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### ### ## ### ## # ### # Interpersonal Computing and
### ### ## ### ## ### Technology:
### ### ## ### ### An Electronic Journal for
### ######## ### ### the 21st Century
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### ### ### ## ### ISSN: 1064-4326
### ### ### ## ### April, 1997
####### ### ######## ### Volume 5, Number 1-2, pp.19-36
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Published by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology
Additional support provided by Georgetown University
University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Northern Arizona University
This article is archived as EBERSOL IPCTV5N2 on
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COGNITIVE ISSUES IN THE DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT OF INTERACTIVE
HYPERMEDIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR AUTHORING WWW SITES
Samuel Ebersole, MA
University of Southern Colorado
Media cognition, the study of the mental processes engaged by
interaction with the media, is a topic of great interest to
psychologists, sociologists, educators, communication theorists,
and media practitioners. Much research has been conducted in the
areas of perception, sensory stimulation, memory and recall, and
media effects. Researchers have studied how a reader engages the
pages of a newspaper or magazine (e.g., Garcia & Stark 1991; Utt &
Pasternack 1989), and the mental processes and effects of viewing
film and television programs (e.g., Bandura, 1994; Graber, 1990;
Grimes, 1990; Reeves & Anderson, 1991). However, because of the
relatively short history of computer based interactive multimedia,
research into the cognitive processes engaged by these new
interactive, non-linear, multi-sensory, digital media is in short
supply.[1].
The rapid growth of interactive multimedia is creating new markets
and opportunities for media professionals. Delivered over local
area networks (LANs), the Internet, or on optical disk, and
displayed on a PC monitor, interactive media take on many forms
and serve a variety of purposes. Video games, edutainment,
computer-based training (CBT), advertising and promotions are just
some of the applications for this new medium. With global annual
sales exceeding $15 billion, multimedia CD-ROMs and videogames
generate revenues that far surpass those generated by the feature
film industry (Miles, 1996). Political and popular support for the
Information Superhighway and the convergence of the
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telecommunications, television, publishing, and entertainment
industries is reflected in the meteoric growth of the Internet.
All of these point to new and growing markets for interactive
multimedia.
Designing effective interactive media can be a daunting
proposition. In addition to the collection and organization of
useful content the interactive multimedia designer must create a
user interface that facilitates access to the content. This
interface should be crafted with careful attention to the mental
processes that the user is likely to employ. Issues surrounding
the attention, comprehension, and memory of information seekers
using interactive multimedia are complex and compelling.
Interactive media designers would do well to consider the
literature of cognitive psychology, human factors,
psycholinguistics, semiotics and communication theory.[2]. System
design should result in an interface that is easy to learn,
effective, and pleasant to use (Molich & Nielsen, 1990, p. 338).
Recker (1995) argued that "hypermedia systems" and the "indices
and structure of the system should be based on cognitive aspects
of the users of that information." [2] According to Recker, how
the user interacts with the media environment and the user
interface should be based on cognitive theory. Preece (1993)
argued that human-computer interaction must take into account
psychological limitations such as; memory load, perception, and
attention (p. 139).
This paper will attempt to define interactive media and will
consider the design of interactive hypermedia from the perspective
of the cognitive processes engaged by the authors and users of the
system's architecture and content. Special emphasis will be given
to the World-Wide Web (WWW) as an example of interactive
hypermedia and examples will be presented with references to
Netscape Navigator, a popular WWW browser.
Definitions
The terms hypertext, hypermedia, and interactive multimedia are
frequently used interchangeably. Regardless of the term, the
concept is one that is best understood as the merging of formerly
separate media in a manner that allows associations or links
between the various elements. Text, graphic images, audio, video,
and animation-all in digital form-make up the form and functional
elements of this new medium. The inevitable digitization of media
and the rapid growth of computer networks allows storage and
retrieval of digital material, local or remote, in a way that
presents the material to the user in response to the users
choices. This interactivity, made possible by random access
afforded by disc-based storage and by the use of a computer as the
common interface, is what sets hypermedia apart from former
attempts to combine and integrate various media.
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Interactivity
Interactivity implies a dialogue between two parties. According to
Steuer (1992), "interactivity is the extent to which users can
participate in modifying the form and content of a mediated
environment in real time" (p.84). Interactivity, in the context of
interactive multimedia, is the functionality afforded by a system
that responds to the user. Choices made by the user determine the
"system's" response to the input and the next bit of information
presented for consideration.
