Eye typing in application: A comparison of two systems with ALS patients

A variety of eye typing systems has been developed during the last decades. Such systems can provide support for people who lost the ability to communicate, e.g. patients suffering from motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the current retrospective analysis, two eye typing applications were tested (EyeGaze, GazeTalk) by ALS patients (N = 4) in order to analyze objective performance measures and subjective ratings. An advantage of the EyeGaze system was found for most of the evaluated criteria. The results are discussed in respect of the special target population and in relation to requirements of eye tracking devices

Disabling Access: Barriers to Eye Gaze Technology for Students with Disabilities

Major Research Paper (Master's), Critical Disability Studies, School of Health Policy and Management,Faculty of Health, York UniversityThe MRP concludes that scientific and biomedical models of disability have historically shaped government policy responses to disability and continue to do so today. Canadian policy and programs meant to facilitate access to Eye Gaze technology are guided by scientific understandings of disability, which embed systematic, procedural and training barriers into policy programs that are supposed to provide funding support to overcome financial barriers. A list of 10 classroom recommendations for barrier free access to Eye Gaze technology is presented using the social model approach, to help parents, educators and support workers identify and eliminate obstacles for users. The MRP ends with a call for further discussion and scholarship of Eye Gaze technology in classrooms, which provides readers with 6 recommended areas of Eye Gaze technology research

Keyboard layout in eye gaze communication access: typical vs. ALS

The purpose of the current investigation was to determine which of three keyboard layouts is the most efficient for typical as well as neurologically-compromised first-time users of eye gaze access. All participants (16 neurotypical, 16 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALS) demonstrated hearing and reading abilities sufficient to interact with all stimuli. Participants from each group answered questions about technology use and vision status. Participants with ALS also noted date of first disease-related symptoms, initial symptoms, and date of diagnosis. Once a speech generating device (SGD) with eye gaze access capabilities was calibrated to an individual participant's eyes, s/he practiced utilizing the access method. Then all participants spelled word, phrases, and a longer phrase on each of three keyboard layouts (i.e., standard QWERTY, alphabetic with highlighted vowels, frequency of occurrence). Accuracy of response, error rate, and eye typing time were determined for each participant for all layouts.  Results indicated that both groups shared equivalent experience with technology. Additionally, neurotypical adults typed more accurately than the ALS group on all keyboards. The ALS group made more errors in eye typing than the neurotypical participants, but accuracy and disease status were independent of one another. Although the neurotypical group had a higher efficiency ratio (i.e. accurate keystrokes to total active task time) for the frequency layout, there were no such differences noted for the QWERTY or alphabetic keyboards. No differences were observed between the groups for either typing rate or preference ratings on any keyboard, though most participants preferred the standard QWERTY layout. No relationships were identified between preference order of the three keyboards and efficiency scores or the quantitative variables (i.e., rate, accuracy, error scores). There was no relationship between time since ALS diagnosis and preference ratings for each of the three keyboard layouts.   It appears that individuals with spinal-onset ALS perform similarly to their neurotypical peers with respect to first-time use of eye gaze access for typing words and phrases on three different keyboard layouts. Ramifications of the results as well as future directions for research are discussed.  Ph.D

Exploring the Role of Culture in Online Searching Behavior from a Cognitive Perspective

This research investigates differences in Web search behavior from a “cultural cognition” perspective, which was introduced by Nisbett and Norenzayan (2002). To explore the impact of culture and thinking styles on searching behavior is the objective. The overarching hypothesis is that there are cultural differences in cognitive styles and that these differences may lead into different searching behaviors. The findings help search engine designers provide an adaptive navigation support to users from different cultural backgrounds and cognitive styles. The fundamental research question underpinning this research becomes what are the relationships between users’ cognitive styles and cultural background, and their Web search behavior? The results of this doctoral study help with understanding how cognitive processes are modulated by cultures so as to give rise to cultural specific thinking and Web navigation styles. The assumption here is that differences in cognitive style will drive variations in Web search behavior based on national cultural orientation. To examine the research hypotheses, hundred and eleven research subjects are selected from three cultural groups: Americans, Iranians, and Chinese. The two independent factors that are studied in this experimental research are: cultural background and cognitive style. After answering a demographic questionnaire, the participants are given two types of task scenarios to perform on Google while two tracking applications (TechSmith Morae and MyGaze) record their mouse and eye movements. The users’ search behavior is studied through several measures of eye gaze, click behavior, and viewing pattern. By employing the Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM ANOVA) test, the relationships between the independent variables and the search measurements are studied and analyzed using SAS statistical analysis application. This research was conducted in a controlled usability lab, and the participants were provided with a $10 incentive upon finishing the experiment. Even though the results from the statistical analysis did not show significant evidence to support variation in cognitive styles between the participating cultural groups, country of origin appeared to be a strong predictor of differences in the measurements of search behavior. Considering the research hypotheses and the results, we found that the Americans’ search behaviors tended to be more analytical and less explorative, whereas the Iranians and Chinese tended to engage in more exploratory behaviors

