http://tc.eserver.org/authors/Chaparro,_Barbara_S A bibliography of works by Chaparro, Barbara S in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Chaparro,_Barbara_S http://tc.eserver.org/32807.html http://tc.eserver.org/32807.html This article provides a summary of a usability evaluation of a university portal website. University faculty, staff, and student users were asked to complete representative search tasks and provide feedback on the portal usability. Several user interface design issues were found to impact user performance in terms of task success and perceived task difficulty, in addition to overall satisfaction. From these results, recommendations are made for university portal design related to the default 'home' page, channel customization and configuration, and placement of user-specific functions. http://tc.eserver.org/27533.html http://tc.eserver.org/27533.html This article introduces six new ClearType fonts developed by Microsoft. Legibility of two of the serif fonts, Cambria and Constantia, is compared to the traditional serif font Times New Roman. Results show that the legibility, as measured by the number of correct identifications of briefly presented characters, was highest for the new font Cambria, followed by Constantia, and then Times New Roman. Old style digits, such as 0,1, and 2, used in Constantia resulted in confusion with the letters o, l, and z. Times New Roman symbols were confused with both letters and other symbols. http://tc.eserver.org/27540.html http://tc.eserver.org/27540.html This study investigated the generalization of a home metaphor used in the Tide.com Stain Detective (Nelson & Hibner, 2003) to middle-class Indian females. The stain detective was developed with American women based on a card sorting activity. A similar card sorting activity was conducted with six Indian females. Results showed that the Indian participants grouped the stains by the amount of work that was required to remove it, rather than by the location where it occurred. http://tc.eserver.org/27539.html http://tc.eserver.org/27539.html This study examined the effects of enhanced layout (headers, indentation, and figure placement) on reading performance, comprehension, and satisfaction. Participants read text passages with and without enhanced layout. Results showed that reading speed and comprehension were not affected by layout, however, participants were more satisfied with the enhanced layout and reported it to be less fatiguing to read. http://tc.eserver.org/27547.html http://tc.eserver.org/27547.html In this study, reading performance with four white space layouts was compared. Margins surrounding the text and leading (space between lines) were manipulated to generate the four white space conditions. Results show that the use of margins affected both reading speed and comprehension in that participants read the Margin text slower, but comprehended more than the No Margin text. Participants were also generally more satisfied with the text with margins. Leading was not shown to impact reading performance but did influence overall user preference. http://tc.eserver.org/13344.html http://tc.eserver.org/13344.html At Wichita State University (WSU), computers and the Internet continue to be incorporated into the course curriculum. We have noticed At Wichita State University (WSU), computers and the Internet continue to be incorporated into the course curriculum. We have noticed there are a wide range of computer skills and web experience among the students enrolled in courses offered in the Dept. of Psychology. We were interested in surveying our undergraduate students at Wichita State to determine just how much computer and web experience they actually have. To do this, we conducted a survey to 488 undergraduates (32% male and 68% female) enrolled in our Introductory Psychology course in the Fall of 1999. Fifty-one percent of the participants were freshmen with a mean age of 21.7 (range 16 to 54 yrs). at Wichita State to determine just how much computer and web experience they actually have. To do this, we conducted a survey to 488 undergraduates (32% male and 68% female) enrolled in our Introductory Psychology course in the Fall of 1999. http://tc.eserver.org/13329.html http://tc.eserver.org/13329.html An independent-living senior center recently approached us with a request to 'build a system that could track the fitness activity of their approximately 160 older residents.' The center houses a Fitness Club that offers seven different fitness classes, personal training, physical therapy, a pool, a spa, and access to a multitude of exercise equipment (i.e., stationary bikes, treadmills, and weights). At the time of the request, residents were signing their names and activities on a sheet of paper as they entered the Fitness Club. Occasionally, the sign-in sheets were summarized into monthly reports to show resident attendance by class and the type of equipment they were using. http://tc.eserver.org/13325.html http://tc.eserver.org/13325.html Statistics show staggering numbers of users abandon their shopping carts before making a purchase - many times due to 'poor user experience' (Gordon, 2000). In our continuing quest to further understand how people shop online, we investigated sites from two different domains that are of interest to today's university students: grocery shopping and student textbooks.