Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-109). Also available on the World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

In the last few years, many schools and universities have incorporated personal digital assistants (PDAs) into their teaching curricula, in an attempt to enhance students' learning experience and reduce instructors' workload. One of the most common uses of PDAs in the classroom is as a test administrator. This study compared the usability effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of a PDA-based quiz application to that of standard paper-and-pencil quizzes in a university course in order to determine whether it was advisable to invest time and money in PDA-based testing. The effects of computer anxiety, age, gender, and ethnicity on usability were also evaluated, to ascertain that these factors do not discriminate against individuals taking PDA-based tests. Five quizzes were administered to students participating in an engineering introductory course. Of these, students took two PDA-based quizzes and three paper-and-pencil quizzes. One PDA-based quiz and one paper-and-pencil quiz were compared in terms of their effectiveness, measured as students' quiz scores and through a mental workload questionnaire; their efficiency, which was the time it took students to complete each quiz; and their satisfaction, evaluated using a subjective user satisfaction questionnaire. Computer anxiety was also measured, using an additional questionnaire. It was hypothesized that the PDA-based quiz would be more effective and efficient than the paper-and-pencil quiz and that students' satisfaction with the PDA-based quiz would be greater. The study showed the PDA-based quiz to be more efficient, that is, students completed it in less time than they needed to complete the paper-and-pencil quiz. No differences in effectiveness and satisfaction were found between the two quiz types. It was also hypothesized that for PDA-based quizzes, as computer anxiety increased, effectiveness and satisfaction would decrease; for paper-and-pencil quizzes there would be no relationship between computer anxiety and effectiveness and no relationship between computer anxiety and satisfaction. Findings showed an increase in quiz score (increase in effectiveness) and an increase in mental workload (decrease in effectiveness) as computer anxiety increased for both quiz types. No relationship was found between computer anxiety and satisfaction for either paper-and-pencil or PDA-based quizzes. The final hypothesis suggested that user satisfaction would be positively correlated with effectiveness (quiz score and mental workload) for both PDA-based and paper-and-pencil quizzes. No relationship was found between quiz score and satisfaction for either quiz type. User satisfaction was positively correlated with mental workload, regardless of quiz type. The usability comparison of paper-and-pencil and PDA-based quizzes found the latter to be equal, if not superior, to the former. The effort students put into taking the quiz was the same, regardless of administration method, and scores were not affected. In addition, different demographic groups performed almost equally well in both quiz types (white students' PDA-based quiz scores were slightly lower than those of the other ethnic groups). Computer anxiety was not affected by the quiz type. For these reasons, as well as other advantages to both students (e.g. real-time scoring) and teachers (e.g. spending less time on grading), PDAs are an attractive test administration option for schools and universities. / Graduation date: 2004

This thesis was designed and written with advertising stakeholders in mind. The aim of my thesis is to illustrate how listening to and understanding the behavior and voices of consumers from the perspective of a trained anthropologist can improve advertising strategies. My instruments for conducting this research include an in-depth investigation of 28 consumers who use organizing devices (e.g. personal digital assistants and paper-based organizers) and a qualitative analysis of two print ads from Palm, Inc. In the first phase of my research, I employed ethnographic techniques and analyses to shed light on the usage-based benefits consumers realize by using organizers. In the second part of my research, I reveal my analysis and interpretations of print ads from Palm, one of the world's largest producers of organizers. My research culminates with the placement of the Palm advertisers' decisions in a critical framework. I do this by illuminating the consonance and contradiction between the ways in which I found consumers using organizers and the ways in which they are promoted in the advertising. Among other things, my research found informants using their organizers as a means to escape the tedium of commuting to and from work; I also found informants using their organizers to extend their memory capacity and create solutions to problems. In the end, my interpretations lead to pragmatic conclusions that potentially make advertising strategy more efficacious: Palm advertising should create scenes in which people are actively using their organizers to achieve benefits (e.g. memory, entertainment, etc.) they seek. / Graduation date: 2003

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-146). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-146). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 49 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).