Qualitative Interface Evaluation of Website Essay

Qualitative Interface Evaluation of Website - Essay Example User interface of a given product is evaluated using various techniques. The main aim of assessing the interactivity of an interface is to see the design of that interface ensures that the user is able to accomplish their tasks. The main objective of interface evaluation is to help the designers and developers of the product to minimize the malfunctions in the system, Gould and Lewis (1985) also asserts that feedback to the developers is very critical to ensure that there is an interactive process of product development. An interface is said to be good one if the users of all levels from novice to experts are able to accomplish their tasks. User interface experts have for over years been designing the best way to evaluate the interface. The evaluation therefore defines two groups; the experts and novice evaluators where each one has their level of evaluating the product within the development cycle of the program. Interactive user interface is a part of the software or the hardware t hat enables the user to interact with that product or the computer. For instance, computer users interact with the computer via software interfaces. According to Melody & Marti (2002), a web site that was poorly designed reduces the revenue and the performance of an organization. The main question is which is the best design principles for a quality website. Many evaluation techniques looks at the human daily activities and habits where the website should imitate these behavior. For a website the following are some of the criteria to be used in evaluating a website. Text elements of a website are important features that evaluators check, text should be visible with high quality but very simple to understand by the users. There should be minimal text with the web page. This is called clarity and concise. The number of links are very important too they tell us how easy is it to navigate from one page to another. There should be many ways in which the user can accomplish their tasks. T oo much external links make a bad website however. The colors which indicate that the link has been visited or not yet should be distinct and outstanding. The images in the site is also important the size and color adjustments should make it attractive. There should be interactive graphics which make users participate actively in the sites operations. Software guidelines and heuristic evaluation techniques will be used in the analysis of the site. Techniques of evaluating interface According to Afonso et al., (2011), evaluation of user interface entails measuring of how easy the interface is to learn by a new user and adopt to the environment. Learning outcomes are measured y how someone can be able to navigate from one level to another, the use of shortcuts and minimal errors. The user satisfaction is another factor in a good interface, if users yarn to use the interface once ore then it is a good one. Interface evaluation is a process that aims at establishing problems of the inte rface which is a process that requires several activities done. The techniques below are used by stakeholders of the hardware or software product at different levels such as experts and end users. Experts in UI evaluate the interface during formative evaluation while end users test the system by cognitive and pluralistic walkthrough (www.cs.umd.edu).There are several techniques used in interface evaluation such as; Heuristic evaluation

Groups and Teams Essay Example for Free

Groups and Teams Essay Recall a small team or group you have been a part of. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper about your experience. †¢Provide a brief description of the team or group. How many members did it include? What was its purpose? †¢Describe the behaviors the team or group exhibited as it went through each stage of development. †¢Describe a problem the team or group encountered. What steps were taken to address and solve the problem? Was the team or group able to generate a successful solution? Why or why not? †¢Discuss the influence that leadership—or the lack of leadership—had on the team’s or group’s ability to solve the problem. What style of leadership did the leader exhibit? What problem-solving steps were taken to resolve the situation? What steps would have produced better results? †¢Explain whether the team or group was effective. Support your position by discussing goals, roles, ground rules, norms, and characteristics your team or group displayed. How did these characteristics affect the team’s or group’s ability to accomplish its purpose and solve the problem it encountered? †¢Analyze how communication contributed to cohesiveness. Identify and address how diversity or technology affected the team or group members’ ability to communicate with one another to reach a resolution. †¢Explain your thoughts on how goals, roles, ground rules, and norms help determine effectiveness. How did these characteristics affect the team’s or group’s ability to accomplish its purpose and solve the problem? Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Basic Laboratory Techniques Safety And Hematocrit

