1,720,976 research outputs found
Evaluating web and mobile user interfaces with semiotics: An empirical study
No full textComputer interface signs, such as navigational links, thumbnails, small images, command buttons, symbols, icons, etc., which serve as communication artifacts between designers/systems and users, constitute an under-researched area. To design and evaluate intuitive interface signs, the Semiotic Interface Sign Design and Evaluation (SIDE) framework was developed. The aim of this study is to test the framework's applicability to evaluate web and mobile user interfaces. To that end, two empirical user studies were conducted among a total of 86 practitioners (n1 = 58, n2 = 28). The results show that the SIDE framework helps identify unique usability problems, such as the intuitiveness of interface signs in terms of their referential meaning, which would not have been detected with traditional heuristic evaluation methods. The paper increases our understanding of the intuitive nature of interface signs of web and mobile interfaces, and of the practical use of intuitive signs.Information and Communication Technolog
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
SEMIOTICS PERCEPTION ON WEB INTERFACES: EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF WEB USABILITY AND END USER EXPERIENCE
No full textThis document describes the Doctoral study plan entitled semiotics perception on web interfaces: evaluation and optimization of web usability and end user experience, conducted at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. The research aims at designing and assessing an interface design and evaluation framework dedicated to the web usability and end user experience. Three main activities will be carried out in parallel during the study: finding and defining the factors as well as attributes in order to optimum the user interpretations of interface signs, providing the semiotics considerations in order to design and evaluation of web interfaces and finally refining as well as validating the findings. The former activity aims at answering the question “What are the factors related to interpret the web interface signs to grasp its intended meaning properly by the end users?” while the second one aims at answering the question “Which semiotics considerations might be used in web interface design and evaluation?” and the last one focuses on “How to evaluate the findings?”. Apart from these, this research will also explicitly show the significance of semiotic perceptions to optimize the web usability as well as significance of cultural dynamics that affect users’ interpretations of web interface signs
Information and Communication Technologies for Humanitarian Services
No full textThis book provides new developments, innovations, and research outcomes; case studies and lessons learned; and other considerations for the creation and deployment of effective ICTs to provide humanitarian services for the resource-constrained and vulnerable populations in the world in order to improve their lives. It contains contributions from researchers, professionals in humanitarian assistance, postgraduate students, and from academia and industry, with varied backgrounds working in the area of ICTs and humanitarian services. The chapters are particularly designed as a series of independent modules, whereas each chapter explores some aspect of humanitarian services through ICTs. Topics of this book include connectivity and communications technologies for humanitarian services; ICTs in disaster mitigation, relief, and recovery; humanized and inclusive education; technologies for the women, disabled, and aged populations; IoT, big data, and blockchain for humanitarian engineering; adopting and adapting ICTs in humanitarian sectors; and other technological advancements for humanitarian assistanc
Design and evaluation of web interface signs to improve web usability : a semiotic framework
Full text linkTechnological innovations, the development of the internet, and globalization have increased the number and complexity of web applications. As a result, keeping web user interfaces understandable and usable (in terms of ease-of-use, effectiveness, and satisfaction) is a challenge. As part of this, designing userintuitive interface signs (i.e., the small elements of web user interface, e.g., navigational link, command buttons, icons, small images, thumbnails, etc.) is an issue for designers. Interface signs are key elements of web user interfaces because ‘interface signs’ act as a communication artefact to convey web content and system functionality, and because users interact with systems by means of interface signs. In the light of the above, applying semiotic (i.e., the study of signs) concepts on web interface signs will contribute to discover new and important perspectives on web user interface design and evaluation.
The thesis mainly focuses on web interface signs and uses the theory of semiotic as a background theory. The underlying aim of this thesis is to provide valuable insights to design and evaluate web user interfaces from a semiotic perspective in order to improve overall web usability. The fundamental research question is formulated as What do practitioners and researchers need to be aware of from a semiotic perspective when designing or evaluating web user interfaces to improve web usability?
From a methodological perspective, the thesis follows a design science research (DSR) approach. A systematic literature review and six empirical studies are carried out in this thesis. The empirical studies are carried out with a total of 74 participants in Finland. The steps of a design science research process are followed while the studies were designed and conducted; that includes (a) problem identification and motivation, (b) definition of objectives of a solution, (c) design and development, (d) demonstration, (e) evaluation, and (f) communication. The data is collected using observations in a usability testing lab, by analytical (expert) inspection, with questionnaires, and in structured and semi-structured interviews. User behaviour analysis, qualitative analysis and statistics are used to analyze the study data.
The results are summarized as follows and have lead to the following contributions. Firstly, the results present the current status of semiotic research in UI design and evaluation and highlight the importance of considering semiotic concepts in UI design and evaluation. Secondly, the thesis explores interface sign ontologies (i.e., sets of concepts and skills that a user should know to interpret the meaning of interface signs) by providing a set of ontologies used to interpret the meaning of interface signs, and by providing a set of features related to ontology mapping in interpreting the meaning of interface signs. Thirdly, the thesis explores the value of integrating semiotic concepts in usability testing. Fourthly, the thesis proposes a semiotic framework (Semiotic Interface sign Design and Evaluation – SIDE) for interface sign design and evaluation in order to make them intuitive for end users and to improve web usability. The SIDE framework includes a set of determinants and attributes of user-intuitive interface signs, and a set of semiotic heuristics to design and evaluate interface signs. Finally, the thesis assesses (a) the quality of the SIDE framework in terms of performance metrics (e.g., thoroughness, validity, effectiveness, reliability, etc.) and (b) the contributions of the SIDE framework from the evaluators’ perspective.ei tietoa saavutettavuudest
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Amphiphilic water soluble cationic ring opening metathesis copolymer as an antibacterial agent
No full textBacterial infection is a global problem, especially resistance acquired by bacteria against to antibiotics; there is urgent need for the development of antibiotics. Here, we proposed dendron-grafted polymers via ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) featuring different with tailored hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity and cationic charges. Dendritic oxanorbornene derivatives were synthesized having two and six carbon linkers and their corresponding random and block copolymers were prepared having pendant pyridinium salt moieties via ROMP. In total, 12 different water-soluble dendronized cationic polymers featuring hexyl pyridinium moieties were prepared and investigated. Six carbon linker possessing triple charge density and hexyl pyridinium functionality each repeating unit copolymers exhibited high antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus). However, all the polymers were inactive against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli). Most of the copolymers are non-hemolytic (>HC (50) = 1,000 mu g/ml). It was also observed that, there is no significant effect between block copolymers and random copolymers keeping hydrophobicity and cationic charge density constant. Zeta potential was measured to investigate the mechanism in solution via the interaction of polymers with S. aureus, while scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements image confirms damage of the bacterial cell wall after implementation of biocidal polymer
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