Personalized, interactive news on the Web

We present Krakatoa Chronicle, an interactive, personalized newspaper on the World Wide Web implemented as a Java applet. The newspaper is similar in appearance to newspapers in the real world, with a multi-column layout and justified text. At the same time, it provides various interaction techniques for browsing the content of articles, giving relevance feedback, and dynamically changing layout. As users interact with the system, individual ‘user profiles’ are built up at the webserver site. These are used to tailor the newspaper's content and layout to each user's declared and inferred preferences. The system allows for a balancing of personal and community interests, allowing the user to navigate through a space of newspapers corresponding to a range of viewpoints.     

A Representational Framework for Scenarios of System Use

Scenarios are becoming widely used in three areas of system development: software engineering, human–computer interaction (HCI), and organisational process design. There are many reasons to use scenarios during system design. The one usually advanced in support of the practice is to aid the processes of validating the developers’ understanding of the customers’ or users’ work practices, organisational goals and structures, and system requirements. All three areas identified above deal with these processes, and not surprisingly this has given rise to a profusion of scenario-based practices and representations. Yet there has been little analysis of why scenarios should be useful, let alone whether they are. Only by having such a framework for understanding what scenarios are, and what they are for, can we begin to evaluate different scenario approaches in specific development contexts. This paper is a contribution toward such a framework. We lay out a space of representational possibilities for scenarios and enumerate a set of values or criteria that are important for different uses of scenarios. We then summarise several salient representations drawn from the software engineering, HCI, and organisational process design communities to clarify how these representational choices contribute to or detract from the goals of the respective practices. Finally, we discuss how scenario representations from one area of design may be useful in others, and we discuss the relationship between these representations and other significant early-design and requirements engineering practices.     

Exploring agent support at the user interface in e-commerce applications

In this paper, we present some of the results from our ongoing research work in the area of ‘agent support’ for electronic commerce, particularly at the user interface level. Our goal is to provide intelligent agents to assist both the consumers and the vendors in an electronic shopping environment. Users with a wide variety of different needs are expected to use the electronic shopping application and their expectations about the interface could vary a lot. Traditional studies of user interface technology have shown the existence of a ‘gap’ between what the user interface actually lets the users do and the users’ expectations. Agent technology, in the form of personalized user interface agents, can help to narrow this gap. Such agents can be used to give a personalized service to the user by knowing the user’s preferences. By doing so, they can assist in the various stages of the users’ shopping process, provide tailored product recommendations by filtering information on behalf of their users and reduce the information overload. From a vendor’s perspective, a software sales agent could be used for price negotiation with the consumer. Such agents would give the flexibility offered by negotiation without the burden of having to provide human presence to an online store to handle such negotiations. Published online: 25 July 2001     

User diversity and design representation: Towards increased effectiveness in Design for All

This paper addresses user modelling for “Design for All” in a model-based approach to Human-Computer Interaction, paying particular attention to placing user models within organisational role- and task-related contexts. After reviewing a variety of user modelling approaches, and deriving requirements for user modelling related to Design for All, the paper proposes a role-driven individualised approach. Such an approach is based on a model-based representation schema and a unifying notation that keeps the user’s models and the contextual information transparent and consistent. Individualisation is achieved by coupling symbolic model specifications with neural networking on synchronisation links between symbolic representation elements. As a result, user modelling for Design for All is achieved not by stereotypical user properties and functional roles, but by accommodating the actual users’ behaviour. Published online: 18 May 2001     

User interaction in digital libraries: coping with diversity through adaptation

User interface adaptations can be used to address several user interaction challenges in the development of digital library systems. This paper: (a) examines some of the intrinsic characteristics of digital library systems; (b) identifies some of the key Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) challenges in relation to design and architectural abstraction for user interfaces to digital library systems; and (c) develops an argumentation for adaptations in digital library systems. By drawing parallels to recent HCI research into adaptable and adaptive user interaction, the paper illustrates potential areas in which user interface adaptation can provide a useful technique for advancing the quality of human interaction with a digital library system. Received: 18 December 1998 / Revised: 31 May 1999     

