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IX.4 July 2002
Page: 43
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Train of Thoughts: Designing the Effective Web Experience

John Lenker

New Riders Publishing, 2002
ISBN 0735711747
$40.00

Is creativity the enemy of usability? How do you judge the success of a person's experience interacting with a Web enterprise? Is the effectiveness of an online resource defined only by how "usable" it is? In Train of Thoughts-Designing the Effective Web Experience, Web strategy and design consultant John C. Lenker, Jr. provides insight for how. Web enterprises must interact with people to be successful in the twenty-first century.

This book is non-technical and is written not only for Web designers and developers, but also for any stakeholder in a Web enterprise that has a vested interest in ensuring that their online resources become more meaningful and valuable. In Train of Thoughts, you'll learn to: understand what motivates people's online behavior and then convert that motivation into online results, communicate with people effectively online so that they really understand what the value proposition of an online resource is, combine forward-thinking information design techniques with systems that pave experiential pathways for people to journey along in pursuit of their interests and goals, properly employ personalization to build relationships, understand the true role of creativity online, uncover screen-space designs that aid and inspire the mind, reconcile business objectives with stakeholder needs, approach process in a way that keeps projects on time, on budget, and on target, create online resources that actually work when they're completed, and actualize creative vision appropriately for the Web.

Cognitive Modeling

Edited by Thad A. Polk and Colleen M. Seifert

MIT Press, 2002
ISBN 0262661160
$55.00

Computational modeling plays a central role in cognitive science. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to computational models of human cognition. It covers major approaches and architectures, both neural network and symbolic; major theoretical issues; and specific computational models of a variety of cognitive processes, ranging from low-level (e.g., attention and memory) to higher-level (e.g., language and reasoning). The articles included in the book provide original descriptions of developments in the field. The emphasis is on implemented computational models rather than on mathematical or non-formal approaches, and on modeling empirical data from human subjects.

Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies

Ben Shneiderman

MIT Press, 2002
ISBN 0262194767
$24.95

Ben Shneiderman's book dramatically raises computer users' expectations of what they should get from technology. He opens their eyes to new possibilities and invites them to think freshly about future technology. He challenges developers to build products that better support human needs and that are usable at any bandwidth. Shneiderman proposes Leonardo da Vinci as an inspirational muse for the "new computing." He wonders how Leonardo would use a laptop and what applications he would create.

Shneiderman shifts the focus from what computers can do to what users can do. A key transformation is to what he calls "universal usability," enabling participation by young and old, novice and expert, able and disabled. This transformation would empower those yearning for literacy or coping with their limitations. Shneiderman proposes new computing applications in education, medicine, business, and government. He envisions a World Wide Med that delivers secure patient histories in local languages at any emergency room and thriving million-person communities for e-commerce and e-government. Raising larger questions about human relationships and society, he explores the computer's potential to support creativity, consensus-seeking, and conflict resolution. Each chapter ends with a Skeptic's Corner that challenges assumptions about trust, privacy, and digital divides.

Social Thinking—Software Practice

Edited by Yvonne Dittrich, Christiane Floyd and Ralf Klischewski

MIT Press, 2002
ISBN 0262042045
$55.00

Software practice—which includes software development, design, and use—needs to go beyond the traditional engineering framework. Drawing on a variety of social theory approaches, this book focuses on interdisciplinary cooperation in software practice. The topics discussed include the facilitation of collaborative software development, communication between developers and users, and the embedding of software systems in organizations.

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Built for Use: Driving Profitability Through the User Experience
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Computer Supported Collaborative Work—Making Information Aware: A Special Issue of the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
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Requirements By Collaboration
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