Browsing by Subject "User interfaces (Computer systems)"
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Item A comparative study of two electronic textbook interface design metaphors relative to learner self-efficacy, attitudes, and learning orientation(Texas Tech University, 2002-12) Unfred, David WayneSociety is in the midst of an information revolution powered by increasingly rapid advances in digital technologies that are augmented by virtual instantaneous global dissemination. Traditional modes of cognition and learning, that are bound to language more than visual form, are being redefined in a digital multimedia culture. Textbooks are an important component of most educational designs. With respect to electronic textbooks, fundamental issues remained to be resolved. These issues include identification of factors that motivate a learner to use (and learn from) a textbook in electronic form. Studies focusing on digital environments, such as Web-based and computer-based instruction, have demonstrated learner disorientation and an increased cognitive load placed on the learner. Similar demands are placed on learners interfacing with an electronic textbook, which can be delivered in both Web-mediated and computer-mediated forms. Textbooks are an important component of most educational designs. Although the use electronic textbooks as substitutes for traditional expository printed textbooks are still a relatively novel phenomenon, issues remain to be resolved. A major goal is the elucidation of factors that motivate the learner to both use and learn from a "textbook" in digital form. This comparative study examined the significance of specific affect and conative constructs relative to learner performance in two design metaphors for electronic textbooks: Internet Browser and 3-D Book representation. Another focus of this study was to provide insight into electronic textbook designs that promote increased learner satisfaction. Learner orientation and self-efficacy beliefs have been selected as constructs that affect learner attitudes and performance, as well as learner preference in a variety of digitally mediated environments. This study also sought to extend the applicability of the Learning Orientation Model which has been developed to identify the influences of affective, conative, and social factors on learning, to an electronic textbook environment, as well as seek out a possible interaction between the Learning Orientation Model and the affect constructs measured in this study. Significant effects were found for interface designs, learning orientation and gender with respect to attitude measures, self-efficacy beliefs, and post-treatment achievement. Learner attitudes based on positively-stated and negatively-stated items focused on feelings toward the electronic textbook as well as eliciting opinions on the functionality of the electronic textbook. In this study attitudes that expressed opinions regarding the functionality of the electronic textbook were significant. The Transforming-Performing (T-P) learning orientation group demonstrated a more favorable opinion for the applicability and utility of the Internet Browser interface design over the 3-D Book interface. Conversely, the Conforming-Resistant (C-R) group demonstrated preference for the 3-D Book interface design over the Internet Browser. The T-P group also indicated a more positive attitude toward the functionality of the Internet Browser interface for an electronic textbook. The self-efficacy subscale reflecting the participant confidence for manipulating downloads and multimedia files in an electronic textbook indicated that gender was a significant factor. Significance vv as found between treatments, i.e., the Internet browser and 3-D Book interface designs with respect to post-treatment achievement, although no significant difference was observed with en-route task completion or performance. In this study, participants using the 3-D Book interface had a significantly higher proportion of correct responses than those using the Internet Browser interface design for the electronic textbook.Item A user learning based DSS implementation methodology(Texas Tech University, 1990-05) Chatfield, Akemi TakeokaThe behavioral problem of user resistance to change and its role in systems implementation failure has been raised in MIS and related fields. The opportunity cost of unused DSS technology is substantial, because it cannot improve decision performance. Despite this recognition, extant DSS design methodologies have directed a great deal of their focuses toward the technical issues related to the design of DSS technology. These methodologies are deficient from the perspective of managing the behavioral problem and motivating DSS utilization. The purpose of this research is to provide a conceptual understanding of the behavioral problem of user resistance to change, and to identify and develop a means of resolving user resistance to change and hence motivating DSS utilization. This research presents a user-learning-based DSS implementation methodology. The methodology development is built upon prior research in MIS and related fields. A user-learning-based DSS implementation methodology consists of a user-learning model of DSS implementation, a user-learning approach to DSS implementation, a set of implementation steps, and a generic architectural model of knowledge-based user-learning support systems (KULSS). This methodology is applicable to most DSS implementation situations where user resistance to change is observed at the onset of DSS implementation. The methodology facilitates user-cognitive learning to resolve user resistance to change and to develop a felt need for DSS utilization. A set of generic KULSS commands enables the user to identify his actual decision performance, to leam a desired decision performance, and to understand how the actual decision performance differs from the desired decision performance.Item A web-based software system to support