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doi: 10.1080/10447318909525954pmid: N/A
This paper reviews the difficulties commonly experienced by non‐professional computer users and the remedies proposed for these problems.
Schleifer, Lawrence M.; Amick, Benjamin C.
doi: 10.1080/10447318909525955pmid: N/A
The effects of computer system response time (slowvs. rapid) and method of pay (incentive vs. nonincentive) on mood disturbances and somatic discomfort were evaluated in a computer‐based data entry task among 45 professional typists. Self‐ratings of mood disturbances and somatic discomfort were taken at regular intervals over four consecutive workdays. Regardless of method of pay, slow response time generated higher ratings of frustration and impatience than did rapid response time. In addition, ratings of rush and tension were higher with incentive pay than without incentive pay, regardless of system response time. Mood disturbances and somatic discomfort increased linearly with the amount of time spent performing the data entry task over the course of the workday. This effect was independent of system response time or method of pay. However, scheduled rest and lunch breaks moderated these cumulative increases in mood disturbances and somatic discomfort. The results indicate that computer systems which incorporate features such as rapid response times reduce work stress, while the motivational advantages of computer‐based incentive pay programs must be balanced against the stress effects of this method of pay.
Potter, Richard; Berman, Mitchell; Shneiderman, Ben
doi: 10.1080/10447318909525956pmid: N/A
High resolution touch screens and novel usage strategies have overcome earlier problems with parallax and inaccurate pointing. A study testing the utility of three touch screen strategies within the Hyperties hypertext environment was performed. This provided a replication and extension of an earlier touch screen strategy comparison that focused on small closely‐spaced targets. The experiment compared three touch screen strategies in three experimental tasks that reflect hypertext usage. The results showed that a strategy that only uses the initial impact with the touch screen causes the user to miss the target more than other touch strategies. A statistically significant difference in errors was found. Our results should encourage system implementers and touch screen hardware designers to support “touch mouse” strategies that enable cursor dragging on the touch screen surface.
Badre, Albert N.; Russell, C. Ray
doi: 10.1080/10447318909525957pmid: N/A
System design tasks can be solved using instructions and data items at various levels of detail (levels of abstraction) ranging from binary code to application level instructions. The research presented here explores the effects of providing a designer with varying levels of detail about system implementation on the quality of a resulting human‐interface design. First, a model of the relationship between knowledge of lower levels of abstraction and design quality is described. Next the results of an experiment (involving the design of a human‐computer interface) which examines some aspects of this model are presented. Finally, the relevance and implications of the results are discussed.
Cuomo, Donna L.; Sharif, Joseph
doi: 10.1080/10447318909525958pmid: N/A
This paper describes the development and application of a cognitively‐based performance methodology for assessing human performance on computer‐aided architectural design (CAAD) tasks. Two CAAD tasks were employed that were hypothesized to be different in terms of the underlying cognitive processes required for these tasks to be performed. Methods of manipulating task complexity within each of these tasks were then developed. Six architectural graduate students were trained on a commercially available CAAD system. Each student performed the two experimental design tasks at one of three levels of complexity. The data collected included protocols, video recordings of the computer screen, and an interactive script (time‐stamped record of every command input and the computers textual response). Performance measures and methods of analysis were developed which reflected the cognitive processes used by the human during design (including problem‐solving techniques, planning times, heuristics employed, etc.) and the role of the computer as a design aid. The analysis techniques used included graphical techniques, Markov process analysis, protocol analysis, and error classification and analysis. The results of the study indicated that some measures more directly reflected human design activity while others more directly reflected the efficiency of interaction between the computer and the human. The discussion of the results focuses primarily on the usefulness of the various measures comprising the performance methodology, the usefulness of the tasks employed including methods for manipulating task complexity, and the effectiveness of this system as well as CAAD systems in general for aiding human design processes.
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