Basic Laboratory Techniques Safety And Hematocrit The hematocrit is normally ordered as a part of the complete blood count. It is important in evaluating anemia and polycythemia, monitoring the recovery from dehydration, the effectiveness of treatment for anemia, the ongoing bleeding to check its severity, etc. In this practical, hematocrit is used to determine if the patient has anemia by means of red cell indices MCV, MCH and MCHC. For red blood cell count, it is used to evaluate any type of decrease or increase in the number of red blood cells as measured per liter of blood. It is a parameter interprets in conjunction with hematocrit. Both decreased hematocrit and decreased RBC count indicate anemia. (D) Results Hematocrit (HCT) Record the red blood cell indices in the table below. Reading SI Unit RBC 8.55 ÃÆ'- 1012 RBC/L Hemoglobin 11.0 g/dL Your HCT value 26 % The red blood cell indices are used to classify anemias. Find out their formulae and calculate the MCV, MCH MCHC. Compare them to the reference values of a normal adult female. Red cell indices Formula Calculation (units) Reference range Mean cell volume (MCV) Hematocrit (%) ÃÆ'- 10 RBC _26 ÃÆ'- 10 8.55 MCV= 30.4 fL 86 98 fL Mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) Hemoglobin(grams) ÃÆ'- 10 RBC __11__ ÃÆ'- 10 8.55 MCH= 12.87 pg 27 32 pg Mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) Hemoglobin(grams) ÃÆ'- 100 Hematocrit (%) __11__ ÃÆ'- 100 26 MCHC= 42.3 % 32 37 % (*delete as appropriate and suggest whether blood smear A or B provided in the lab would belong to this sample) As your calculated MCV suggest, the RBCs are macrocytic / normocytic / microcytic *. As your calculated MCH suggest, the hemoglobin in the RBCs are within / below / above* the average weight. As your calculated MCHC suggest, the RBCs are normochromic / hypochromic / hyperchromic*. Blood smear A / B* belongs to this patient. Cell count and hemacytometer RBC Counts Averaging no. of RBCs in 2 one square millimeter Square No. of RBC counted 1 178 2 164 Total RBCs counted 342 Averaged RBC counted 171 Calculate the RBC count in the sample: = Average no. RBCs counted in 1 big square ÃÆ'- Dilution factor Area counted (mm2) ÃÆ'- Depth (mm) RBC count = 171 ÃÆ'- 1000 ikikikiiiiiiu 0.2 (mm2) ÃÆ'- 0.1 (mm) RBC count = 8.55 ÃÆ'- 1012 (units= /L ) (E) Quality Assessment Obtain results from the class and do the statistics.(Refer to Basic Clinical Lab Techniques pp. 79 81) ÃŽÂ £X_ n (117+160+174+142+166+161+181+183+166+143+164+159+148+162+225+135+165+120+ 168+128+271+104+171+168+171+182+170+176+181+116+172) à · 31 RBC counts is 162.87 . n Test Value (mg/dL) X Deviation Squared ( x)2 1 117 2104.15 2 160 8.24 3 174 123.86 4 142 435.60 5 166 9.79 6 161 3.50 7 181 328.66 8 183 405.18 9 166 9.79 10 143 394.86 11 164 1.27 12 159 14.98 13 148 221.15 14 162 0.76 15 225 3860.01 16 135 776.79 17 165 4.53 18 120 1837.92 19 168 26.31 20 128 1215.98 21 271 11691.89 22 104 3465.79 23 171 66.08 24 168 26.31 25 171 66.08 26 182 365.92 27 170 50.82 28 176 172.37 29 181 328.66 30 116 2196.89 31 172 83.34 ÃŽÂ £( x)2__ n 1 30297.48__ 30 = 1009.916 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡Variance à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡1009.916 31.78 2s = 63.56 +2s = 226.43 -2s = 99.31 3s = 95.34 +3s = 258.21 -3s = 67.53 10. Construction of a Levey-Jenning s Chart using the mean and standard deviation(s) from above. Indicate the mean value, +/- 1s, +/-2s, +/-3s on the appropriate lines. Using the RBC data from the class, plot the values from all students. Levey-Jennings Chart of RBC counts in class SD of RBC counts (G) Practical Review Questions Label the hemacytometer diagram below with its parts. (p208) Indicate the areas usually used for WBC count with W RBC count with R and Platelet count.p 1. What does the hematocrit measure? The hematocrit is a test determining the patients red cell volume found in whole blood and, thus, the bloods oxygen carrying capacity. It is expressed as a percentage by volume. 2. Give the hematocrit reference values for males, females, and newborns. Males: 42 52 % Females: 36 48 % Newborns: 51 61 % 3. Name a condition that could cause a decreased hematocrit value. Anemias 4. Explain the hematocrit procedure 1. Obtain patients blood and prepare the specimen. Gently mix the capillary blood by inverting the tube until all sediments disappear. Blood sample is drawn into a heparinixed microhematocrit tube by capillary action. Load the microhematocrit tube by holding it end downward to allow gravity to facilitate loading of the tube. The tube should be filled to about 3/4 full. Seal one end of the tube with a small amount of clay material at a 90 ° angle. 2. Centrifuge the samples. Please the sealed microhematocrit tube into the rotor of the microhematocrit centrifuge, with the sealed end against the rubber gasket. Duplicate samples should be placed opposite each other in order to balance the centrifuge. Securely fasten the flat lid on top of the capillary tubes. Spin the tubes for 2 to 4 minutes at 10000 rpm. After the centrifuge has stopped, open the top and remove the cover plate. 3. Reading and reporting the Hematocrit value. Inspect the tube to see if there is any leakage after centrifugation. Place the tube on the hematocrit reader. Place tube in the groove with the top of the seal-ease (bottom of the packed cells) lined up with the bottom line of the reader.   Move the slider bar to the border between the packed red cells and the plasma.   Read the percentage reading beside the slide bar. 5. Blood enters the capillary tube by what action? Blood enters by capillary action. 6. Why must the capillary tube be sealed securely? In the process of spinning, RBCs and a small amount of plasma will be forced from the tube, a false result may be resulted because of incomplete sealing of tube. Therefore, sealing the tube securely can create a pressure inside the tube which prevents the content from forcing out during centrifugation. 7. What is the usual length of time for centrifugation of the hematocrit tubes? The hematocrit tubes are usually centrifugated for 2 to 4 minutes at 10000rpm. 8. What safety precautions should be observed when performing a hematocrit? Standard precaution should be observed. 9. What technical factors can affect the quality of hematocrit results? Blood sample should be well-mixed before microhematocrit tubes are filled. Avoid bubbles when filling blood sample into the microhematocrit tube. Microhematocrit tubes should be filled at least three-fourths full. The microhematocrit tubes should be completely sealed before centrifugation. Read the hematocrit value at the top of the red cell layer, not at the top of buffy coat. 10.Case Study 1 A hemoglobin and hematocrit test performed in a pediatric clinic on a 2-year-old boy gave results of 110 g/L hemoglobin and 0.33 L/L hematocrit. Do these results agree? What is the boys general health status based on the hematology results? From the data provided by the case, the mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) of the child: __11__ ÃÆ'- 100 33 = 33% The MCHC is within the normal range, showing the child is free from anemia. However, according to World Health Organization, a hemoglobin concentration of less than 110 g/L and a hematocrit value of less than 33% were used as a cut-off for anemia for children aged 0.5 to 5[1]. Therefore, for the above case, although the child does not have anemia at this moment, his marginal hemoglobin and hematocrit values agree and both show that he has a high risk of suffering anemia. Age or gender group Hemoglobin (g/dL) Hematocrit (%) Children (0.5-4) Children (5-12) Children (12-15) Adult Men Non-pregnant Women Pregnant Women

