Accessibility and Hierarchies of Impairment

There is no doubt that, in pro-disabled accessibility discourse, certain groups are privileged above others. Whilst there is increasing sensitivity to this in Computer Science, with developers and researchers working to close the distance, this reasons for this divide are under-theorised within ICT discourse.

32 Days Remaining (2009). Articles>Accessibility>Human Computer Interaction

Accessible Presentation of Measurements from a Web Accessibility Observatory  

How shall we design accessible GUIs? Which are the main problems, which are the right paths and techniques for doing this? The article is a story about an experience, about the development of an accessible GUI and an analyses of the procedures.

Bertini, Patrizia and T. Gjosater. DFA International Conference (2006). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Accessibility>User Experience

Adolescent Responses Toward a New Technology: First Associations, Information Seeking and Affective Responses to Ecogenomics    

This paper reports on an exploratory study among adolescents (N = 752) who were introduced to the emerging technology of ecogenomics for the first time. An online survey focused on their associations with the term ecogenomics, their planned information seeking behaviors if they were to acquire information about the new technology, and their first affective responses toward ecogenomics after having read some introductory information about it. Adolescents were found to associate ecogenomics most frequently with economy. Although the Internet was the most popular medium to be used in their planned information seeking behaviors, books and science communication professionals were judged as the most trustworthy information sources. After having read the introductory information about ecogenomics most adolescents reported positive affective responses toward the new technology.

Bos, Mark J.W., Cees M. Koolstra and Jaap T.J.M. Willems. Public Understanding of Science (2009). Articles>Technology>Human Computer Interaction>Children

Alternative Business Models for HCI

It is easy to be complacent about the future in this climate and to forget the lessons of the dotcom crash of a few years ago. At that time, usability professionals struggled in a market that was dominated by cost-cutting. The problem then was that usability had a limited business offering that focused on optimisation.

Knight, John. Usability News (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Business Case>United Kingdom

Amara's RSI Page

I will examine this unfortunate side effect, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), of the Digital Age in this essay. It has probably affected someone you know. I hope this information will cause you to pause, look at your computer setup and initiate changes that make your computing safer and more comfortable. And if you've already experienced some of RSI's disabling and career-threatening effects, I hope that this article eases some of your anxieties by describing methods, approaches and treatments that have helped others.

Amara.com (1999). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Ergonomics>RSI

Animated Expressions: Expressive Style in 3D Computer Graphic Narrative Animation    

The development of 3D animation systems has been driven primarily by a hyper-realist ethos, and 3D computer graphic (CG) features have broadly complied with this agenda. As a counterpoint to this trend, some researchers, technologists and animation artists have explored the possibility of creating more expressive narrative output from 3D animation environments. This article explores 3D animation aesthetics, technology and culture in this context.

Power, Pat. Animation (2009). Articles>Multimedia>Human Computer Interaction>Video

Artifact

An artifact simply means any product of human workmanship or any object modified by man. It is used to denote anything from a hammer to a computer system, but it is often used in the meaning 'a tool' in HCI or Interaction Design terminology. The term is also used to denote activities in a design process.

Soegaard, Mads. Interaction-Design.org (2006). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Ask Your Phone  

Grattan introduces Intercom readers to voice portals, an emergent technology that allows phone access to Internet-based information.

Grattan, Naomi. Intercom (2001). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>User Interface>Voice

Avoiding Repetitive-Stress Injuries: A Guide for the Technical Communicator

Writers and editors in particular put in an awful lot of miles at the keyboard every day. For example, I commonly spend a solid 8 hours typing. Writers and editors in particular put in an awful lot of miles at the keyboard every day. For example, I commonly spend a solid 8 hours typing. Then there's that darned mouse. W. Wayt Gibbs, writing in the June 2002 Scientific American, used the Mouse Odometer software (www.modometer.com) to monitor his habits and found that in a single 5-day period, he'd recorded 2440 feet of mouse movement and nearly 22 000 mouse clicks. It's no wonder computer users sometimes experience serious physical problems.It's no wonder computer users sometimes experience serious physical problems.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Ergonomics>RSI

Avoiding Repetitive-Stress Injuries: A Guide for the Technical Communicator

Writers and editors in particular put in an awful lot of miles at the keyboard every day. One serious problem is the risk of so-called 'repetitive-stress injury' (RSI)--simplistically, any injury that results from overuse of a body part without giving it time to recover. In fact, 'overuse injury' is probably a more immediately obvious term, and given how much time many of us spend using computers, overuse is indeed a risk.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2004). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Ergonomics>RSI

Baby Duck Syndrome

What if something neither looks nor quacks like a duck, but users think it is a duck? The cranky user comments on baby duck syndrome and how it can trap users with systems and interfaces that don't really meet their needs.

Seebach, Peter. IBM (2005). Articles>User Interface>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Backtalk of a Situation (or Situational Feedback)

Making thoughts, ideas and plans explicit by writing them down or by developing an artifact, we create situations which talk back to us. For example, architects use the backtalk of their work extensively. When sketching, unexpecting patterns emerge, which are incorporated and maybe elaborated on in the drawing. Thus, the act of sketching is not only the conscious act of sketching the intended subject, but an interplay between the sketcher, the materials and possibly other situational constraints.

