User-Interface Metaphors in Theory and Practice

<p>User-interface metaphors are a widely used, but poorly understood, technique employed in almost all graphical user-interfaces. Although considerable research has gone into the applications of the technique, little work has been performed on the analysis of the concept itself. In this thesis, user-interface metaphor is defined and classified in considerable detail so as to make it more understandable to those who use it. The theoretical approach is supported by practical exploration of the concepts developed.</p>

User-Interface Metaphors in Theory and Practice

<p>User-interface metaphors are a widely used, but poorly understood, technique employed in almost all graphical user-interfaces. Although considerable research has gone into the applications of the technique, little work has been performed on the analysis of the concept itself. In this thesis, user-interface metaphor is defined and classified in considerable detail so as to make it more understandable to those who use it. The theoretical approach is supported by practical exploration of the concepts developed.</p>

Enhancing Interaction with Augmented Reality through Mid-Air Haptic Feedback: Architecture Design and User Feedback

Nowadays, Augmented-Reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMD) deliver a more immersive visualization of virtual contents, but the available means of interaction, mainly based on gesture and/or voice, are yet limited and obviously lack realism and expressivity when compared to traditional physical means. In this sense, the integration of haptics within AR may help to deliver an enriched experience, while facilitating the performance of specific actions, such as repositioning or resizing tasks, that are still dependent on the user’s skills. In this direction, this paper gathers the description of a flexible architecture designed to deploy haptically enabled AR applications both for mobile and wearable visualization devices. The haptic feedback may be generated through a variety of devices (e.g., wearable, graspable, or mid-air ones), and the architecture facilitates handling the specificity of each. For this reason, within the paper, it is discussed how to generate a haptic representation of a 3D digital object depending on the application and the target device. Additionally, the paper includes an analysis of practical, relevant issues that arise when setting up a system to work with specific devices like HMD (e.g., HoloLens) and mid-air haptic devices (e.g., Ultrahaptics), such as the alignment between the real world and the virtual one. The architecture applicability is demonstrated through the implementation of two applications: (a) Form Inspector and (b) Simon Game, built for HoloLens and iOS mobile phones for visualization and for UHK for mid-air haptics delivery. These applications have been used to explore with nine users the efficiency, meaningfulness, and usefulness of mid-air haptics for form perception, object resizing, and push interaction tasks. Results show that, although mobile interaction is preferred when this option is available, haptics turn out to be more meaningful in identifying shapes when compared to what users initially expect and in contributing to the execution of resizing tasks. Moreover, this preliminary user study reveals some design issues when working with haptic AR. For example, users may be expecting a tailored interface metaphor, not necessarily inspired in natural interaction. This has been the case of our proposal of virtual pressable buttons, built mimicking real buttons by using haptics, but differently interpreted by the study participants.

Utilizing Information "Shape" as an Interface Metaphor Based on Genre

Documents have conventions which have evolved within discourse communities and which facilitate document use. These conventions are represented in a document by visual cues that define a shape and serve as an interface metaphor in a user's interaction with a digital document. In this paper we report on the results of two studies, one of which examined the impact of . . .

A Human Factors View of the Digital Divide

This chapter addresses a problem that centers on the persistent disparities in computer use and access among citizens of varying cultural backgrounds. The chapter begins with discussion about the digital divide among ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans (Latinos), in the United States. This chapter defines “access” as having a computer interface that facilitates user learning. One proposed human factors intervention for this problem of access is in recognizing and accounting for culture’s influence on cognition. This discussion is grounded in the development and employment of computer interface metaphor designs that are culturally valid for target user groups. We also provide examples of challenges that users may encounter when inappropriate interface metaphor are built into a computer interface design. Finally, the chapter highlights various human factors interventions and considerations that will provide a pathway to achieving greater levels of e-inclusivity and for providing citizens with equitable access to information.

A Human Factors View of the Digital Divide

This chapter addresses a problem that centers on the persistent disparities in computer use and access among citizens of varying cultural backgrounds. The chapter begins with discussion about the digital divide among ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans (Latinos), in the United States. This chapter defines “access” as having a computer interface that facilitates user learning. One proposed human factors intervention for this problem of access is in recognizing and accounting for culture’s influence on cognition. This discussion is grounded in the development and employment of computer interface metaphor designs that are culturally valid for target user groups. We also provide examples of challenges that users may encounter when inappropriate interface metaphor are built into a computer interface design. Finally, the chapter highlights various human factors interventions and considerations that will provide a pathway to achieving greater levels of e-inclusivity and for providing citizens with equitable access to information.