Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Alabama, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-117).

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2006.

Thesis (MA--Art and Design) -- Auckland University of Technology.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Mass Customisation (MC) toolkits are powerful user interfaces that enable customers to engage in the design of their own products. This research follows design research methodology (integrated with design process) to research the user perspective on AM-enabled MC toolkits. This research proposes and validates a design framework to guide designers and software developers in designing a user-centred AM-enabled MC toolkits, enabled using digital fabrication technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM). This framework includes pre-implementation assessment, and implementation stages. An initial literature review revealed a lack of standard or universal norms for these user interfaces, and a lack of consistency in their design, in which web objects such as logo, product image, prices, etc. are not shared commonly among toolkits, nor occupy a frequent position. Furthermore, an optimum number of degree of freedom for MC toolkits is lacking from current design knowledge. This research focuses on AM-enabled Mass Customisation toolkits as a means to enable customers design; its concentration is on users. A first quantitative study was conducted to compare and rank of a collection of features. More detailed user requirements regarding the content and layout of MC toolkits were revealed in a workshop. As a part of the second study, four different CAD systems (software programs and 3D-enabling libraries) were used to create MC toolkits. This provided an understanding of the pros and cons of each system, and demonstrated Three.js to be the best system amongst each one s feasibility and application. Based on previous findings, and as a part of the UX-design process, a prototype web-based MC toolkit was constructed, utilising the Three.js library. The prototype was used for a second study as a platform to investigate, the user interaction and usability of the toolkit, to validate the toolkit design as well as provide insights for its improvement. Findings and reflections from all the studies were then visualised and communicated in an interactive design framework. A final study, conducted with professional users (N=4) assessed the usability and technicality of the framework tool and led to a number of suggested improvements. The main contributions to knowledge are: 1- a table was produced to compare the features of four different system, by which Three.js was identified as the most suitable among them 2- most important and expected features for the content were obtained from the user rankings, most frequent location of features for the layout was identified based on the users, and user insights were reflected based on the evaluation of the prototype 3- the UI needs to be flexible in term of degrees of freedom, in another words, each customer (novice or professional) is able to adjust the number of options presented. 4- a framework was proposed through reviewing and adapting existing guidelines and findings from this research.

Recent developments in the design of human-machine interfaces have resulted in interfaces which make access to computer-based equipment more difficult for visually disabled people. The aim of this project was to explore whether it is possible to adapt such interfaces so as to make them usable by people who cannot see a screen. The approach adopted was based upon two principles: the replacement of visual interlace entities by auditory analogues and appropriately constraining the resultant interlace. Two forms of sound were used to embody the auditory interface: musical tones and synthetic speech. The 'auditory screen' so produced consists of a grid of 'auditory objects', each of which is associated with a spatial location, a tone, a name and an action. In order to test the principles a word processing program was designed and implemented to demonstrate how a visual program might be adapted to be accessed through such an interface. This program was evaluated with the assistance of a number of visually disabled testers. They were trained to use the word processor through completing a graded set of exercises. Data were obtained in a number of ways during and after the completion of the exercises. Since the auditory interface had some novel components, special evaluation methods were applied. The nature of the interaction was analyzed, using an approach based on work on keystroke models of visual interfaces. This yielded a simple model of the 'hand-ear' coordination employed, which forms a basis for prediction of user behaviour. It was also necessary to evaluate aspects of the program, such as ease-of-learning and these were investigated by interviewing the subjects. The results demonstrate that the approach is viable. The thesis also discusses a number of problems in using such an interface, most of which are related to the memory load on the user.

