User-Friendly Locations of Error Messages in Web Forms: An Eye Tracking Study

Error messages presented to users are one of the most important elements of Web forms. Error messages are embedded in different parts of the forms available on the Internet and presented in various formats. One of the measures of a user-friendly error message design is the ability to easily capture users’ attention and facilitate fast error correction. In this empirical study, I tested four different locations of error messages frequently used in Web forms on 32 participants. In addition, I analysed the participants’ interactions with error messages through their eye movements. The results of the study showed that the participants spotted the error message fastest when it was displayed on the right side of the erroneous input field. When error messages displayed further the input field users have less saccades to and fixations on error messages compared to those located near to this field, suggesting that less effort has been spent to understand the given message. However, group mean dif-ferences were not statistically significant for form completion time, error recognition time, the number of saccades, and error correction time

The Effects of the Content Elements of Online Banner Ads on Visual Attention: Evidence from An-Eye-Tracking Study

The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of the content elements of online banner ads on customers’ visual attention, and to evaluate the impacts of gender, discount rate and brand familiarity on this issue. An eye-tracking study with 34 participants (18 male and 16 female) was conducted, in which the participants were presented with eight types of online banner ads comprising three content elements—namely brand, discount rate and image—while their eye movements were recorded. The results showed that the image was the most attractive area among the three main content elements. Furthermore, the middle areas of the banners were noticed first, and areas located on the left side were mostly noticed earlier than those on the right side. The results also indicated that the discount areas of banners with higher discount rates were more attractive and eye-catching compared to those of banners with lower discount rates. In addition to these, the participants who were familiar with the brand mostly concentrated on the discount area, while those who were unfamiliar with the brand mostly paid attention to the image area. The findings from this study will assist marketers in creating more effective and efficient online banner ads that appeal to customers, ultimately fostering positive attitudes towards the advertisement.publishedVersio

How Do Computer Engineering Students Construe Usability and Accessibility? A Comparative Study between Turkey and Kyrgyzstan

This survey study evaluated the level of education, awareness and knowledge of prospective software developers in the areas of usability and accessibility by comparing the results obtained from computer engineering students from Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. There were a total of 311 student participants who were attending a computer engineering program in eight universities, four in Kyrgyzstan and four in Turkey. According to the results, these two countries with different education systems had significant differences in terms of the level of the education of the computer engineering students, their knowledge, awareness and attitude concerning usability and accessibility. Although the overall level of knowledge and awareness of the Turkish students was found to be higher than those of the Kyrgyz students, the computer engineering students in the selected Kyrgyz universities either had taken or were planning to take more courses on accessibility and had a higher level of awareness in terms of undertaking thesis and project work in this area. However, the results obtained from the participants from both countries demonstrated the need for the revision of course content to assist future software developers gain not only technical but also acquire soft skills in the topics of usability and accessibility

Understanding software developers’ awareness and knowledge about user experience and usability

This study aimed to understand software developers’ awareness and level of knowledge about user experience and usability. The study also examined software developers’ opinions regarding integrating usability activities into software development processes. Fifty-nine software developers participated to the study. In the first part of the study, data were collected through questionnaire. In the second part of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with a group of volunteer participants and detailed information was obtained about the topic. Results of the study revealed that majority of the software developers did not have any training related to user experience, usability or human-computer interaction. The majority of the participants consider themselves as the least experienced and uninformed members of a software development project about user experience and usability. The results also revealed that software developers in the study have incomplete and misinformation about user experience and usability.</span

Internet-Delivered Self-help for Adults With ADHD (MyADHD): Usability Study

Background: Although effective pharmacological treatment exists, many adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) prefer a nonpharmacological option for managing their symptoms. Internet-delivered self-help interventions have the potential to address this unmet supportive care need reported by adults with ADHD, at relatively low costs. However, if the intervention does not offer optimal functions, content, and layout, it could decrease adherence and engagement and potentially compromise the effectiveness of such interventions. Thus, there is a need for examining the usability and factors that enhance and impair the usability of internet-delivered self-help interventions. Objective: This study evaluates the usability of an internet-delivered self-help intervention for adults with ADHD (MyADHD). The main goals were to (1) collect qualitative and quantitative data on usability and (2) identify usability problems. Methods: Individual think-aloud interviews and staged usability testing (N=5) were conducted to evaluate the usability of the MyADHD intervention in terms of function, content, and design. MyADHD end users provided iterative feedback to maximize engagement and usability. They performed tasks involved in operating the intervention and provided “think-aloud” commentary and postsession usability ratings. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed. Results: Participants were satisfied with the overall usability of the program. The average perceived usability score out of 100 was 70 for the first round of testing and improved to 77.5 after applying modifications, with a mean score of 75.5 (SD 5.9) for all rounds of usability testing. The analysis of the interviews revealed 3 central themes: functionality, content, and layout. Conclusions: Optimizing the usability of internet-delivered self-guided interventions is a critical step in the design and development process. The usability testing in this study provided valuable information from users’ perspectives on the content and platform of the intervention. Analysis revealed the need for intervention enhancement with regard to design, functionality, and content from the perspective of potential end users. Overall, participants saw value in the MyADHD intervention and were confident that they could use it for the self-management of symptoms and expressed the desire to use the entire intervention when it becomes available. Through this development process, we produced an intervention that is likely to be used successfully and is ready for deployment in a randomized controlled trial.publishedVersio

