The Beauty of Simplicity

We demand more and more from the stuff in our lives--more features, more function, more power--and yet we also increasingly demand that it be easy to use. In an Escher-like twist, the technology that's simplest to use is also, often, the most difficult to create.

Tischler, Linda. Search-This (2006). Articles>Usability>Technology

Computers and Aging: Marking Raced, Classed and Gendered Inequalities    

This article begins with an overview of cognitive psychology research on the effects of aging on literacy and suggests the additional complications facing older adults who consume and produce text within the frame of technology, particularly on-line usage. From an overview, the text moves to patterns corporations are using to target older adults, namely as consumers and as producers. The text then explores the use of philanthropy in the corporate literacy initiatives and suggests that there are complicated issues at hand in attempting to integrate the knowledge of aging and corporate strategies into our technical writing classrooms because we enter this discussion concerned about non-traditional students, older adults who are challenged to participate in contemporary literacy initiatives, and ourselves as aging participants as well. The article ends with suggestions of possible ways of addressing concerns regarding aging. Half the people in the world, one half the people in the world don't have electricity. How are you going to get a computer in their hands, Bubba? They gotta have a little electricity first. You know, you can't go to the bathroom unless you got a toilet. You know, I mean, over a billion people don't have access to clean drinking water. Forget about the digital divide. They, they got to have food, water, clothing, shelter, and a chance for education. I mean, you know, digital divide, you know. Ted Turner cited in [1].

Crow, Angela. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Technology>Usability>Elderly

Does Usability Have a Role in Telecommunication?

The theme of this year’s annual conference is 'Global Communication Odyssey.' Wireless phones, the Internet, and e-commerce rely on telecommunication to deliver service to the customer. Our own Alice Preston and David Dick describe the role of usability in telecommunication.

Preston, Alice and David J. Dick. Usability Interface (2001). Articles>Usability>Technology

Don't Get Angry

An article in the Washington Post, June 7, 1999, called Terminal Tantrums; 'Computer Rage' Is Widespread, a Study of Users Concludes describes research out of Britain, that we were among the victims of Technology Related Anxiety (TRA), specifically, 'computer rage.' The study reported high levels of PC-related abuse by colleagues 'as a result of frustration' with information technology. The abuses included 'swearing at their PC,' kicking it, and 'bullying the IT department'.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (1999). Articles>Technology>Usability

How Usability and Audit Contribute to Product Design

It is almost impossible to do business without using information technology (IT) systems, whether or not they are developed in-house. Evaluating the quality of these systems is critical to an organization’s ability to do business using resources in an optimal way.

Manhaeve, Rik. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Technology

Mobile Devices Will Soon Be Useful

New mobile devices and services are more realistic and useful than last year's models, and will likely expand mobile device adoption. Design usability and simplicity are key, particularly for the automotive market where complexity can be dangerous.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Usability>Technology>PDA

Mobile Devices: One Generation From Useful

New mobile devices show a huge improvement over previous generations, but they're still not good enough to score a real win. To get there, we need both PC-integrated applications and specialized mobile services rather than repurposed website content.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Usability>Technology>PDA

Voluntary Adopters Versus Forced Adopters: Integrating the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model to Study Intra-Organizational Adoption    

This study extends diffusion research to the intra-organizational level and integrates the classic diffusion of innovation theory (DIT) with the relatively new technology acceptance model (TAM) to empirically explore Chinese journalists' adoption of the internet. It makes a theoretical contribution by proposing four adoption categories — voluntary adopters, forced adopters, resistant non-adopters, and dormant non-adopters — according to the voluntariness of organizational members' innovation decision-making. Based on data from a nationwide survey of 813 journalists in China, this study demonstrates that the DIT and TAM are respectively related to voluntary and forced adoption of the internet.Young, male journalists who perceive the internet positively (i.e., relative advantage and ease of use) and think it to be popular in society are most likely to be voluntary adopters. High-ranking journalists who believe the internet can enhance their job performance and who work in large and technologically sophisticated organizations are most likely to be forced adopters.

Zhou, Yuqiong. New Media and Society (2008). Articles>Technology>Organizational Communication>Usability

A Tale of Installation Frustration

The technology business is filled with frustration. Trying to hook something up, troubleshoot something, make it do something–on a deadline–is a weekly occurrence for me. But last week, I just about blew my stack.

Pogue, David. New York Times, The (2006). Articles>Technology>Usability>User Experience

Hardware and Usability, Part 1

Usability studies tend to focus entirely on software, ignoring the impact of hardware design and features on a system's usability. In this first installment of a two-part miniseries, Peter takes a look at the interactions between hardware and usability.

Seebach, Peter. IBM (2004). Articles>Usability>Technology