The studies reported herein compare comprehension of Ut style literate programs to that of traditional modular programs documented by embedded comments. Novice and intermediate programmers participated in three experiments designed to determine the comprehensibility of literate programs written using a language-independent system for abstraction-oriented literate programming compared with programs written using traditional modular programming techniques (traditional modular programs). Programs were written in either the C or FORTRAN programming language. Half of the subjects in each group received a literate program, while the other half received a traditional modular program with embedded documentation. Subjects received a problem specification, input and output specifications, and a language reference for use in the study. Subjects were asked to perform a program maintenance task (complete an incomplete program). The maintenance task was used as a measure of comprehension; it simulates an actual task in the software engineering industry that requires program comprehension in order to be completed. The elapsed time to effect a solution was recorded. The completed programs were judged as correct, functionally correct with syntax errors, or incorrect; several reconstructive program comprehension measures were also collected and analyzed_ The clear overall result was that subjects using the literate programs found a solution (correct or functionally correct with syntax errors) more often than did subjects using the traditional modular programs with embedded comments. In fact, none of the subjects in this study who modified the traditional programs were able to effect a solution that was totally correct, nor even one that was functionally correct with syntax errors.

The Assistance Manager, one of the tools of the Simulation Model Development Environment (SMDE), is required to provide assistance to a user during the process of model development. This thesis describes the research effort to prototype the SMDE Assistance Manager. Requirements are set forth and a design is established for the Assistance Manager prototype. The implementation is described, and the Assistance Manager is shown to provide a highly flexible interface between the user and the database of assistance information. Assessment criteria are established, and the prototype is evaluated. Results of the evaluation indicate that the Assistance Manager incorporates the characteristics considered desirable in online assistance systems, and serves as a basis for future enhancement and development. / Master of Science

Large and complex operations environments such as the one being designed for the Space Station Freedom will undoubtedly place many requirements on crewmembers to simultaneously perform multiple tasks; i.e., “multitasking.” Moreover, it is unlikely crewmembers will finish a task without being interrupted several times. Depending on the nature of these interruptions, crewmembers may be forced to suspend their activities. One danger in suspending activities is forgetting (e.g., forgetting what the activities were, or one's position within the activities, or certain procedures, etc.). Forgetting to complete even a single activity in space may have serious consequences. As a countermeasure to forgetting, the present study introduced the use of computer- based “reminders.” The purpose of this study was to: (1) establish a baseline measure of multitasking, (2) examine the effects of interruptions on task performance, and (3) explore the use of computer-based "reminders." The results revealed subjects could perform three and five simultaneous tasks with a response accuracy of 98 percent. A large portion of that performance was attributed to practice and response pacing. In addition, the interruption task chosen for this study did not affect reaction time or response error performance on the main tasks. The use of a computer-based checkmark reminder proved to be beneficial in reducing menu search time regardless of the number of items to be located. Search time decreased considerably when the reminder was available to subjects as opposed to when it was absent. This study concludes that with practice and pacing, people can perform at least five simple tasks simultaneously. Furthermore, the benefits of incorporating computer-based reminders should not be limited only to multitasking environments. / Master of Science

This dissertation describes research in the application and evaluation of a Kohonen Self-Organizing Map (SOM) to the problem of classification of Electronic Brainstorming output. Electronic Brainstorming is one of the most productive tools in the Electronic Meeting System called GroupSystems. A major step in group problem solving involves the classification of Electronic Brainstorming output into a manageable list of concepts, topics, or issues that can be further evaluated by the group. This step is problematic due to the information overload and cognitive load of the large quantity of data. This research builds upon previous work in automating the classification process using a Hopfield Neural Network. Evaluation of the Kohonen output in comparison with the Hopfield and human expert output over the same set of data found that the Kohonen SOM performed as well as a human expert in the recollection of associated term pairs and outperformed the Hopfield Neural Network algorithm. Using information retrieval measures, recall of concepts using the Kohonen algorithm was equivalent to the human expert. However, precision was poor. The graphical representation of textual data produced by the Kohonen SOM suggests many opportunities for improving information management of textual electronic information. Increasing uses of electronic mail, computer-based bulletin board systems, and world-wide web textual data suggest an overwhelming amount of textual information to manage. This research suggests that the Kohonen SOM may be used to automatically create "a picture that can represent a thousand (or more) words."

No description available.

No description available.

