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This thesis addresses a fundamental Human Factors question associated with the design of the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for in-vehicle electronic route guidance systems: what navigation information should such systems provide to drivers? To avoid the development of systems which demand excessive amounts of drivers' attention and processing resources or which are not satisfactory to the intended user population, it is critical that appropriate information is provided when and where needed. However, a review of the relevant literature revealed a paucity of research concerning this issue.

A preliminary examination of day centres for the elderly indicated that there was a lack of detailed research and knowledge relevant to the requirements of users and the design of both social day centres and day care centres. In addition, the potential existed for a mismatch between the changing requirements of the users of social day centres, as they age and become more frail and/or disabled over time and the comparatively static characteristics of architectural setting designed to accommodate independent old people. The aim of this research was to study this problem area in detail. This involved a broad examination of the characteristics of the elderly population and the services provided for them in order to establish the general context in which day centres are provided. This enabled a more detailed investigation to be undertaken and an examination of the different types of day centres provided in terms of the characteristics and the requirements of their elderly users and the architectural settings provided, to be undertaken. From this, three main propositions were formulated. The three main propositions 1, 2 and 3 were tested in a number of comparative case studies based on four day centres which included two social day centres and two day care centres, one of each type was new and one old. Data was collected using a variety of methods on a total of 281 users and 23 staff and four architectural settings. It was found that the fit between the requirements of users and the architectural setting was less close in the old social day centre than in the new social day centre, the new day care centre and the old day care centre, but in all four day centres some constraints were experienced by the users and staff because of some organisational inadequacies and design decisions which indicated a lack of understanding of the users requirements. The conclusions include some design considerations on specific areas of architectural setting in day centres for the elderly providing design information for the design of future day centres.

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Chapter one discusses the rationale for, and the aims of, this study. The design of interactive computer systems is an enterprise quite distinct from the design of other artefacts: design, or inventing a pattern, for interactive computer systems is a matter of design for use.HCI research has recognised the need for a user-centred approach to design, and has correspondingly drawn upon a variety of disciplines. However, the dominance of psychological theory and method has led to the exclusion of a body of applicable findings and methods from disciplines which deal with human interaction, and to a failure to systematically investigate the the links between human interaction and human-computer interaction. Prospectively, conversation analysis provides the resources for design of more natural interactive systems,and represents the possibility of design guidance which avoids the problems inherent in current design guidelines. The methods and findings of conversation analysis, this chapter has proposed, will provide a principled approach both to the investigation of human-computer interaction, and to the design of interactive systems. Within the general aim of investigating the applicability of conversation analysis to HCI, the remainder of this study addresses both the theoretical issues, and illustrates the practical outcomes, in relation to an empirical study of user-system interaction. Chapter two examines in greater detail the perspective of ethnomethodology and the findings of conversation analysis. The expository materials, such as exist in these fields, are recognised as being difficult, especially so for those who may be approaching these topics for the first time, and from other than sociological backgrounds. Accordingly the discussion concentrates upon only their more central assumptions and findings. Chapter one observes that conversation analysis and ethnomethodology have not yet found expression in HCI research largely because of the divergence between their methods and those of psychology. The exact nature of those methods, and their advantages for HCI research, are explored in chapter three. This discussion concerns both the practical methodology adopted in this study, the relationship between experimental and non-experimental investigative methods, and the practical applicability of the methods of conversation analysis in the investigation of human-computer interaction.An empirical study of human-computer interaction is undertaken in chapter four. The examination of videotaped sequences of humancomputer interaction through conversation analytic methods is combined with the findings of conversation analysis, to formulate design guidelines and recommendations. Finally, chapter five attempts to assess the significance of this approach to HCI research and design. The promising route which conversation analysis provides for investigation of user-system interaction, and the possibility that it can inform the design of future interactive systems, is explored.

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This research evaluates the role of industrial design in the development of technologically innovatory products (t i p's) designed for untrained users. Technologically innovatory products are studied because of their unpredictable patterns of use, visual identity and market potential. Untrained users are studied since it is likely that they are less well equipped to adjust to new design characteristics than trained users and thus present a greater requirement for a self-explanatory product identity. The thesis examines recent technological developments and their potential effects on product design. A working definition of the t i p is developed and particular problems posed for manufacturers, designers and users identified. Contemporary secondary source material is employed, together with primary source material culled from interviews with design practitioners and theorists in Europe and the United States. The concept of product identity is explored with reference to the differences apparent in professional, domestic and leisure contexts. Four research hypotheses are established, the principal of which states "that a series of differentials exists between product design intentions and medium to long term user needs and preferences". A research method for making direct comparisons between design intentions and user responses utilising a two-part questionnaire is described. The pilot and application of the method to a single t i p - a microwave oven - is documented. Responses are divided into four groups: operational, stylistic, manufacturing and technological, which facilitate the direct comparison of user and design responses. The research demonstrates that there are perceptual mismatches between designer and user responses and between members of the design team itself. The thesis concludes with an examination of the results with respect to their detrimental effects on product use, and a discussion of the potential reapplication of the method as both a research and design tool.