Basic User Research Articles

Selecting a two-factor authentication system

Anyone introducing a secure authentication system beyond basic user name and password authentication faces a variety of choices. Failing to consider all the needs of the authentication system during the decision-making process can prove to be an expensive mistake. It is important to ensure that the system as a whole, not just the choice of technology, continues to meet the needs of the business and its users, both in the short and long term.

Making sense of log management for security purposes – an approach to best practice log collection, analysis and management

Every computer action registers a log somewhere – giving a rich source of data that can help businesses identify any trace of corruption within their networks. Log collection is also a strong component of keeping in line with legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, GLBA in the US, and the European Data Protection Directive in the EU. Mathieu Gorge looks at what logs organizations need to keep and what standards require their storage. He recommends proactive monitoring of firewalls, anti-virus, VPNs and IDS logs among other security systems. The main goal is to link a transaction back to an individual user in order to perform a forensic investigation. But it is important to be wary, as some countries do not allow companies to monitor staff usage of IT systems. See page 3 on how the European court ruled that a British college's monitoring of one employee was a breach of human rights. Therefore, linking a log with a person's actions may not stand up in court. Gorge says logs can give as good an insight into external attacks as well as internally driven ones. Logs should be analyzed for the following: •User account activity: creation, elevation of privilege, changes, inactivity.•Client requests and server response.•Operational status: shutdown (planned or unplanned), system failure and automatic restart.•Usage information and trends – basic user behaviour analysis. User account activity: creation, elevation of privilege, changes, inactivity. Client requests and server response. Operational status: shutdown (planned or unplanned), system failure and automatic restart. Usage information and trends – basic user behaviour analysis. It is best practice to collect, store and analyze logs with a view to being able to get complete, accurate and verifiable information. This will improve the organization's ability to comply with key standards and legislation as regards e-evidence. It could save an organization from potential liability and repair costs and will give visibility over mission critical and security systems, performance and usage. The main advice is to remain proactive so as to be able to respond to a security incident and comply with legal requests should anything happen. Mathieu Gorge looks at what logs can do for your business and how governance demands them.

IDENTIFICATION OF ALLOWABLE KEY RESPONSE TIME OF MOBILE PHONE

As information technology is developing, optional features of mobile phone are increasing while considerations on basic user interface such as key response time are relatively insufficient. This study aims to identify users' allowable delay time range between visual display feedback and key pressing of mobile phone. Evaluation experiments of two representative mobile phone use cases were conducted for 40 participants (male: 20, female: 20) and users' allowable delay time range between visual display feedback and key pressing of mobile phone was identified(case of text input: 250msec and case of menu navigation: 200msec). There were significant differences in recognizable and allowable delay time range between genders and use cases. Applying the proposed allowable delay time range to mobile phone design, it is expected that usability and satisfaction in key pressing task of mobile phone can be captured.

A basic user utility preference to reduce uncertainty: A dissent to reporting and asset measurement

Abstract Legitimacy and self-regulation of the accounting profession dictates that it typifies integrity and credibility in both the form and substance of its accounting standards. Unsound and dishonest business practices are not evident in the financial reports, nor are they the responsibility of accounting standard setters. Nevertheless, professional accountability is not enhanced if the financial reporting standards permit a great deal of choices, variation and interpretation, particularly in asset values. In pursuit of professional legitimacy and the credibility, accounting standards can reduce opportunities for intruding bias, inept judgement, or interpretation perspectives adding to user uncertainties. The thesis of this conceptual paper is that key user groups have an intrinsic homogeneous preference utility for information relating to financial risk, which can be satisfied by a simple asset value, based on a market bid. The balance sheet can contain a segregation of asset values, either in supplementary or classification form.

Acceptance of Computer Technology: Understanding the User and the Organizational Characteristics

A systematic analysis of acceptance of computer technology was conducted to identify variables that would provide insight to understanding technology acceptance. This led to a development of a comprehensive qualitative model that captures the individual and the organizational user characteristics that influence the acceptance of computer technology. This model suggests that designers must be mindful of the role that sociological and organizational variables play in technology acceptance. Such factors go beyond basic usability issues in the design process. Attention to these variables may increase the acceptance and therefore the diffusion of new computer technologies.