As computers pervade aspects of daily life, users demand software that is easy to use. It has been suggested that adding human factors engineers (HFEs) to software development teams would help software development companies meet these user demands. However, there are qualitative data which suggest that software developers (80s) and HFEs do not communicate well with each other. It is believed that this lack of communication has inhibited the use of HFEs on software development teams. It is further believed that this lack of communication is due in part to the differences in the frames of reference of HFEs and 50s. Thus, the objectives of this thesis are: 1. To develop an instrument which can be used to determine the differences in the frames of reference of HFEs and 80s. 2. To test the instrument. Three questionnaires were developed to probe the differences in the frames of reference of HFEs and 80s. The first, a background questionnaire, probed for information concerning software development experience and knowledge of specific software industry terms. The second was a software development activities questionnaire which was used to ascertain the importance of participation of certain professionals in software development activities. Finally, the usability information questionnaire was used to determine what type of supporting information would be necessary for a design change at certain points in the development of the product. Participants (30 HFEs and 30 80s) completed the questionnaires. It was found that HFEs and 80s do differ in their frames of reference. It was also found that some of these differences could cause a lack of communication between HFEs and 50s. It is suggested that software companies provide interdisciplinary training for their employees to help reduce these differences and to improve communication. / Master of Science

Training is a vital link between idle or inadequately used software and software seen as a tool. Education can take many forms such as self exploration, CAI, manuals, and formal class room training. The introduction of a computer to a system interjects complex interactions between the computer user and his work environment. Research in this area has been performed by such disciplines as MIS, education, and psychology. A fundamental purpose of this research is to study the interaction of such user variables as cognitive style, demographics, and reading to variables from education and psychology such as advanced organizers, reinforcement, and document layout.

This research focuses on the development and study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that support religious practices and the use of standpoint theory in ICT evaluation studies. Three phases makeup this work: formative studies to understand how megachurches, their members and leaders use ICT in ways tied to their Protestant Christian faith and the design of a technology probe, a photo sharing website named ChurchShare. The final and most significant phase is the evaluation of this probe in two churches. I deployed ChurchShare in a Christian church comprised of U.S. born individuals and argue this initial deployment took place with â ideal users,â or those I intended to use the application and who represent the traditional targets of HCC (Human-Centered Computing) research. More than 200 photos were uploaded to ChurchShare and findings suggest that the technology probe was successfully integrated into the churchâ s worship services. Standpoint theory guided the second deployment study that was conducted with individuals who are marginalized in HCC researchâ "Kenyan immigrants. Participants rejected ChurchShare and zero pictures were uploaded to the website. I compare findings from both deployments and conclude that conducting ICT evaluation studies with marginalized users leads to more objective findings than conducting such studies with ideal users. I end with a discussion describing how standpoint theory can be incorporated into HCC, focusing on how this approach offers a practical way for researchers to uncover value differences between themselves and the people who interact with their work.

Com o objetivo de propor uma interface entre especialista em ergonomia e métodos/ferramentas de avaliação ergonômica, este estudo buscou conhecer e analisar o cenário investigado e propor soluções. Este estudo tem início na investigação desses métodos, definindo-os, quantificando as publicações relacionadas e contrastando essas informações com os métodos utilizados pelos profissionais, suas percepções e recomendações. Essas perspectivas levaram os autores a investigar o processo de análise ergonômica, a partir da literatura e procedimentos de campo, a fim de propor um software que auxiliasse o processo de escolha e aplicação do método. Com o apoio da engenharia de software, realizou-se um levantamento de requisitos para identificar as necessidades dos especialistas locais em Pato Branco – PR. Esses requisitos foram ranqueados e mapeados em protótipo de software, validado pelos profissionais. A partir dessas análises (processo e requisitos), um framework conceitual foi proposto a fim de representar uma nova abordagem para o processo, onde a avaliação é realizada a partir do aspecto avaliável, sendo possível aplicar todos os métodos relacionados que estejam incorporados ao software. Esta nova abordagem não substitui a anterior, entretanto, dispensa a escolha do método sem a excluir, permitindo ao especialista conhecer, aplicar e analisar o resultado de diversos métodos, independentemente de seu portfólio profissional. A versão inicial do protótipo foi desenvolvida e um teste piloto foi aplicado junto a uma empresa de ergonomia, para validação do software. Os resultados da aplicação do software enriqueceram a atual abordagem, permitindo a aplicação de um método que não pertencia ao portfólio do profissional, reforçando as avaliações anteriores e trazendo novas contribuições à avaliação ergonômica. / To propose a specialist in ergonomics and ergonomic assessment methods/tools interface, this study searched to know and analyze the investigated scenario and propose solutions. This study begins in the investigation of these methods, defining them, quantifying the related publications and contrasting this information with the methods used by professionals, their insights and recommendations. These prospects took the authors to investigate the process of ergonomic analysis, from the literature and field procedures, in order to propose a software that would help the process of choosing and applying the methods. Software engineering supports a survey of requirements to identify the needs of local experts in Pato Branco - PR. These requirements were ranked and mapped in software prototype, validated by professionals. From these analyzes (process and requirements), a conceptual framework has been proposed to represent a new approach to the process where the assessment is carried out from the evaluable aspect, it is possible to apply all related methods that are incorporated into the software. This new approach does not replace the previous one, however, dispenses the choice without exclude it, allowing the expert to know, apply and analyze the results of different methods, regardless of their professional portfolio. The initial version of the prototype was developed and a pilot test was applied to an ergonomics company, for software validation. The software application results enriched the current approach, allowing the application of a method that did not belong to the professional portfolio, reinforcing previous evaluations and bringing new contributions to the ergonomic evaluation.