| Making sense of failure | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 1 | |
| Chris Johnson | |||
| Incident and accident reporting systems can be used to identify patterns of
operator behavior in the causes and mitigation of adverse events. Most
attention in this area has, however, focused on the civilian process,
healthcare and transportation industries. In contrast, this paper focuses on
human factors issues in military incident reporting. We identify important
differences both in the incidents that are reported and in attitudes towards
human 'error'. For instance, military systems contain far more training related
mishaps than might be expected in civilian systems. These incidents often stem
from tensions between the need to prepare staff for operational situations and
the need to control the hazards that form a necessary part of complex, military
training scenarios. Further differences stem from the need for military
personnel to make complex risk assessments in uncertain environments in
strictly limited time periods. For example, leaders may have to choose between
a short exposure to a relatively high-risk situation and prolonged exposure to
a lesser risk. One consequence of this is that military reporting systems often
focus more on the risk-decision making process than they do on the immediate
actions that lead to an adverse event. It is also possible to identify a strong
form of hindsight bias in which individuals may be blamed irrespective of the
risk exposure that they accept. Keywords: Human error, incident analysis, causation, root cause analysis | |||
| Ergonomics and the design of consumer products: moving beyond retroactive fixes | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 2 | |
| Bill Green | |||
| This paper considers some of the theories underpinning ergonomics research
in the context of the design of consumer products and comments on the
suitability or otherwise of positivist/objectivist principles versus a
constructivist/relativist approach in interaction research. It uses projects
from graduate and doctoral studies as examples and places them in a
safety/efficiency/satisfaction hierarchy. It concludes with an assertion that
qualitative and quantitative are pejorative and less than perfect descriptors
for appropriate ergonomics research, that design is an essential integrating
factor and that it should be a predicator of ergonomics methods rather than a
simple outcome of arbitrarily applied preconceptions and a subject of
post-facto evaluations. Keywords: Consumer product use; risk perception; theoretical positions; ergonomics
methods; pleasure with products | |||
| Human Factors of the fourth kind | | BIBA | 3 | |
| Michael Patkin | |||
| Although the social role of ergonomics is widely accepted, a more difficult challenge is to map out possible futures for ergonomics. Previous developments have been predictable as layers of technology intervene between humans and their work -- the unpredictable is by definition unstatable, but the possibly predictable developments will be presented. | |||
| Ergonomics of wearability as a design driver: A case study of user-centered design process of designing mobile phones and accessories for active use | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 4 | |
| Harri Wikberg; Turkka Keinonen | |||
| User interface design has two major focus areas: Ensuring that the product
is easy to use and ensuring that the product meets end user needs. The former
-- ease of use -- has already reached a mature role in the industry. Usability
processes have been integrated into the product development process and the
importance of usability is well understood all the way up to the top
management. However, meeting end user needs in product design is still a poorly
understood process not properly applied in the industry. Instead most design is
driven quest for applications for emerging technologies or requirements
dictated by marketing people. And more than once this has lead to products that
do not meet user needs. The importance of qualitative end user studies as such
is well understood and also reflected in the number of studies being conducted.
However, the problem lies in transferring the findings into designs. There has
been a lack of proper way to make people involved in the design process
(designers, marketing people, management) to understand what is important in
the product i.e. what actually should be designed. This case study describes a
project whose objective was to create a series of concepts for Nokia's sports
products and to see what kinds of solutions would emerge for products optimized
for physical activities, outdoor activities and wearability. It is a good case
of a project where findings of the end user studies totally changed the focus
of the project from assumed interaction design of phone applications to
ergonomic design of handling the phone and the headset. Furthermore, the
project was a pilot project for concept projects that followed it. It
successfully demonstrated the model of a user-centered concept project. It
convinced the customer organization and it helped to create the necessary
confidence in the process. Keywords: Ergonomics, product design, end user needs, mobile appliances | |||
| Formative ergonomic and usability evaluation of wearables: A case study | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 5 | |
| Leong Hwee Teo; Kok Tiong Soo | |||
| Both (physical) ergonomics and (software) usability are important in the
design of wearable computers. In this paper, we report a formative human
factors evaluation of a wearable prototype for military personnel. Twelve
subjects participated in a series of laboratory and field evaluations. Joint
consideration of ergonomics and usability was by (1) progressive introduction
of prototype components, tasks and environment factors, and (2) evaluation