Stężenia adropiny i albuminy modyfikowanej niedokrwieniem w surowicy w zależności od występowania zespołu policystycznych jajników i wartości BMI

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and body mass index (BMI) on serum adropin and ischemia modified albumin (IMA) levels. Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was performed with a total of 120 women [group1; non-PCOS = 60 (BMI < 25 = 30, BMI ≥25 = 30) and group 2; PCOS = 60 (BMI < 25 = 30, BMI ≥25 = 30)]. Blood samples were collected between the third and fifth days of the women’s menstrual cycles after a night of fasting. Results: There were no differences between the groups in relation to age, basal follicle stimulating hormone, estradiol, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressures. A significant difference was found in basal luteinizing hormone, fasting glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, free testosterone levels, waist-to-hip ratios and the Ferriman-Gallwey scores between the PCOS and non-PCOS patients in the lean and overweight groups (p < 0.05). The serum adropin levels in the lean PCOS group were lower than in the lean non-PCOS group (p < 0.05) and were lower in the overweight PCOS group than in the overweight non-PCOS group (p < 0.05). There was also a statistically significant difference in serum IMA levels in the PCOS group than in the non-PCOS group in both the lean and overweight groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Although serum adropin levels were significantly decreased in the PCOS group, IMA levels increased. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of adropin and IMA in women with PCOS and to use a new marker to monitorize treatment outcomes. Wstęp: Badanie przeprowadzono w celu oceny wpływu zespołu policystycznych jajników (polycystic ovary syndrome, PCOS) i wskaźnika masy ciała (body mass index, BMI) na surowicze stężenia adropiny i albumin modyfikowanej niedokrwieniem (ischemia modified albumin, IMA). Materiał i metody: To prospektywne badanie przekrojowe obejmowało 120 kobiet [grupa 1: osoby bez PCOS — n= 60 (BMI &lt; 25 — n= 30; BMI ≥ 25 — n = 30) oraz grupa 2: osoby z PCOS — n= 60 (BMI &lt; 25 — n= 30, BMI ≥ 25 —n = 30)]. Próbki krwi pobierano między trzecim a piątym dniem cyklu menstruacyjnego badanych kobiet, rano na czczo. Wyniki: Grupy nie różniły się pod względem wieku, podstawowego stężenia hormonu folikulotropowego, stężeń estradiolu, tyreotropiny, prolaktyny, cholesterol frakcji HDL, testosteronu całkowitego i siarczanu dehydroepiandrosteronu ani skurczowego i rozkurczowego ciśnienia tętniczego. Stwierdzono natomiast istotne różnice między grupą z PCOS i bez PCOS w podgrupach osób szczupłych i otyłych w zakresie podstawowego stężenia hormonu luteinizującego, glikemii na czczo, wskaźnika insulinooporności w modelu homeostazy, stężeń cholesterolu całkowitego, cholesterolu frakcji LDL, triglicerydów i wolnego testosteronu, a także wskaźnika talia-biodra oraz oceny w skali Ferrimana-Gallweya (P &lt; 0,05). Stężenia adropiny w osoczu były niższe w grupie szczupłych kobiet z PCOS niż u szczupłych osób niechorujących na PCOS (P &lt; 0,05) oraz były niższe u otyłych osób z PCOS niż u otyłych osób z grupy bez PCOS (P &lt; 0,05). Stwierdzono również statystycznie istotną różnice w stężeniach IMA w surowicy między kobietami z PCOS i bez PCOS, zarówno w podgrupie osób szczupłych, jak i otyłych (P &lt; 0,05). Wnioski: Mimo że surowicze stężenia adropiny były istotnie niższe w grupie z PCOS, stężenia IMA były podwyższone w tej grupie badanych. Konieczne są dalsze badania w celu określenia wpływu adropiny i IMA u kobiet z PCOS i stosowanie nowych wskaźników do monitorowania efektów leczenia

