults has been
studied for many years, but using computer technology to enable children from
all over the world to talk to each other has rarely been discussed by
researchers. The goal of our research is to fill this gap and explore the
design and evaluation of children's cross-language online communities via a
case study of the International Children's Digital Library Communities
(ICDLCommunities). This project supports the development of communities for
children (ages 7-11) that form around the International Digital Children's
Library (ICDL) book collection. In this community the children can learn about
each others' cultures and make friends even if they do not speak the same
language. They can also read and create stories and ask and answer questions
about these. From this evaluation study we learned that: (i) children are very
interested in their counterparts in other countries and a remarkable amount of
communication takes place even when they do not share a common language; (ii)
representing their identity online in many different forms is particularly
important to children when communicating in an online community; (iii) children
enjoy drawing but representing stories in a sequence of diagrams is challenging
and needs support; and (iv) asking and answering questions without language is
possible using graphical templates. In this paper we present our findings and
make recommendations for designing children's cross-cultural online
communities. Keywords: Online communities; Children; International Children's Digital Library;
Cross-cultural; Evaluation and design | |||
| Looking at human-computer interface design: Effects of ethnicity in computer agents | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 512-523 | |
| Jean A. Pratt; Karina Hauser; Zsolt Ugray; Olga Patterson | |||
| Abstract This paper presents empirical research findings that identify
demonstrated attitude changes in computer users associated with their receiving
advice from personified computer agents of two different ethnicities: African
American and European American. Our findings indicate that computer users are
more likely to change their actions (demonstrating underlying attitudes) based
on input from a computer agent whose ethnicity is similar to theirs. These
findings directly impact computer agent design in many fields. Keywords: Computer agents; Ethnicity; Human-computer interface design; Personalisation | |||
| Semi-automatic photo annotation strategies using event based clustering and clothing based person recognition | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 524-544 | |
| Bongwon Suh; Benjamin B. Bederson | |||
| Managing a large number of digital photos is a challenging task for casual
users. Personal photos often don't have rich metadata, or additional
information associated with them. However, available metadata can play a
crucial role in managing photos. Labeling the semantic content of photos (i.e.,
annotating them), can increase the amount of metadata and facilitate efficient
management. However, manual annotation is tedious and labor intensive while
automatic metadata extraction techniques often generate inaccurate and
irrelevant results. This paper describes a semi-automatic annotation strategy
that takes advantage of human and computer strengths. The semi-automatic
approach enables users to efficiently update automatically obtained metadata
interactively and incrementally. Even though automatically identified metadata
are compromised with inaccurate recognition errors, the process of correcting
inaccurate information can be faster and easier than manually adding new
metadata from scratch. In this paper, we introduce two photo clustering
algorithms for generating meaningful photo groups: (1) Hierarchical event
clustering; and (2) Clothing based person recognition, which assumes that
people who wear similar clothing and appear in photos taken in one day are very
likely to be the same person. To explore our semi-automatic strategies, we
designed and implemented a prototype called SAPHARI (Semi-Automatic PHoto
Annotation and Recognition Interface). The prototype provides an annotation
framework which focuses on making bulk annotations on automatically identified
photo groups. The prototype automatically creates photo clusters based on
events, people, and file metadata so that users can easily bulk annotation
photos. We performed a series of user studies to investigate the effectiveness
and usability of the semi-automatic annotation techniques when applied to
personal photo collections. The results show that users were able to make
annotations significantly faster with event clustering using SAPHARI. We also
found that users clearly preferred the semi-automatic approaches. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Annotation; Semi-automatic annotation; Event
identification; Clothing based person recognition; Zoomable user interface;
Face detection; Digital photograph; Image management systems | |||
| Computers in talk-based mental health interventions | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 545-562 | |
| David Coyle; Gavin Doherty; Mark Matthews; John Sharry | |||
| The cost to society of mental illness is substantial. A large scale
international study has identified mental illnesses as the second leading cause
of disability and premature mortality in the developed world [Murray, C.L.,
Lopez, A.D. (Eds.), 1996. The Global Burden of Disease: A comprehensive
assessment of mortality and disability from disease, injuries, and risk factors
in 1990 and projected to 2020. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA].
Unfortunately, research also suggests that the majority of people suffering
from treatable mental health disorders do not have access to the required
treatment. Furthermore, even when treatment is accessible many sufferers are
unable to successfully engage with professional services [Surgeon General,
1999. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General -- Executive Summary,
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, Retrieved August 2006,
from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html WHO World
Mental Health Survey Consortium, 2004. Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for
treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental
Health Surveys. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(21)]. Computer
assisted mental health interventions have the potential to help in addressing
this imbalance. However, a review of literature shows that to date this
potential has been largely unexplored. One of the primary reasons for this is
that few researchers from a HCI or technical background have engaged in this
area. The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a foundation and set an
agenda for future research on the design of technology for talk-based mental
health interventions. Theoretical approaches to the treatment of mental illness
are reviewed, as is previous research on the use of technology in this area.
