Enrica Marchigiani

Multimedia systems in distance education: effects of usability on learning

Abstract Multimedia systems are more and more used in distance learning. Since these systems are often structured as a hypertext, they pose additional problems to the user due to the complexity of navigable paths. In these cases the user has to learn both the structure of the hypertext and the provided contents. Three studies have been conducted to test the hypothesis that the level of usability of a system can affect the learning performance. The first two studies were aimed at evaluating the level of usability of a system developed as a multimedia distance learning course. An experiment was then conducted to compare the learning performance of students using this system to that of other students using different educational tools. Results lend a preliminary support to the hypothesis that a difficult to use hypermedia system can negatively affect learning performance.

The management of human errors in user-centered design

User-Centered Design puts the users at the center of the design activity by involving them from the very beginning in the process and by iteratively testing and re-designing the product. In every testing and evaluation phase human error analysis plays an important role. Although it is not possible to design systems in which people do not make errors, much can be done to minimize the incidence of error, to maximize error detection, and to make easier error recovery. However, the qualitative analysis on human error has not received the attention that it deserves. In the paper the main features of the user-centered approach are sketched and a set of guidelines for handling human error is presented. An example drawn from our design experience is reported for each guideline.

Disentangled emotions in blended learning

Given the increasing attention to the important relationship between learning and emotions, the present study was conducted to investigate the emotional experience of students attending a blended learning course. The course was a blended English course designed for adult learners. 148 participants, drawn from two different populations, participated in the study. The emotions experienced by the subjects, both during the early face-to-face lessons and their first interactions with the online learning environment, were investigated by means of a questionnaire. Results show that the two learning environments can give rise to similar, but not identical, emotional experiences. However, such differences are related to emotions that keep their sign, this being positive or negative, in spite of the changing environment. In addition, correlational and factorial analyses suggest that the different emotional experiences manifested by specific categories of students do not depend on the environment only, but also on individual characteristics and contextual motivational factors.

Caring and Curing by Mixing Information and Emotions in Orphan Diseases Websites: A Twofold Analysis

The study reported in this article was structured as a first step in planning guidelines to design effective internet sites for Associations dealing with rare diseases.The Authors used a two-stage analysis: first, they carried out an analysis of the websites of a sample of Italian Associations on rare diseases and then they did an interview survey to identify the objectives and needs of those organizations. Results indicate that two different kinds of organizations do exist and suggest possibilities for developing guidelines aimed at improving their websites.

Digital Discrimination: An Ergonomic Approach to Emotional Education for the Prevention of Cyberbullying

The aim of this study is to shed some light on the complex relationship between cognitive, socio-affective and contextual (i.e. the technology and the way in which it is used) factors, which intervene in the context of prosocial and antisocial behavior, both in the real and virtual world. Results coming from a survey with a sample of 264 subjects show that those who perform victimization on the Internet are more likely to be more dependent on the use of the Internet and stay on social networks for more time in a day. In addition, while the aggressive behavior and the disengagement seem to be more correlated with a detachment towards the victim and therefore to a lower level of affective empathy, the helping behavior seems to be characterized by a greater cognitive capacity and a greater understanding of the other.

Developments and Problems in the Man-Machine Relationship in Computed Tomography (CT)

Over the last few years the use of Computed tomography (CT) has become increasingly widespread. Despite the common usage of CTs, their usability and their suitability as safe diagnostic tools have not been subjected to scrutiny. The purpose of this study is to understand the evolution of the relationship between users (i.e. technical operators) and the complexity of a technological system such as that of the CT in a normal operational context. To this end, two studies were conducted employing ethnographic observations seven years apart. This paper compares these two studies from 2011 and 2018. The results show a significant difference in the timing of the activity relative to the interaction with the technology, while there are no significant differences in relation to the interactions with the patient and the problem situations that may occur during the CT examination.