Thesis (M.S.)--Utah State University, Dept. of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Utah State University, 1973. / Title from title screen (viewed Aug. 12, 2009). Department: Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references. Archival copy available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.) in Ecology and Environmental Science--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-103).

From a user's perspective, product quality has typically been equated to usability, where the primary focus is performance (i.e. efficiency and effectiveness) and user satisfaction. This view on quality has been adequate to validate the 'fitness for purpose' for many products. However, many other products, such as computer games or at-home-technologies, are not based solely on performance-based qualities. By defining and validating the quality of these non-performance-based technologies using the same measures as performance-based technologies fails to address a key quality � the ability of the product to create fun, enjoyment, or other user affective experiences. This thesis investigates system quality issues in non-performance-based technologies, primarily addressing affect. It explores what affect is in relation to system quality, how can affect impact quality in use, what product characteristics can aid in the creation of positive user affect, and how to validate whether a product successfully created the desired user affect. To begin, current knowledge about the relationship between systems development, quality in use, and affect is summarised. Concepts used synonymously with affect were studied (e.g. satisfaction, user experience, emotion). It was found that these are related to affect, but are not affect themselves. Following this, a broad survey asking users to identify product characteristics that create positive affect during use is reported on. Results showed that the system characteristics of learnability, feedback, curiosity, and user cooperation can each increase and enhance positive user affect experienced. If it is an aim for the system to create an affective experience in a user then this should be considered a requirement of the system; and as a requirement, it is necessary to validate that it achieves this aim. To this end, a laboratory study exploring psycho-physiology and cued-recall debrief as methods to evaluate user affect was conducted. Results revealed that both methods show promise for evaluating user affect. Cued-recall is capable of identifying specific user affects, but is limited because it relies on the user to report these affects. Physiological measures can objectively identify when a person is experiencing affect, but is limited because it is not possible to determine what affect is being experienced. Combined, these methods represent an optimal and viable evaluation method for user affect.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--Evergreen State College, 2008. / "June, 2008." Title from title screen (viewed 5/20/2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-36).

<p>This thesis is about the design and evaluation of a graphical display that aims at showing the behavior of a complex automated system in action. A problem with complex automation is that it sometimes surprises the user by performing actions that were not expected. The reason of this is poor communication of system activities. In order to study how to design for anticipative automation communication a prototype around automatic vehicle driving on highways was designed and evaluated. The design work focused on designing a display that contained anticipation as a use quality. This resulted in a display design that aimed at representing the working scene in such a way that the user would be able to recognize and compare the system view with the real situation. In order to accomplish this, three layers of information were merged together in the display, these layers were; the automaton’s image of how the world is seen, the way that image is perceived and interpreted in terms of system action necessity and out of that the actions that the system plans to perform in the near future. The evaluation of the design prototype showed that it was possible to anticipate system actions but that the information detail level was insufficient for the evaluators to completely trust system decisions. The evaluation also showed that trust can be created by letting the automaton represent the perception of the situation in such a way that the user is able to compare it to personal experience from performing the task manually. Anticipation can be created through showing what future the automaton is expecting and what actions that needs to be performed in order to reach or maintain the general system task or goal.</p>

This thesis is about the design and evaluation of a graphical display that aims at showing the behavior of a complex automated system in action. A problem with complex automation is that it sometimes surprises the user by performing actions that were not expected. The reason of this is poor communication of system activities. In order to study how to design for anticipative automation communication a prototype around automatic vehicle driving on highways was designed and evaluated. The design work focused on designing a display that contained anticipation as a use quality. This resulted in a display design that aimed at representing the working scene in such a way that the user would be able to recognize and compare the system view with the real situation. In order to accomplish this, three layers of information were merged together in the display, these layers were; the automaton’s image of how the world is seen, the way that image is perceived and interpreted in terms of system action necessity and out of that the actions that the system plans to perform in the near future. The evaluation of the design prototype showed that it was possible to anticipate system actions but that the information detail level was insufficient for the evaluators to completely trust system decisions. The evaluation also showed that trust can be created by letting the automaton represent the perception of the situation in such a way that the user is able to compare it to personal experience from performing the task manually. Anticipation can be created through showing what future the automaton is expecting and what actions that needs to be performed in order to reach or maintain the general system task or goal.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Landscape Architecture. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.