Problem-Driven Approach to the Design of Information Technology Systems Supporting Complex Cognitive Tasks

The present paper proposes a methodological framework for the design and evaluation of information technology systems supporting complex cognitive tasks. The aim of the methodological framework is to permit the design of systems which: (1) address the cognitive difficulties met by potential users in performing complex problem-solving tasks; (2) improve their potential users’ problem-solving performance; and (3) achieve compatibility with potential users’ competences and working environment. After a short review of the weaknesses of existing systems supposed to support complex cognitive tasks, the theoretical foundations of the proposed methodology are presented. These are the ergonomic work analysis of French ergonomists, cognitive engineering, cognitive anthropology–ethnomethodology and activity theory. The third section of the paper describes the generic ergonomic model, which constitutes a frame of reference useful for the analyst of the work situation to which the information technology system is addressed. In the fourth section, the proposed methodology is outlined, and in the fifth a case study demonstrating an application of the methodology is summarised. In the epilogue, the differences between the proposed methodological framework and other more conventional approaches are discussed. Finally, directions for future developments of the problem-driven approach are proposed.     

Exploring Context-aware Information Push

Despite much interest over recent years in the area of context-aware computing, there are still a number of significant gaps in our understanding of the HCI issues associated with such systems. One particular issue that remains relatively unexplored is how to design around the apparently conflicting goals of adapting to changes in context while at the same time adhering to the principle of predictability. In this paper, we describe our exploration into this issue through two alternative designs of an interactive context-aware tourist guide. One original design was based around information pull, i.e. the emphasis is on the user to decide when context-aware information is presented. Our second design incorporates the notion of information push whereby the actual presentation of context-aware information is triggered by contextual events, e.g. changes in the user’s location or changes to the opening times of attractions. Through the evaluation of these alternative designs we hope to gain a better understanding of the usability implications relating to push vs. pull in both this specific domain and in interactive context-aware systems in general.     

Usability study of digital libraries: ACM, IEEE-CS, NCSTRL, NDLTD

If digital libraries are to be used effectively, their user interfaces should be tested and enhanced. We observed 48 participants as they worked with the following digital libraries: ACM, IEEE-CS, NCSTRL, and NDLTD. We discuss how the features of these digital libraries influence the subjects’ efforts to perform search and retrieval tasks. Data analysis indicates that the IEEE-CS digital library was rated the best overall and NDLTD had the best search time. We present user recommendations and propose a taxonomy of features that we believe are essential for the design of future digital libraries. Noteworthy is the observation that users’ judgements on the importance of different features varied widely between the beginning and end of their test sessions. Received: 15 December 1997 / Revised: June 1999     

User and Concept Studies as Tools in Developing Mobile Communication Services for the Elderly

The basis of this study was the ageing of the population all over the world. The study concentrated on finding out the key service needs of elderly people. The service needs from the end users’ as well as the experts’ perspective were gathered by means of various group methods such ideation sessions. Four mobile communication service concepts were created using these groups’ opinions. After diverse communication, these concepts were tested by the elderly. The research methods comprised a user study and a concept study.  Based on the results, the needs could be prioritised. Additionally, the main trend of the results confirmed the opinions presented in the literature. One important finding was the positive opinions about additional value of wireless devices and services. This knowledge can be used in mobile communication product development. Most of the elderly are ready to accept new forms of mobile communication service. Ease of use and actual need of the services are important criteria. The elderly are ready to begin using the services as long as they truly facilitate independent living.     