checklists cross-referenced by task. We conceived and applied a novel
evaluation method to collect graphical data for identifying ergonomic problems,
with encouraging results and subject feedback. The evaluation found that
integrating new controls onto existing tool grip surfaces degrades user
experience with both the original tool and the new controls; and over reliance
on visual output, such as in "point-and-click" interaction, demands visual
attention and conflicts with the user's need to observe and work in the real
environment. Keywords: Physical Ergonomics, Software Usability, Wearable Computer, Formative
Evaluation, Case Study | |||
| Location based services (LBS) and the effect it can have on WAP | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 6 | |
| Shane Fernando; Ghassan Al-Qaimari | |||
| Our study investigates the effect that Location Based Services (LBS) has on
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) applications. In particular the advantages
it offers the design of the user interface and the effect it has on the users
perception, efficiency and effectiveness of the application. Through a train
timetabling prototype the users retrieved information pertaining to travel
information, fare prices and ticket outlets. The system consists of two
components: one that emulates a LBS enhanced system and the other that does
not. A comparison within subject study was conducted allowing us to test the
same participants across all scenarios and draw conclusions. We found that LBS
functionality does enhance the WAP applications by overcoming some of the
limitations associated with WAP. Keywords: WAP, Location, LBS, Wireless, User Interface Design | |||
| Enhancing operator performance of remote container landing: An assessment of a 3D stereoscopic control & display system | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 7 | |
| Kee Yong Lim; Roy S. M. Quek | |||
| A freight company in Singapore has developed and implemented the world's
first semi-automated camera-based remote control crane system to pick-up and
land freight containers. A centralised computer commands the crane to move a
container between locations, while the operator performs the skilled task of
vertically landing/picking up the container. However, the 2 dimensional (2D)
camera-based system compromises somewhat the depth perception required for the
container landing/pick-up task. For instance, the operator may experience
difficulty in judging container height relative to the prime mover chassis.
Their ability to control container landing/pick up quickly and thus,
throughput, may be affected. Similarly, container landing impact may be
controlled poorly. To address these problems, depth perception needs to be
restored. A desk-top virtual reality system comprising a three-dimensional (3D)
stereoscopic display, has thus been developed to meet this requirement. Subject
tests with a scale model has shown that the 3D stereoscopic display can enhance
operator performance of container landing impact (P<0.01). For the small
scale test rig, no significant difference in container landing time performance
is found between the displays as expected. Thus, it may be concluded that a 3D
stereoscopic display has shown promise in enhancing operator performance of
container landing with apparently no loss in throughput. Keywords: 2 dimensional display, 3D stereoscopic display, depth perception, remote
control crane | |||
| Triangular targets can afford conflicting cues during cursor placement | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 8 | |
| J. Phillips; J. Meehan; R. Stevenson; T. Triggs | |||
| Triangles often signify a mode of operation, but as targets they also
contain conflicting irrelevant features that may influence positioning
movements within graphical user interfaces. In a choice reaction time paradigm
16 participants used a cursor control device to move a crosshair cursor 8cm or
16cm to equilateral triangular targets in which the vertex pointed towards
(blunt) or away (sharp) from the direction of motion. Experiment 1 employed a
touch sensitive screen, finding greater amounts of overshooting when moving to
the sharp end of a triangular target in near space. Experiment 2 observed
similar trends using a computer mouse. However, target shape had more influence
upon cursor trajectories for the mouse, with prolonged movements towards the
sharp end of a triangular target in far space. For direct controls (touch
sensitive screen), target shape influences the degree of overshoot, while for
indirect controls (mouse), target shape influences cursor trajectory. Keywords: Performance, targets, touch sensitive screen, mouse | |||
| Learning and transfer in an applied visual spatial task | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 9 | |
| Shayne Loft; Andrew Neal; Michael Humphreys | |||
| This paper presents a new dynamic visual spatial task for use in applied
cognition research. The aim of the experiment reported is to illustrate a major
limitation of learning from individualized examples -- the inability to
transfer across different contexts. Instance-based models of learning emphasize
the role that memory for previous examples plays in subsequent task performance
and the predictions were based on this framework. The task required
participants to decide as quickly and as accurately as possible whether pairs
of aircraft moving on the screen would come within 1 cm of each other
(conflict). During training the surface features of the items were held
constant, and during transfer they were changed. Changing the spatial
configuration of the aircraft had the largest negative impact on performance,
followed by orientation and then position. The results illustrate some key ways
in which episodic memory influences performance in a dynamic visual spatial
environment. The results reported raise some avenues for further enquiry.
