The influence of cognition and emotion on Nigerian undergraduates frustration during e-Registration

This study was designed to investigate the relative and combined contributions of cognition and emotion to Nigerian undergraduates’ level of computer frustration in online environments. The 1972 students who participated in the study were randomly selected from the two state-owned universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The data for the study were collected through the use of the Students’ Cognition Scale, Students’ Emotion Scale, and Students’ Computer Frustration Scale. Data analysis involved the use of mean and standard deviation as descriptive statistics, as well as the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and regression analysis as inferential statistics. The research findings revealed that students encountered various frustrating experiences during e-Registration and that a combination of the predictor variables, cognition and emotion, significantly accounted for 2.5% of the variance in the students’ level of frustration. Cognition was found to be the more potent contributor to this frustration. The results of this study further indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the level of computer frustration among students at the two universities, potentially due to the relative differences in the schools’ technology facilities. Recommendations are made at the end of this paper in accordance with the findings of the study

Linking Disability and Intercultural Studies: the adaptation journey of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland

This study focuses on the lived experiences of the visually impaired migrant in Ireland and this is the first study to document the lives of these members of Irish society. It examines how visually impaired migrants are simultaneously adapting to their disability and a new cultural environment while living in Ireland. In so doing this study aims to link the two academic fields of Intercultural Studies and Disability Studies and theoretical underpinnings for this study are drawn and woven together from both fields. As such this study draws from the development of theories relating to disability as well as the intercultural aspects of migration. Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants living in the larger Dublin region, which comprised of two groups; migrant users and providers of services for the visually impaired. Data analysis was assisted through the software package Atlas.ti. A grounded theory approach to collecting and analysing data was adopted as this facilitates the flow from raw data to codes to concepts. Purposive sampling was employed and the typical method of grounded theory of constant comparison was not used, rather interviews were analysed individually once they were all completed then compared. Research findings indicate that the cultural perceptions of disability may help or hinder the individual’s adaptation process both to their visual impairment and to living and integrating into a new culture in Ireland. Findings cluster around the three areas of cultural perceptions of disability, support networks and cultural barriers to adaptation. Synergising theoretical concepts and data steered the development of a new integrative model which identifies the inhibitors and facilitators for the process of adaptation to visual impairment for a migrant in Ireland

Internet addiction: a systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade

In the last decade, Internet usage has grown tremendously on a global scale. The increasing popularity and frequency of Internet use has led to an increasing number of reports highlighting the potential negative consequences of overuse. Over the last decade, research into Internet addiction has proliferated. This paper reviews the existing 68 epidemiological studies of Internet addiction that (i) contain quantitative empirical data, (ii) have been published after 2000, (iii) include an analysis relating to Internet addiction, (iv) include a minimum of 1000 participants, and (v) provide a full-text article published in English using the database Web of Science. Assessment tools and conceptualisations, prevalence, and associated factors in adolescents and adults are scrutinised. The results reveal the following. First, no gold standard of Internet addiction classification exists as 21 different assessment instruments have been identified. They adopt official criteria for substance use disorders or pathological gambling, no or few criteria relevant for an addiction diagnosis, time spent online, or resulting problems. Second, reported prevalence rates differ as a consequence of different assessment tools and cut-offs, ranging from 0.8% in Italy to 26.7% in Hong Kong. Third, Internet addiction is associated with a number of sociodemographic, Internet use, and psychosocial factors, as well as comorbid symptoms and disorder in adolescents and adults. The results indicate that a number of core symptoms (i.e., compulsive use, negative outcomes and salience) appear relevant for diagnosis, which assimilates Internet addiction and other addictive disorders and also differentiates them, implying a conceptualisation as syndrome with similar etiology and components, but different expressions of addictions. Limitations include the exclusion of studies with smaller sample sizes and studies focusing on specific online behaviours. Conclusively, there is a need for nosological precision so that ultimately those in need can be helped by translating the scientific evidence established in the context of Internet addiction into actual clinical practice

Remote Usability Testing - A New Approach Facilitated By Virtual Worlds

Synchronous remote usability testing, involves a facilitator conducting a usability test in real time, interacting with a participant who is remote. This study proposes a new methodology for conducting these studies using a three-dimensional virtual world, Wonderland, and compares it with two other commonly used synchronous usability test methods: the traditional lab approach and WebEx, a web-based conferencing and screen sharing approach. The study involved 48 participants in total, 36 test subjects and 12 test facilitators. These 36 were equally divided among the three environments with the 12 test facilitators being paired with one participant in each of the environments. The participants completed 5 tasks on an e-commerce website. The three methodologies were compared with respect to the dependent variables, the time taken to complete the tasks; the usability defects identified; the severity of these usability issues; and the subjective ratings from the NASA-TLX, the presence and post-test subjective questionnaires. Most importantly, the three methodologies agreed closely in terms of the total number defects identified, number of high severity defects identified and the time taken to complete the tasks. However, there was a significant difference in the workload experienced by the test participants and facilitators, with the traditional lab condition being the least and the Wonderland and the WebEx conditions being almost the same. It was also found that both test participants and test facilitators experienced better involvement and immersive experiences in the Wonderland condition, than the WebEx condition and almost the same for traditional lab condition. The results of this study suggest that participants were productive and enjoyed the Wonderland condition, indicating the potential of a virtual world based approach as an alternative to the conventional approaches

Evaluating Human–Automation Etiquette Strategies to Mitigate User Frustration and Improve Learning in Affect-Aware Tutoring

Human–automation etiquette applies human–human etiquette conventions to human–computer interaction (HCI). The research described in this paper investigates how to mitigate user frustration and support student learning through changes in the style in which a computer tutor interacts with a learner. Frustration can significantly impact the quality of learning in tutoring. This study examined an approach to mitigate frustration through the use of different etiquette strategies to change the amount of imposition feedback placed on the learner. An experiment was conducted to explore how varying the interaction style of system feedback impacted aspects of the learning process. System feedback was varied through different etiquette strategies. Participants solved mathematics problems under different frustration conditions with feedback given in different etiquette styles. Changing etiquette strategies from one math problem to the next led to changes in motivation, confidence satisfaction, and performance. The most effective etiquette strategies changed depending on if the user was frustrated or not. This work aims to provide mechanisms to support the promotion of individualized learning in the context of high level math instruction by basing affect-aware adaptive tutoring system design on varying etiquette strategies