80,639 research outputs found

    Information Users and Usability in the Digital Age

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    It is no accident that interest in human‐computer interaction (HCI) over recent decades has coincided with the proliferation of ICT, such that it has grown into a fully‐fledged sub‐discipline of the computer and information sciences and the behavioural sciences. The evolution of HCI reflects our need to better understand how humans and technology can interact in order to improve technological support for human activities. Perhaps the most active sub‐branch of HCI is usability; and it is this topic which forms the broad focus of Information Users and Usability in the Digital Age. The body of literature concerning usability is crowded, encompassing practitioner guides, student textbooks and research papers. Most usability principles and issues are admirably addressed by Shneiderman et al. (2009) or by Nielsen and Loranger (2006), the latter of whom was recently described by Businessweek as one of the world's most “influential designers” (Walters, 2010). Even older texts that communicate general usability principles, such as Nielsen's Usability Engineering (Nielsen, 1994), remain indispensable, seminal contributions to the usability canon. It is therefore apposite to ask oneself whether another book on usability is actually required

    Usability testing in a library web site redesign project

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    An intuitive library information gateway is critical to meeting the information needs of library users in the digital age. This article describes the process involved in redesigning a library Web site. In addition to first determining the goals and requirements for the library Web site, a user and task analysis was conducted for defining the library\u27s user base and types of tasks which users might be performing at the site. Usability testing methods, such as observational interviews, provided fresh insights about how users are interacting with the library Web interface as they approach various information seeking tasks. These usability studies uncovered problems related to unclear terminology, proper use of color, size and location of navigational links, and the need for context sensitive help, built-in redundancy, and clear and consistent navigation

    But is it Useful? Website Usability Testing of the UH STEM Education Website

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    This paper was presented at the Learning Design & Technology's TCC online conference in April 2016.The digital age has ushered in a time where users are instantaneously and continuously connected to the world at the touch of a screen. Having an online presence is the lifeline of an institution. It is therefore imperative that an institution’s website be easy to use, provide reliable information and be aesthetically pleasing to the user. Upon the creation of the new Office of STEM Education at the University of Hawai‘i, a website was immediately launched to provide information. However, as the office grew the website remained stagnant. Feedback from constituents focused on the lack of current and relevant information. The purpose of this usability study was to analyze, develop and evaluate the content, navigation and user satisfaction of the Office STEM Education website and to improve its efficiency for faculty and students at the University of Hawai‘i. Based on such feedback in the rapid prototyping and usability study changes were implemented on the website to improve the overall design and navigability

    Upgrading Academic Scholarship : Challenges and Chances of the Digital Age

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    Purpose: The paper is a discussion of what the beginning of the Internet Age means for the functions and structures of scholarly information and communication by looking at and evaluating today's usability and usage of the digital information infrastructure for and by academic scholarship. Design/methodology/approach: The paper gives an overview of the current state of development of digital information in the scholarly cultures and stresses the importance of data as the crucial - and considerably extended - basis of scholarly work. The central role of the publishing world for the academic rewards system is analyzed to consider continuities and discontinuities in scholarly publication. Findings: The paper advances the thesis first coined by Christine Borgman that today we have an information infrastructure of, but not one for scholarly information. Some ideas and proposals of what should be done to move towards an information infrastructure for scholarly work conclude the paper. Originality/value: The paper tries to bridge the gap between information professionals as producers and scholars as users of information and communication technologies and shows that a joint debate on these issues is necessary

    A usability study of online library systems: A case of Sultanah Bahiyah Library, Universiti Utara Malaysia

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    The purpose of this study was to investigate usability of online library systems in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). This study evaluated the usability of Sultanah Bahiyah Library’s web based systems by investigating the aspects of simplicity, comfort, user friendliness, control, readability, information adequacy/task match, navigability, recognition, access time, relevancy, consistency and visual presentation. This study examined user’s views about the usability of digital libraries whereas current and perceived importance. A sample of 45 students of Master of Business Administration (MBA) has been chosen. The Sultanah Bahiyah Library’s web based systems is very important especially for students and academic staffs of Universiti Utara Malaysia. The usability of the Library’s web based systems makes students easy to connect and for that the website should be helpful and attractive within good contents. The result found that the parallel nature of the users’ current views about the usability of digital libraries and users’ perceived importance of digital library usability allows direct comparison of all usability properties. The overall results yielded significant difference for the variables of user’s current views and perceived importance

    What is usability in the context of the digital library and how can it be measured?

