Usability Testing of Interactive Multimedia Services

Interactive mu ltimedia services, such as video-on-demand offered to the public at home need to be tested carefully for usability. The environment as well as users is heterogeneous and they use different input and output devices than with a personal computer. User Interface designers need to learn more about the users, their environment and the hindrances they encounter. Two service trials were conducted where thirty families had access to video-on-demand, news-on-demand and worldwide web services for three months. The users had access to the services via a set-top-box connected to a television or via a personal computer. The paper describes how three methods: logging, thinking-aloud and questionnaires were applied as well as their results. Finally, the experiences from using the methods are discussed

Occlusion prevents the use of vascular loops for blood sampling and dosing in minipigs

Continous blood sampling and intravenous dosing are difficult in pigs, especially minipigs. A skin loop containing the jugular vein or the carotid artery has been used for solving this problem in other species of animals, but it has never beenattempted in the pig. In this study eight such skin loops were made on minipigs, which technically caused only a few problems. Shortening the loop and widening the distance between the two parallel incisions reduced problems of necrosisand improper wound healing. A juvenile pig did not show such problems. However, in all loops excessive formation of fibrotie tissue occluded the vessel after approximately six days. We, therefore, conclude that although the surgical technique ispossible: further modification, e.g, by insertion of a rigid artificial vessel or an in-dwelling catheter, is necessary, before vascular loops can he used as a method for continuous sampling and dosing in minipigs

Leadership, values and gender : a study of Icelandic head teachers

This is a case study about the values of male and female head teachers in Icelandic schools in the context of an era of educational change. The study's methodology is located within the interpretive framework and informed by the perspectives of social constructivisin and feminism. In addition, the theoretical framework is based on theories related to values in leadership, which, in combination with research on leadership and gender, provide the focus for this study. Data collection mainly involved interviews but also documentary analysis. The purpose of the study was to shed light on the interplay between values, gender, and leadership behaviour. This was done by seeking answers to questions about the impact of headteachers' values on their actions, in particular when facing value related dilemmas. Further questions were asked about the influence of gender on headteachers' values and actions. The study provides information about the impact of recent changes in the envirom-nent of Icelandic schools, on the role of headteachers.I t moreover highlights the genderedn ature of these changesa nd how they may impact differently upon men and women head teachers. The study shows that despite similar values, the position of men and women headteachersis unequal. Several influencing factors were found to contribute to this unequal positioning of men and women, including different careers, discriminatory behaviour towards women, and new competencies, such as computer literacy where more men than women are proficient. \ud The thesis makes a theoretical contribution through conceptualizing and developing a framework for examining the interplay between the concepts of leadership, values and gender and by showing how values, gender and gendered educational discourses, may impact upon leadership actions. It is moreoever a contribution to the existing research on education in general and on leadership, values and gender, specifically. \u