Usability is a concept that exists to make it easier for visitors to find the right information efficiently, with goodsatisfaction and widely used. There are various guidelines to achieve good usability on websites that have theirown criteria that need to be met before the site can develop to be seen as useful. I have explored andevaluated a web site that contains an online system, based on previous research on usability of web sites anddata collection of user testing and surveys. I have tried to analyze the results I have gathered to try to answerHow important is it to follow the utility in the development of a website with a reservation system? My researchhas shown that guidelines are something that one should follow to the best of our ability, but only if theguidelines are relevant to the product objectives and one can speculate for the need for guidelines for usabilitytargeting sites with specific purposes.
In this paper, through the process of designing and building a collaborative virtual musical instrument I explore users' sense of resonance and agency in relation to technology. With technology’s constant acceleration leaving many feeling alienated, this paper attempts to investigate technology’s potential for creating more meaningful resonant relationships. I explored how co-operation and a sense of agency could be encouraged within a virtual musical instrument, how the interplay between the auditory and visual aspects of the instrument influenced users’ creativity, cooperation, and sense of agency, and used Hartmut Rosa’s theory on resonance as a tool to explore relationships within creativity and cooperation. Through a series of workshops, I tested prototypes of the virtual instrument controlled using midi interfaces, built using Unreal Engine and designed to require multiple users to operate. The instrument aim was to promote collaboration, have strong audio-visual congruence and to be intuitive to use while still allowing for more complex levels of expression. Through this process I gained valuable insight into the role of agency within successful creative collaboration, the complex interplay between the auditory and visual modes, the importance of mindset within collaboration and technology’s potential for encouraging resonance.
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) need to be frequently monitored in order to assess their individual symptoms and treatment-related complications. Advances in technology have introduced telemedicine for patients in remote locations. However, data produced in such settings lack much information and are not easy to analyze or interpret compared to traditional, direct contact between the patient and clinician. Therefore, there is a need to present the data using visualization techniques in order to communicate in an understandable and objective manner to the clinician. This paper presents interaction and visualization approaches used to aid clinicians in the analysis of repeated measures of spirography of PD patients gathered by means of a telemetry touch screen device. The proposed approach enables clinicians to observe fine motor impairments and identify motor fluctuations of their patients while they perform the tests from their homes using the telemetry device.
This text discusses today’s digital transformation through the lens of Horkheimer and Adornos’ study of the enlightenment. Policy and public discourse around digitalisation embrace and adhere to the narrow tenets enlightenment thinking; the idea that rationality, individual freedom, and a society free from superstition are necessary and attainable goals. The costs of what has come to be called ‘Modernity’ are many. Through the application of rationality to all spheres of life, married with disruptive technological advancement, humanity has diminished its’ imagination – its ability to seek new directions. To paraphrase Horkheimer and Adorno, Modernism fights against nature, of which we are a part, and thus, paradoxically, sets us in a fight against ourselves. Environmental degradation, the price of progress, being just one example of this – deadening work, consumerism and severed social connections being amongst others. In this framing, digitalisation itself comes to be understood itself as akin to a force of nature – one that we can do little about, other than adjust and adapt or be swept away. But this by no means a foregone conclusion, there is light at the end of the optical fibre. Albeit that recent technical developments around artificial intelligence appears to be pushing policy makers into hasty decisions, the pace of the technical development is not as fast as we believe, and in comparison with the Reformation – we have time. If we can restrain ourselves from the resist, adapt or die responses promoted in popular discourse in face of the shock of large language models and rising threat of automation, then we create room to consider economic, social, and ecological alignment and accord, in the decision making and design of future interactive artefacts and digital services. The article argues that through postdigital aesthetics, technology makers can embrace materiality and the inherent qualities of digital technology to formulate a critique of existing trajectories in digital transformation, with consequences for a more sustainable future.
Denna studie har undersökt hur konstnärer interagerar med det bildgenererande verktyget Midjourney. Vad som sågs var att användargränssnittet som denna nyttjar till stor del hindrat deltagare från att använda verktyget effektivt. Detta då utveckling och design framstår som centrerad runt teknologiska aspekter, snarare än användarvänlighet. Användargränssnittets negativa aspekter påverkade deltagares förmåga att dels uppskatta verktygets funktionalitet, dels uppskatta verktygets relevans för den egna praktiken. Dock noterades av samtliga deltagare hur Midjourney kan användas för generering av variationer och referenser.
Many services have become digitized in society, including health services. Although there are many advantages to eHealth services, some segments of the population cannot reap those benefits. Objectives: This study aimed to: 1- describe how people with intellectual disability use the internet in Sweden; and 2- understand the nature of the contextual and personal barriers these users face when trying to access eHealth services in particular. Methods: Data from the nationwide survey “Swedes with Impairment and the Internet 2021” (SMFOI-21) were extracted for a subsample of 154 people with self-declared intellectual disability. Results: Findings reveal that people with intellectual disability used the internet predominantly for entertainment purposes. Challenges arose in more complex online activities, like internet searches, logging into eHealth services, booking medical appointments, and financial transactions. Participants relied on support from family, guardians or staff to read, write, create and memorise passwords, understand content, or solve technical problems encountered. They expressed a desire to engage more independently in the digital society but faced barriers due to the cognitive requirements of using apps and the internet as designed by computer scientists, difficulties in navigating complex online processes, such as eHealth services, and a lack of accessible infrastructure. Conclusion: This research underscores the importance of improved accessibility, simplified interfaces, clearer instructions, and a supportive ecosystem to enhance their digital inclusion. It is a matter of people with intellectual disability being afforded equal rights to access health services. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.