Soegaard, Mads. Interaction-Design.org (2006). Articles>Human Computer Interaction

Barrierefreie Informationstechnik: ein Thema nicht nur für behinderte Menschen  

Abgeflachte Bürgersteige, Rampen statt Stufen, tiefergelegte Busse - an den alltäglichen baulichen Barrieren für Kinderwägen und Rollstuhlfahrer wird gearbeitet. Im IT-Bereich dagegen ließ Barrierefreiheit bislang auf sich warten: Viele Websites sind nicht für jeden zugänglich. Mit dem Gesetz zur Gleichstellung behinderter Menschen sind öffentliche Institutionen seit Anfang Mai 2002 verpflichtet, ihre Websites barrierefrei zu gestalten.

Heuwinkel, Roland. Doculine (2002). (German) Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Accessibility>User Interface

Bass Curves for the Diffusion of Innovations

Uptake of hypertext is likely to happen somewhat differently than the standard Bass curve. First, the market for hypertext use is highly dependent on the number of people who have computers with certain minimum capabilities (typically at least a graphical user interface; for WWW use it is also necessary to have Internet access). Second, the influence of other hypertext users is almost certainly not linear.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Articles>Human Computer Interaction

Being Analog

We humans are biological animals. We have evolved over millions of years to function well in the environment, to survive. We are analog devices following biological modes of operation. We are compliant, flexible, tolerant. Yet we people have constructed a world of machines that requires us to be rigid, fixed, intolerant. We have devised a technology that requires considerable care and attention, that demands it be treated on its own terms, not on ours. We live in a technology-centered world where the technology is not appropriate for people. No wonder we have such difficulties.

Norman, Donald A. JND.org (2002). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Below the Neutral Axis: A Case of Writers, Managers, and Companies in the Current Economic Context    

As a growing and integral part of America's corporate workforce, technical writers increasingly share general employee benefits and burdens. Negative trends that affect the workforce in many companies now threaten serious damage to the teams that technical writers work on, the projects they develop, and ultimately the revenues that pay their salaries. The structural and secondary effects of such trends are explained; an illustration is given in the case of one company; and predictions are made about where such trends will lead.

McKeown, Roger R. Technical Communication Online (1997). Articles>Human Computer Interaction

Review: Beyond Anecdotes: HCI 2009 Tutorial Review

Given the choice, how many people would swap a gloriously sunny Saturday in Cambridge, England, for a 7-hour long tutorial about—wait for it—qualitative user research and analysis methods? Yet thirty odd people did just that, electing to closet themselves in one of the nicer rooms at Churchill College to listen to what UCD researcher David Siegel had to say. This tutorial turned out to be a highly motivating, fast-paced, and anecdote-rich journey through the process of designing and analyzing qualitative field work in a user-centered design (UCD) context.

Muscat, Richard A. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Reviews>Human Computer Interaction>Other...

A Breakdown of the Psychomotor Components of Input Device Usage

This study investigates the breakdown of the psychomotor components of three different input devices, the mouse, trackball, and RollerMouse™ using the Stochastic Optimized Submovement Model. Primary movement time (PMT), Total Movement Time (TMT), Primary Movement Distance (PMD), and Total Movement Distance (TMD) were examined for each device. Results showed that psychomotor variables related to the primary phase of movement help to pinpoint how performance efficiency is affected by a particular device. For example, the relationship between %PMD and efficiency suggests that a device that affords users an initial accurate movement decreases the need for more or longer corrective submovements, thus reducing movement time.

Slocum, Jeremy. Usability News (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>User Interface>Usability

A Brief History of Human Computer Interaction Technology

This article summarizes the historical development of major advances in human-computer interaction technology, emphasizing the pivotal role of university research in the advancement of the field.

Myers, Brad A. Carnegie Mellon University (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>History

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Have you ever been working at the computer so long that your eyes 'went buggy?' Or so intensely that you could barely move when you got up? Working long hours at a computer may be more hazardous than you know. One real possibility is that you will develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).

Rollins, Cindy. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Biomedical>RSI

Cr@p Error Messages

When writing software, *please* don't give error messages that are only meaningful to developers of the software. Microsoft used to be awful for this: "System fault at DEAD:BEEF, please contact your system administrator". Which would've been cool, except that I *was* the system administrator.

Bailey, Jeff. LiveJournal (2009). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>User Centered Design>User Experience

Culture-Friendly Mobile Interfaces and Applications  

Mobile phones become part of the most intimate and personal space with its users unlike any other computer devices or software applications. Mobile phones accompany the individuals almost everywhere be it home, office, public places or even the most private locations. It connects us with the worlds beyond our physical reach as well as the worlds within our vicinity. The need for culture-friendly mobile interfaces and applications is felt when we are interacting with the worlds within our vicinity (local culture) or when the user interacts with another culture. Considering the intimate relation of mobile phones with its users, the quality of “culture-friendliness” becomes very critical for a successful interaction within the personal as well as social space.

Katre, Dinesh. HCEye (2010). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Mobile>Usability