SHAREv2: fluctuations and a comprehensive treatment of decay feed-down

This the user’s manual for SHARE version 2. SHARE [G. Torrieri, S. Steinke, W. Broniowski, W. Florkowski, J. Letessier, J. Rafelski, Comput. Phys. Comm. 167 (2005) 229] (Statistical Hadronization with Resonances) is a collection of programs designed for the statistical analysis of particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the structure of the program remains similar to v1.x, v2 provides several new features such as evaluation of statistical fluctuations of particle yields, and a greater versatility, in particular regarding decay feed-down and input/output structure. This article describes all the new features, with emphasis on statistical fluctuations. Program summary

New Directions in 3D User Interfaces

Three-dimensional user interfaces (3D UIs) support user tasks in many non-traditional interactive systems such as virtual environments and augmented reality. Although 3D UI researchers have been successful in identifying basic user tasks and interaction metaphors, evaluating the usability of 3D interaction techniques, and improving the usability of many applications, 3D UI research now stands at a crossroads. Very few fundamentally new techniques and metaphors for 3D interaction have been discovered in recent years, yet the usability of 3D UIs in many real-world applications is still not at a desirable level. What directions should 3D UI researchers next explore to improve this situation? In this paper, we make some observations about the history of 3D UIs and the current state-of-the-art. Using this evidence, in addition to our own experience, we argue that 3D UI researchers should approach this problem using some new research approaches, which cluster around the concepts of specificity, flavors, implementation, and emerging technologies. We illustrate and discuss some of these new directions using case studies of research projects undertaken in our group. These explorations indicate the promise of these directions for further increasing our understanding of 3D interaction and 3D UI design, and for ensuring the usability of 3D UIs in future applications

Usability engineering methods for software developers

The human-computer interaction community aims to increase the awareness and acceptance of established methods among software practitioners. Indeed, awareness of the basic usability methods will drive an Information Society for all.

DIALANG: A Diagnostic Language Assessment System (review)

DIALANG: A Diagnostic Language Assessment System. http://www.dialang.org.1 Su Zhang and Nancy Thompson DIALANG is a diagnostic language assessment system that offers tests of different language skills in 14 European languages by integrating self-assessments and external assessments. It is computer-based, delivered via the Internet, and can be downloaded free of charge. The purpose of the DIALANG assessment system is to provide users with diagnostic information about their language proficiency, which will help them become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and find ways to develop their language skills. It offers separate assessments in reading, writing, listening, grammatical structures, and vocabulary. The 14 languages featured include the 11 European Union official languages - Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish - as well as Irish, Icelandic, and Norwegian. DIALANG's target group is teenagers and adults who wish to have their foreign language skills diagnosed and evaluated, independent of any formal education system. Specifically, according to DIALANG - Project & System (2000, ¶7), the DIALANG assessment system will be 'immensely useful for all European citizens who want to obtain reliable information about their proficiency in any of the 14 languages.' It may also be of interest to teachers, as an instrument for placement purposes, and to organizations, as a tool for promoting language proficiency among staff. The current version of DIALANG provides tests at three difficulty levels - 'easy,' 'intermediate,' and 'difficult' - allowing learners of different proficiency levels to use the assessment system. The DIALANG assessment procedure is as follows: 1. First, the user chooses the language of instructions and feedback; this should be the user's L1 or a language that he or she knows very well. 2. Then the user chooses the language and the particular skill in which he or she wants to be tested. Before starting the actual language skill test, the user will be given a vocabulary size placement test, in which a collection of 'words' - real and invented verbs - are presented. The user decides whether each 'word' exists in the language being tested. By estimating the user's vocabulary size, DIALANG obtains an indication of the appropriate proficiency level and thus determines which level of test to present. The user will get feedback from taking the placement test. There is only one placement test for any given language. [End Page 290] 3. If the user chooses a test in listening, writing, or reading, a self-assessment questionnaire is then administered. The results of the questionnaire will help determine the level of the test to be given and will be compared with the user's test results to see whether the self-assessment is realistic. There is only one self-assessment questionnaire for each skill. If a test in grammatical structures or vocabulary is chosen, the system proceeds directly to the next step. 4. The user will be presented with a test at an appropriate level of difficulty (i.e., easy, intermediate, or difficult) in the chosen skill. There are 30 items in each test. At the present stage, the test methods are limited; only various forms of multiple-choice, gap-filling (cloze), and short-answer questions are available. For each test, the user can choose to receive either immediate or delayed feedback. Throughout the assessment process, the user has the option of skipping the placement test or the self-assessment questionnaire or of exiting a test. 5. After completing a test in grammatical structures or vocabulary, the user will receive feedback regarding his or her level in the chosen skill on the Common European Framework scale (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, or C2: A is the basic user level, B independent, and C proficient) and regarding what people can typically do with the language at that proficiency level. Users can also check their answers. If a test is completed in listening, writing, or reading, besides receiving the above feedback, the user will also be informed whether his or her self-assessment in that skill matches the test results and, if there is a mismatch, of possible reasons for this. The user will be provided with information about what typical learners at the different levels can do in the...

Detecting carcinogens with the yeast DEL assay.