Interactive multimedia has received renewed attention and exposure
through the rising popularity of the Internet, and more
specifically, the World-Wide Web (WWW). The WWW, with an estimated
50 million home pages, is the largest hypertext document of all -
incorporating text, graphics, audio, video, and animation, tying
all of these elements together with dynamic linking. While still
very much an evolving medium, the explosive growth of WWW sites
for educational, commercial and personal interests has breathed
new life into the study and application of interactive media.[3]
Hypertext
Hypertext is a term first coined by Theodor Nelson, a self-
described "rogue philosopher and film-maker," [4] in 1965.
Hypertext documents are nonsequential, e.g., the reader can
explore the content in whatever order desired. Units of
information, or "nodes," are connected by "links." Nodes hold
"chunks" of content and may be defined by fixed frames or sections
of content within a scrolling window. Links provide context for
the content. Links may be part of the content, e.g., a word may
also be a link to take the user to a related node, or may be a
separate icon or menu item. A linked portion of text may be
indicated by its style, color, or by the fact that the cursor
changes as it passes over the link. This node and link structure
allows authors and readers to create associations between related
units of information that make sense to them.[5] The term
hypermedia is simply an expansion of the concept of hypertext to
include other forms of digital information, e.g., graphic images,
audio, video, and animation.
The linking of associated ideas in hypertext and hypermedia is
analogous to the way that the human brain functions for memory and
recall. If the computer is, in McLuhanesque terminology, an
extension of the human brain, hypertext and hypermedia describe
the process by which ideas are categorized and linked by
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associative indexing. A simplified description of human memory
uses familiar terms to describe the linking association of new
sensory stimuli, or "chunks" of information, with formerly
processed information. Bush (1945) may have originated this line
of reasoning when he wrote:
The human mind...operates by association. With one item in its
grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the
association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of
trails carried by the cells of the brain.
The Interface
If an interface is defined as where two different worlds meet, it
would appear that the more dissimilar the two worlds the greater
the need for a well designed interface. The study of user
interface is known by a variety of terms; e.g., human-computer
interaction (HCI), human factors, and ergonomics. Advanced
graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as Windows and the Macintosh
OS have evolved over years of research and testing.vi
Interactive media are different from other, more familiar media in
the degree of contact between the user of the medium and the
mechanism that delivers that content. Newspaper readers hold a
newspaper, turn pages, and fold in under their arms. Television
viewers flip between channels with a remote control and
occasionally adjust the volume. In contrast, users of computer-
based interactive media are constantly clicking with a mouse or
keyboard, selecting icons, opening windows, and otherwise
interacting with the hardware and software interface. Computer-
based delivery technology requires a more active consumer than
does traditional media.
Frequently this required activity is detrimental to the process,
especially for users with little experience. For many users the
interface employed by computer-based interactive media is
confusing and opaque. Interface tools used for interactive media
include the keyboard, mouse, touch screen, and joystick. For more
advanced applications, such as virtual reality, users put on a
data glove, eye-tracking goggles or helmet and even a full-body
suit. The Holy Grail of interactive multimedia interface design is
to achieve a level of transparency that approaches that of more
traditional media. Human-computer interaction is an issue that
will continue to require considerable resources and attention if
interactive media are to thrive.
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Cognitive Issues
As mentioned earlier, effective design of interactive multimedia
will take into account the cognitive experience of the end user.
Key issues to be considered include local and global coherence and
cognitive overhead. Turing et. al. (1995) proposed that the
relationship between cognition and hypermedia first consider two
different approaches to current hypermedia usage. The first is the
unstructured navigation through "browsable databases," while the
second employs the guided experience of progressing through
"electronic documents" (p. 57). According to Turing et. al., the
former provides greater access to disparate information while the
latter provide greater opportunity for structured learning. It is
this second approach to which interactive media authors apply
theories of coherence and cognitive overhead as they relate to
user comprehension. By increasing coherence, e.g. "facilitating
the construction of semantic relations between information units,"
and minimizing cognitive overhead, e.g., "freeing processing
capacities that otherwise would have been bound by orientation,
navigation, and user-interface adjustment," interactive multimedia
authors can increase the effectiveness of their product (p. 61).
