Age-Related Differences in the use of Hypertext: Experiment and Design Guidelines

Hypertext systems can be targeted for many different user populations, yet little experimental research has been done to provide design guidelines on how to match the system to the user. An experiment tested whether age relates to the dimensions of performance, navigation strategies and perceptions in use of a hypertext library card catalog. While adults were superior to children in speed and accuracy, there were no indications that the children were qualitatively different than the adults in navigation patterns or perceptions of the system. Some children exhibited more exploratory problem-solving behaviors that the adults. A number of design guidelines are offered, based on the empirical results.     

Saving time or innovating practice: Investigating perceptions and uses of Learning Management Systems

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems that allow instructors and/or students to share materials, submit and return assignments, and communicate online. In this study, we explored the uses and perceived benefits of using a LMS to support traditional classroom teaching as reported by instructors and students at a large American Midwestern university. We examined two years of survey data focusing on specific uses of the LMS that emphasized either efficient communication or interactive teaching and learning practices. We matched aggregate user log data with corresponding survey items to see if system use was consistent with patterns seen in the survey results. Findings suggest that instructors and students value tools and activities for efficient communication more than interactive tools for innovating existing practices. However, survey item analysis reveals that instructors and students also highly value the teaching and learning tools within the LMS.     

Assessing user interfaces for diverse user groups: evaluation strategies and defining characteristics

User interface designers are challenged to design for diverse users, including those of different genders, cultures and abilities; however, little research has been directed at this problem. One factor which may inhibit such research is its cost. This paper presents an approach which offers a way to seek out important characteristics of designs in a cost-effective way and reports on the results. In a study reported here, subjects from different nationalities and of both genders evaluated three dialog boxes specifically designed for 'white American women'. 'European adult male intellectuals', and 'English-speaking-internationals'. The dialog boxes were evaluated with conjoint techniques of preference rankings, and factor-analysed adjective ratings. These results showed that female subjects had stronger and more consistent patterns of preferences than the male subjects. All subjects preferred interfaces rated high on an accessibility factor and disliked complex layouts; this effect was even stronger for women. Nationality did not effect ratings. Gender had a stronger effect on the outcome than nationality.     

The role of talk in children's peer collaborations.

The role of talk in children's peer collaborations using a computer-based scientific reasoning task was investigated in this study. Seventy 4th-grade students were assigned to work alone or with a same-sex partner for 1 20-min session. Half of the children in each condition (alone and dyads) were asked to talk as they worked, and half were not. Significant performance differences between groups were present, although there were no significant differences in experimental activity. Talk dyads generated better hypotheses than no-talk alones and no-talk dyads, and talk alones did not generate better hypotheses than no-talk alones. Analyses of children's talk showed that talk dyads produced more talk overall and more interpretive types of talk than talk alones. The importance of peer collaborations as a social context that supports interpretive cognitive processes was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rapid software development through team collocation

In a field study conducted at a leading Fortune 100 company, we examined how having development teams reside in their own large room (an arrangement called radical collocation) affected system development. The collocated projects had significantly higher productivity and shorter schedules than both the industry benchmarks and the performance of past similar projects within the firm. The teams reported high satisfaction about their process, and both customers and project sponsors were similarly highly satisfied. The analysis of questionnaire, interview and observational data from these teams showed that being "at hand," i.e. both visible and available, helped them to coordinate their work better and learn from each other. Radical collocation seems to be one of the factors leading to high productivity in these teams.     

Why software testing is sometimes ineffective: Two applied studies of positive test strategy.

The term positive test strategy describes the tendency to test a hypothesis with test cases that confirm (i.e., aim to support) rather than disconfirm the hypothesis. Most demonstrations of this phenomenon have involved relatively abstract problems. The authors suggest that people use a positive test strategy in a more applied setting as well, that is, in computer software testing. In 2 experiments, they examined how Ss with varying expertise performed functional testing of software. There was substantial evidence of the use of a positive test strategy: Ss tended to test only those functions and aspects of the software that were specifically described in the specifications as what the software was supposed to do. This effect was only partially mitigated by increasing expertise among testers and by more complete program specifications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of instruction in narrative structure on children's writing.

Examined the possibility that direct instruction in story constituents and their interrelations could enhance 4th-grade children's organization in story writing. Whether the special instruction might affect quality, coherence, use of temporal and causal relations, and creativity in writing was also examined. 19 4th graders who scored at a low level on measures of knowledge of narrative structure were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments—instruction in knowledge of story structure or instruction in dictionary-word study. The instruction included a short-term, intensive phase with 6 sessions during 2 wks and a long-term, intermittent phase with 10 sessions during 5 wks. Instruction in narrative structure had a strong positive effect on organization in storywriting and also enhanced quality. There were no differential effects of the 2 treatments on coherence, use of temporal or causal links in writing, or creativity. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)