Several significant factors effecting design and evaluation are identified and
based on these factors a broad set of design guidelines are proposed to aid the
development of new technologies. Of the issues identified, ethical requirements
along with the sensitivity and stigma associated with mental illness pose
particular challenges to HCI professionals. These factors place strict
limitations on access to mental health care (MHC) settings by non-MHC
professionals and create difficulties for the direct application of traditional
HCI methods, such as participatory, user-centred and iterative design. To
overcome these difficulties this paper proposes a model for collaborative
design and evaluation, involving both HCI and MHC professionals. The
development of adaptable technologies is an important element of the proposed
approach. The final contribution of the paper is to suggest future research
directions and identify ways in which HCI researchers can contribute to this
work. Keywords: Mental health interventions; Design methodologies; Collaborative design;
Ethical and access constraints; User engagement; Adaptable systems | |||
| Providing end-user facilities to simplify ontology-driven web application authoring | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 563-585 | |
| José A. Macías; Pablo Castells | |||
| Generally speaking, emerging web-based technologies are mostly intended for
professional developers. They pay poor attention to users who have no
programming abilities but need to customize software applications. At some
point, such needs force end-users to act as designers in various aspects of
software authoring and development. Every day, more new computing-related
professionals attempt to create and modify existing applications in order to
customize web-based artifacts that will help them carry out their daily tasks.
In general they are domain experts rather than skilled software designers, and
new authoring mechanisms are needed in order that they can accomplish their
tasks properly. The work we present is an effort to supply end-users with easy
mechanisms for authoring web-based applications. To complement this effort, we
present a user study showing that it is possible to carry out a trade-off
between expressiveness and ease of use in order to provide end-users with
authoring facilities. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Model-Based User Interfaces; End-User
Development; Intelligent user interfaces; Programming by example; Semantic web | |||
| The efficacy of narrative video for raising awareness in ICT designers about older users' requirements | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 587-596 | |
| A. Carmichael; A. F. Newell; M. Morgan | |||
| This paper discusses the efficacy of narrative video to communicate some of
the fundamental differences between older users of ICT interfaces and the
interface designers who tend not to be familiar with the general perspectives
and user requirements of this and other 'non-typical' target groups.
Preliminary results show the impact such videos can have on relevant audiences'
perspective on designing systems for older adults. The findings suggest that
they can influence the mind set of those with little or no experience of
designing for older users and that this influence can persist in the longer
term. The findings also suggest that the extent of this influence can be an
appropriate alternative to that of meeting and interacting with older users in
a user centred design process, which although very valuable can be a
logistically (and otherwise) challenging element in the training of prospective
software designers. The potential utility and limits of this approach are also
discussed. Keywords: Film/video; User requirements; Interface design; Older people; Inclusive
design | |||
| Towards useful and usable interaction design tools: CanonSketch | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 597-613 | |
| Pedro Campos; Nuno Nunes | |||
| Despite all the effort dedicated to bringing better User-Centered Design
(UCD) tools to market, current studies show that the industry is still
dominated by tools that do not support the activities and workstyles of
designers. Also, there is a growing need for interaction design tools aimed at
software engineers, a problem related to bringing usability into the software
engineering processes.
We propose a new workstyle model that can be effectively used to envision, design and evaluate a new generation of innovative interaction and software design tools, aimed at integrating usability and software engineering. We illustrate the effectiveness of our model by describing a new tool, called CanonSketch, that was built in order to support UCD in terms of the dimensions in our workstyle model. We also describe an evaluation study aimed at contrasting paper prototyping with our tool as well as the level of workstyle support. Keywords: User interface development environments; User-centered design; Graphical
user interfaces; Human-computer interaction; OO&HCI | |||
| The effects of visual metaphor and cognitive style for mental modeling in a hypermedia-based environment | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 614-629 | |
| Jiunde Lee | |||
| With the exponential growth of Internet technology, the notion of users'
cognition when navigating such a vast information space has gained prominence.
Studies suggest that metaphors can serve as effective tools to scaffold users'
mental modeling processes. However, how users conceive of the metaphorical aid
(as opposed to simply how they perceive it) remains questionable. Cognitive
style, or the user's preferred way of information processing, has thus been
posited as a possible factor affecting the success of the metaphorical approach
in a hypermedia environment.
This study explores the effects of visual metaphors and cognitive styles on users' learning performances in terms of structural knowledge and feelings of disorientation. The results indicate that a visual metaphor could improve the quality of mental formation, yet simultaneously increase users' mental load during navigation. In addition, cognitive style is a crucial factor that can significantly affect users' learning performance. Keywords: Visual metaphor; Cognitive style; Structural knowledge; Interface design | |||
| Visualizing set concordance with permutation matrices and fan diagrams | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 630-643 | |
| Bohyoung Kim; Bongshin Lee; Jinwook Seo | |||
| Scientific problem solving often involves concordance (or discordance)
analysis among the result sets from different approaches. For example,
different scientific analysis methods with the same samples often lead to
different or even conflicting conclusions. To reach a more judicious
conclusion, it is crucial to consider different perspectives by checking
concordance among those result sets by different methods. In this paper, we
present an interactive visualization tool called ConSet, where users can
effectively examine relationships among multiple sets at once. ConSet provides
an overview using an improved permutation matrix to enable users to easily
identify relationships among sets with a large number of elements. Not only do
we use a standard Venn diagram, we also introduce a new diagram called Fan
diagram that allows users to compare two or three sets without any
inconsistencies that may exist in Venn diagrams. A qualitative user study was
conducted to evaluate how our tool works in comparison with a traditional set
visualization tool based on a Venn diagram. We observed that ConSet enabled
users to complete more tasks with fewer errors than the traditional interface
did and most users preferred ConSet. Keywords: Set concordance; Permutation matrix; Fan diagram; Venn diagram; Cluster
comparison | |||
| Corrigendum to "Exploring the design space of robots: Children's perspectives" [Interact. Comput. 18 (2006) 1390-1418] | | BIB | Full-Text | Original Article | 644 | |
| S. N. Woods; K. Dautenhahn; J. Schulz | |||