Wright (1993) suggested that the reader's consideration of
"cognitive cost" might play a role in determining under what
conditions to follow a hypertext link (p. 140).
Increasing local coherence of text-based information is achieved
by using established rules of grammar and compositions, and by
limiting the appearance of fragmentation (p. 58). The nature of
interactive hypermedia is one of fragments of interrelated data.
However, to increase local coherence one needs to minimize the
appearance of fragmentation. In a hypertext document, one way to
achieve this is to provide clues as to where a link will take the
user. An unidentified link in the middle of a node creates a
situation where the reader is given the choice of ignoring the
link or blindly following the link and in doing so surrendering
control to the document's author. As an alternative, some authors
propose making links only at the end of text blocks, or in
sidebars, thus limiting the readers choices before they have fully
engaged the present material. In a hypertext document on a
network, e.g., a WWW page, an author may be tempted to link to the
vast array of related texts located at far-flung web sites. While
these may be very useful, caution should be exercised to prevent
fragmentation which disorientates or confuses the reader. The lack
of control over linked destinations makes WWW-based documents
especially precarious.
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It is best to identify links that will take the user "off-site" to
differentiate them from internal links that simply take the user
to another place in the current document or site. In Media
Determinism in Cyberspace, a hypertext paper written by the
author, internal links are identified by the standard blue text
with underline.[7] Links that take the user to off-site pages
present the entire URL in blue, underlined text. This clues the
reader to the fact that linked site is external to the current
server and once s/he takes this link the easiest way to return is
to use the BACK button. In such an uncontrolled environment there
is no guarantee that the linked site will provide an easy way
back. To confuse the situation even more, the new site may use an
entirely unfamiliar metaphor or have a look and feel that is
comprehensible only to its author. In a worst-case scenario the
link may become broken and dysfunctional. If the link works and
the reader finds a functional interface, a final danger is that
the reader may wander off on a trail of links never to find his
way back to the remaining portion of your site. In order to
increase global coherence, Turing et. al. (1995) suggested that
the author provide a comprehensive overview of the document
components and their relations in terms of graphical maps or
browsers" (p. 59).
Each of the issues discussed to this point involve measures taken
to minimize the negative effects of cognitive overhead. Cognitive
overhead as defined by Conklin (1987) is, "the additional mental
overhead required to create, name and keep track of links" (p.
40). Nielsen (1990) describes "overhead" and "cognitive load" as
they apply to the user's experience in terms of the "look and
feel" of the interface (p. 4). The experience, according to
Nielsen, should be one of effortless navigation through the
material without concern for "what the computer will do or how to
get it to do what they want" (p. 4). According to Turing et. al.
(1995) cognitive overhead in hyperdocuments often results when
users are concerned about, "orientation, navigation, and user-
interface adjustment" (p. 59). Dealing with what may be an
unfamiliar user interface while trying to remember one's
"position" within the document can put a load on the cognitive
process, thus making less processing power available for
comprehension and learning. In summary, minimizing the
distractions of disorientation and unfamiliarity will enhance
comprehension.
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Potential Concerns for Multi-modal Presentation
The fact that multimedia employs various media raises yet another
topic for inquiry. Do different media use different symbol systems
to present information to the user? Do text, a photograph, sound,
and video animation each have a unique symbol system that presents
its information in a unique way? And if so, do the brain's sensory
stores and short-term memory process these symbol systems without
confounding complications? Salomon (1979) argued that the
differences between various media is evident and significant in
two ways. First, they differ "with respect to the amount of mental
translation from external symbol system to internal mode that they
require." Secondly, they differ "with respect to the kinds of
mental skills that they invoke in the process of knowledge
extraction" (p. 215). Salomon perceived these differences to be of
great importance with regard to their impact on the use of media
for educational purposes. The assumption is that the increase in
mental resources required for recoding results in a decrease in
comprehension. Wright (1993) suggested that a cognitive
"bottleneck" or overload may be the result of the multi-modal
processing inherent in multimedia presentation systems.
Two of the many important elements to consider when designing an
interactive system which will increase coherence and minimize
cognitive overhead are consistency and orientation cues. The
remainder of this paper will consider these and related issues, as
well as the testing procedures used to insure their proper
implementation.