Towards Adaptive Technology in Routine Mental Healthcare

This paper summarizes the information technology-related research findings after 5 years with the INTROducing Mental health through Adaptive Technology project. The aim was to improve mental healthcare by introducing new technologies for adaptive interventions in mental healthcare through interdisciplinary research and development. We focus on the challenges related to internet-delivered psychological treatments, emphasising artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and software engineering. We present the main research findings, the developed artefacts, and lessons learned from the project before outlining directions for future research. The main findings from this project are encapsulated in a reference architecture that is used for establishing an infrastructure for adaptive internet-delivered psychological treatment systems in clinical contexts. The infrastructure is developed by introducing an interdisciplinary design and development process inspired by domain-driven design, user-centred design, and the person based approach for intervention design. The process aligns the software development with the intervention design and illustrates their mutual dependencies. Finally, we present software artefacts produced within the project and discuss how they are related to the proposed reference architecture. Our results indicate that the proposed development process, the reference architecture and the produced software can be practical means of designing adaptive mental health care treatments in correspondence with the patients’ needs and preferences. In summary, we have created the initial version of an information technology infrastructure to support the development and deployment of Internet-delivered mental health interventions with inherent support for data sharing, data analysis, reusability of treatment content, and adaptation of intervention based on user needs and preferences.publishedVersio

Çocuklar için fiziksel etkileşimli eğitsel oyun tasarımı: tasarım prensiplerinin belirlenmesi

Physically Interactive Games (PIGs) have emerged as a new game genre and potential as an educational tool in classrooms. In PIGs, children are allowed to interact with game environment and solving problems by using their bodily movements and voices without using mouse or keyboard by being active physically and cognitively. Designing PIGs is critical and difficult process because it is vital that educational content and entertainment parts of a game should be balanced properly considering interaction between children and game environment. The current dissertation aims to explore principles of designing and developing physically interactive educational games for children. Mainly, qualitative data collection techniques were used in the study. Also, Reeves’ Development Research Model was administered under the Design-Based Research. Both Mathematics and Physical Education subjects were integrated within the game environments. Totally four physically interactive games were designed and developed. During the design and development phases, field experts, subject-matter experts and children’s expectations, needs and recommendations were taken into account. During the development phase, 5 teachers with 3 Mathematics and 2 Physical Education teachers as subject matter experts participated to the study. Also, 10 v children with 5 boys and 5 girls participated to the design phase. In the implementation phase, 30 children with 17 boys and 13 girls participated in Pilot Implementation and 50 children with 27 boys and 23 girls participated to the Final Implementation phase. The study revealed that camera screen was the main deterministic factor in order to play physically interactive educational games properly. Girls and boys had different considerations about the developed games. The bigger camera screen physically interactive games had, the higher motivation children had during gameplay. At the end of the study, design principles of physically interactive educational games were defined.Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra

Physically Interactive Game Design Process: Understanding Players’ Views

Bu çalışma fiziksel etkileşime dayanan bilgisayar oyunlarının tasarım aşamasında katılımcı görüşlerinin belirlenmesini ve buna yönelik dikkat edilmesi gereken konuların ortaya konulmasını amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında 4 farklı fiziksel etkileşimli (fare ve klavyeye bağlı olmadan bir kamera aracılığıyla oynanabilen) bilgisayar oyunu geliştirilmiştir. Oyunların 2 tanesi hareket kontrollü etkileşim tasarımına sahip iken, diğer oyunlar hareket yönlendirmeli etkileşim tasarımına sahiptir. Çalışmada 5 erkek ve 5 kız olmak üzere 10 öğrenci katılımcı olarak yer almıştır. Çalışma sonucunda elde edilen bulgulara göre, fiziksel etkileşime dayanan oyunlarda kamera ekranının oyun arayüzündeki tasarımının önemli olduğu görülmüştür. Oyun ortamı ile doğrudan etkileşime geçildiği oyunlarda katılımcıların motivasyonu ve oyuna karşı ilgilerinin daha yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bunun yanında fiziksel efor gerektiren bu tür oyunlarda oyun süreleri ve oyunculardan beklenen fiziksel hareketlerin de dikkatli belirlenmesi gereği ortaya çıkmıştır

Flow experiences of children in an interactive social game environment

This study examines children's flow experiences in an interactive social game environment. A total of 33 children aged from 7 to 9 years participated in the study for 6 weeks. Data were collected through observations and interviews. In order to measure the flow experiences of the children, items of a flow scale were administered to the children through interviews. Results revealed that flow experiences occur more among boys than girls during gameplay. While ludology had more effect on the flow experiences of boys when compared with the narratology of computer games, narratology had more effect among girls. Challenge and complexity elements of games had more effect on the flow experiences of the children than clear feedback