Scott P. Robertson

Dual device user interface design: PDAs and interactive television

Computing environments which involve many interacting devices are a challenge for system and user interface designers. A prototype of a multiple-device application consisting of a personal digital assistant (PDA) that operates in conjunction with interactive television (ITV) was developed from user requirements for a real estate information service. The application is used both as a stand-alone service and in conjunction with a television. Users interact exclusively with the PDA. The television responds to PDA output and is used for the presentation of visual images and videos. In this paper the application is described and user interface design issues that arise in the context of multiple device systems are discussed.

The development of an interactive game-based tool for learning surgical management algorithms via computer

BACKGROUND We have previously demonstrated the potential efficacy of a computer-assisted board game as a tool for medical education. The next logical step was to transfer the entire game on to the computer, thus increasing accessibility to students and allowing for a richer and more accurate simulation of patient scenarios. METHODS First, a general game model was developed using Microsoft Visual Basic. A breast module was then created using 3-D models, radiographs, and pathology and cytology images. The game was further improved by the addition of an animated facilitator, who directs the players via gestures and speech. Thirty-three students played the breast module in a variety of team configurations. After playing the game, the students completed surveys regarding its value as both an educational tool and as a form of entertainment. 10-question tests were also administered before and after playing the game, as a preliminary investigation into its impact on student learning. RESULTS After playing the game, mean test scores increased from 6.43 (SEM +/- 0.30) to 7.14 (SEM +/- 0.30; P = 0.006). The results of the five-question survey were extremely positive. Students generally agreed that the game concept has value in increasing general knowledge regarding the subject matter of breast disease and that the idea of following simultaneously the work-up of numerous patients with similar problems is a helpful way to learn a work-up algorithm. CONCLUSIONS Postgame surveys demonstrate the efficacy of our computer game model as a tool for surgical education. The game is an example of problem based learning because it provides students with an initial set of problems and requires them to collect information and reason on their own in order to solve the problems. Individual game modules can be developed to cover material from different diagnostic areas.

Online Video “Friends” Social Networking: Overlapping Online Public Spheres in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

ABSTRACT This article examines the links to YouTube from the Facebook “walls” of the three major candidates in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. User-generated linkage patterns show how participants in these politically related social networking dialogs used online video to make their points. We show how different types of individuals inhabit these overlapping public spheres and how they provide structure and interpretive information for others. Civic life is becoming more sociotechnical, and will therefore involve engagements with ideas as they are constructed by others out of disparate information sources and their interlinkages.

A tale of two knowledge‐sharing systems

Two knowledge‐sharing systems were deployed on the same platform within the same organization. One was more successful than the other. Interviews with users showed several factors related to work flow, collaboration practices, and the nature of the documents being shared that affected success. This paper describes the systems and then explores why they were used so differently.

Designing Political Deliberation Environments to Support Interactions in the Public Sphere

Little is known about the challenges and successes people face when piecing together multiple social media to interact in the online public sphere when: seeking information, disseminating information, and engaging in political discussions. We interviewed 29 US citizens and conducted 17 talk-out-loud sessions with people who were using one or more social media technologies, such as Facebook and Twitter, to interact in the online public sphere. We identified a number of challenges and workarounds related to public sphere interactions, and used our findings to formulate requirements for new political environments that support the interactions in the public sphere. Through evolving requirements generation, we developed a new political deliberation technology, dubbed Poli, which is an integrated social media environment with the potential to enable more effective interactions in the public sphere. We discuss several remaining questions and limitations to our tool that will drive future work.

Voter-centered design: Toward a voter decision support system

Electronic voting support systems should not focus only on ballot casting and recording. Instead, a user-centered perspective should be adopted for the design of a system that supports information gathering, organizing and sharing, deliberation, decision making, and voting. Relevant social science literature on political decision making and voting is used to develop requirements. A design concept is presented that supports extended information browsing using combined filtering from ballot materials and voter profiles. The system supports information sharing and participation in electronic dialogues. Voters may interweave information browsing, annotation, contextualized discussion, and ballot markup over extended time periods.

Navigating Imagined Audiences: Motivations for Participating in the Online Public Sphere

Little is known about why and how people use multiple social media platforms for political participation, or about the contexts through which social media is appropriated. This paper reports on a qualitative interview study of social media use by politically interested citizens. We interviewed 27 residents of the state of Hawaii who integrated one or more social media tools into their daily lives to participate in the online public sphere. Different social media environments offer both different affordances for action and different audiences, and we describe how media choice is driven by the match between motivations and affordances, and also by the imagined audience. We identified a number of motivations including understanding different viewpoints, formulating perspectives, engaging in positive discourse, repairing Hawaiis image, increasing political awareness and improving civic engagement. We discuss how these goals relate to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Finally, we examine how social media choice and satisfaction were tied to the physical world context and peoples sense of the audience within any particular medium.

An Observational Study of Voters on the Internet

Voters in a democracy have the responsibility to learn about the candidates and issues on which they are deciding. The Internet offers voters unparalleled opportunities for finding information relevant to elections. Use of the Internet for politics is increasing dramatically, yet we know little about the details of what people are doing with it. We describe an observational think-aloud study of people using the Internet in a mock-voting situation. Our voters were primarily opportunistic browsers following a noncompensatory search strategy who engaged in simultaneous searching, reading, evaluating, and deciding. Based on our results, we offer ideas for the design of a voter portal

Drop-Down Democracy: Internet Portal Design Influences Voters' Search Strategies

In this study we report how different interfaces for searching the internet changed the strategies and information opportunities of voters as they searched for political information. A drop-down interface that helped users define specific queries was compared to a traditional typed- query interface. The drop-down interface resulted in a broader set of information opportunities. Voters using the drop-down interface relied less on candidate websites, visited a broader sampling of website types, and examined issues more closely. Portal design heavily influences search strategies and information opportunities.

Voting and political information gathering on paper and online

Electronic voting is slowly making its way into American politics. At the same time, more voters and potential voters are using online news and political information sources to help them make voting choices. We conducted a mock-voting study, using real candidates, issues, and campaign materials. Political information was browsed either online or on paper, and participants marked electronic ballots either while they browsed or later, in a separate step. Our initial data shows that voters prefer electronic browsing although they are no faster or slower with paper materials. Voters felt that they understood the issues best when they voted during browsing, and they felt most confident about their decisions when they studied electronic campaign materials alongside an active electronic ballot.