Exploring Gardners Theory on Multiple Intelligences Essay -- Educatio

Howard Gardner used to define intelligence as â€Å"the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings† (Gardner 33). The modern day human being would most likely include the words â€Å"smart† and â€Å"dumb† in their definition of intelligence. Gardner questioned the belief of only one intelligence so he created his own theory that involved seven different discoveries. He didn’t want to call these discoveries â€Å"skills† or â€Å"talents† or gifts† because those all suggested a drawback so he decided on the word â€Å"intelligence,† creating his theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner 33). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences including, linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, intrapersonal and interpersonal, has many implications for modern education and culture. Howard Gardner grew up in Pennsylvania in the late 1940’s, although his parents were originally from Germany. He attended Harvard as an undergraduate with the hopes of becoming a lawyer and with a major in history. However, as soon as he became the mentee of Erik Erikson, a well-known psychoanalyst, his interests started to change. Gardner entered the doctoral program at Harvard and received his PhD in 1971 with a dissertation on style sensitivity in children. During his years of doctoral study he became a part of the Project Zero, which does research on arts education, and he now co-directs the project. Gardner’s work with Project Zero led to the Project on Human Potential, which resulted in his first well-known book, Frames of Mind. He has written many books since then including, The Shattered Mind and Multiple Intelligences, and he is â€Å"currently Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Har... ...ly. It’s not Gardner’s goal to take over the education system and have it all reformed, but he does want educators to rethink their everyday lessons and see if they can improve them using his theory in order to broaden the comprehension of ideas to all students. Now all our society has to do is learn how to use this theory as an advantage and put all the intelligences to work. Gardner has started this concept of multiple intelligences but no one knows where it will end and what other implications it will have along the way. Works Cited Gardner, Howard. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York, NY: Basic, 1999. Print. Smith, Mark K. "Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and Education." The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2011.