Consistency
Consistency is achieved when the same actions result in the same
effect, regardless of other variables that may have changed. A
consistent interface is achieved by first selecting, and then
following, an applicable metaphor. The metaphor is the overarching
theme that captures the form and function of the system's
architecture.[8] Metaphors based on ordinary and familiar
concepts, e.g., a desktop, book, travel, and stack of cards, have
all been used to bring real-world concepts and familiarities to
what otherwise might be a confusing new system. According to Lynch
(1994), a successful metaphor limits the number and complexity of
rules that the user must learn "because the 'rules' governing the
user's interactions ought to be self-evident in the metaphor" (p.
30). Kahn (1995) and others have shown that thoughtful graphic
design can create global structure within a single web site.
+ Page 26 +
A quick tour of the WWW will quickly demonstrate the diversity of
metaphors used by site authors. The one thread of consistency that
runs throughout the web is near universal compliance with most of
the functions of the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) standard
that is used to create WWW pages and the Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) used for communication. In addition, the robust
market penetration of graphical user interfaces or browsers-first
NSCA's Mosaic and then Netscape's Navigator-has managed to bring
an additional level of consistency to the web. However,
introduction of numerous extensions, e.g., frames and tables, as
well as plug-in applications, e.g., RealAudio(tm), Java(tm), and
ShockWave(tm) threaten to reduce consistency for the sake of
increased performance.
Orientation
One of the concepts repeatedly mentioned in the literature as a
means to reduce cognitive overhead is the use of cues to aid the
user's navigation through the information "space" of the
hyperdocument. The metaphor of space is common to the world of
computer-mediated communication. Since the invention of the
telegraph, electronic technology has allowed us to demolish the
barriers of time and space. We have come to accept the term
"cyberspace" as defining a "place" where information resides in a
network of linked computers. Navigating or "surfing" the web of
information implies traveling through nodes of information,
linking from one to another across the vast sea of data. As
hypermedia documents increasingly reside on the network,
cyberspace becomes increasingly appropriate to describe the place
where the information resides. With this metaphor firmly
entrenched, navigation of hyperdocuments requires that the user
knows her position at any given time. To facilitate this,
interactive multimedia designers have created several techniques
to promote the formation of cognitive maps which aid
orientation.[9] Shum (1990) applied spatial cognition theories to
the design of hypertext documents. According to Shum users of
hypertext systems are interested in both the locations and
attributes of phenomena (p. 136). Dillon, McKnight and Richardson
(1993) explored the issue of navigation by conceptualizing it
using four categories: "schemata, landmarks, routes and surveys"
(p. 172).
Techniques used to facilitate navigation include; guided tours,
maps, trails, backtrack functions, bookmarks, overview diagrams,
queries, and fisheye views (Nielsen, 1990, chapter 8). An example
of the backtrack and bookmarks approaches are familiar to those
+ Page 27 +
who use Netscape Navigator to browse the World-Wide Web. The BACK
button takes the user back to the previous "page" while the
"bookmarks" feature allows the user to store a page's URL (uniform
resource locator) in memory for later retrieval and access. In
this case the orientation feature is part of the user interface
(Netscape Navigator) and not part of the hypertext document.
However it should be noted that many of the most friendly web
sites include BACK, PREVIOUS, UP and HOME navigation buttons as
part of their programming to facilitate the same goal.
Another technique that can be used to provide orientation for the
user is color. A case in point can again be made using the
Netscape Navigator interface. Netscape's default configuration
displays linked text as blue with an underline. Once the user has
made a connection to that link, the text changes to purple, thus
serving as a visual clue that that link has already been followed.
Netscape allows the user to define a duration after which the link
will return to the normal blue color thus allowing the user to
customize the duration of the program's memory. In essence this
allows the user to acknowledge the reality that it has been so
long since the last visit that s/he probably does not remember the
content of that page, so the computer might as well indicate that
the link has not been followed.
According to Turing et. al. (1995) orientation cues should: 1)
"identify their current position with respect to the overall
structure," 2) "reconstruct the way that led to this position,"
and, 3) "distinguish among different options for moving on from
this position" (p. 59). Rivlin et. al. (1994) proposed a
collection of structural tools to facilitate orientation within
hypertext documents. Using algebraic formulas for "hierarchization
and cluster identification," the authors attempted to identify
groupings of links around "landmark" links, thus revealing the
global structure of the document (p. 95).
