Information Science and Technology

Using Geographic Information Systems to Solve Community Problems

INTRODUCTION This article describes how the technology of geographic information systems (GIS) can be used as a tool to integrate various types of community-level data to address local problems. The purpose of the article is to present an approach that can be replicated by others. This approach is based on community-wide collaborative sharing of resources, […]

Uses and Gratifications for the World Wide Web

INTRODUCTION It has always been important to understand what motivates consumers to use the Internet, since network use is a critical precursor to electronic commerce (Eighmey & McCord, 1998; Lohse & Spiller, 1998; Schonberg, Cofino, Hoch, Podlaseck & Spraragen, 2000). Without Internet use, there is no e-commerce use; this is much the same sort of […]

User Spreadsheet Systems Development

INTRODUCTION In the early days of computers, expertise was needed not only to develop systems, but also to use them. As IT tools have become more powerful and user friendly, more and more people have been able to use computers and programs as tools when carrying out working tasks. Nowadays it is even possible for […]

User Perceptions and Groupware Use

INTRODUCTION The increasingly complex, global nature of work tasks has led to increased interest in virtual teams that interact across space, time, and organizational boundaries to achieve organizational objectives (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002;Roebuck & Britt, 2002). One of the factors thought to contribute to the popularity of virtual teams is the availability of groupware systems […]

User Experiences of the E-Commerce Site with Standard User Interface

INTRODUCTION The future of economic competitiveness for most enterprises relies on entrance and active participation in the e-commerce market (Vestal, 1999). E-commerce offers speed, convenience and often cost-effectiveness for today’s busy shopper, but most e-commerce sites are still too hard to use. Zona Research (1999) found that 62% of online shoppers had given up at […]

Use Cases and the UML

INTRODUCTION The Unified Modeling Language, or the UML (Booch, Jacobson & Rumbaugh, 1999), has rapidly emerged as a standard language and notation for object-oriented modeling in systems development, while the accompanying Unified Software Development Process (Jacobson, Booch & Rumbaugh, 1999) has been developed to provide methodological support for application of the UML in software development. […]

Usability Evaluation of Online Learning Programs

INTRODUCTION Human activities are social activities, in essence. Evaluating or using a piece of software is a social activity, as well as a learning activity. Nonetheless, these activities are generally considered as relying upon universal and culturally neutral criteria or ways of achieving them. This chapter makes the case for an opposite viewpoint and aims […]

Usability of Online Learning Systems and Course Materials

INTRODUCTION Human-computer interaction (HCI) aims to design and develop high-usability interactive systems (ISs) focusing on users’ needs and ergonomic principles, among others. The usability of an IS refers to how easy it is to use and to learn. Similarly, software engineering (SE) aims to design and develop high-quality ISs focusing on schedule, budget, communication, and […]

Usable M-Commerce Systems

INTRODUCTION Today, the PC is only one of many ways to access information resources. On one hand, traditional computing technology is becoming more mobile and ubiquitous and, on the other hand, traditional mass media are becoming richer. Whereas information services related to interactive TV and ubiquitous computing are projected to become prominent in a few […]

Usability and Learnability Evaluation of Web-Based ODL Programs

INTRODUCTION The rapid establishment of third generation distance learning environments, the so-called Web-based or tele-teaching environments, brought some problems with it. The main means for the delivery of the new educational approach is the World Wide Web, and there are some good reasons for it: It is easily accessible by many groups of learners. It […]

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