Purpose-The purpose of this study was to determine user suggestions for Digital Libraries' functionality and features. Design/methodology/approach-A survey was conducted as part of this study, in which users' suggestions for Digital Libraries were solicited, as well as their ranking opinions on a range of suggested Digital Library features. Findings-The study revealed that, regardless of users' Information Technology (IT) backgrounds, their expectations of Digital Libraries' functionality are the same. However, based on users' previous experiences with Digital Libraries, their requirements with respect to specific features may change. Practical implications-Involving users in Digital Library design should be an integral step in the process of building a Digital Library-in addition to the classic roles of evaluation and testing. Originality/value-In previous Digital Library user studies, users were involved implicitly (e.g. observed) or explicitly (e.g. diary notes). However, they were never asked to suggest Digital Library features or functionalities, as this was left to usability and domain experts. This study approached Digital Library design from a new perspective, giving users an opportunity to express their suggestions on future functionality and features of Digital Libraries. Moreover, in contrast to previous work, this study has explicitly taken into account the IT abilities of those interacting with a Digital Library.
Online Public Library Catalogues (OPACs) are widely used electronic library catalogues giving a wealth of remote access to library information resources. Users should be involved early in the OPAC development cycle process in order to ensure a usable and functional interface, as the integration of user-defined requirements of OPACs, along with the other Human-Computer Interaction considerations, offer a better understanding of user perceptions and expectations respect of OPACs, ultimately resulting in truly user-centred OPACs. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to establish user suggestions for a typical OPAC application's functionality and features. To this end, an experiment was undertaken to find out the type of interaction features that users prefer to have in an OPAC. The study revealed that regardless of users' Information Technology (IT) backgrounds, their functionality expectations of OPACs are the same as users are expecting OPACs to facilitate easier ways to achieve their tasks. However, based on users' previous experiences with OPACs, their requirements with respect to specific features may change.
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Using olfactory media to enhance traditional multimedia content opens up novel opportunities for user interactions. Whilst the influence of olfaction on user experience in mulsemedia (multiple sensorial media) environments has been previously studied, the impact of the fundamental dimensions of scent intensity and valence (odor hedonic dimension or pleasantness) have been largely unexplored. This is precisely what we target in this paper, which reports the results of an empirical investigation examining how scent intensity and valence impact mulsemedia Quality of Experience (QoE). Accordingly, 54 participants were exposed to different odor valences and scent intensity levels when viewing three short multimedia clips. In particular, we examine both subjective (self-reported) as well as objective QoE metrics, as evidenced by user heart rates and eye gaze patterns. Results show that whilst eye gaze patterns are largely unaffected by the experimental conditions, valence does have a statistically significant impact upon user heart rates, as does intensity for two of the three clips employed in our study. In terms of subjective QoE, results indicate that hedonic valence impacts on the sense of reality and enjoyment; however varying odor intensity levels do not seem to differentially impact on user experience, bringing into question the need for strong scent intensities.
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