Describes factors to be considered in the design of ergonomically correct workstations for online searchers. Topics discussed include visual factors, including lighting; acoustical factors; radiation and visual display terminals (VDTs); screen image characteristics; static electricity; hardware and equipment; workstation configuration; chairs;…

Argues that the shared use of artifacts is supported by latent border resources that lie beyond the canonical artifact. Designers must understand the role border resources play and work more directly to help users develop them. This will require designers to change their understanding of artifacts and users. (Contains 69 references.) (KRN)

Explores how people with disabilities use computer technology, as well as the issues involved in using this technology to access electronically published materials. Topics discussed include definitions of disability; uses of adaptive technology; the physical environment; documentation, training, and support; problems in accessing electronic media;…

Compares humanlike versus machinelike interactional styles of computer interfaces, testing hypotheses that evaluative feedback conveyed through a humanlike interface will have greater impact on individuals' self-appraisals. Reflected appraisals were more influenced by computer feedback than were self-appraisals. Humanlike and machinelike interface…

M.A.S.H. mnemonic is a useful framework for generating, tracking, and objectively evaluating innovative ideas. M.A.S.H. expresses the fundamental components of successful design; Mechanics, Aesthetics, Sustainability, and Human Factors. These essential elements are often underdeveloped in student design concepts and subsequently require bolstering…

In the relatively new discipline of design education we have the opportunity to frame the way that design education is formulated. The relative lack of theorists in the field of design education studies leaves unquestioned the relevance of conventional practices of design education that are premised on only tangentially relevant Art, Science and…

The big question for many researchers in the area of educational systems now is what is the next step in the evolution of e-learning? Are we finally moving from a scattered intelligence to a coherent space of collaborative intelligence? How close we are to the vision of the Educational Semantic Web and what do we need to do in order to realize it?…

Technology has long been a part of the classroom space. Sometime in the 1990s, the word technology was co-opted to refer only to digital tools. "Technology in the classroom" or "technology stocks" or "the dangers posed by technology" came to refer only to digital technology rather than to technology as a whole. As such, much of the discussion…

This article offers an introduction to the central concepts and principles of the Systemic-Structural Theory of Activity (SSTA), an activity-theoretical approach specifically tailored to the analysis and design of human work. In activity theory, cognition is understood both as a process and as a structured system of actions. Building on the…

One purpose of education is that of human-resource development--to provide society with the critical mass of intellectual capital and competent work forces. This paper presents an analysis of the emerging global context and school restructuring in industrialized nations. It also describes an evaluation conducted by the Education Committee of the…

Time-saving strategies are offered for determining appropriateness of assistive technology devices for persons with physical disabilities in movement and posture. The strategies are based on the principle that even an individual with the most severe involvement has certain controllable movements that can form the foundation for interaction with an…

This paper examines the methodological literature of cross-cultural research to establish whether the means exist to identify culturally biased preconceptions implicit in human-computer interfaces, and to develop interfaces more attuned to the cultural differences of the users. It is the premise of this paper that cultural conditioning affects…

Noting that work is partly a social activity, and that workers' psychological and emotional needs influence their productivity, this paper explores avenues for improving human-robot cooperation and for enhancing worker satisfaction in the environment of flexible automation. The first section of the paper offers a brief overview of the…

Argues that a computer-based programming tutor for novice programmers needs to take into account not only the types and frequency of bugs found in the programs, but the intentions and knowledge state of the programmer. A first version of such a program was developed on the basis of the bug types found in a number of pencil-and-paper studies with…

This report describes PROUST, a computer-based system for online analyses and understanding of PASCAL programs written by novice programmers, which takes as input a program and a non-algorithmic description of the program requirements and finds the most likely mapping between the requirements and the code. Both the theory and processing techniques…