Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

<p> The purpose of this research is to understand the usability challenges of wearable Global Positioning System (GPS)-based technologies for at home caregivers managing wandering effects for loved ones with Dementia, specifically those with Alzheimer's disease. A total of four devices and 14 U.S. participants were studied using semi-structured, in-person qualitative usability methodology and an open coding system in the style of Grounded Theory. Though the study evaluated issues solely related to usability, the results expanded to a much larger design paradigm to be considered for improved and more directed solutions for future advancements that is symbiotic between a company and its end user. The proposed "life-proofing ecosystem", which contains eight pillars within its framework (user experience, customer experience, accessibility, governance, marketing, business, technology, cultural sensitivity) aims for more balanced product evolutions and progressive innovation. Future studies may provide scalar measurements for assessments beyond the proposed framework and ecosystem. Ultimately, the goal is to provide practical guidelines for designing life-proof solutions in today's highly connected society.</p><p>

<p> Delight is present in several types of experiences, including those involving the use of interactive systems. To a great extent, we notice when certain design features of such systems provoke our delight. Such a feeling is crucial since it influences our perspective towards the system&rsquo;s performance, functionality, or relevance to our everyday lives. In this sense, delight appears as a persuasive dimension of the user experience. Hence it is reasonable to ask if rhetoric can help us study the relationship between delight and a system&rsquo;s design features. In this dissertation, I have taken a set of concepts from rhetoric as lenses to examine the design of interactive artifacts, including static and dynamic interface components and interactions. Specifically, I tested the following rhetorical concepts: the function of an image, enthymeme, mode of appeal, trope and scheme, and metaphorical tension. Through my examinations, I illustrate one way to bring rhetoric into interaction design and show its potential for framing delight in interactive artifacts. As a result, I have formulated the concept of interaction delight and other constructs which together work as a preliminary theory of delight in interactive systems. Finally, I propose an interpretive examination method whose purpose is the articulation of compositional and experiential qualities of interactive systems regarding the functions of rhetoric: to persuade, to identify, to invite to understanding, to help in self-knowledge and self-discovery, and to shape reality. This method is intended to help an interaction design researcher account for how the system argues during the user experience.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-272).

No description available.

<p> Primary users can create a user experience (UX) for others&mdash;secondary users&mdash;when interacting with a system in public. Common ground occurs when people have certain knowledge in common and each knows that they have this shared understanding. This research investigates how designing for a secondary UX improves common ground during a patient-provider first encounter. During formative work, patients and providers participated in telephonic interviews and answered online questionnaires so that their respective information requirements for clinical encounters could be understood. The outcome of the formative work was a smartphone application prototype to be used as the treatment in an experimental study. In a mixed methods study, with a patient role-player using the prototype during a simulated clinical encounter with 12 providers, the impact of the prototype upon secondary user satisfaction and common ground was assessed. The main finding was that the prototype was capable of positively impacting secondary user satisfaction and facilitating common ground in certain instances. Combining the notions of human-computer interaction design, common ground, and smartphone technology improved the efficiency and effectiveness of providers during the simulated face-to-face first encounter with a patient. The investigation substantiated the notion that properly designed interactive systems have the potential to provide a satisfactory secondary UX and facilitate common ground.</p>

<p> The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how wiki-based collaboration is affected by the generational characteristics of Baby Boomer (1943&ndash;1960) and Millennial (1982&ndash;2000) instructional designers in midsized corporations. Collaboration theory was applied to strengthen the depth and accuracy of the data analysis and justify the study findings. A basic qualitative methodology was applied to explore the research problem. The target population consisted of Baby Boomer and Millennial instructional designers who worked in midsized corporations within the continental United States and had collaborated on a wiki-based work project within a team. The sample consisted of three instructional designers between the ages of 52&ndash;65 years old (Baby Boomers) and three instructional designers between the ages of 21&ndash;35 years old (Millennials) who possessed master&rsquo;s degrees in instructional design or a related field, were employed in midsized corporations within the continental United States for at least 1 year, and collaborated on a wiki-based project within a team during the past 12 months prior to participation in the study. Data analysis included evaluation and synthesis of participant interview transcripts to identify patterns that emerged from constant comparative analysis while identifying changes to the patterns when combined. Wiki-based collaboration was not affected by the generational characteristics of Baby Boomer and Millennial instructional designers in a midsized corporate context. </p><p>

Matěj Malecha, Akcident ve Stacku Abstract (in English): The master thesis explains the notion of "accident" in the book The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty by Benjamin H. Bratton. First, it identifies suitable mental models within the fields of complex systems theory, philosophy of technology and theory of information. The models inform subsequent analysis and interpretation of the Stack showing that Stack's accidentality (1) is an inevitable consequence of the functional principle of digital technologies, and that (2) the accidentality differs qualitatively depending on whether it manifests at the level of a layer or within the whole. The last part examines how Bratton's remark that the book is a design brief, and the fact that the Stack is not used solely by people affects the role of designer.