Showing papers on "Computer user satisfaction published in 2012"

Assessing the effects of service quality and justice on customer satisfaction and the continuance intention of mobile value-added services: An empirical test of a multidimensional model

Abstract: Understanding the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction in the mobile communications market is important. This study explores the effects of service quality and justice on customer satisfaction, which, in turn, affects continuance intention of mobile services. Service quality, justice and customer satisfaction were measured by multiple dimensions. A research model was developed based on this multidimensional approach and was empirically examined with data collected from about one thousand users of mobile value-added services in China. Results show that all three dimensions of service quality (interaction quality, environment quality and outcome quality) have significant and positive effects on cumulative satisfaction while only one dimension of service quality (interaction quality) has a significant and positive effect on transaction-specific satisfaction. Besides procedural justice, the other two dimensions of justice (distributive justice and interactional justice) significantly influence both transaction-specific satisfaction and cumulative satisfaction. Furthermore, both types of customer satisfaction have significant and positive effects on continuance intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

User Experience Design

Abstract: In den letzten Jahren hat sich in der Entwicklung von Softwareprodukten einiges verandert. Durch die immer starkere Verbreitung des Internets und die zunehmende Globalisierung ist der Wettbewerb internationaler geworden.

User Satisfaction with Information Technology Service Delivery: A Social Capital Perspective

Abstract: Existing research has long considered service quality as a primary determinant of user satisfaction with information technology (IT) service delivery. In response to the knowledge-intensive and collaborative nature of IT service delivery in the contemporary business context, we advance the theoretical understanding of user satisfaction by re-conceptualizing IT service delivery as a bilateral, relational process between the IT staff and users. Based on this reconceptualization, we draw on social capital theory to examine the antecedents of user satisfaction with IT service delivery. Specifically, we posit that two major dimensions of social capital, i.e., cognitive capital and relational capital, not only positively affect user satisfaction but also strengthen the established relationship between service quality and user satisfaction. Furthermore, we propose that the effect of the other dimension of social capital---structural capital---on user satisfaction is fully mediated through cognitive capital and relational capital. A field study of 159 users in four financial companies provides general empirical support for our hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of user similarity in social media

Abstract: There are many settings in which users of a social media application provide evaluations of one another. In a variety of domains, mechanisms for evaluation allow one user to say whether he or she trusts another user, or likes the content they produced, or wants to confer special levels of authority or responsibility on them. Earlier work has studied how the relative status between two users - that is, their comparative levels of status in the group - affects the types of evaluations that one user gives to another.Here we study how similarity in the characteristics of two users can affect the evaluation one user provides of another. We analyze this issue under a range of natural similarity measures, showing how the interaction of similarity and status can produce strong effects. Among other consequences, we find that evaluations are less status-driven when users are more similar to each other; and we use effects based on similarity to provide a plausible mechanism for a complex phenomenon observed in studies of user evaluation, that evaluations are particularly low among users of roughly equal status.Our work has natural applications to the prediction of evaluation outcomes based on user characteristics, and the use of similarity information makes possible a novel application that we introduce here - to estimate the chance of a favorable overall evaluation from a group knowing only the attributes of the group's members, but not their expressed opinions.

Modeling user posting behavior on social media

Abstract: User generated content is the basic element of social media websites. Relatively few studies have systematically analyzed the motivation to create and share content, especially from the perspective of a common user. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive analysis of user posting behavior on a popular social media website, Twitter. Specifically, we assume that user behavior is mainly influenced by three factors: breaking news, posts from social friends and user's intrinsic interest, and propose a mixture latent topic model to combine all these factors. We evaluated our model on a large-scale Twitter dataset from three different perspectives: the perplexity of held-out content, the performance of predicting retweets and the quality of generated latent topics. The results were encouraging, our model clearly outperformed its competitors.

Service failure and recovery in using technology-based self-service: effects on user attributions and satisfaction

Abstract: This study examines service failure and recovery in using technology-based self-service (TBSS) systems to determine the effects of a variety of relevant factors on negative customer/user attributions to the service provider, to employees who try to help in recovery, and to the technology itself, as well as the effects on customer/user satisfaction with the failure/recovery experience. The findings show that immediate recovery of TBSS failures reduces negative attributions and increases customer/user satisfaction with the experience, as does a low-anxiety environment around the kiosk. Technology error (as opposed to user error) decreases user satisfaction. Employee assistance decreases negative attributions to the employee but increases negative attribution to the technology. Some interactions were found among the experimental factors that are also meaningful.

