Context sensitive user interfaces

This paper presents a conceptual design model for user interfaces (MASS1) and a general formalism for dialogue specification (Interaction Scripts) which are the most important components of an approach to the methodological, iterative design of Interactive Systems from formal, model-based specification of both the application and the User Interface (UI). This approach allows the integration of both dialogue and application semantics from the beginning of the design process, by using prototypes derived from both specifications. Assuming that all the application semantics is available at early design stages, the MASS model defines a set of guidelines that will enforce the designer to create user interfaces that will present a prophylactic instead of the usual therapeutic behaviour. By a prophylactic behaviour it is meant, metaphorically, that the UI will exhibit a behaviour that prevents and avoids both syntactic and semantic user errors, in contrast with the most usual therapeutic, or error recovery, behaviour. The dialogue specification formalism(Interaction Scripts) despite being general, in the sense that it may be applied to the specification of any kind of dialogue, is specially suited to the specification of UIs with the behaviour prescribed by the MASS design model. In addition, it is independent from concrete environment details, therefore allowing for different implementations of the same specification, that is, different looks and feels. The operational semantics of the Interaction Script notation is also presented in terms of Petri-Nets that are automatically generated from the Interaction Script specification of the dialogue controller

Mining the Mind – Applying Quantitative Techniques to Understand Mental Models of Security

The personal information shared on Facebook can expose individuals to increased risk such as cybercrime and identity theft. While the perception of risk associated with online self-disclosure is increasing, this may not translate into risk management behaviours. This study explored why individuals choose to self-disclose on Facebook, often in spite of the risks. It was hypothesised that a personality style accentuated by impulsive and anti-social behaviour would help to explain this risk-behaviour dichotomy. In other words, individuals who are more narcissistic with less self-control were predicted to expose themselves to more risk on Facebook. An online questionnaire was completed by 263 Australians. This study found that individuals who had less self-control and higher narcissism exposed themselves to significantly more risk on Facebook. Hence, this study found that narcissism and self-control play a meaningful role in the risk-behaviour dichotomy. These findings add to the body of literature on online self-disclosure

A taxonomy of interactions in socio-technical systems: A functional perspective

Although the modelling of interactions has long been at the core of socio-technical systems theory, and is a key for understanding resilience, there is a lack of a holistic taxonomy of interactions. This study introduces a taxonomy of interactions to be used in association with the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). The taxonomy has nine criteria: nature of agents, output nature, levelling, waiting time, distance, degree of coupling, visibility, safety and/or security hazards, and parallel replications. For each criterion, two descriptors are proposed: what the interaction looks like; and - when applicable - the variability level of the interaction. The use of the taxonomy is presented for three systems with clearly distinct complexity characteristics: cash withdrawal from an ATM, teaching a university course, and manufacturing operations. These case studies indicate the usefulness of the taxonomy for the identification of leverage points in work system design. They also show the value of modelling the variability of the interactions in FRAM models, in addition to the traditional modelling of the variability of the outputs of functions. Implications of the taxonomy for resilience engineering are discussed

Designing for Older Adults: Overcoming Barriers to a Supportive, Safe, and Healthy Retirement

Older adults (65+) are at increasing risk of being ‘digitally marginalized’ due to lower tech savviness, social isolation, and few peers who can provide the needed input. As a consequence, some seniors have difficulties and are exposed to security risks when accessing essential services which are increasingly moving online. These include making critical life decisions, understanding health information, accessing health services, staying connected to families, or simply doing online shopping. This chapter investigates how online technologies can be designed to be inclusive of older adults\u27 needs, abilities, and contexts. Several barriers barring technology adoption include mental models; attitudes related to critical decision making; privacy concerns; and overall cybersafety concerns preventing seniors from engaging with such resources online. We also propose ways to help the FinTech sector incorporate new approaches so that services and applications better serve the needs and constraints of older adults