academic engineering advising(Texas Tech University, 2004-05) Neek, CyrusThe basic relationship for individual development and group experience (BRIDGE) is an advisory system designed and overseen by the Texas Tech University College of Engineering. It is intended to help incoming freshmen students learn basic engineering principles, problem solving, teamwork, and time organization. The BRIDGE software tool, which is the subject of this thesis, is a web-based software system to support this academic engineering advising function. The software is implemented to help administrators coordinate mentors and students in synchronizing events and schedules and managing resources.Item Development of a goal-driven analysis for requirements definition in hypertext information systems supporting complex-problem solving(Texas Tech University, 1999-05) Albers, Michael JoelWhen engaged in open-ended problem solving, the user must evaluate information from multiple sources. Unfortunately, people find it difficult to effectively search for and integrate multiple sources of information, requiring the system to provide the information in a manner which relates to the context of the problem. Also, rather than needing information in pre-defined ways, the viewing order and specific information requires changes with each problem. As a result, the methods used in conventional task analysis, which focus on defining the individual steps of a well-defined sequence, fail to provide good requirements for systems intended for supporting open-ended problem solving. Rather than focusing on individual steps, this dissertation develops a goal-driven analysis methodology based on defining and relating user's goals and information needs. Unlike a task-based analysis, the goal-driven analysis methodology revolves around uncovering the user's goals, the information needed to achieve those goals, and the contextual relationships between information elements. The analysis strives to uncover the major potential problem-solving paths and the information required to support following those paths, to provide the problem solver with varied routes to solving a specific problem. The unique feature of goal-driven analysis is that, throughout the methodology, it focuses on maintaining a connection between the user's goals, information needs, and problem context. This dissertation integrates the technical communication, cognitive psychology, and situation awareness literature, and explores the socio/cognitive aspects of information design as they relate to complex problem solving. It begins by arguing that effective information presentation requires a match between the user's mental model, the real-world context, and the factors which contribute to situation awareness. The dissertation then derives a four-step methodology: ethnography, interviews, scenario development, and group discussion, to develop a goal/information diagram which captures a graphical representation of the user's goals and information needs. The goal/information diagram then becomes the foundation for the analyst to use when developing system requirements. The dissertation also provides an extended example of how to perform a goal-driven analysis.Item Haptic virtual environment(Texas Tech University, 2001-05) Acosta, Eric JavierVirtual Reality is "the illusion of participation in a synthetic environment rather than external observation of such an environment" [12]. The concept of experiencing a virtual world, that the user may otherwise never be able to experience, has drawn an enormous amount of publicity for many years. This multi-sensory experience typically relies on three-dimensional (3D) graphics and sound, but now we are able to incorporate the sense of touch into these virtual worlds. Haptics is a technology that adds the sense of touch to virtual reality and recent advancements in this field have spawned worldwide interest from different fields of study for both commercial and research interests. Given the importance of the sense of touch for humans, it is desirable to combine tactile, visual, and audio cues to develop a more realistic environment. Such cues would be applicable in a variety of applications ranging from entertainment to simulation training. The incorporation of haptic displays in virtual environments bring many new possibilities, but not without introducing a new dimension of problems that have to be overcome. One such problem is the formation of haptic virtual objects. Unfortunately, there are no high-level tools for the creation, visualization, and manipulation of complex haptic virtual environments and the incorporation of haptics into a system usually requires low-level programming efforts by the developers, forcing them to be knowledgeable in 3D graphical and haptics programming. The goal of this research was to provide an underlying infrastructure that could be built to replace the current labor-intensive methods of creating haptic virtual environments by an easier method that is equivalent to creating graphical virtual environments. This research demonstrates the feasibility of this concept by describing a prototype that was implemented as a plug-in for 3D Studio Max, a commercial graphics package. This plug-in transforms a graphical virtual environment into a haptic virtual environment without any additional programming efforts, allowing developers of haptic scenes to model 3D scene objects graphically, or use preexisting models, and make them haptic with the press of a button. This plug-in also provides the user with the ability to dynamically define haptic materials and apply them to objects in the scene. The user can then modify the properties of the materials interactively to change how the objects feel in an attempt to model more realistic materials. These materials can then be saved into a database for reusing when creating haptic virtual environments.Item Managing cross-functional teams: an activity-theory approach to software development and documentation(Texas Tech