The yeast DEL assay is a simple, rapid method for measuring the frequency of reversion of a disrupted his3 gene by homologous intrachromosomal recombination. Reversion to histidine prototrophy results in deletion (DEL) of the disrupting sequence. The DEL assay has been used to study the effects of various DNA-damaging treatments on the frequency of deletion-recombination and has been shown to have a high level of sensitivity and specificity toward carcinogens, many of which are poorly detected by bacterial mutagenicity and other short-term genotoxicity assays. The DEL assay therefore is a useful addition to the arsenal of predictive tests for genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. This chapter provides an in-depth description of materials and methods for the yeast DEL assay from a user's prospective and should allow the assay to be successfully deployed in any laboratory with basic microbiological capability and minimal user training.

Developing Location-Aware Navigation Guides That Use Mobile Geographic Information Systems

A prototype of a location-aware travel guide for pedestrians was designed and implemented with the aid of mobile geographical information systems. Unlike traditional paper maps, the digital travel guide offers a customized user interface and a location-specific travel service. Development was done on a desktop computer, and the essential files subsequently were transferred to a personal digital assistant for field trials. By using the Global Positioning System, the prototype can accurately pinpoint a user's location to a certain tolerance. This detection is performed at specific intervals, and a list of landmarks is furnished to the user through a Visual Basic script-based interactive graphical user interface. The user can obtain comprehensive information on surrounding buildings or sights, in both textual and digital image forms. A novel indexing method built on road segmentation was implemented to increase search efficiency. Experimental results show that this indexing method has made a significant improvement in system response over the exhaustive search method and thereby helps travelers to find the right way and enjoy their trips.

Usability of Alternative Web Course Structures

SUMMARY The usability of Web sites is coming to be a major concern for corporations and other organizations. Usability typically consists of five elements: learnability, efficiency, memorability, error rates, and satisfaction. Although the relative importance of these elements may differ between educational sites and commercial ones, usability is no less important for instructional Web sites. In this article we discuss what usability means for instructional Web sites and report on a small study comparing the usability of two different course structures. Some differences were found, which, if confirmed, could have implications for how we design instructional sites. Basic usability testing is recommended for all education and training sites, especially as part of formative evaluation.

SES Americom Maximizes Satellite Revenues by Optimally Configuring Transponders

SES Americom Inc. will launch AMC-12, the first of its new generation of communication satellites, in early 2004. This satellite has 24 highly sophisticated transponders, each of which can serve up to three markets simultaneously. By changing the configuration of the transponders, we can alter the markets they serve, thereby adjusting the capacity available by market. We developed a pricing- and contract-management system to maximize the revenues that AMC-12 generates. The system tracks signed contracts and projected demands over the life of the satellite, and recommends optimal configurations for the satellite's 24 transponders each month to maximize revenues. We modeled the transponder-configuration problem as a mixed-integer program and developed efficient heuristics for solving the problem. We implemented our algorithms in a Microsoft Excel-based system with a Visual Basic user interface. SES Americom is using the system to manage over $2 billion in revenues. We plan to adapt the system for use in other satellites with similar technology to be launched in the future.

Objectives and achievements of INPRO

This paper presents an overview of the results of the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) within the International Atomic Agency. The project finished its first phase, called Phase-IA. It has produced an outlook into the future role of nuclear energy and defined the need for innovation. To facilitate these innovations, INPRO has defined Basic Principles, User Requirements and Criteria for innovative nuclear systems in the following areas : Economics, Sustainability and Environment, Safety of nuclear installations and waste, and Proliferation Resistance. A frame for an assessment methodology, called the INPRO Methodology, was created prescribing how to apply these Basic Principles, User Requirements and Criteria in assessing innovative nuclear energy systems.

Does introduction of new “easy to use” inhalational devices improve medical personnel's knowledge of their proper use?