Design implications are discussed. Keywords: Learning, transfer, air traffic control, training, context | |||
| Analysis and Visualisation of Complex Behavioural Data: A case study of disturbance management in anaesthesia | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 10 | |
| Kathleen Keogh; E. A. Sonenberg | |||
| We have studied the reasoning of anaesthetists involved in resolving a
critical incident. This reasoning incorporates the diagnosis of disturbances
simultaneously with therapeutic patient management activities. The cognitive
behavioural data and activity representing each scenario is dense and rich with
meaning although difficult to conceptualise as raw tabular traces of actions
and events occurring over time. We have developed an approach for the
transformation of our raw temporal data into novel visual representations that
facilitate the interpretation of the data and enable comparative analysis of
model/subject performance during cognitive modelling and in the assessment of
subjects' performance during training exercises. We make some preliminary
observations as to how the approach illustrated here could be adapted to other
dynamic domains. Keywords: Complex data analysis, cognitive modelling | |||
| The role of auditory attention and auditory perception in the design of real-time sonification of anaesthesia variables | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 11 | |
| Janet Anderson; Penelope Sanderson; Michael Norris | |||
| Sonification -- the representation of data relations in sound relations --
is attracting increasing attention within the human factors community as a way
of providing human operators of real-time processes with continuous information
about the state of a system. This is particularly needed in anesthesia, where
the anesthetist must divide attention across a wide variety of tasks. Efforts
to design effective sonifications of the physiological state of anesthetized
patients, however, have not emerged from basic scientific studies of auditory
attention. Literature reviews indicate that the kind of basic scientific
research on auditory attention that would support the design of sonifications
does not exist. The work described herein is the first part of a research
program in which we build a foundation for our design of anesthesia
sonification in a series of basic studies of auditory attention. These studies
may contribute information that will support sonification design beyond the
anaesthesia application. Keywords: sonification, auditory attention, auditory perception, auditory display | |||
| Multimodal displays for anaesthesia sonification: timesharing, workload, and expertise | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 12 | |
| Jennifer Crawford; Marcus Watson; Oliver Burmeister; Penelope Sanderson | |||
| Physiological monitoring is necessary in health care contexts where a
patient is anaesthetised or heavily sedated. Our goal is to determine the
safest format for keeping a health care practitioner informed about the
patient's state, taking into account other tasks that need to be performed. We
report results of a study that compares visual, auditory, and mixed modality
displays for monitoring an anaesthetised patient while carrying out another
task, reflecting real-world healthcare settings. Results of this study in the
context of other studies in our laboratory suggest task trade-offs that reflect
participants' professional backgrounds, but are nonetheless encouraging for the
development of multimodal displays. Keywords: Sonification, auditory displays, timesharing, multimodality, anaesthesia | |||
| High Appeal vs.high Usability: Implications for user satisfaction | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 13 | |
| Gitte Lindgaard; Cathy Dudek | |||
| People judge incoming sensory stimuli immediately by how pleasant or
unpleasant these 'feel'. When judging a web site seen for the first time, this
judgment is based on visual appearance. At the same time, people tend to be
reluctant to revise a judgment once it is made, resulting in a so-called
confirmation bias. In this study we investigated the existence and the
robustness of this bias by requiring subjects to complete a usability test
containing serious usability problems after exploring a high- or a
low-usability site. Both sites were high in aesthetic appeal. Results suggest
that subjects are sensitive to different levels of usability and that they do
revise their original satisfaction judgment after completing the test. They
also suggest that aesthetics is judged independently of usability. Keywords: Satisfaction, Usability, Aesthetics, Appeal | |||
| Designing for software quality | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 14 | |
| Todd Bentley; Lorraine Johnston; Karola von Baggo | |||
| We often talk of "quality for a cost", or value for money. Usually we want
as much quality as we can get for a particular price. What, then, is quality in
software? Current standards deal with quality from a productivity perspective,
and do not address software quality where productivity is not the main focus.
Other factors, such as enjoyment, fun, or relaxation, may be more important.