Discrimination in the Kite Runner Essay

?Discrimination is still an issue in countries all over the world, including Canada. People still get discriminated in our society today for the way they look, talk and their religious views. Discrimination is shown in The Kite Runner ,written by Khaled Hosseini and The Chrysalids ,written by John Wyndham. Hassan, one of the main characters of The Kite Runner is treated like an animal for the way he looks and his religious views. In The Chrysalids, the main character David Storm is considered a â€Å"mutant† for being able to communicate with his mind to other people with the same power. Once the people of Waknuk found out he was a mutant, they turned on him. People can learn from these tragic events that happened to Hassan and Davis Storm. Both Novels show how discrimination can lead to death, war and depression. Discrimination can lead to death. In the novel The Kite Runner a man named Hassan was murdered in the middle of the street, along with his wife for being Hazara. The Taliban’s murdered Hassan because they thought he was a squatter living in Amir’s house. He told him he was their servant and was taking care of the house while they were gone. As Rahim Khan is telling the story of Hassan to Amir he explains that â€Å"The Taliban’s said he was a liar and a thief like all the Hazara’s and ordered him to get his family out of the house by sundown† (Hosseini, 230). Rahim Khan is implying that Hassan didn’t do anything wrong, he was just looking after the house for a friend. The Taliban’s think the Hazara people are liars and thieves so they didn’t believe him. When they told him to get himself and his family out by sundown he argued with them, they shot him in the middle of the street while people were watching. His wife, witnessing what happened, ran out into the street and the Taliban’s shot her to. Both dead, leaving their son to be sent to an orphanage. Hassan shouldn’t have been murdered for such a senseless thing like that; he was treated like trash just for his religious views and the way he looked. Similar to The Kite Runner the discrimination in The Chrysalids also leads to death. The best friend of David Storm, Sophie, is murdered by the people of Waknuk for no other reason then that she was a mutant. The people of Waknuk were hunting the mutants, Sophie has to basically fend for her self and try to get away from the Waknuk people, â€Å"An arrow pierced through her upper arm, but she held on, with it lodged there. Then another took her in the back of the neck. She dropped in mid-stride, and her body slid along in the dust†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wyndham, 187) is how the Waknuk people murdered her. These people murdered an innocent girl for having 6 toes on each foot. This goes to show how much hate is built up in these people. Discrimination has been and still causes war between countries and people, this happens in both The Kite Runner and The Chrysalids. When the Taliban’s decided to take over Afghanistan, discrimination was everywhere. The Taliban’s thought they were better then everyone else in the country. This caused war in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s discriminated everyone except for them self’s. Assef joined the Taliban’s because he hated Hazara people. Assef tells Amir that â€Å"Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage† (Hosseini, 298). Assef is implying that Afghanistan is a wonderful and beautiful place with â€Å"terrible† people like Hazara’s and the Taliban’s are here to take out the trash. The Taliban’s are trying to take over Afghanistan killing anyone who gets in their way; they really hate the Hazara people. They think that the Hazara’s are thief’s and liars and don’t deserve to live in the same country as the all mighty Taliban people. So the Taliban’s starts a war in Afghanistan. All because they think they are better then everyone else and that who ever isn’t a Taliban, is evil and deserves to die. Something similar happens with the mutants and the people of Waknuk in The Chrysalids. The people of Waknuk think all mutants should be killed. The village people find out about David Storm’s mutant powers along with all the other mutants. The people of Waknuk declare that the mutants are outlaws. David Storm and the rest of his mutant friends are forced to flee from the village, where the people of Waknuk, including David’s own father, pursue them. The villagers feel that â€Å"[A]ny creature that shall seem to be human, but is not formed thus is not human. It is neither man nor woman. It is blasphemy against the true Image of God, and hateful in the sight of God† (Wyndham, 13). This shows how these village people seem to think that these â€Å"mutants† are a threat to their village. They think that they need to take action, so they try to kill them, causing a war between the mutants and the people of Waknuk. Discrimination can also lead to depression. After Assef rapes Hassan for being Hazara, Hassan becomes very depressed and stops playing with Amir and never comes out of his room. Amir starts to get very worried about Hassan, everyone in the house thinks Hassan is just sick. Amir asks Ali â€Å"Would Hassan be able to play today? † (Hosseini, 85). Ali answers with â€Å"Lately, it seems all he wants to do is sleep. He does his chores- I see that- but then he just wants to crawl under his blanket† (Hosseini, 85). Showing how depressed Hassan is after being raped. Before the incident Hassan and Amir would play every day. Hassan was so happy before. It goes to show how discrimination can really lead to depression. He was raped because he didn’t want to give Assef his kite. So he was â€Å"punished† for not listening to Assef. If it had been Amir, it wouldn’t have happened because Amir is a Pashtun, the same religion as Assef. The Chrysalids also shows how discrimination can lead to depression. David Storm finds other people who have the same power as him; they all decide to keep this power a secret so they don’t get killed. One of the mutants named Anne wants to marry a â€Å"normal person†. The group thinks that if she were to marry this man, she would tell him about them. Anne ends up marrying him but sadly a week later he is found dead in the forest. Anne goes through a deep depression and eventually kills herself. †Anne’s suicide was a tragedy, but no one saw any mystery about it. A young wife, pregnant with her first child, thrown off her mental balance by the shock of loosing her husband in such circumstances; it was a lamentable result, but understandable† (Wyndham, 93). This innocent man was murdered by one of the mutants because if she had told him, he would have told the rest of the people in the village, causing the mutants to be murdered. If the towns people didn’t hate the mutants as much as they did the mutants never would have had to kill an innocent man, but they did it for survival. These Village people of Waknuk think that these â€Å"mutants† are a threat, they are so scared of them that they think they must kill them. Anne would still be alive if they people of Waknuk were different, so would her husband. Death, war and depression were all demonstrated because of discrimination in both novels. Discrimination leads to death in both novels, Hassan is killed for being a Hazara and David’s best friend Sophie is killed for being a mutant. Discrimination also leads to war in both novels. The Talibans started a war in Afghanistan because they thought that they were better then everyone else. The people of Waknuk thought that the mutants were a threat to their village so they tried to kill them, causing a war between the two. Depression is also shown because of discrimination. After Hassan was raped for being a Hazara he stopped playing with Amir and never wanted to leave his room. Anne, a mutant, went threw deep depression after her husband was murdered and she eventually committed suicide while she was pregnant. People need to stop treating people different for the way they look, the way they talk, etc. If discrimination ceased in this world, there would not be as many problems as there is today.