Lack of basic inhaler skills by medical personnel has been documented by numerous studies. Consequently, training of patients in correct inhalational technique suffers. Newer dry powder inhalers such as Turbuhaler (budesonide, Astra USA, Westborough, MA) and Diskus (salmeterol, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC) have some advantages over conventional metereddose inhalers (MDIs) including easier technique of usage. They have been recently marketed with the hope of overcoming this problem. To determine whether introduction of newer "easy to use" dry powder inhalers such as budesonide (Turbuhaler) and salmeterol (Diskus) would result in improvement in medical personnel's knowledge of their proper use. In and around a community-based teaching hospital, interviews were conducted in March 2000 of 50 assorted randomly selected medical personnel. They included 10 respiratory therapists, 10 registered nurses, 10 medical residents, 10 primary care physicians, and 10 pharmacists. Objective evaluation was made of their skills demonstration and knowledge scores for usage of MDIs, budesonide, and salmeterol. Mean percentage demonstration scores of different medical personnel for all three devices taken together: respiratory therapist (81.6%), primary care physicians (77.7%), pharmacists (57.7%), registered nurses (54.4%), and medical residents (53.8%). Mean percentage demonstration scores of different inhalers for all medical personnel taken together: MDI (80.9%), salmeterol (64.2%), budesonide (49.9%). Mean percentage knowledge score of all three inhalational devices taken together for respiratory therapist was the best at 76.6%. Registered nurses performed the worst with a score of 52.0%. Mean percentage knowledge scores: MDI (78%), salmeterol (63.2%), and budesonide (52.4%). A repeated measures two-way analysis of variance demonstrated that differences in both demonstration and knowledge scores between inhaler types and between medical personnel were all highly statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Demonstration skills and knowledge scores for use of both budedsonide and salmeterol were substantially lower than that for MDI for all medical personnel. Medical personnel responsible for teaching the correct use of inhalational devices are lacking in basic knowledge and user skills. This likely contributes to patient's poor technique when using these devices.

Usability Science. I: Foundations

In this article, we describe and analyze the emergence of a scientific discipline, usability science, which bridges basic research in cognition and perception and the design of usable technology. An analogy between usability science and medical science (which bridges basic biological science and medical practice) is discussed, with lessons drawn from the way in which medical practice translates practical problems into basic research and fosters technology transfer from research to technology. The similarities and differences of usability science to selected applied and basic research disciplines-human factors and human-computer interaction (HCI) is also described. The underlying philosophical differences between basic cognitive research and usability science are described as Wundtian structuralism versus Jamesian pragmatism. Finally, issues that usability science is likely to continue to address-presentation of information, user navigation, interaction, learning, and methods-are described with selective reviews of work in graph reading, controlled movement, and method development and validation.

CyberRail: An Enhanced Railway System for Intermodal Transportation

CyberRail is an enhanced railway system which we are proposing for the realization of integrated, intermodal passenger transport in which different modes of transportation will be cooperating with each other. In this paper, we discuss the basic concept and user services of CyberRail currently under development, as well as some key technologies needed to realize CyberRail. Also discussed is the necessity of Cyberrail system architecture, which will be essential for the interoperability with systems other than railways (e.g. navigation systems for people traveling in other transportation modes). We believe that CyberRail can contribute to the realization of a safe, efficient, and comfortable intermodal transportation system, which would be impossible with the improvements of road transport alone.

Autoconfiguration, registration, and mobility management for pervasive computing

In the vision of pervasive computing, users will exchange information and control their environments from anywhere using various wireline/wireless networks and computing devices. We believe that current protocols, such as DHCP, PPP, and Mobile IP, must be enhanced to support pervasive network access. In particular, this article identifies three fundamental functions: autoconfiguration, registration, and mobility management, that need such enhancements. Realizing that the IP autoconfiguration capabilities must be extended to configure routers and large dynamic networks, we first describe our autoconfiguration solution based on the dynamic configuration and distribution protocol (DCDP). Second, we discuss why providing user-specific services over a common infrastructure needs a uniform registration protocol, independent of the mobility and configuration mechanisms. We present an initial version of the basic user registration protocol (BURP), which provides secure client-network registration and interfaces to AAA protocols such as Diameter. Finally, we discuss the dynamic mobility agent (DMA) architecture, which provides a hierarchical and scalable mobility management framework. The DMA approach allows individual users to customize their own mobility-related features, such as paging, fast handoffs, and QoS support, over a common access infrastructure and to select multiple global binding protocols as appropriate.

International Aspects of World Wide Web Usability and the Role of High-End Graphical Enhancements

Through 2 experiments, we examined both international differences and the effects of high-end graphical enhancements on the perceived usability of World Wide Web (WWW) sites. To accomplish this goal, we recruited Internet users from Switzerland and the United States to explore 1 of 2 versions of a Web site with the goal of retrieving specific information from the site. The first Web site was a self-contained subset of a large corporate Web site, and the second was a systematically simplified version of the first. After retrieving the required information from the site, participants responded to questions regarding their perception of the Web site's usability and its information presentation. Their responses provided detailed insights into significant differences between WWW users from 2 different cultures with respect to how they perceive the same Web sites. The importance of basic user demographics is documented, and empirical evidence is provided that devalues some high-end graphical enhancements.

Ada+SQL—an overview

Ada+SQL is a programming environment for Ada 95 extended with basic SQL single user capabilities. It incorporates a very fast compiler and interpreter, with debugging options, library generator and browser, syntax template editors, programmer wizard, two-dimensional graphics, SQL interactive interface and hypertext documentation on the environment, Ada 95 and SQL. Several implementation aspects are discussed.