This paper examines the issues of quality in software from the 'total' user
perspective, going beyond productivity to the quality of experience. Keywords: standards, design, quality, software, affective factors | |||
| Consumer products: buy at first sight? | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 15 | |
| Helen Beazley | |||
| The study was conducted to ascertain whether the aesthetic design aspects of
a product have a greater influence on older consumers' product selection than
ease of use aspects. Generally the look of a product is considered to have a
significant influence on the consumer's purchase decision. The study was
conducted involving subjects aged 65years and older and a range of five
cordless kettles. The study involved the completion of a questionnaire that
included fourteen design aspects (aesthetic and ease of use), participation in
a usability trial or a selection task, and the completion of an ease of use
checklist. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis was conducted. Results of
the study indicated: that subjects rated ease of use aspects higher than
aesthetic design aspects; that the usability trial did not have a significant
impact on the subject selecting a product that was considered to have enhanced
ease of use; and that the checklist results indicated that generally there was
no difference in the subjects' product selection decision following their
completion of this. The study concluded that in fact ease of use aspects have a
greater influence on older consumers product selection than aesthetic design
aspects where cordless kettles are concerned. Keywords: aesthetics, ease of use, older consumer, questionnaire, usability trial | |||
| Split window view and modification director: Innovative awareness mechanisms in real-time collaborative writing | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 16 | |
| Minh Hong Tran; Gitesh Raikundalia; Yun Yang | |||
| Group awareness is a vital feature improving the usability of real-time
collaborative writing systems. Unfortunately, existing awareness mechanisms
were derived from a solely "bottom-up" approach, without prior research on what
awareness information users really need. Previous research fails to provide a
comprehensive set of awareness mechanisms, and some mechanisms were even
implemented in an ad-hoc manner. Applying the principle of user-centred design,
this research exploits a "top-down" approach in identifying awareness
mechanisms by conducting a laboratory-based usability experiment with REDUCE
(Real-time Distributed Unconstrained Cooperative Editing). This research has
identified quite a few innovative mechanisms, such as Split Window View (SWV)
and Modification Director (MD). SWV provides key information about others'
working and viewing areas. MD conveniently and instantly notifies users when
their work is modified by others. Keywords: Awareness mechanisms, Split Window View, Modification Director, CSCW,
real-time collaborative writing | |||
| Tamot: Towards a flexible task modeling tool | | BIBA | HTML | PDF | 17 | |
| Shijian Lu; Cécile Paris; Keith Vander Linden | |||
| The usefulness of task analysis and task modeling has been widely acknowledged in software design and development. However, the rate of adoption of task analysis and modeling has been painstakingly slow. One of the reasons for this may be the lack of flexible software tool support. In this paper, we present Tamot, a graphical task modeling tool that was designed to include the characteristics that would be desirable in a task-modeling tool. Those characteristics include ease of learning, support for entering multiple tasks quickly, mechanisms to support top-down and bottom-up approaches to task modeling, ease of modification, customisable reporting facilities, and, finally, inter-operability. | |||
| Managing Innovation in contextual scenario-based design | | BIBA | design, contextual scenarios, innovation | design, contextual scenarios, innovation | 18 | |
| Steve Howard; Jennie Carroll; John Murphy; Jane Peck | |||
| Scenarios are often proposed as a means of managing innovation in use-centred design. Here we discuss 'how'. Scenarios allow design spaces to be mapped, both marking and pushing the boundaries of those spaces, and charting paths through the conceptual terrain therein. They achieve this through facilitating two modes of design discourse (backward and forward chaining), and mapping the granularity of the design conversation. | |||
| Towards an activity scenario-based methodology for usability testing of websites | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 19 | |
| Lejla Vrazalic; Peter Hyland | |||
| Traditional laboratory based usability testing methodologies do not take
into account the context in which users engage in socially-driven activities
when using a website along with other types of mediating tools. A preliminary
study with 34 users indicates a series of shortcomings with this traditional
approach. The activity scenario based usability testing methodology, currently
being developed, aims to overcome these shortcomings by utilising a combination
of Activity theory principles and scenario development. This paper describes
the initial theoretical investigation and empirical evidence which will be used
as the basis for further development and refinement of the methodology. Keywords: Usability testing, methodology, activity theory, scenarios, website,
laboratory | |||
| Each sold separately: Ethnography as a tool for integrating online and off line use of educational toys | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 20 | |
| Jared Braiterman; Patrick Larvie | |||
| This paper describes the contributions of rapid ethnography to the design of
a web-enabled educational toy, specifically installation and registration.
While HCI practitioners increasingly advocate rapid ethnography for early
discovery and requirements phases, we discuss the role played by ethnography
that spans open ended observation, story telling, conceptual design and
iterative prototype evaluation in natural environments of use. As the web
enables new types of services, including educational toys, Experience Design
professionals must use new methods to ensure that these services are truly
intuitive and learnable. Focused on everyday environments, offline and online
experiences, an ethnographic approach combined with an iterative design process
helped integrate knowledge of user motivation, sensitivities and tolerances
throughout the design project. Keywords: Customer Experience, Rapid Ethnography, Usability, Education, Children | |||
| Design of future television | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 21 | |
| Leena Eronen | |||
| To enable the future users to create their own product concepts is a
relatively new idea in the design of consumer products. In this paper, ten TV
viewers created new concepts of interactive television programs and
applications for digital television. During the user study, the study
participants were asked to gather data on themselves in their home environment.