Free Essays on Pop Art

Pop Art Pop art was a movement that wasn’t so much a style, as a shared viewpoint about the artist’s modern environment. Some believe that pop art came about as a direct reaction against abstract impressionism. But the art is deeper than simply a rebellion; it allows a new perspective on culture. This perspective being the realization and acceptance of the twentieth century’s commercial culture that emerged out of the Second World War in a need by the public to reinvent the way they see their ordinary lives. When President Roosevelt formed the Works Progress Administration in 1935 to help artists through the depression, it had a stimulating affect on the New York art scene. Artists could meet together and discuss, and soon they saw that you didn’t need to go to Paris to paint, the artist simply needed to embrace his own confidence and knowledge and experience to produce fine art. Many European painters had been in New York at this point participating in the New York art scene, so when they returned home, many to England where simultaneously another independent pop art movement had started, there was a newfound reverence for American art, and culture. The enthusiastic, and ironic, paintings of these artists chose to embrace what the German called Capitalist Realism. The artists chose to incorporate the mass media and this consumerism into their art, both celebrating it and critiquing it. These artists painted for the now, they didn’t use an object, whether it be a symbol, person, or situation, until it was already well known to its audience in its usual setting. They highlighted not the commonplace in a painting, but the commonplace as a painting. Each artist in this movement had their own way to express their take on Capitalist Realism. One of the first English pop artists was Richard Hamilton, who defined pop art to him as, â€Å"popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmi... Free Essays on Pop Art Free Essays on Pop Art Pop Art Pop art was a movement that wasn’t so much a style, as a shared viewpoint about the artist’s modern environment. Some believe that pop art came about as a direct reaction against abstract impressionism. But the art is deeper than simply a rebellion; it allows a new perspective on culture. This perspective being the realization and acceptance of the twentieth century’s commercial culture that emerged out of the Second World War in a need by the public to reinvent the way they see their ordinary lives. When President Roosevelt formed the Works Progress Administration in 1935 to help artists through the depression, it had a stimulating affect on the New York art scene. Artists could meet together and discuss, and soon they saw that you didn’t need to go to Paris to paint, the artist simply needed to embrace his own confidence and knowledge and experience to produce fine art. Many European painters had been in New York at this point participating in the New York art scene, so when they returned home, many to England where simultaneously another independent pop art movement had started, there was a newfound reverence for American art, and culture. The enthusiastic, and ironic, paintings of these artists chose to embrace what the German called Capitalist Realism. The artists chose to incorporate the mass media and this consumerism into their art, both celebrating it and critiquing it. These artists painted for the now, they didn’t use an object, whether it be a symbol, person, or situation, until it was already well known to its audience in its usual setting. They highlighted not the commonplace in a painting, but the commonplace as a painting. Each artist in this movement had their own way to express their take on Capitalist Realism. One of the first English pop artists was Richard Hamilton, who defined pop art to him as, â€Å"popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmi...