The research described in this thesis examines indigenous language usage in a digital library environment that has been accessed via the Internet. By examining discretionary use of the Māori Niupepa and Hawaiian Nūpepa digital libraries this research investigates how indigenous languages were used in these electronic environments in 2005. The results provide encouragement and optimism to people who are striving to retain, revitalise and develop the use of indigenous languages in information technologies. The Transaction Log Analysis (TLA) methods used in this research serve as an example of how web logs can be used to provide significant information about language usage in a bilingual online information system. Combining the TLA with user feedback has provided insights into how and why clients use indigenous languages in their information retrieval activities. These insights in turn, show good practice that is relevant not only to those working with indigenous languages, indigenous peoples or multilingual environments, but to all information technology designers who strive for universal usability. This thesis begins by describing the importance of using indigenous languages in electronic environments and suggests that digital libraries can provide an environment to support and encourage the use of such languages. TLA is explained in the context of this study and is then used to analyse aspects of te reo Māori usage in the Niupepa digital library environment in 2005. TLA also indicates that te reo Māori was used by international clients and this usage differed to te reo Māori usage by national (Aotearoa) clients. Findings further reveal that the default language setting of the Niupepa digital library had a considerable impact on te reo Māori usage. When the default language was set to te reo Māori not only were there more requests in te reo Māori but there was also a higher usage of te reo Māori in the information retrieval activities. TLA of the Hawaiian Nūpepa digital library indicated that the Hawaiian language was also used in a digital library. These results confirm that indigenous languages were used in digital library environments. Feedback from clients suggests reasons why indigenous languages were used in this environment. These reasons include the indigenous language content of the digital library, the indigenous language default language setting of the digital library and a stated desire by the clients to use the indigenous language. The key findings raise some interface design issues and support the claim that digital libraries can provide an environment to support the use of indigenous languages.

This thesis reports on a study undertaken at the Dixson Library, University of New England. The purpose of the study was to develop an understanding of users of online public access catalogues (OPACs). The understanding gained from the study will assist in the development of improvements to the Library's OPAC, and increase user ability to access information from the OPAC. The study replicated the user questionnaire of the Online Patron Access Project, sponsored by the Council on Library Resources (CLR) in 1981/83. The questionnaire was modified slightly to suit conditions at the Dixson Library. The study addressed nine research questions relating to the users, their reactions, attitudes, experiences and problems. The user task and their suggestions for improvement were also addressed. The study formally tested three propositions between the variables user task, success and attitudes in relation to OPAC users. The findings show the analysis of the responses for the population as a whole, and, where relevant, for eight groups of student respondents based on their academic affiliation. The student population was of particular importance because of the preponderance of external students at the University of New England. The differences in the findings between the groups of students were discussed, and where possible, explained. The three formal propositions were tested by carrying out Chi square tests for the values of each variable. Nine significant relationships were found. Comparisons were made between the Dixson Library findings and those of the CLR study. Recommendations and conclusions were drawn from the study, including areas for further research.

<p>Detta examensarbete har haft som syfte att i enlighet med god informationsdesign skapa ett förslag till en målgruppsanpassad webbplats åt Coffeehouse i Eskilstuna. Genom enkätundersökningar, intervjuer och analyser har jag tagit reda på hur målgruppen ser ut samt vilket informationsbehov de har.</p>

<p>This master´s thesis consists of two parts. The first part is a study where the possibility to use existing tools from the market is assessed. The second part describes the design, development and usability test of a web based hardware configuration tool. The usability test made in the design process, was made in order to remove common usability problems and to assess whether or not the design decisions made during the thesis were good. The usability test that was performed followed the think aloud method and gave me very useful information that helped me improve the tool.</p><p>The study that was made in the beginning of the thesis was done in order to see if there were any programs on the market which already did the required tasks or could be adjusted to do them. I could not find a satisfying alternative amongst the five alternatives investigated. This lead to the decision to design a new tool. The main functions are the ability to save the current state the hardware is in, and at a later stage load this configuration back.</p><p>The tool was designed for the PRAN unit at Ericsson AB, in Linköping, Sweden.</p>

<p>The aim of this master thesis is to investigate how a procuring organization can use personas and scenarios to gather user-requirements in the procurement of software. To reach this understanding a case study is carried out to answer the questions of research; which is a definition that suits IKEA Components, which tools and how to use them; and what are the obstacles and enablers for working with personas and scenarios in procurement of software. The thesis consists of a theoretical study in the usability area followed by an empirical investigation with semi-structured interviews and observations. The study resulted in 4 personas and 8 connected scenarios that are based on user requirements. The first finding due to the question of research includes a usability definition applied to a real context. The second reveals examples of how personas and scenarios can make the development team understand the user requirements and thus contribute to procurement. The last finding is that the main obstacles and enablers for IKEA Components is the complexity of the main system, lack of resources and the management support.</p>