The study focused on TV viewers' leisure time and their thoughts of the
television in the future. The study resulted in a set of user profiles and
innovations of future interactive applications the study participants designed
for themselves. The study aims at creating a user centered design method with
the study participants as equal research partners with the designers. Keywords: Digital television, concept design, ethnographic research, home | |||
| Achieving benchmark product design in the waterfront industry, using a systematic risk assessment approach | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 22 | |
| Anthony Novosad; Graham Griffiths | |||
| Over the last two years there has been significant work conducted on finding
ways to improve the safety performance of forklift users. "Since 1988 in
Victoria, there have been 45 recorded deaths involving forklifts. Those deaths
involve pedestrians, operators and in one case a child. They range from deaths
on the wharfs to small factories and timber yards. The problems vary from
system failure to design issues with the equipment". Work cover figures reveal
that -- "The costs of 5539 claims across all 'forklift' profile areas totals to
$101,168,367. The production and the costs to the health sector are not counted
in the work cover figures". Nationally, of the 225 fatal incidents that
occurred, a Coroner, OHS Authority or other agency made recommendations arising
from 112 (49.8%). Of these, 53 recommendations were specifically related to the
design of equipment. Over the last two years, there has been significant work
conducted at Brambles Shipping to ensure that new equipment purchased not only
complied with local, international and national OHS&E legislative
requirements, but also for the first time actually addressed the operating
risks of our daily stevedoring industry. Keywords: Forklift, design, risk assessment and purchasing | |||
| Ergonomic book return system at Mt Gravatt Campus Library of Griffith University | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 23 | |
| Ken Horrigan; Sandra Schofield | |||
| The book return system at the Library at Mt Gravatt Campus of Griffith
University presented a combination of manual handling risks and inefficient,
outdated work practices. The application of ergonomics has provided a win-win
situation with a streamlined system of work and minimal manual handling. The
paper describes the consultative approach to producing the solution, the
features of the ergonomic system adopted and the modifications to the work
practices from the return of the books to their placement on shelves. It
emphasises the concept of risk control through engineering design rather than
administrative control measures. The system was awarded the Australian Library
Institute of Australia Award for Innovation 2000-Academic Library. Since that
award, the library has improved the design by adding a lifting platform for the
processing of courier boxes thus greatly reducing the need to manually lift
heavy boxes. Keywords: ergonomics, library, manual handling, efficient workflow, design | |||
| Interpretation of selected past Australian anthropometric datasets | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 24 | |
| Michael Michaliades; Owen Evans | |||
| Phase 1 of this study identified the existence of a relatively large number
of small-scale and population-specific Australian anthropometric surveys. As
most of these published past studies had not comprehensively analysed their
measurement data, a description of the anthropometry of the general Australian
population was largely unknown at the time of commencement of phase 2 of this
study. This paper reports on a few selected findings from a wider investigation
in phase 2 that sought to identify and then interpret existing anthropometric
data with the aim of anthropometrically describing the general Australian
population. Findings include the effects of several known determinants of
variance (eg. ethnicity, secular effects, demography) on the anthropometry of
the general Australian population, particularly children aged 5-17 y.o. An
attempt to pool several small (but comparable) datasets is also described. Keywords: Anthropometry, Body-measurement, Physical anthropology, Australia | |||
| Analysing ambulance dispatcher decision making: Trialing emergent themes analysis | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 25 | |
| William Wong; Ann Blandford | |||
| Understanding how people make decisions in actual, real-time operational
environments can provide software developers with useful insights into how
systems should be designed to support them. However, part of the difficulty is
developing that understanding. In this paper we describe a case study of how
Critical Decision Method interview data was analysed using the Emergent Themes
Analysis Approach we trialed to identify themes and subsequently decision
strategies for extracting design insights. Keywords: emergency ambulance dispatch, emergency medical dispatch, naturalistic
decision making, critical decision method | |||
| Ethical issues in the use of embedded social protocols to resolve technical problems | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 26 | |
| Toni Robertson | |||
| The relations between various computer applications and the social and
organisational behaviour they are intended to support are not natural or
pregiven. They are always constructed and always the result of decisions made
somewhere. This paper takes a fragment of shared design work and considers some
solutions to one of the technical problems that arise when technology is used
to support similar work over distance. The argument is made that some of these
solutions are better than others because they enable human interaction in
different ways. Some solutions enhance the possibilities for human agency,
others diminish it. Since human agency is about capacities and powers to act in
specific situations, and ethics is about action, then there are ethical issues
associated with the particular solutions to technical problems, as well as the
particular representations of human activities, that we choose to embed in the
technology we build. Keywords: Interaction design, ethics of work design, CSCW, shared drawing applications | |||
| Designing usable applications for older users: An example | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 27 | |
| Dan Hawthorn | |||
| There is now a body of general interface design principles for older users.
