NEUVis: Comparing Affective and Effective Visualisation

Data visualisations are useful for providing insight from complex scientific data. However, even with visualisation, scientific research is difficult for non-scientists to comprehend. When developed by designers in collaboration with scientists, data visualisation can be used to articulate scientific data in a way that non-experts can understand. Creating human-centred visualisations is a unique challenge, and there are no frameworks to support their design. In response, this thesis presents a practice-led study investigating design methods that can be used to develop Non-Expert User Visualisations (NEUVis), data visualisations for a general public, and the response that people have to different kinds of NEUVis. For this research, two groups of ten users participated in quantitative studies, informed by Yvonna Lincoln and Egon Guba’s method of Naturalistic Inquiry, which asked non-scientists to express their cognitive and emotional response to NEUVis using different media. The three different types of visualisations were infographics, 3D animations and an interactive installation. The installation used in the study, entitled 18S rDNA, was developed and evaluated as part of this research using John Zimmerman’s Research Through Design methodology. 18S rDNA embodies the knowledge and design methods that were developed for this research, and provided an opportunity for explication of the entire NEUVis design process. The research findings indicate that developing visualisations for the non-expert audience requires a new process, different to the way scientists visualise data. The result of this research describes how creative practitioners collaborate with primary researchers and presents a new human-centred design thinking model for NEUVis. This model includes two design tools. The first tool helps designers merge user needs with data they wish to visualise. The second tool helps designers take that merged information and begin an iterative, user-centred design process

Improving usability outcomes in IS projects: the views of usability practitioners

What are the key aspects to achieving acceptable usability outcomes for information systems being developed? The changing technologies and increased usage across the general population, the impacts of this in our everyday lives, at work and at leisure are exponentially increasing. The interfaces and interaction styles presented as part of these technologies have been challenged to be more intuitive, contextually sensitive, location aware, human centred and aimed at a larger community of stakeholders. Performing usability activities is an increasingly important part of the development of new technologies, applications and websites. This study examined, for Information System projects, what were the key aspects that impacted on the usability outcome of developing Information Systems. This study presents a theory that describes how projects can improve their usability outcomes. This has emerged from interviews with experienced usability practitioners currently working in the usability industry. The transcripts from the qualitative interviews were analysed using a grounded theory methodology, which was an inductive and interpretive process in nature. The result of this analysis produced twenty-seven key concepts. These concepts were compared and contrasted against the literature. The theory that emerged consists of four major themes that included: usability mindset, collaborative approach, project constraints and usability practice. The key contribution to knowledge is the relationship concept between these themes. This is the nurturing of the usability mindset for the project stakeholders through involvement in usability activities throughout the project lifecycle. This engagement provides opportunities to elicit, understand and concord the usability goals, project constraints and the technological limitations with project stakeholders. The involvement of all project stakeholders promotes usability value and acceptance, which ideally progresses to a shared usability vision for the project and ultimately a usability mindset that can be utilised beyond a specific project and across an organisation

Understanding modes of dwelling: A transdisciplinary approach to phenomenology of landscape

This transdisciplinary PhD addresses the research question: Can some form of phenomenology provide an effective over-arching paradigm for transdisciplinary research in ethnophysiography? Ethnophysiography studies the way people within a language community conceptualise natural landscape, including terms for landscape features and toponyms (placenames). Dwelling involves conceptualisations and affects regarding physical, utilitarian, cultural, spiritual and ethical relationships with landscape. A key achievement is development of an enhanced ethnophysiography case study methodology, supporting the Ethnophysiography Descriptive Model (EDM). Summary phenomenographic tables were prepared from literature reviews of ethnophysiography, transdisciplinarity, phenomenology, concepts of place and relationships with place. The use of tables, summarising key results of literature reviews (via a phenomenographic approach), is integral to the methodology, to operationalize transdisciplinarity. Some tables are utilised in the PTM-ECS, facilitating identification of relevant issues, collection of appropriate data, and hermeneutic analysis processes. To facilitate comparison of landscape terms and toponyms between languages, the EDM was developed and tested. A key contribution is interpretation of the phenomenological concepts of ‘lifeworld’, ‘topology’ and ‘habitus’. Creation of landscape, as place, involves synergistic integration, in a non-deterministic and emergent manner, of the physical attributes of an area of topographic environment (terrain and ecosystem) with the socio-cultural characteristics of a group of people (including linguistic and spiritual aspects). This produces a particular topo-socio-cultural-spiritual mode-of-dwelling (topology). A partial trial of the new methodology is provided, via an ethnophysiography case study with Manyjilyjarra Aboriginal people in Australia’s Western Desert (undertaken by this author with linguist Clair Hill). It demonstrates how the adopted approach facilitates understanding of traditional forms of dwelling and how this relates to Jukurrpa (The Dreaming), the law, lore and social structure of their society. Review of research processes indicates they effectively utilised key features of transdisciplinarity. A summary of the findings, their potential application, a statement of research limitations, and proposals for further research, are provided

An investigation into trust and security in the mandatory and imposed use of financial ICTs upon older people

