Improving the Usability of the Hierarchical File System

Whether you are interested in improving the usability of Linux, Macintosh or Windows, there is one restriction you cannot escape – the hierarchical file storage system. The notion of files and folders has been with us for so long that it almost seems axiomatic. In this paper we look at the effects on users of forcing a hierarchical classification of files. We also consider how some of the resultant problems can be tackled with a new piece of file browsing software based on the ideas of relational database systems

Eliminating Design and Execute Modes from Virtual Environment Editors

In this paper we report on efforts to create a virtual environment authoring tool for novices. In particular we set out to eliminate separate design and execute behaviors from these tools. We present two alternative prototypes for achieving this and report on the results of a usability experiments comparing each environment

Customizing Digital Libraries for Small Screen Devices

In this paper we present a system that allows users to access digital libraries using small screen devices. Instead of providing users with a single hard-coded solution, we allow them to customize how the content is structured, formatted and viewed on the small display. The centre of our system is a tool that can be used to customize Greenstone Digital Library collections for small displays. To lower the entry level, this tool has been designed to provide an abstraction from Greenstone’s low level architecture and other computing technologies, such as HTML and Java Script. We also place a strong emphasis on evaluation and incorporate users throughout the software development cycle. Lastly in the discussion, we speculate that by designing usable and customizable systems, there is the potential of breaking down the open source revenue model, which relies on providing services for systems that are hard to use and configure

An Evaluation of Techniques for Browsing Photograph Collections on Small Displays

In this paper we evaluate techniques for browsing photographs on small displays. We present two new interaction techniques that replace conventional scrolling and zooming controls. Via a single user action, scrolling and zooming are inter-dependently controlled with AutoZoom and independently controlled with GestureZoom. Both techniques were evaluated in a large-scale, 72-subject usability experiment alongside a conventional thumbnail grid image browser. Performance with the new techniques was at least as good as that with the standard thumbnail grid, even though none of the subjects had prior experience with such systems. In a number of cases – such as finding small groups of photos or when seeking for images containing small details – the new techniques were significantly faster than the conventional approach. In addition, AutoZoom and GestureZoom supported significantly more accurate identification of subsets of photographs. Subjects also reported lower levels of physical and cognitive effort and frustration with the new techniques in comparison to the thumbnail grid browser

From Sit-Forward to Lean-Back: Using a Mobile Device to Vary Interactive Pace

Although online, handheld, mobile computers offer new possibilities in searching and retrieving information on the go, the fast-paced, “sit -forward” style of interaction may not be appropriate for all user search needs. In this paper, we explore how a handheld computer can be used to enable interactive search experiences that vary in pace from fast and immediate through to reflective and delayed. We describe a system that asynchronously combines an offline handheld computer and an online desktop Personal Computer, and discuss some results of an initial user evaluation

On the challenge of adopting standard EHR systems in developing countries

Electronic health record (EHR) systems are a popular mechanism for accessing health records in the developed world and have contributed towards improved and cost-effective health care management. However, the development of appropriate and scalable EHR systems in developing countries has been difficult to achieve because of certain limitations inherent in the technological infrastructure. In this paper, we present a comparative study of 19 EHR systems in terms of the security and usability of these systems within the context of the developing world. Our aim was to investigate whether online health services designed for developed countries can be adopted for EHR systems in developing countries. The investigation was based on a number of dimensions such as development environment, system platform, type and access control standards found in the National Institute for Standard and Technology (NIST) and Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT). Our research indicates that all the systems evaluated require online access control decisions. Solely relying on an online access control system is limiting, particularly in developing countries where access to the server can be disrupted by a number of disastrous events

Mobile Virtual Environments

As mobile hardware becomes more advanced and readily available, there is a greater need to investigate mobile virtual environments. Previous attempts at mobile virtual environments have yielded unsatisfactory results. This research aims to create a believable mobile virtual environment, capable of running in real-time and making use of intuitive input mechanisms. The rendering of the virtual environment is accomplished with the use of OpenGL ES, while the interaction of the system is handled by a tilt sensor and GPS receiver. Optimisation techniques are necessary to achieve a minimum interactive frame rate of 5 frames per second including mipmaps, frustum culling, minimisation of OpenGL ES state changes and the use of fixed-point calculations rather than floating-point calculations. User tests clearly show that the use of intuitive input mechanisms is greatly preferred over conventional keypad input. This research shows that believable mobile virtual environments are feasible and are able to provide the user with intuitive input mechanisms and an interactive frame rate

A Meta-Authoring Tool for Specifying Interactions in Virtual Reality Environments

When creating virtual reality environments a large amount of the interaction needs to be programmed. The problem with this is that non-computer expert users lack the programming skills necessary to create useful applications. Specifying interactions remains in the domain of the programmer. Creating a single, generic authoring tool for every different kind of application would be an impossible task { more so if the authors are non-programmers. A more realistic solution to the problem would be to think of every environment as having a particular context such as a virtual museum or gallery. Creating authoring tools specific to these types of environment contexts greatly reduces the problem. We have produced a progressive meta-authoring system that allows both novice and advanced users to create useful virtual reality applications, allowing the smooth migration of novice users to becoming more experienced. We believe that our system overcomes problems in architecture and support for novice users found in previous systems

Walking and the Social Life of Solar Charging in Rural Africa

We illustrate links between walking, sociality and using resources in a case-study of community-based, solar, cellphone charging in two villages in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Like 360 million rural Sub-saharan Africans, inhabitants are poor and, like 25% and 92%, of the world respectively, do not have domestic electricity or own motor vehicles. We show that the ways we move through the world affect the meanings we embody; that certain representations obscure continuities in the practices we seek to understand and influence; and, some of the motivations of the billions of people who are marginalized in discussing sustainable HCI. Locally, about 65% of inhabitants over 14 years old own cell- phones and, over a year, we recorded 500 names of people using the Charging Stations that, we deployed within several technology probing endeavours, many on a regular basis. The detail of our longitudinal study contributes considerably to sustainable design for ‘developing’ regions. Walking is a noticeable part of charging, and all other subsistence rou- tines, and shapes inhabitants’ motivations when they use, re-purpose, store and share resources. Inhabitants are moti- vated by cost and comfort and, importantly, by performing collectivity in their tight-knit community; but, not by being green. Further, different ways of walking relate to social roles and other aspects of sociality and, we propose, shaped inhabitants’ and researchers’ perspectives on charging and using phones. We suggest this is significant for the methods and designs that we use to explore and support sustainable practices in rural Africa and, indeed, more generally

Human Communication Dynamics in Digital Footsteps: A Study of the Agreement between Self-Reported Ties and Email Networks

Digital communication data has created opportunities to advance the knowledge of human dynamics in many areas, including national security, behavioral health, and consumerism. While digital data uniquely captures the totality of a person's communication, past research consistently shows that a subset of contacts makes up a person's “social network” of unique resource providers. To address this gap, we analyzed the correspondence between self-reported social network data and email communication data with the objective of identifying the dynamics in e-communication that correlate with a person's perception of a significant network tie. First, we examined the predictive utility of three popular methods to derive social network data from email data based on volume and reciprocity of bilateral email exchanges. Second, we observed differences in the response dynamics along self-reported ties, allowing us to introduce and test a new method that incorporates time-resolved exchange data. Using a range of robustness checks for measurement and misreporting errors in self-report and email data, we find that the methods have similar predictive utility. Although e-communication has lowered communication costs with large numbers of persons, and potentially extended our number of, and reach to contacts, our case results suggest that underlying behavioral patterns indicative of friendship or professional contacts continue to operate in a classical fashion in email interactions