The paper reports work in progress on a prototype email system aimed at
providing proof of concept for these principles. The user interface is
described together with indications of the aspects of older users that prompted
various design decisions. Based on testing with a small group of older novices
the system appears to be highly suitable for older users and it is suggested
that this project is on track towards its goal of proof of concept. Keywords: Aging, interface design | |||
| Impacts of presentation media on older users' performance in hypertext perusal as a function of text topology | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 28 | |
| Dyi-Yih Lin | |||
| The present study attempts to examine how older adults react to multimedia
interface in hypertext perusal. 24 older subjects participated in an experiment
where presentation media and text topology were manipulated. A hypermedia
system of tourist guide was developed to test the subject's navigation
performance in terms of retention accuracy. Results showed that the main
effects and interaction were significant. The use of animated graphs, still
pictures, and pure text resulted in significantly descending retention when the
hierarchical topology was perused. The advantage of animated graphs over still
pictures disappeared for the referential topology but both media rendered
higher retention scores than the text-only presentation. It was suggested that
hypermedia interface for the aged should be designed towards the use of
graphs-based presentations on a hierarchical topology for better retention.
Detailed implications were discussed. Keywords: multimedia, hypertext, disorientation, older adults | |||
| Investigations of older adults' interface design requirements | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 29 | |
| Mar Zajicek; Wesley Morrissey | |||
| This paper reports empirical investigations to uncover older adults' special
requirements for a Web browser with voice and large text output, which aim to
establish whether failing senses can be supported by using more than one
channel of perception simultaneously. We present results concerning the
efficacy of multi-modal text and speech output compared with either speech or
text alone. The paper also introduces a special interface design approach for
older adults, Design for Dynamic Diversity, which takes into account the wide
diversity of functionality in older adults. Keywords: Older adults, speech output, Web access, Design for Dynamic Diversity, mixed
mode | |||
| Accessing users' with disabilities conceptual constructions of the online medium: A case for discursive research | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 30 | |
| Natilene Bowker; Keith Tuffin | |||
| This paper presents another approach for researchers to access users'
understandings of their online experience. The merits of discursive research --
a particular kind of qualitative data gathering philosophy and technique, are
considered. An empirical example of discursive research is given, which
analyses users with disabilities' (UWD) interview data about their online
experiences. Research findings demonstrate the benefits of engaging in
text-based environments for UWD because of users' ability to control the
textual construction of their identity. Considerations are suggested for
multi-media design of online environments, where audio and visual enhancements
are encouraged. Analysis offers a way into users' conceptualisation of their
online interaction, allowing users' ideas to influence the research sphere.
Beyond a functional capacity, the online medium is embedded within social
practices, which enable users to operate beyond the constraints of a visible
category of identity. Keywords: Research approaches, discursive psychology, identity, disability | |||
| Posture of school children using information technology | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 31 | |
| Andrew Briggs; Alison Greig; Leon Straker | |||
| The aim of this study was to examine the physical impact of the use of new
and old information technology (IT) on the musculoskeletal system of children
through an analysis of posture. The sitting posture of 32 school aged children
(4-17 years) was examined whilst they read from a book, laptop, and desktop
computer at a standard school chair and desk. A 2D motion analysis approach was
used to calculate mean angles for head tilt, neck flexion, gaze angle and trunk
angle. Posture was found to be influenced by IT type (p<0.001), age
(p<0.001) and gender (p=0.024), and significantly correlated to the height
of the subjects. This paper complements Part B (Muscle activity of school
children using information technology) given the highly interdependent
relationship between posture and muscle activity and therefore the discussion
considers findings from both studies. Keywords: information technology (IT), children, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD),
posture | |||
| Muscle activity of school children using information technology | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 32 | |
| Alison Greig; Andrew Briggs; Leon Straker | |||
| The aim of this study was to examine the physical impact of the use of new
and old information technology (IT) on the musculoskeletal system of children
through an analysis of muscle activity. The muscle activity of 32 school aged
children (4-17 years) was examined whilst they read from a book, laptop, and
desktop computer at a standard school chair and desk. Surface electromyography
(EMG) data was collected from left and right cervical erector spinae (CES) and
upper trapezius muscles. Muscle activity was found to be influenced by IT type
(p<0.001), though was not significantly influenced by age (p=0.382) or left and
