This empirical work aims to investigate the impact of using multimodal communication metaphors on e-learning systems’ usability, overall user experience and affective state. The study proposed a triple evaluation approach to avoid the problem of conventional assessment relying only on usability measurements of efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfactions. Usability in that sense refers only to the functionality and pragmatic side of the product and neglects other aspects of the system. Learning is a cognitive and repetitive task, requiring learners’ attention as well as their interest. Therefore, when delivering content, in addition to the pragmatic functionality, an e-learning system should provide a constructive overall user experience and positive affective state. Doing so will ensure user engagement, facilitate the learning process and increase learners’ performance. The impact of using five different communication metaphors was evaluated in three dimensions using the proposed approach. Within the usability dimension, the evaluation criteria involved measuring system efficiency, effectiveness, user satisfaction and learning performance. Within the user experience dimension, the evaluation criteria involved measuring pragmatic aspects of the user experience, the hedonic aspects of user experience in terms of stimulation as well as identification and the overall system attractiveness. Within the affective state dimension a self-assessments manikin technique was used in conjunction with biofeedback measurements, and users’ valence, arousal and dominance were measured. The study found that system attractiveness and the hedonic user experience had a profound impact on users’ learning performance and attitude toward the tested system. Furthermore, they influenced users’ views and judgement of the system and its usability. The communication metaphors were not equal in their influence within the evaluation criteria. Empirically derived guidelines were produced for the use and integration of these metaphors in e-learning systems. The outcome of the study highlights the need to use the triple evaluation approach in the assessment of e-learning interfaces prior to their release for better adoption and acceptance by end users.

Why are there individual differences in people&amp / #8217 / s bodily communication performance success? Which variables may be responsible for the variation in the performance success? Which analogies would appear to dominate in bodily communication, and in what ways would the metaphorization and metonymization processes operate? In this study, the relationship of bodily communication performance with cognitive and personality variables was investigated. 218 students participated to the first phase of the study while 88 of them participated to the second phase of it. In the first phase, a set of tests was given successively to determine the levels of certain cognitive and personality variables. In the experimental setting, the participants were instructed to communicate certain words one by one nonverbally just as in the &amp / #8216 / Silent Movie&amp / #8217 / game. The stability of bodily communication expectancy ratings, the factor structure of bodily communication performance and the frequency of the ways of representation for each word were analyzed. Interrater reliability analysis, third eye analysis and case studies were conducted / the unsuccessful representations were described and finally, structural equation modeling results were presented. The theories and research on personality and cognition, metaphors, metonymies, analogies, bodily representations, mind-reading, pragmatics and the notion of relevance were reviewed in the dissertation and after the exposition of the strategies, schemata and scripts employed in the experiments, a model of bodily communication was proposed aiming to integrate the manifold aspects of bodily communication.

no / The results from previous experiments using structured musical stimuli to communicate coordinate locations within a graphical grid, navigation of an auditory cursor and simple shapes are used as a basis for further exploratory research to communicate diagrams. An experimental framework program (called AudioGraph) provided a platform for investigating musical information processing for blind users. Under this platform, simple arrangements of shapes (forming diagrams) were communicated to users using structured musical stimuli. Meaningfully arranged graphical shapes (at least for the visual sense) were communicated in the absence, and in the presence of a particular perceptual context or different perceptual contexts. The results indicated that perceptual context played an important role in the interpretation of the structured musical stimuli that communicated simple diagrams. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the results, the role of context and the use of structured musical stimuli to communicate graphical information to visually impaired users.