The Graphical User Interface (GUI), as the most prevailing type of User Interface (UI) in today’s interactive applications, restricts the interaction with a computer to the visual modality and is therefore not suited for some users (e.g., with limited literacy or typing skills), in some circumstances (e.g., while moving around, with their hands or eyes busy) or when the environment is constrained (e.g., the keyboard and the mouse are not available). In order to go beyond the GUI constraints, the Multimodal (MM) UIs apear as paradigm that provide users with great expressive power, naturalness and flexibility. In this thesis we argue that developing MM UIs combining graphical and vocal modalities is an activity that could benefit from the application of a methodology which is composed of: a set of models, a method manipulating these models and the tools implementing the method. Therefore, we define a design space-based method that is supported by model-to-model colored transformations in order to obtain MM UIs of information systems. The design space is composed of explicitly defined design options that clarify the development process in a structured way in order to require less design effort. The feasability of the methodology is demonstrated through three case studies with different levels of complexity and coverage. In addition, an empirical study is conducted with end-users in order to measure the relative usability level provided by different design decisions.

Many information technology artefacts can be found in today’s cars. The interaction with these artefacts is the driver’s secondary task while driving the car in a safe way is the primary task. When designing interfaces for in-vehicle usage, measures have to be taken in order to make the interaction with the artefact suit the in-vehicle environment. One of these measures is to have the appropriate screen density level, which is the amount of information present on the screen. This thesis compares the usability of two integrated in-vehicle display prototypes, one with low screen density and one with high screen density. The usability comparison considers both safety and user preferences. Safety was measured by a Lane Change Test (LCT) which measures distraction of a primary task while performing a secondary task, and user preferences was measured with a questionnaire. Before the comparison was made, controls and a graphical user interface were designed. Results showed no significant difference in driver distraction between performing tasks on the high screen density display and the low screen density display. However, a vast majority of the users preferred high screen density over low. Furthermore, the distraction levels for both the high and the low screen density displays were below the proposed 0.5 meter limit for allowed driver distraction. The results indicate that in-vehicle displays can have a high level of screen density without imposing a level of distraction on the driver that is unsuitable for driving.

Aim: The aim of this thesis has been to try to answer the question of how an IT based marketing information system support the formation of business and product related strategies and when and how such a system should be integrated in a company Method: Analytical meta-study of published literature condensed through a SWOT analysis and combined with a qualitative evaluation of questionnaires directed to companies with experience of developing and implementing marketing information systems. Result & Conclusion: Company size and market volatility decides the time of implementation of a marketing information system. Implementation should be initiated top-down in order to secure full organisational inertia. The approach should be holistic and tailor-made for each specific organisation. Users should fully integrated in development and implementation. Suggestions for future research: Supplementary work could be carried out in trying to quantify how a marketing information system affect the new product time to market and the strategic mismatch to real market development, hence the efficiency of such a system. Another question of interest is the organisational inbound resistance to change, how this resistance affect the implementation of a marketing information system and how to overcome the boundaries it poses. Contribution of the thesis:This thesis contributes with a general framework that sustains the implementation of a marketing information system. It answers the initial questions that a manager has, standing before the possible implementation of such a tool.

The science of disaster medicine is more a descriptive than analytical type. Research, in most instances, has not employed quantitative methods and there is very sparse knowledge based on analytical statistics. One consequence of this is that similar mistakes are repeated over and over. Lessons that should be learned are merely observed. Moreover, there are almost no practical or ethical ways in which randomised controlled studies can be performed. The management, command and control of situations on different levels of hierarchy has eldom been evaluated and there have been no standards against which performance can be evaluated. Furthermore, the documentation of decisions and staff work is rarely sufficient enough to evaluate command and control functions. Setting standards that may be used as templates for evaluation and research is an issue that is constantly being addressed by leading experts in the field of disaster medicine and this is also an important issue that is expressed in the Utstein Template. Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, templates of performance indicators were developed. These were tested on reports available from incidents, and our conclusion was that documentation in this form was not adequate enough for use in this method of evaluation. Documentation must be improved and data probably need to be captured and stored with the help of information systems. A template developed for the evaluation of medical command and control at the scene was tested in standardised examinations. When using this template in this setting it was possible to obtain specific information on those aspects of command and control that need to be improved. An information system using on-line Internet technique was studied twice. The first study concluded that in spite of technical disturbances the system was acceptable to the organisation but could not yet be recommended for use during major incidents. The second study concluded that the retrieval of information was, in all respects not as good as the control system, a conventional ambulance file system. In a study of staff procedure skills during training of management staffs in command and control it was concluded that documentation during training sessions was not adequate and this lack of staff procedure skills could possibly be a contributing factor to the fact that lessons in command and control are not learned from incidents. Conclusions in thesis are that measurable performance indicators can be used in the training of command and control. If performance indicators are to be used in real incidents and disasters, functioning information systems have to be developed. This may lead to a better knowledge of command and control and could possibly contribute to a process where lessons are learned and mistakes are not repeated.

This thesis starts by observing a change problem in a medical computer application. The change problem occurs when data and rules that make up the core of a computer application, degenerate. Sometimes the process is slow, but it is not unusual for the application to be out of date even before it has been put into use. The aim of this work is to develop a theoretical framework in which it is possible to formulate the change problem such that it becomes more accessible for conscious consideration and a base for design principles. Accordingly, the thesis follows a theoretical approach. In order to place the work in a historical perspective, some major lines of research in administrative data processing are outlined. The change problem has led the author to investigate the birth and change of facts. The result of this investigation is that two fundamental points of view can be identified. One is closely related to a view of knowledge that is characteristic of the age of enlightenment. The basic idea in this "depictive" view is that facts are more or less depictions of reality. The other point of view can be associated with philosophers such as Kant and Hegel. The fundamental idea in this "constructive" view is that facts are related to measuring systems that are created by man. The constructive view is developed to include computer applications, encompassing a concept with seven key elements. To demonstrate the usefulness of the concept, two case studies are discussed: a computer aided travel agency and the argumentation around a computer aided social research project. An attempt is then made to use the constructive view as an approach to the change problem. One important result of this work is that the change problem shifts into a problem of justice. The conclusion is that a depictive view of facts gives theoretical support for transforming every human activity into deterministic machinery. When this fails, we experience a change problem. A constructive view of facts gives theoretical support for participation in a redesigning process. When this fails we experience a problem of injustice among clients. Following that conclusion, one way to approach the injustice problem is to encourage clients to take part in a continuous reconstruction of the activity. This is the same thing as looking for solutions to the change problem. The focus of the thesis then turns to different strategies to encourage clients to participate in the reconstructive work, which is also knovyn as the question of implementation. The following complementary strategies for implementation are considered: The Metaphorical Strategy, the Heuristic Strategy, the Documentation Strategy, the Computer Application Strategy, the Education Strategy. These strategies are then applied to the first mentioned medical computer application. The thesis concludes with some outlines for further research and some fundamental questions conceiving constructive computer applications. These questions focused on the necessity for further work on ethical aspects of a constructive view. / digitalisering@umu

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Accounting and Information Management

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Accounting and Information Management

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Accounting and Information Management

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Accounting and Information Management

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Accounting and Information Management