The relationship between students' e-skills competencies and the usability problems they experience when using a learning management system

Computer literacy or e-Skills is one of the recommended competencies for graduateness besides analytical, problem solving, writing, social awareness and responsibility skills. As Learning Management Systems become ubiquitous at universities around the world, electronic skills are increasingly becoming more important for students. Identifying usability problems experienced by students with varying e-Skills in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) higher education institution can contribute to an understanding of the learning challenges that students face. This research used a simulated, competence-based assessment to evaluate the e-Skills competencies of first year university students at a South African open distance learning university, the University of South Africa. Based on their performance in the assessment, students were categorised according to an e-Skills proficiency framework consisting of four levels: Digital Awareness, Digital Literacy, Digital Competence and Digital Expertise. The research then investigated the relationship between the usability problems experienced by participants with varying e-Skills competence levels when using a Learning Management System, and their e-Skills proficiency through usability testing and eye tracking. Eye tracking visualisations, heat maps and gaze plots, used with usability testing showed differences in the search patterns and the efficiency with which students with different e-Skills levels use the learning management system. Although more usability problems were encountered by students with lower levels of e-Skills proficiency, some usability problems were faced by students across all four levels. The study shows that it is necessary to consider the differences in learners’ digital proficiency levels when designing learning management systems in order to minimise usability problems. This is very critical in a distance learning environment where there is very little physical contact, if any, between the institution and the student.School of ComputingM. Sc. (Information Systems

Touch Screens for the Older User

It has been 20 years since Ben Schneiderman predicted that there would be an increase in the use of touch screen applications yet it has been only in recent years that this prediction has come to pass. The concept of a touch screen computer was first introduced in 1965 by E.A. Johnson who described the possibilities of touch screen technology to support air traffic controllers. In this article Johnson describes how the touch display coupled to a computer can be considered as a keyboard, a novel approach at the time. Touch screens were brought into the public domain in 1971 by Elographics, Inc. which instigated the development of public touch screen technology such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and information kiosks (Brown et al., 2011). Another milestone in the history of touch technology was the introduction of the personal touch screen computer, HP-150, developed by Hewlett-Packard in 1983 (Sukumar, 1984). The purpose of this early design was to offer individuals an intuitive technology option. Although touch screen systems have maintained this intuitiveness and ease of use over the years, problems that existed with early systems still provide challenges for designers and developers to this day. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games

There has recently been a great deal of interest in the potential of computer games to function as innovative educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of merging the disparate goals of education and games design appears problematic, and there are currently no practical guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists and point out how they are uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing educational games, based on the techniques of Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both focus educational games designers on the features of games that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet be familiar with

Application of Kansei Engineering Method in the development of e-Government job portals

Nowadays, companies often find it difficult to predict consumers’ needs and requirements and have been looking for ways to quantify customers’ impression on their products. Kansei Engineering (KE) is a method originated from Japan that could be used in achieving the companies’ goal. This method is often used in humanoriented product development to generate products with improved economic value. In this study, Kansei Engineering is applied in website development. This study reveals that e-government websites in Malaysia have lower usability values among the others website domains. There is a significant potential of improving the usability value of the e-Government job portals by implementing a effective usability testing methodology on them. This study aimed to use usability as a testing method by applying Kansei Engineering in the evaluation of e-Government job portals in Malaysia. This study proposes to improve the quality of job-seeking website managed by Malaysia government by measuring the user experience of the website users. The research is aimed to address the dominant factors that affect the impression of a user on the website as well as to compare the design elements of other sample job-seeking websites. Methodologies devised from the investigation are based on proven and existing approaches by other researchers of the same field. Thus, recommendations obtained and analysis of the results shall be useful to guide the improvement of existing job portals to better serve the good cause of its existence