right sides (p=0.181). This paper complements Part A (Posture of school
children using information technology) given the highly interdependent
relationship between muscle activity and posture and therefore the discussion
considers findings from both studies. Keywords: information technology (IT), children, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), EMG | |||
| Forearm support for intensive keyboard users: A field study | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 33 | |
| Catherine Cook; Robin Burgess Limerick | |||
| The aim of this study was to determine whether providing forearm support
when using a normal computer workstation would decrease musculoskeletal
discomfort in intensive computer users in a call centre. In a randomised
controlled study (n=59), thirty participants were given forearm support for 12
weeks and the remainder were given forearm support for the last 6 weeks of the
study. Questionnaires were used at 1, 6 and 12 weeks to obtain information
about discomfort, workstation setup, working posture and comfort. At 12 weeks,
there were fewer reports of neck, back and wrist discomfort amongst all
participants. These findings indicate that for the majority of users, forearm
support may be preferable to the "floating" posture implicit in current
guidelines for computer workstation setup. Keywords: keyboard, call centre, computer, forearm support | |||
| What do learning curves tell us about learnability? | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 34 | |
| Antti Pirhonen | |||
| Learnability is generally seen as a key factor of usability. This paper
discusses learnability in terms of different learning theories. The
appropriateness of different theories when striving towards high learnability
is highly dependent on the specific context. One case, the learnability of a
portable music player, is analysed and discussed in detail. In the focused
case, the cognitive view of skill acquisition provided a suitable theoretical
framework for explaining the progress of learning. Keywords: Learnability, learning theories, mobile applications | |||
| Metaphors of human thinking in HCI: Habit, stream of thought, awareness, utterance, and knowing | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 35 | |
| Erik Frokjaer; Kasper Hornbaek | |||
| Understanding human thinking is crucial in the design and evaluation of
human-computer interaction. Inspired by introspective psychology, we present
five metaphors of human thinking. The aim of the metaphors is to help designers
to consider important traits of human thinking when designing. The metaphors
capture aspects of human thinking virtually absent in recent years of
mainstream HCI literature. As an example of the utility of the metaphors, we
show how a selection of good and poor user interfaces can be appreciated in
terms of the metaphors. The metaphors are also used to reinterpret central
notions in human-computer interaction, such as consistency and information
scent, in terms of human thinking. Further, we suggest the metaphors be used
for evaluating interfaces. Keywords: Human thinking, habit, stream of thought, awareness, design guidelines | |||
| Developing mental models and new work practices: An evaluation of the state-of-the-art commercial speech recognition system | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 36 | |
| Penny Collings; Michael Wagner; David Walker | |||
| This paper presents an evaluation of an off-the-shelf commercial speech
recognition system. It focuses particularly on two problems. The first problem
is how to develop a robust mental model of continuous speech recognition and
its use in document preparation. The second is how to learn relevant new work
practices in this context. The paper identifies such new work practices and
discusses issues that confuse users and hinder their development of a robust
mental model. It also suggests how documentation and training might address
these matters. Keywords: voice recognition, continuous speech recognition, work practices, mental
models, learning, documentation, document preparation, technology uptake | |||
| Universal Usability: Accessibility considerations for aural renditions of tables in web sites | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 37 | |
| Terence De Giere; Oliver Burmeister | |||
| Accessibility is a major design and usability issue. There has not been a
conspiracy to make the Web inaccessible. The focus has been on visual not aural
navigation. Problems have grown out of the desire to make the Internet more
attractive, especially to commercial interests, and a lack of understanding of
the original purpose for which HTML was designed. Conformance to Internet
accessibility guidelines are frequently in conflict with the design purposes
for particular sites. When web site formatting layouts involve tables there are
numerous considerations facing developers. A shift needs to occur that will
promote the consideration of accessibility design issues earlier in the
development process. Accessibility needs to be considered not only by
developers in the final stages of web site development, but also by designers
well before implementation decisions are taken. Keywords: Accessibility, design, disability, table, W3C | |||
| Designing an audible caller ID adjunct: A user-centred approach | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 38 | |
| Marc Fusco | |||
| Telecommunications products and services have come under scrutiny recently
by the U.S. Federal government to ensure that they meet the needs of all users,
particularly the differently-abled and elderly. This is a summary of a process
that incorporated user's needs into the design of an audible CallerID adjunct.