Implications of E-learning systems and self-efficiency on students outcomes: a model approach

Abstract: This paper presents a model approach to examine the relationships among e-learning systems, self-efficacy, and students' apparent learning results for university online courses. Independent variables included in this study are e-learning system quality, information quality, computer self-efficacy, system-use, self-regulated learning behavior and user satisfaction as prospective determinants of online learning results. An aggregate of 674 responses of students completing at least one online course from Wawasan Open University (WOU) Malaysia were used to fit the path analysis model. The results indicated that system quality, information quality, and computer self-efficacy all affected system use, user satisfaction, and self-managed learning behavior of students. Proposed path analytical model suggests that hypothesized variables are useful to forecast e-learning results

Towards adaptive information visualization: on the influence of user characteristics

Abstract: The long-term goal of our research is to design information visualization systems that adapt to the specific needs, characteristics, and context of each individual viewer. In order to successfully perform such adaptation, it is crucial to first identify characteristics that influence an individual user's effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with a particular information visualization type. In this paper, we present a study that focuses on investigating the impact of four user characteristics (perceptual speed, verbal working memory, visual working memory, and user expertise) on the effectiveness of two common data visualization techniques: bar graphs and radar graphs. Our results show that certain user characteristics do in fact have a significant effect on task efficiency, user preference, and ease of use. We conclude with a discussion of how our findings could be effectively used for an adaptive visualization system.

Mouse tracking: measuring and predicting users' experience of web-based content

Abstract: Previous studies have used mouse tracking as a tool to measure usability of webpages, user attention and search relevance. In this paper, we go beyond measurement of user behavior to prediction of the resulting user experience from mouse patterns alone. Specifically, we identify mouse markers that can predict user frustration and reading struggles at reasonably high accuracy. We believe that mouse-based prediction of user experience is an important advance, and could potentially offer a scalable way to infer user experience on the web. In addition, we demonstrate that mouse tracking could be used for applications such as evaluating content layout and content noticeability; we apply this in particular to advertisements. More generally, it could be used to infer user attention in complex webpages containing images, text and varied content, including how attention patterns vary with page layout and user distraction.

Aggregated, interoperable and multi-domain user profiles for the social web

Abstract: User profiling techniques have mostly focused on retrieving and representing a user's knowledge, context and interests in order to provide recommendations, personalise search, and build user-adaptive systems. However, building a user profile on a single social network limits the quality and completeness of the profile, especially when interoperability of the profile is key and its reuse on different sites is necessary for providing other types of personalisation. Indeed recent studies have shown that users on the Social Web often use different social networking sites for diverse, and sometimes non-overlapping, purposes and interests. In this paper, we describe our methodology for the automatic creation and aggregation of interoperable and multi-domain user profiles of interests using semantic technologies. Moreover, we propose a user study on different user profiling techniques for social networking websites in general, and for Twitter and Facebook in particular. In this regard, based on the results of our user evaluation, we investigate (i) the accuracy of different methodologies for profiling, (ii) the effect of time decay functions on ranking user interests, and (iii) the benefits of merging different user models using semantic technologies.

System and method for social network trust assessment

Abstract: A first user's trust level with regard to a second user can be determined by providing questions to the second user, with the questions based on a previously-collected knowledge base including information about the first user. The information about the first user may be partitioned into levels of trust, and the second user's responses to the questions may be evaluated to determine which level of trust the second user is entitled to. The knowledge base may be assembled by prompting the first user for information and/or by scanning or otherwise collecting already-existing data about the first user. The knowledge base and/or trust assessment may be distributed across a network, and in some embodiments the knowledge base or parts thereof is distributed to other users according to the trust level of those users.

Designing Inclusive Interfaces Through User Modeling and Simulation

Abstract: Elderly and disabled people can be hugely benefited through the advancement of modern electronic devices, as those can help them to engage more fully with the world. However, existing design practices often isolate elderly or disabled users by considering them as users with special needs. This article presents a simulator that can reflect problems faced by elderly and disabled users while they use computer, television, and similar electronic devices. The simulator embodies both the internal state of an application and the perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes of its user. It can help interface designers to understand, visualize, and measure the effect of impairment on interaction with an interface. Initially a brief survey of different user modeling techniques is presented, and then the existing models are classified into different categories. In the context of existing modeling approaches the work on user modeling is presented for people with a wide range of abilities. A few applications of the simu...

Method and system for recommending content to a user

Abstract: Method, system, and programs for recommending content to a user. First information related to one or more previous users is first obtained. A model that maps from users to topics of interest is then established based on the first information related to the one or more previous users. Second information related to the current user is also obtained. One or more topics of interest are identified for the current user based on the model. Content is recommended to the current user in accordance with the one or more topics of interest for the current user. Eventually, an updated model is generated by integrating information associated with the current user with the model established based on the first information related to the one or more previous users. The information associated with the current user includes the second information related to the current user.

Systems and Methods to Facilitate Offer Sharing

Abstract: A computing apparatus is configured to use the transaction data of a user and the transaction data of the friends of the user to generate a profile to identify, select, and/or customize an offer that is initially communicated to the user. The offer is shareable by the user with the friends of the user. The computing apparatus is configured to monitor the transactions of the user and/or the friends of the user to detect a transaction that satisfies the redemption requirement of the offer and thus provide the benefit of the offer to the purchaser involved in the transaction, which may be the user or one of the friends of the user.