Care needs to be taken to reduce the number of people who are fearful and mistrustful of using ICT where that usage is forced upon them without choice or alternative. The growing incidence of mandatory and imposed online systems can result in confusion, misuse, fear, and rejection by people with only rudimentary ICT skills. A cohort where a high percentage of such people occur is older people, defined in this study as people over the age of 60 Examples of compulsory ICT interactions include some banks limiting bank statement access through online rather than paper-based options. Other examples include the purchase of theatre or sports events tickets through ticketing systems that require an online transaction to take place. Increasingly, people are living beyond the normal retiring age. As the older cohort increases in size and in overall global population percentage, the problem of forced technology usage affects technology acceptance, technology trust, and technology rejection. People care about ICT systems where reduced trusted acceptance of technology reduces the advantages of digital health care, the perceived security of banking and shopping, and the autonomy of ICT-driven lifestyle choices. This study aims to solve one of the puzzles of ICT-driven change, where older people can show trepidation towards using technology. By understanding the drivers that influence the choices older people make in relation to ICT systems, it may be possible to introduce a much higher level of trusted acceptance in ICT systems. Although many people adopt ICTs into their lives, many older people face difficulty in using technology when it is forced upon them. This study aims to understand the connection between how choice (or lack of choice) can lead to the rejection or resistance towards ICT usage. Older people sometimes opt towards practices that place themselves at risk of financial or informational disadvantage. This study used a qualitative approach to understanding the factors that influenced the trusted acceptance, trepidation, and in some cases rejection of ICT usage by interviewing a sample of older people. Participants were asked to consider a wide range of ICT-usage scenarios and to describe their intentions. The study focussed on circumstances where ICT usage fell under either mandatory, imposed, or voluntary conditions in order to compare user behaviour. Settings included a range of technology-reliant states that examined IT security, volition and choice, aging, trusted acceptance, and technology adoption. Participants were interviewed to discover and sort the conditions (whether singly or in combination) under which the expectation of ICT acceptance was in some way altered, diminished, or prevented. This research found that older people made poor decisions when the choice to use a technology was replaced with a mandatory or strongly imposed pathway. Mandatory ICT usage across the broad area of financial transactions brought about widespread fear and distrust of online technology usage. The results revealed that many older people not only find these innovations daunting and confronting, but they also have difficulty placing their trust in ICT systems and applications that have become mandatory. In normative conditions, increased ICT acceptance and ICT usage is expected. When ICTs are mandatory in their usage, acceptance is replaced with compulsory procedure. This does not mean that mandatory things cannot be accepted, but rather that older people will accept the need to use a technology according to their perception of what is necessary for their daily and routine interactions. This study showed that voluntary ICT usages including choices increase informed decision-making, security of online financial interactions, and trusted reliance upon ICTs. Choice in ICT usage carries greater trust than mandatory, obligated, or heavily imposed ICTs. The study revealed that mandatory ICT systems can create perceptions of fear, mistrust and uncertainty. In situations where a mandatory ICT system becomes the normative method of transaction, a strong risk to the trusted acceptance of a technology is not merely the lack of ICT-based choice, but also the inability to gain reassurance or secondary confirmation through either face to face or telephone-based communication. Trust in not just the usage, but the implied secure usage of mandated and imposed ICTs, is problematic for older people. This study revealed the significance of mandated ICT systems that limit choices for people, because older humans more readily validate and associate their trust in new innovations when they can access various different professional, technical, peer-based, social and popular opinions. The research also showed that older people are fearful and less trusting in mandatory and imposed systems because they have less financial resilience, and less opportunity to bounce back from loss and disadvantage brought about by digital and online interactions. Older people were worried and reluctant to accept technology at first glance because they knew that they had spent more time than others in a pre-internet, pre-digital environment, and their seminal life experiences are correspondingly less technology-related. The results showed that many older people preferred human communication and interaction rather than communicating, buying, paying, and trusting in purely digital, ICT-based experiences. This demonstrated a gap in the trust and security of digital systems, and the need to address those ICTs that impose and mandate instruments and procedures for daily life. Specifically this study looked at what could reduce unsafe and insecure banking practices by understanding the role of choice in the trusted usage of ICT systems. This study is significant because it shows that older people make financial and social, decisions under reactionary, insecure, and under-informed conditions as a result of a gap in terms of trust security and choice. On the one hand older people develop trust towards a new innovation based on accumulated human discussion, information and reputation. On the other hand older people hold the perception that online systems offer reduced choices. This study led to the development of a model for trusted technology choice (TTCM). It differs from traditional acceptance and diffusion thinking, by having outputs as either ICT acceptance or ICT rejection. It diverges from diffusion and technology acceptance models (TAM), because technology acceptance is not regarded as a foregone conclusion. Instead, it places a very high value upon choice and volition, trust, security and human interaction. The TTCM model, together with a framework for identifying volition barriers, provides a different set of criteria for understanding the needs of older people and their meaningful interactions with new innovation and ICTs. The practical applications for using such a model directly impact upon financial and social stability for older people. Where choices are either removed or limited due to ICT usage, older citizens are unfairly disadvantaged. A model that accurately predicts the trusted usage of ICT innovations can have a widespread effect on the implementation of large-scale public and private systems where the trusted acceptance (or rejection) of each system has on flow impact on financial, health, and other critical services that include the growing population of older people