University, 1999-05) Chandler, John RandolphWhile there is growing consensus in the literature that wider inclusion of technical communicators has potential for improving the processes by which software is developed there is little agreement regarding the extent of this inclusion, nor how it should be accomplished. This dissertation examines ways in which technical communicators participate in software development specifically, examining the complexities of their roles in interdisciplinary development teams. The trend toward interdisciplinary development teams is based upon recognition that the specialized skills and expertise of a number of disciplines have potential to improve software processes and products. Ideally, cross-functional processes and roles would take advantage of specialized disciplinary competencies and integrate them into a single, cohesive development effort. This combined effort is in many ways the rationale for cross-functional teams defined as a level of process maturity at which stages of development are characterized by interdisciplinary cooperation in delineating the process and resolving problems. This dissertation uses an Activity Theory approach to address many of the political and epistemic barriers inherent in contemporary development processes. Many theories posit that process improvement must evolve through careful management of various organizational behaviors. This perspective is complicated by recognition of two levels of organizational behavior: a formal level represented in "official" artifacts of the organization, and an informal level of human activity networks. The literature on knowledge management argues that a critical success factor for administering change in organizational processes is devising intervention strategies that reconcile these two dimensions of organizational behavior. In light of these issues, what factors should be considered in management strategies for software development process improvement, and how might these intervention strategies affect the roles of technical communicators'' This dissertation addresses these questions by examining various issues that shape contemporary software development models and practice. The first chapter reviews the literature pertinent to team development. The second chapter provides a rationale for activity theory as the lens through which the research is contextualized. Chapters HI and IV describe research methods and results of a case study investigation, which observes the activities and artifacts of a collaborative development project between a computer science course and technical communication course. And in the last chapter, this work suggests strategies for implementing a cross-functional approach to process improvement efforts.Item The relationship between learners' goal orientation and their cognitive tool use and achievement in an interactive hypermedia environment(2001-05) Katz, Heather Alicia; Liu, Min, Ed. D.Item Software architecture for cross platform user interfaces(Texas Tech University, 1996-08) Keshavamurthy, BadriprasadThis research is a study of user interfaces, and in particular, cross platform user interfaces. The problems associated with portability and the challenges and difficulties associated with developing user interfaces are examined. The models used for describing user interfaces architectures are evaluated and compared. The techniques used to build cross platform user interfaces and the existing user interface industry standards are examined and the requirements and the characteristics of cross platform user interface architectures are examined in great detail. Also, the steps necessary to convert a built GUI library into a cross platform library are defined.Item Speaker independent real-time speech recognition system(Texas Tech University, 1998-08) Jindani, Abid MThis thesis attempts to develop a real-time speaker-independent Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system. The system recognizes isolated utterances from a limited vocabulary, and is small and cost-efficient to be incorporated into a consumer appliance. The recognition is based on zero crossings and energy content measurement on the speech waveforms. The algorithm is based on segmenting the speech waveform into ten equally spaced intervals and performing a match with the patterns in a reference template. The system was implemented on an IBM Personal Computer and achieved an error rate of 0% on a vocabulary of four words from an initial ten-word database of 16 speakers (8 male and 8 female). The system recognized unknown utterances in less than 0.3 seconds.Item The effects of field dependence-independence and graphical/non-graphical user interfaces upon word processing errors(Texas Tech University, 1991-12) Sparkman, Gerald WayneRecent studies suggest that word processing errors can arise from individual differences along the continuum of field dependence-independence, or from features of the word processing software per se. Experiment I compared the performance of field-dependent and field-independent subjects on three types of word processors: Non-graphical, Graphical, and one which combined features of these two major types. Naive subjects were asked to find errors which had been inserted into texts, and to create their own brief essays. Experiment I found that under high-resolution conditions software type influenced the total number of errors found during the proofreading task. An interaction effect was found between software type and field-dependence for the number of transposition errors remaining during the creation task. For Experiment II, naive subjects were asked to perform the same tasks using a cluttered or uncluttered word processing environment. Experiment II found that under less than high-resolution conditions field dependence interacted with interface type for the number of proofreading errors found and total number of errors remaining during the creation task. Implications for future research are discussed.