Round-Trip Prototyping Based on Integrated Functional and User Interface Requirements Specifications

Requirements engineering in the new millennium is facing an increasing diversity of computerised devices comprising an increasing diversity of interaction styles for an increasing diversity of user groups. Thus the incorporation of user interface requirements into software requirements specifications becomes more and more mandatory. Validating these requirements specifications with hand-made, throw-away prototypes is not only expensive, but also bears the danger that validation results are not accurately fed back into the requirements specification. In this paper, we propose an enhancement of the requirements specification method SCORES for an explicit capturing of user interface requirements. The advantages of the approach are threefold. First, the user interface requirements specification is UML-compliant and integrated into the functional requirements specification. Second, prototypes for validation purposes can semi-automatically be generated. Third, the model-based generation of prototypes allows for ‘round-trip prototyping’ such that manual changes of the prototype during the validation process are automatically fed back into the requirements specification.     

The Human Communication Space: Towards I-centric Communications

In the last few years, a variety of concepts for service integration and corresponding systems have been developed. On the one hand, they aim for the interworking and integration of classical telecommunications and data communications services. On the other, they are focusing on universal service access from a variety of end-user systems. Many of the technical problems, resulting from the service integration, and service personalisation have been solved during the last years. However, all these systems are driven by the concept of providing several technologies to users by keeping the peculiarity of each service.  Looking at humans’ communication behaviour and their communication space, it is obvious that human beings interact habitually in a set of contexts with their environment. The individual information preferences and needs, persons to interact with, and the set of devices controlled by each individual define their personal communication space. Following this view, a new approach is to build communication systems not on the basis of specific technologies, but on the analysis of the individual communication spaces. The result is a communication system adapted to the demands of each individual (I-centric). The communication system will act on behalf of users’ demands, reflecting recent actions to enable profiling and self-adaptation to contexts and situations.  In this paper, we introduce I-centric Communications, an approach to design communication systems that adapt themselves to the individual communication space and individual environment and situation. In this context “I” means I, or individual, “Centric” means adaptable to I requirements and a certain user environment.     

Impacts of Computer-Mediated Communication on Cultural Aspects at Work

This paper examines how computer-mediated communication (CMC) affects cultural aspects in workplaces. For the concept of culture used in this paper, we draw on the surface level of culture among three levels of organisational culture and 10 categories of culture. Some studies on CMC are presented based on its impacts on some cultural categories, among which temporality and territoriality are emphasised. The knowledge imparted by this kind of analysis can help CMC and information systems (IS) developers understand and predict what will happen in the users’ way of working after implementation. It will also help them develop effective systems. By emphasising time and space from the cultural point of view, we expect the paper will contribute to understanding newly emergent organisational forms such as virtual organisations in which temporal and spatial dimensions are significantly transformed.     

Effective Communication in Requirements Elicitation: A Comparison of Methodologies

The elicitation or communication of user requirements comprises an early and critical but highly error-prone stage in system development. Socially oriented methodologies provide more support for user involvement in design than the rigidity of more traditional methods, facilitating the degree of user–designer communication and the ‘capture’ of requirements. A more emergent and collaborative view of requirements elicitation and communication is required to encompass the user, contextual and organisational factors. From this accompanying literature in communication issues in requirements elicitation, a four-dimensional framework is outlined and used to appraise comparatively four different methodologies seeking to promote a closer working relationship between users and designers. The facilitation of communication between users and designers is subject to discussion of the ways in which communicative activities can be ‘optimised’ for successful requirements gathering, by making recommendations based on the four dimensions to provide fruitful considerations for system designers.     

Interactive volumetric information visualization for document corpus management

This paper describes aminimally immersive three-dimensional volumetric interactive information visualization system for management and analysis of document corpora. The system, SFA, uses glyph-based volume rendering, enabling more complex data relationships and information attributes to be visualized than traditional 2D and surface-based visualization systems. Two-handed interaction using three-space magnetic trackers and stereoscopic viewing are combined to produce aminimally immersive interactive system that enhances the user’s three-dimensional perception of the information space. This new system capitalizes on the human visual system’s pre-attentive learning capabilities to quickly analyze the displayed information. SFA is integrated with adocument management and information retrieval engine named Telltale. Together, these systems integrate visualization and document analysis technologies to solve the problem of analyzing large document corpora. We describe the usefulness of this system for the analysis and visualization of document similarity within acorpus of textual documents, and present an example exploring authorship of ancient Biblical texts. Received: 15 December 1997 / Revised: June 1999     