Orientadores: Karine Laura Cortellazzi, Luciane Miranda Guerra / Dissertação (mestrado profissional) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T21:26:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Goncalves_ClaudiaAngela_M.pdf: 1140946 bytes, checksum: 2caf6d25616d20166cf686036700209a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar os motivos que levaram os usuários a faltar às consultas odontológicas em Unidades de Saúde da Família (USFs) de Piracicaba/SP e implementar estratégias, por meio da pesquisa-ação, para redução das faltas. Trata-se de um estudo de pesquisa-ação, realizado em 12 USFs, no período de 01 de janeiro a 31 de dezembro de 2010. A amostra foi composta por 385 usuários destas Unidades, entrevistados por telefone sobre os motivos das faltas às consultas, além de 12 cirurgiões-dentistas e 12 enfermeiras, os quais participaram de uma pesquisa-ação, que consistiu de 2 oficinas: oficina inicial para problematização dos motivos elencados pelos entrevistados e elaboração de estratégias pelos dentistas e enfermeiros; e segunda oficina, após 4 meses, para avaliação das estratégias implantadas. Observou-se que o maior motivo de faltas às consultas (28,05%) foi à coincidência do horário de funcionamento das unidades com o horário de trabalho dos usuários. A falta de oferta de procedimentos odontológicos de maior complexidade na rede e a mudança de bairro ou cidade também foram motivos prevalentes (15,58%) de faltas às consultas. Dentre as estratégias elaboradas pelos profissionais ressalta-se a realização de palestras sobre a importância da saúde bucal e do tratamento odontológico (26,48%), educação continuada em saúde bucal nas reuniões de equipe, capacitação dos Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (ACSs), participação em grupos terapêuticos da Unidade e parcerias entre Equipe de Saúde Bucal (ESB) e equipamentos sociais da comunidade. A adoção de prontuário único pelas equipes foi à estratégia mais desafiadora encontrada pelos profissionais e a inexistência de Comissão Local de Saúde na área adscrita de algumas Unidades foi apontada como uma grande dificuldade. Concluiu-se que as estratégias implementadas nas USFs após as oficinas de pesquisa-ação levaram à diminuição das faltas às consultas odontológicas em 66,6% das Unidades e que o caráter motivador das oficinas de pesquisa-ação possibilitou a reflexão crítica da realidade pelos participantes para o redirecionamento da prática em saúde / Abstract: This study is aimed to analyze the reasons why users missed their dental appointments on Family Health Units (USFs) in Piracicaba/SP and implement strategies through an action-research to reduce absences. This is an action-research study, conducted in 12 USFs from January, 1 to December, 31 of 2010. The sample was composed by 385 users of these health units who were interviewed over the phone and asked about the reasons for missing dental appointments, beyond 12 dentists and 12 nurses who participated on an action-research which consisted of 2 workshops. The first one was conducted to question the professionals about the reasons listed by the users for missing dental appointments and after that, create strategies to try to reduce absences. The second workshop conducted 4 months later evaluated the strategies implemented. It was observed that the biggest reason for missing dental appointments (28,05%) was the fact that the health unit business hours coincided with the users working hours. The shortage of more complex dental procedures in the public service of the city and changing neighborhoods or city were also prevalent reasons (15,58%) for missing appointments. Among the strategies developed by the professionals are the development of lectures talking about how important the oral health and the dental treatment are (26,48%), continuing education about oral health in team meetings, Community Health Workers (ACSs) training, participation in therapeutic groups in the Unit and partnerships between the Oral Health Team (ESB) and community social facilities. The adoption of single medical records for each patient was the most challenging strategy found and also the lack of a Local Health Care Committee in the enrolled area of some units has been identified as a huge difficulty. It was concluded that strategies implemented in USFs after the workshops of action research led to the reduction of missed appointments in 66,6% of Units and that the motivating character of the workshops related to the action-research enabled a critical reflection on the reality by the participants to redirect health practices / Mestrado / Odontologia em Saude Coletiva / Mestra em Odontologia em Saúde Coletiva