A holistic backpack back pain model for prepubescent primary school children

The present recommendation of the maximum bag weight to be 10-15% of body weight for schoolchildren has not been adequate as it is mainly based on biomechanical and physiological factors, without considering interaction with other risk factors associated with the subjective nature of back pain believed to be affected by psychosocial and individual characteristics of people. This serves as the basis to believe that the recommendation may not be sufficient for prepubescent primary schoolchildren, who constitute little or no part in the research leading to the initial recommendation. This research therefore aimed at developing a holistic multifactorial backpack back pain model that will provide explanation for the complex and multiple interactions associated with the back pain problem among the children. The research used mixed methodological design that employed survey, observation and objective measuring tools to investigate and understand the backpack back pain problem. A total of 662 primary schoolchildren aged 7-12 years (primary year 1-6) took part in the study. Descriptive and correlation statistical techniques were used to identify significant association among the factors. Reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used for validating and reducing the variables into fitted constructs. Structural equation modelling was used for building and validating the model fit. Electromyography was used to establish the effect of age and body mass index on the trunk muscles of the children when carrying various weights corresponding to 5%, 10% and 15% of the body weight. The research established the insufficient nature of the 10-15% body weight for pain among primary schoolchildren. Most of the pain, load, anthropometric and physiological variables vary across age and racial groups. A multifactorial backpack back pain model consisting of anthropometry, pain, posture, backpack volume and rating ability was developed for better understanding of the relationship. A new safe weight recommendation based on percentage body weight and body mass index was made for the primary schoolchildren to reduce their chances of exposure to back pain. More longitudinal and control studies need to be conducted to identify appropriate percentage body weight suitable for different age groups

A holistic backpack back pain model for prepubescent primary school children

The present recommendation of the maximum bag weight to be 10-15% of body weight for schoolchildren has not been adequate as it is mainly based on biomechanical and physiological factors, without considering interaction with other risk factors associated with the subjective nature of back pain believed to be affected by psychosocial and individual characteristics of people. This serves as the basis to believe that the recommendation may not be sufficient for prepubescent primary schoolchildren, who constitute little or no part in the research leading to the initial recommendation. This research therefore aimed at developing a holistic multifactorial backpack back pain model that will provide explanation for the complex and multiple interactions associated with the back pain problem among the children. The research used mixed methodological design that employed survey, observation and objective measuring tools to investigate and understand the backpack back pain problem. A total of 662 primary schoolchildren aged 7-12 years (primary year 1-6) took part in the study. Descriptive and correlation statistical techniques were used to identify significant association among the factors. Reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used for validating and reducing the variables into fitted constructs. Structural equation modelling was used for building and validating the model fit. Electromyography was used to establish the effect of age and body mass index on the trunk muscles of the children when carrying various weights corresponding to 5%, 10% and 15% of the body weight. The research established the insufficient nature of the 10-15% body weight for pain among primary schoolchildren. Most of the pain, load, anthropometric and physiological variables vary across age and racial groups. A multifactorial backpack back pain model consisting of anthropometry, pain, posture, backpack volume and rating ability was developed for better understanding of the relationship. A new safe weight recommendation based on percentage body weight and body mass index was made for the primary schoolchildren to reduce their chances of exposure to back pain. More longitudinal and control studies need to be conducted to identify appropriate percentage body weight suitable for different age groups

User interfaces in space science instrumentation

This thesis examines user interaction with instrumentation in the specific context of space science. It gathers together existing practice in machine interfaces with a look at potential future usage and recommends a new approach to space science projects with the intention of maximising their science return. It first takes a historical perspective on user interfaces and ways of defining and measuring the science return of a space instrument. Choices of research methodology are considered. Implementation details such as the concepts of usability, mental models, affordance and presentation of information are described, and examples of existing interfaces in space science are given. A set of parameters for use in analysing and synthesizing a user interface is derived by using a set of case studies of diverse failures and from previous work. A general space science user analysis is made by looking at typical practice, and an interview plus persona technique is used to group users with interface designs. An examination is made of designs in the field of astronomical instrumentation interfaces, showing the evolution of current concepts and including ideas capable of sustaining progress in the future. The parameters developed earlier are then tested against several established interfaces in the space science context to give a degree of confidence in their use. The concept of a simulator that is used to guide the development of an instrument over the whole lifecycle is described, and the idea is proposed that better instrumentation would result from more efficient use of the resources available. The previous ideas in this thesis are then brought together to describe a proposed new approach to a typical development programme, with an emphasis on user interaction. The conclusion shows that there is significant room for improvement in the science return from space instrumentation by attention to the user interface

The design of speech-based automated mobile phone services using interface metaphors