Broadband Cellular Radio Telecommunication Technologies in Distance Learning: A Human Factors Field Study

This paper presents a virtual classroom field experiment utilising broadband cellular radio telecommunication technologies and involving real users. The aim of the investigation was to experiment in the field cellular broadband systems in realising virtual classroom situations. In particular, we investigated learners’ performance and usability aspects of the multimedia tele-education system including ease of use, usefulness, telepresence and users’ satisfaction about the system. Results confirmed the effectiveness of the multimedia system in terms of both technical and psychological features. Some operational results and practical solutions were obtained as well. They included the basic features of multimedia systems used in virtual classroom and the correct procedures for training teachers and learners in the equipment use.     

The Context of Information Use in a Hospital as Simultaneous Similarity–Difference Relations

In the light of the developing discourse on the relative merits of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches to information systems development, we present a case study application of a methodology which attempts to dissolve such dualities. Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) offers, as a unity, the construing person who is both biology and culture. PCP argues that both the world and the person’s construct system are phenomenologically real and that the viability of any particular construct system depends only on its usefulness to the construing person. In this study, we used PCP to explore the organisational context of information use and distribution in a large hospital. We used repertory grids, a PCP technique, to elicit from 16 members of staff their personal construals of information from different sources in the hospital. The results highlight the relationship between meaningful information and meaningfully active relationships, a theme which we discuss in terms of the development of the hospital information system and in terms of the value of PCP in dissolving hard–soft dichotomies.     

Touch-Space: Mixed Reality Game Space Based on Ubiquitous, Tangible, and Social Computing

This paper presents a novel computer entertainment system which recaptures human touch and physical interaction with the real-world environment as essential elements of the game play, whilst also maintaining the exciting fantasy features of traditional computer entertainment. Our system called ‘Touch-Space’ is an embodied (ubiquitous, tangible, and social) computing based Mixed Reality (MR) game space which regains the physical and social aspects of traditional game play. In this novel game space, the real-world environment is an essential and intrinsic game element, and the human’s physical context influences the game play. It also provides the full spectrum of game interaction experience ranging from the real physical environment (human to human and human to physical world interaction), to augmented reality, to the virtual environment. It allows tangible interactions between players and virtual objects, and collaborations between players in different levels of reality. Thus, the system re-invigorates computer entertainment systems with social human-to-human and human-to-physical touch interactions. Correspondence to: Professor A. Cheok, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260. Email: adriancheok@nus.edu.sg     

Interactive authoring of multimedia documents in a constraint-based authoring system

As multimedia applications spread widely, it is crucial for programming and design support systems to handle “time” in multimedia documents effectively and flexibly. This paper presents a set of interactive system support tools for designing and maintaining the temporal behavior of multimedia documents. The tool set provides mechanisms for anomaly detection, temporal query processing, and interactive scheduling. It is based on a fast incremental constraint solver we have developed, which can be adapted by any constraint-based system. The incremental constraint solver provides immediate feedback to the user, supporting a highly interactive design process. Combined with existing optimal layout generation mechanisms proposed in the literature, our tools effectively utilize the flexibility provided by constraint-based systems.     

Shared virtual worlds for education: the ExploreNet experiment

ExploreNet is an experimental environment for creating and delivering networked “virtual worlds.” This system's style of user interaction was inspired by the concept of a “habitat” as first articulated in the LucasFilm's Habitat system. Players enter and interact in a habitat via their animated alter egos, called “avatars.” Habitats may be created for many purposes, including social interaction, entertainment and education. Our focus has been to facilitate the creation of habitats in which virtual communities of learners and mentors interact. This paper presents details of the current ExploreNet system, including its user interface, the means it provides for creating complex behaviors, details of its implementation, the outcomes of several experiments using this system, and our plans for its natural migration to a World Wide Web-based system.