Users not only want to know where they are going, but whether it
will be worth the journey. The "cognitive distance" is defined by
the cost to the user. How long will it take, how many links, and
how much cognitive energy will be expended in the process of
getting to the destination? For users of the WWW, the cost of
going the distance may be determined by the speed of their
connection to the network. The person connected by a 9600 baud
modem may make different choices of where to go than the one with
an Ethernet connection. Web sites with heavy graphical content
require greater bandwidth or more time to download, thus
potentially limiting their visitors to those with faster
connections or those willing to pay the high cognitive price.
+ Page 28 +
Response Time
Another related issue of concern to designers of hypermedia
architectures is the response time as measured by the delay
between user input and system response. When this is under the
control of the system designer, e.g., a closed system in which the
hardware, software, and content resides locally, an optimal
response time is one that is perceived to be instantaneous, but
one that is actually slow enough to provide a clue to the fact
that the frame has changed. According to Nielsen (1990) an optimal
duration is about a half second. Research conducted with shorter
durations indicated that users were unaware that the screen had
changed when speeds as short as .05 seconds were used (p. 87). Of
course, if the system relies on a network connection or if the
content of the new screen is graphically intensive, retrieval and
rendering time may delay the display of the next screen. The more
complex the content, the lower the bandwidth of the network, and
the slower the processor speed, the greater the delay will be. In
such cases it is important that the interface presents the user
with an indicator that it has sensed the users action and is
proceeding to respond. This may be an audible "click" or momentary
change in the button or link that was "clicked on."
When the delay is more than a few seconds, an indication of
progress and estimated time for completion of the process is
important. The too familiar hourglass (Windows(tm)) or watch
(Macintosh(tm)) icons serve an important function providing
feedback that something is happening and reassuring the user that
the system has not locked up. A better solution, for delays longer
than ten seconds, is to provide a "percent-done" indicator or
"time-remaining" countdown clock (Nielsen, 1993, p. 136). Netscape
Navigator provides such response time feedback in various ways.
When displaying complex graphics Netscape allows for interlaced
GIF files to quickly display low resolution images which are
progressively upgraded to full resolution over time. Text blocks
load before graphics allowing the user to begin reading even
before the entire page is loaded. And when transferring files via
FTP, Netscape presents a display containing both percent-done and
time-remaining information.
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Testing Interactive Media
Interactive multimedia design based on theory can and should be
tested using empirical methodology to ascertain real-world
effectiveness. Because authors and users often have different
perspectives when it comes to the evaluation of interactive media
systems, a method to test and refine the design of the system is
essential. Published reports have studied various issues relating
to the effectiveness of the design of the system and presentation,
e.g.; whether users detect design flaws in the human-computer
interface (Molich & Nielsen, 1990), the impact of semantic
structuring on the user (Jonassen, 1993), and, how design impacts
evaluation criteria; e.g., richness, ease, consistency, self-
evidence, predictability, readability, and reuse (Garzotto,
Mainetti & Paolini, 1995).
Nielsen (1993) proposed a system for designing and testing the
user friendliness of interactive media systems. He called his
approach "usability engineering," the same name given his 1993
book. One of his "usability heuristics," i.e., consistency, has
already been addressed earlier in this paper. Others include;
simple and natural dialogue, speak the users' language, minimize
the users' memory load, feedback, clearly marked exits, shortcuts,
good error messages, prevent errors, and help and documentation
(chapter 5).
Usability Testing Procedures
Nielsen's 1996 paper about the design of SunWeb, the internal Web
site for Sun Computers, outlines his usability testing procedure.
The four stages of his process; 1) card sorting, 2) icon
intuitiveness testing, 3) card distribution to icons, and 4)
thinking aloud walk through of page mock-up, involved testing the
interface at various stages in the design process. The first step
employed card sorting techniques to discover categories that made
sense to the participants. A stack of cards with commands were
given to the participants who were asked to sort them into
categories. Next the participants were asked to group the stacks
of cards into fewer groups and to give the groups names. Cluster
analysis was then performed on the results of all participants.
The second test involved showing icons to the participants and
asking them to provide explanations for each. When the meaning of
the icon was not obvious, the design was modified until the
desired results were achieved. The third step in the process
involved asking the participants to distribute the cards from the
+ Page 30 +
first test, matching them to the most appropriate icon from the
results of the second test. The fourth and final step was to
present each participant with a mock-up of the final screen
design, asking them to identify the icons and the related actions
associated with each. Participants were also invited to comment on
the aesthetics of the icons and design of the screen. This
iterative design process allows for design and redesign in
response to the feedback provided by representative end users.