Although the team was presented with design constraints (to keep the cost of
the device nominal), by using user-centered design principles, we believe we
have produced a product that meets the needs of "all" users and will thereby be
successful in the marketplace. Keywords: CallerID, visually impaired, UCD, differently-abled | |||
| Modifying work to cater for people with colour vision deficiencies | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 39 | |
| Jennifer Long | |||
| Colour is used in workplaces for many reasons including coding, increasing
contrast, reducing visual clutter and highlighting information. However,
approximately 8% of males and 0.5% of females have a colour vision deficiency
(CVD). A person with a CVD can still see colour, but they see it differently
and may not be able to distinguish as many shades of colour as a person with
normal colour vision.
There may be justification for excluding CVD workers from some professions, especially where safety is concerned (e.g. electrical trades). However, in occupations where colour is only a small part of the job description or where safety is not a critical issue, it may not be desirable to exclude these people from employment. The matter is further complicated if a worker only discovers that they have a CVD after commencing employment or if a job task changes during the course of their employment. In an ideal world, job tasks would be designed so that no worker would be disadvantaged by their colour vision capabilities. This might be achieved by using other cues beside colour for coding e.g. shape, size, position. In reality, colours are often chosen by convention (e.g. red signifies 'stop', green signifies 'go') and equipment is frequently designed without an awareness of safety and efficiency issues for CVD workers. It may be impractical or too costly to replace equipment in some workplaces -- the best option may be to redesign the task or to modify the work environment. Keywords: colour vision, work design | |||
| Night Vision Goggle Symbology for Maritime Helicopter Operations | | BIBK | HTML | PDF | 40 | |
| Peter Blanchonette; Craig Mathews; Philip Hughes; Andrew Robbie; Bradley MacPherson; Royal Australian Navy | |||
Keywords: Helicopter-ship operations, Night Vision Goggles, Symbology, Helmet Mounted
Displays | |||
| Useability in the design of a Lice Detection Device | | BIBA | HTML | PDF | 41 | |
| Peter Schumacher; Tim Upsdell; Peter James | |||
| Within the manufacturing industry Industrial Designers are often the professionals solely responsible for the design of the utility and ergonomics aspects of new products. This poster describes how ergonomics education is integrated into the Industrial Design Program at the University of South Australia, as well as a process for formally developing and testing useable design. | |||
| Designing Software for the Severely/Profoundly Intellectually Handicapped Teenager and Adult | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 42 | |
| Sally Jo Cunningham | |||
| Little software has been created specifically for the severely/profoundly
intellectually handicapped adult. This paper presents recommendations for
software to support the educational and recreational needs of these users, and
examines the problems of evaluating software usability. Keywords: requirements analysis, intellectually handicapped, special needs users | |||
| Psychology-based Agent Architecture for Whole-of-user Interface to the Web | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 43 | |
| Steve Goschnick; Leon Sterling | |||
| This paper argues that the user interface of a workstation connected
continuously (24x7) to a network would be most effective with a sophisticated
agent architecture embedded deep in the workstation system software. In the
user's absence an embedded agent system could act as something more than a
proxy for the user, the multiple sub-agents within it should act in concert as
a Digital Self, one representing and empowering the user. Our proposed agent
architecture, called Shadowboard, is based on a sophisticated model of the user
drawn from the Psychology of Subselves, a modern stream of Analytical
Psychology. Keywords: Models of Mind, Psychology, Agent Architecture, User Model, Interface
Agents, | |||
| Optimisation of Command and Control Console Layout with Human Factors Engineering | | BIBAK | HTML | PDF | 44 | |
| K. C. Yong; C. K. Chng; K. T. Soo | |||
| A well-designed command and control layout takes into consideration the
communication and coordination needs associated with the tasks to be performed,
field of view for situational awareness and environmental ergonomics for
comfort. With these considerations, an optimal command and control layout was
derived by performing a task analysis and applying human factors principles
such as: (1) physical proximity among operators based on information flow and
the need for coordination, (2) physical proximity of operator to equipment
based on the functions of the operators; equipment maintained by the same
operator should be grouped together so the operator will not have to move
around to check or work on the equipment, (3) layout design supports monitoring
by upper levels of the command hierarchy, (4) superior environmental
ergonomics, such as lighting, heat stress, noise and motion state of the
platform, to enhance comfort during operation, (5) passageway clearance in
accordance to anthropometric signature of the operators and (6) layout for
safety; all equipment should be located to minimise the possibility of
equipment damage, personnel injury, or inadvertent activation. Besides
following these principles, the technique of computer-based visualisation was
used to examine human factors issues such as passageway clearance, operators'
field of view and lighting conditions. Essentially, the optimal layout aimed to
enhance not only operator sustainability but also command and control
effectiveness. Keywords: Optimization, Command and Control, Console Layout, Human Factors,
Environmental Ergonomics | |||