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    This paper reviews how usability has been defined in the context of the digital library, what methods have been applied and their applicability, and proposes an evaluation model and a suite of instruments for evaluating usability for academic digital libraries. The model examines effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and learnability. It is found that there exists an interlocking relationship among effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. It also examines how learnability interacts with these three attributes

    Upgrading academic scholarship: challenges and chances of the digital age

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    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the beginning of the Internet Age means for the functions and structures of scholarly information and communication by looking at and evaluating today's usability and usage of the digital information infrastructure for and by academic scholarship. Design/ methodology/ approach: The paper gives an overview of the current state of development of digital information in the scholarly cultures and stresses the importance of data as the crucial – and considerably extended – basis of scholarly work. The central role of the publishing world for the academic rewards system is analyzed to consider continuities and discontinuities in scholarly publication. Findings: The paper advances the thesis first coined by Christine Borgman that today we have an information infrastructure of, but not for, scholarly information. Some ideas and proposals of what should be done to move towards an information infrastructure for scholarly work conclude the paper. Originality/ value: The paper tries to bridge the gap between information professionals as producers and scholars as users of information and communication technologies and shows that a joint debate on these issues is necessary

    An investigation into usability and exclusivity issues of digital programmable thermostats

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    This is the pre-print version of the Article - Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & FrancisWith nearly 60% of domestic energy consumption relating to space heating, the interaction between users and their heating controls is crucial in reducing consumption. Yet, many heating controls are complex and exclude people due to the demands placed upon their capabilities in terms of vision, reach, dexterity and thinking. This study explores the scale of and reasons for user exclusion in relation to digital programmable thermostats. The Exclusion Calculator was used to estimate the percentage of the population excluded from the use of three products. Full user testing was then conducted to elicit specific usability problems of the devices. The participants were a group of 14 younger users (aged 24–44) and 10 older users (aged 62–75). The exclusion calculations underestimated the actual exclusion significantly for both age ranges (p<0.05). None of the older users were able to complete the programming of the thermostats. Additionally, the cognitive demands of these systems were considered using a subjective workload assessment method, based on the NASA Task Load Index, and were found to be excessive. In conclusion, this study makes recommendations to facilitate the design of more inclusive digital programmable thermostats. It is argued that such changes could result in reductions in domestic heat energy consumption.This work is funded by the ESPRC and Buro Happold

    Visual representation of concepts : exploring users’ and designers’ concepts of everyday products

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    To address the question on how to enhance the design of user-artefact interaction at the initial stages of the design process, this study focuses on exploring the differences between designers and users in regard to their concepts of an artefact usage. It also considers that human experience determines people’s knowledge and concepts of the artefacts they interact with, and broadens or limits their concept of context of use. In this exploratory study visual representation of concepts is used to elicit information from designers and users, and to explore how these concepts are influenced by their individual experience. Observation, concurrent verbal and retrospective protocols and thematic interviews are employed to access more in depth information about users’ and designers’ concepts. The experiment was conducted with designers and users who were asked about their concepts of an everyday product. Three types of data were produced in each session: sketches, transcriptions from retrospectives verbal reports and observations. Through an iterative process, references about context, use and experience were identified in the data collected; this led to the definition of a coding system of categories that was applied for the interpretation of visuals and texts. The methodology was tested through preliminary studies. Their initial outcomes indicate that the main differences between designers’ and users’ concepts come from their knowledge domain, while main similarities are related to human experience as source that drives concept formulation. Cultural background has been found to influence concepts about product usability and its context of use. The use of visual representation of concepts with retrospective reports and interviews allowed access to insightful information on how human experience influence people’s knowledge about product usability and its context of use. It is expected that this knowledge contributes to the enhancement of the design of product usability
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