The work here aims to evaluate the usability of software applications and define their quality for stakeholders in the music industry. Initial work focuses on standardised tools and procedures and sets benchmarks for performance times and completion rates across software packages, before aiming to make some suggestions about how improvements could be made in the design of said interfaces. Further work goes on to explore industry tools in the context of the real world, live performance tools, categorising them according to purpose and evaluating their success. Finally, a series of workshops and discussion groups aim to identify problems and solutions, suggesting a novel way of evaluating music information systems from a usability perspective. The work here explores usability issues in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction, showing that systems can fail in all three categories. While typical software tools such as Cubase are found to be somewhat usable, the changing requirements of users mean that software systems are no longer effective in performing day to day tasks required of them. There is further exploration into how software tools are used incorrectly or inefficiently, where learning curves are too steep to overcome and where systems inevitably fail. The thesis culminates in a suggested set of heuristics which can be used to evaluate current systems and used as a guideline in developing human-centred systems within the context of music performance and production. The work highlights the strengths of existing systems in terms of enabling creativity and providing an efficient platform for content creation, while making suggestions about future directions of such systems including a discussion in social web integration and pervasive interfaces.

Lacome is a multi-user cross-platform system that supports collaboration in a shared large screen display environment. Lacome allows users to share their desktops or application windows using any standard VNC server. It supports multi-user concurrent interaction on the public shared display as well as input redirection so users can control each other's applications. La-come supports separate types of interaction through a Lacome client for window management tasks on the shared display(move, resize, iconify, de-iconify) and for application interactions through the VNC servers. The system architecture provides for Publishers that share information and Navigators that access information. A Lacome client can have either or both, and can initiate additional Publishers on other VNC servers that may not be Lacome clients. Explicit access control policies on both the server side the client side provide a flexible framework for sharing. The architecture builds on standard cross-platform components such as VNC and JRE. Interaction techniques used in the window manager ensure simple and transparent multi-user interactions for managing the shared display space. We illustrate the design and implementation of Lacome and provide insights from initial user experience with the system. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate

Cloud computing is one of the latest appealing technological trends to emerge in the Information Technology (IT) industry. However, despite the surge in activity and interest, there are significant and persistent concerns about cloud computing, particularly with regard to trusting the platform in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability of user data stored through these applications. These factors are significant in determining trust in cloud computing and thus provide the foundation for this study. The significant role that trust plays in the use of cloud computing was considered in relation to various trust models, theories and frameworks. Cloud computing is still considered to be a new technology in the business world, therefore minimal work and academic research has been done on enhancing trust in cloud computing. Academic research which focuses on the adoption of cloud computing and, in particular, the building of user trust has been minimal. The available trust models, frameworks and cloud computing adoption strategies that exist mainly focus on cost reduction and the various benefits that are associated with migrating to a cloud computing platform. Available work on cloud computing does not provide clear guidelines for establishing user trust in a cloud computing application. The issue of establishing a reliable trust context for data and security within cloud computing is, up to this point, not well defined. This study investigates the impact that a lack of user trust has on the use of cloud computing. Strategies for enhancing user trust in cloud computing are required to overcome the data security concerns. This study focused on establishing methods to enhance user trust in cloud computing applications through the theoretical contributions of the Proposed Trust Model by Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman (1995) and the Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (CIA) Triad by Steichen (2010). A questionnaire was used as a means of gathering data on trust-related perceptions of the use of cloud computing. The findings of this questionnaire administered to users and potential users of cloud computing applications are reported in this study. The questionnaire primarily investigates key concerns which result in self-moderation of cloud computing use and factors which would improve trust in cloud computing. Additionally, results relating to user awareness of potential confidentiality, integrity and availability risks are described. An initial cloud computing adoption model was proposed based on a content analysis of existing cloud computing literature. This initial model, empirically tested through the questionnaire, was an important foundation for the establishment of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and therefore the framework to enhance user trust in cloud computing applications. The framework proposed by this study aims to assist new cloud computing users to determine the appropriateness of a cloud computing service, thereby enhancing their trust in cloud computing applications.