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Interface metaphor is a widely used design technique for interactive computer systems. The advantages of using interface metaphors derive from their ability to promote active learning, which enables a user to transfer knowledge from a familiar real world domain, to an unfamiliar computing domain. Interface metaphor is not currently used for the design of automated phone services, and it was the aim of this thesis to examine whether interface metaphor could improve the usability of speech-activated automated mobile phone services. A human-centred design methodology was followed to generate, select, and develop potential metaphors, which were used to implement metaphor-based phone services. An experimental methodology was then used to compare the usability of the metaphor-based services with the usability of currently available number-based phone services. The first experiment examined the effect of three different interface metaphors on the usability of a mobile city guide service. Usability was measured as a range of performance and attitude measures, and was supplemented by telephone interview data. After three consecutive days of usage, participants both preferred, and performed better with, the service that was based on an office filing system metaphor. Experiment two was conducted over a six week period, and investigated the effect of users' individual differences, and the context of use, on the usability of both the office filing system metaphor-based service, and a non-metaphor service. The results showed that performance with the metaphor-based service was significantly better than performance with the non-metaphor service. The usability of the metaphor-based service was not significantly affected by users' individual characteristics and aptitudes, whereas the number-based service was, suggesting that metaphor-based services may be more usable for a wider range of potential users. Usability levels for both services were found to be consistent across both private and public locations of use, suggesting that speech-activated mobile phone services provide a flexible means of information access. Experiment three investigated the strategies used by participants when interacting with mobile phone services, specifically the visualisation strategy that was used by two thirds of the metaphor-based service participants in experiment two. In addition to the attitude and performance measures used for experiments one and two, face-to face interviews were conducted with participants. The results indicated that significantly more participants visualised the metaphor-based services relative to a non-metaphor service, and that visualisation of the service structure led to significant performance improvements. This thesis has demonstrated the usability benefits of interface metaphor as a design technique for speech-based mobile phone services. These benefits of metaphor appear to derive from their ability to provide a mental model of the phone service that can be visualised, and their ability to accommodate the individual differences of users

Metáforas conceituais para design de hipermídias

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Design e Expressão Gráfica, Florianópolis, 2014A eficácia do design de hipermídias é dependente de muitos fatores, incluindo as abordagens de design e métodos seguidos. A era do desenvolvimento ágil trouxe problemas para as equipes de desenvolvimento que precisam criar rapidamente interfaces gráficas para hipermídias, o que fomentou o interesse na integração do design de experiência do usuário e desenvolvimento ágil. Devido a isso, um processo chamado "Rapid Metaphor Processing? foi proposto para auxiliar o desenvolvimento rápido de interfaces gráficas para hipermídias. Inicialmente, a teoria de Metáforas conceituais é analisada, remontando autores que indicam ser este um aspecto imperativo para a comunicação e interação humana com hipermídias. Uma abordagem baseada neste conceito é então definida como um processo de projeto, sob a hipótese de que é possível, com a manutenção paralela de um senso de design centrado no usuário, agilizar soluções criativas. O processo então foi aplicado em um workshop, em quatro diferentes projetos que utilizaram o sistema proposto para desenvolver hipermídias, tendo como objetivo analisar se o processo poderia melhorar a agilidade, o design centrado no usuário e a inovação dos produtos. Implicações de cada conceito são discutidas em detalhes para mostrar a importância e o valor do processo proposto para o processo global de design. Os dados sobre o uso do processo foram obtidos através de questionários pré e pós-workshop realizados com os participantes; bem como da observação do andamento do workshop e da análise da produção resultante. Verificou-se que o processo proposto amplia a velocidade de projetos de experiência do usuário para interfaces gráficas, ao mesmo tempo, promovendo a inovação e o design centrado no usuário.The effectiveness of the hypermedia design is dependent on many factors, including the design approaches and followed methods. The era of agile development has brought problems for development teams that need to quickly create graphical interfaces for hypermedia, which fostered the interest in the integration of user experience design and agile development. Because of this, a process called "Rapid Metaphor Processing" was proposed to aid the rapid development of graphical interfaces for hypermedia. Initially, the theory of conceptual metaphors is reviewed, tracing authors who indicate that this is an imperative aspect for communication and human interaction with hypermedia. An approach based on this concept is then defined as a design process, under the assumption that it is possible, with the parallel maintaining a sense of user-centered design, to streamline creative solutions. The process was then applied in a workshop in four different projects that used the proposed system to develop hypermedias, aiming to examine whether the process could improve the agility, the user-centered design and product innovation. Implications of each concept are discussed in detail to show the importance and value of the proposed process for the global design process. Data on the use of the process were obtained through pre and post workshop questionnaires conducted with the participants; as well as the observation of the progress of the workshop and analysis of the resulting products. It was found that the proposed method enhances the speed of user experience designs for graphical interfaces, while fostering innovation and user-centered design