<p>The background to the study was Unified Communications (UC), defined as Communications integrated to optimize business processes. A case study design is used to develop a LoFi-prototype. The prototype investigateswhat components an integrated communication solution should provide,for the people in radiology. The design was inspired by consumer products likeSkype. In these consumer products were functionality and look studied. The reason for integrate it into Sectra MEI, was that Sectra believed the system’s features could be even more useful, when used together with a communication solution. The prototype is tested on users (usability tested). To bundle the growing pile of requirements in the design process was a requirement specification produced.</p>

<p>Recent research in the usability engineering field tends to emphasize, somewhat neglected, the need of incorporating the joy-of-use factor (the hedonic dimension of usability) into the design of user interfaces. However such design decisions have to be applied with care and proper modesty as they may diminish the product’s overall quality of use. Notions of pleasure and joy are non-task related and partially incompatible with pragmatic usability qualities hence achieving a proper balance is essential. </p><p>The thesis explores the question of how to establish a balance between pragmatic and hedonic dimensions of usability and whether it is possible to design a user interface which is both highly usable and enjoyable. </p><p>In order to address these questions a case study was performed, which required further development of an existing prototype, the Zenterio Halfpipe Desktop; an innovative, patented, cross-platform user interface. To achieve high product usability, principles of Human-Computer Interaction and User-Centered Design were applied. </p><p>The results of the study suggest that ensuring a high level of both aspects of usability: the pragmatic values (such as simplicity or controllability) as well as the hedonic values (such as originality or innovativeness), can result in a product which is perceived as highly usable and fun-to-use. The practical application of involving the joy-of-use factor shows a significant increase in the perceived software appeal. </p><p>Finally, shortcomings and limitations of the study are discussed followed by future work proposals.</p>

<p>Syftet med rapporten är att belysa lärbarhetsaspekten som en del av användbarhet. Diskussionen grundar sig i ett större projektarbete om BG Faktura, en produkt från Bankgirocentralen. Bankgirocentralen gav i uppdrag att ta fram metoder, testanvändare och att samordna en användbarhetsanalys på BG Faktura. För att få fram användbarhetsproblemen genomfördes ett flertal utvärderingar; en heuristisk utvärdering, en kontextanalys och empiriska användartester. </p><p>Då utvärderingsmetoderna resulterade i många användbarhetsproblem skapades en prototyp med modifieringar av BG Faktura enligt de rekommendationer och förslag som kommit fram i testerna. Prototypen användartestades för att kunna göra jämförelser med tidigare resultat. Då prototypen testades bekräftades att några av de delar som modifierats fungerade bättre och ett mönster av vad som är viktigast för lärbarheten påvisades. </p><p>Resultatet från examensarbetet visade att den viktigaste delen i gränssnittet som underlättar lärbarheten mest är ett bra navigationsverktyg. Konsekvens i systemet och att man använder sig av tillvägagångssätt och ikoner som användaren känner igen ger också bättre lärbarhet. Slutligen är ett väl fungerande hjälpsystem något som snabbare lär användaren hur systemet fungerar.</p>

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to integrate cognitive science into an existing organization of software systems development, and to display the benefits and importance of applying the theory and methodology of this interdisciplinary field onto this type of research. This was to be accomplished through participating in a project at ISD Datasystem AB, with the objective to investigate and develop new principles of man - machine interaction for fighter control, and build an appropriate workstation prototype. The participation spanned across the first iteration of the project’s development cycle, specified in accordance to the Rational Unified Process. A field study was conducted and several LoFi-prototypes of the graphical and physical man - machine interface (MMI) were made, as well as an evaluation of the developed prototype. The evaluation was performed with the help of end-users, who valuated the prototype in an inquiry and an interview after having performed a scenario interacting with it. The results showed that the prototype’s usability was highly valuated by the users.Data collected during the evaluation could also be used to guide further development of the prototype. The theoretical research and the empirical work in the project both showed that cognitive science is a valuable, and perhaps, an indispensable asset to software systems development, and that the knowledge and tools of cognitive science can be used in order to develop computer systems that are to be integrated in distributed man -machine systems of high complexity.</p>

<p>Navigation systems are today options provided by car manufacturers’ world wide and market predictions suggest that 25 percent of all cars produced by 2009 will have navigation systems installed. However, there are many human-interface issues concerning the use of these navigation systems. This thesis describes a study which evaluates and tests the safety and usability of the Volvo P1 navigation system and also contains suggestions on how the system and its controls should be designed to be safer and easier to use. This is done through heuristic evaluations and a Lane Change Test (LCT). The LCT is used to compare the level of driver distraction between the steering wheel control and remote control and also between common and advanced exercises in the system. Results from the study shows that there are no significant differences in distraction between using the steering wheel control or the remote control. The results also show that there are no significant differences in distraction between the common and advanced exercises. The results of the study are presented as a collection of design proposals that can be used to improve the system’s safety and usability.</p>