Yet another proposal for ascertaining user reaction to the
cognitive structure of information space is to apply the "sketch-
maps" commonly used in spatial cognition research (Shum, 1990, p.
142). Shum proposed having users place cards or draw squares on a
board to represent nodes, and then draw the links that connect
them. The theory assumes that information and links not important
to the users will not be evident in their diagrams.
Conclusion
The meteoric growth of the Internet and World-Wide Web marks a
significant development for the future of interactive hypermedia.
While interactive television, video-on-demand, and other attempts
to convert old media into new services have languished, the
Internet has exploded on the scene. While the web is still largely
a text-based medium, new developments in distributed software,
e.g., Java and Shockwave, promise to bring new functionality and
full multimedia potential to this already interactive medium. For
effective implementation of these new hardware and software
devices, authors of content will need to consider the cognitive
processes that are experienced by the end users.
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NOTES
[1] For an overview of cognitive processing as it applies to
computers prior to the mid '80s, (and prior to many of the
developments discussed in this paper), see Card, S. K., Moran, S.
P., and Newell, A. (1983). The psychology of human computer
interaction. Chapters 1, (presenting an historical review of
information-processing psychology), and 2, (covering the
physiological aspects of human cognition), may be particularly
useful.
[2] An example of communication theory applicable to the design
of interactive multimedia can be found in the study of semiotics.
See, Eco, U. (1976) A Theory of Semiotics. The study of icons,
picture icons or "picons" (Davis, 1994, p. 4), moving icons or
"micons" (Nielsen, 1991, p. 7), and audio icons or "earcons" and
their meaning in the context of interactive media is teeming with
possibilities.
[3] According to Nielsen (1996), during 1994, "the number of Web
servers on the Internet grew at a rate of about 10,000% per year."
See also, Nielsen, J. (1995). Multimedia and hypertext: The
Internet and beyond. Chapter 7, Hypertext on the Internet,
provides information about the recent and projected growth of the
Internet.
[4] See, Nelson, T. H. (1995). The heart of connection: Hypermedia
unified by transclusion. Communications of the ACM 38, 8 p. 31.
[5] For a review of studies that consider the ways that readers
of linear and hypertext documents respond to available associated
links see, Wright, P. (1993). To jump or not to jump. In,
McKnight, C., Dillon, A., and Richardson, J. (Eds.) Hypertext: A
psychological perspective. Wright analyzed studies that sought to
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determine how often and under what conditions users availed
themselves of linked supplemental materials, e.g., glossaries,
illustrations, and auditory elements. Wright concluded that
"design features of hypertext can have an important influence on
readers' willingness to jump" (p. 142).
[6] For a collection of stories about the design of the Macintosh
OS see, Laurel, B. (Ed.) (1990). The art of Human-computer
interface design.
[7] Media Determinism in Cyberspace is available online at URL:
http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/rojc/mdic/md.html
[8] An overview of interface metaphors can be found in Carroll,
Mack and Kellog, (1988). Interface metaphor and user interface
design. In M. Helander (Ed.). Handbook of human-computer
interaction (pp. 67-85). See also, Erickson, T. D. (1990). Working
with interface metaphors. In B. Laurel (Ed.) The Art of Human-
Computer Interface Design, pp. 65-73.
[9] Dillon et. al. (1993) cite Toulman's (1948) paper on cognitive
maps as the seminal work in this area.
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:
Samuel Ebersole, MA
Associate Professor, Mass Communication
University of Southern Colorado
2200 Bonforte Blvd.
Pueblo, CO 81001-4901
ebersole@uscolo.edu
.
Samuel Ebersole is an associate professor of Mass Communications at the
University of Southern Colorado. He received his B.A. from Southern
California College in 1982 and his M.A. from Regent University in 1984.
Ebersole has been teaching television production since 1984 and has
worked professionally for numerous broadcast and cable companies. For
his work with NBC Sports in their coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympic
Games, Ebersole was awarded two Emmy awards. He is the author of
Broadcast Technology Worktext, published by Focal Press in 1992. His
areas of interest and expertise are video and audio production, television
documentary, new media technologies, and computer-mediated communication.
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