Personalizing web applications according to social network user profiles

Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for personalizing applications, such as web applications, based on social networking data. A system configured to practice the method first identifies a user of an application, such as by requesting the user to log in to or create a user profile. The system optionally requests authorization from the user to access the social networking data, such as if all or part of the social networking data is private. The system can cache the social networking data in order to save bandwidth or keep requests within the terms of service of a social networking API. The system can assign the user into a user category based on the social networking data, and customize a user interface of the application based on the social networking data and/or the user category by adjusting at least one of location, size, and appearance of a user interface element.

Exploiting user profile information for answer ranking in cQA

Abstract: Answer ranking is very important for cQA services due to the high variance in the quality of answers. Most existing works in this area focus on using various features or employing machine learning techniques to address this problem. Only a few of them noticed and involved user profile information in this particular task. In this work, we assume the close relationship between user profile information and the quality of their answers under the ground truth that user information records the user behaviors and histories as a summary. Thus, we exploited the effectiveness of three categories of user profile information, i.e. engagement-related, authority-related and level-related, on answer ranking in cQA. Different from previous work, we only employed the information which is easy to extract without any limitations, such as user privacy. Experimental results on Yahoo! Answers manner questions showed that our system by using the user profile information achieved comparable or even better results over the state-of-the-art baseline system. Moreover, we found that the picture existence of a user in cQA community contributed more than other information in the answer ranking task.

International Conference on Asia Pacific Business Innovation and Technology Management Information system acceptance and user satisfaction: The mediating role of trust

Abstract: Satisfying users is one of the crucial objectives of information system success. In addition, trust has been found as an important factor in information system studies. Although a large amount of research have been conducted to investigate and evaluate information system satisfaction, the role of trust that mediates the relationship between satisfaction and its acceptance antecedence still requires a close attention. This paper examines the role of trust that mediates the relationship between information system acceptance and user satisfaction. Selected domains from the past models are adapted and integrated with theoretical findings from prior IS satisfaction research to theorize a model of trust and satisfaction. Six hypotheses are derived and empirically validated. Findings of the study suggest ease of learning is related to ease of use; ease of use and information quality are the determinants of trust; and trust mediates the acceptance and satisfaction relationship. This study draws substantive attention to the requirement of understanding trust as a mediating variable in an information system context.

Context aware application model for connected devices

Abstract: An application management system is described herein that uses context information based on what the user is currently doing and what platform the user is using to determine which applications to offer to a user and to affect behavior of applications that the user invokes. The system provides a hardware/software driven policy manager coupled with context data in an application manifest to provide for device- and situation-specific application modes. Such a model leverages device-specific dynamics to create context aware installation, cataloging, management, interaction, and uninstallation of applications, hence providing better user engagement and experience. Thus, the application management system makes it easier for users to find relevant applications, configures applications to work well on the user's present device, and makes application experiences more relevant to what the user is currently doing.

User Experience: Buzzword or New Paradigm?

Abstract: This paper explores User Experience, a rather novel and popular view on human-computer interaction, through an extensive review of the literature. After introducing its polysemous nature, this paper describes the origins of User Experience, its scope, components and various definitions. Then, User Experience methods are surveyed, distinguishing processes, frameworks, and specific methods. The conclusion identifies a set of issues about the needs for increased User Experience maturity.

Measuring website quality: asymmetric effect of user satisfaction

Abstract: Website quality measurement tools have been largely static and have struggled to determine relevant attributes of user satisfaction. This study compares and contrasts attributes of user satisfaction based on usability guidelines seeking to identify practical easy-to-administer measurement tools. The website users assessed business school homepages according to six criteria and fulfilled a randomly assigned yet typical task. After completing the task, respondents assessed the same six website quality/satisfaction criteria again. The consumer–product relationship seems similar to the link between a user and a website. User satisfaction, just like consumer satisfaction, is asymmetric and non-linear. Content and navigation have been identified as key ingredients when users judged website quality, alerting web designers and website practitioners to focus more closely on those attributes. Similar lessons can be drawn for marketing professionals, who typically supervise or determine the content, structure and other website facets.

Measuring customer satisfaction of Internet banking in Taiwan: scale development and validation

Abstract: Internet banking is one of the most important e-services in electronic commerce; however, the lack of standardised instrument for evaluating its satisfaction may inhibit the further development of Internet banking. This study aims to develop and validate a standardised measurement regarding customer satisfaction with Internet banking (IBCS). The development process included examinations of user satisfaction literature, expert panels, and pilot studies. Web survey was used for data collection, with subjects of Internet banking customers. The result was a parsimonious 18-item instrument with six subscales (content, accuracy, format, ease of use, timeliness, and safety) tapping into dimensions of IBCS. Further, this study not only affirms that all items in prior user satisfaction studies are still valid in the context of Internet banking, but also reveals that safety issues need to be addressed by banks to improve user satisfaction of Internet banking. Because of this rigorous and systematic study, researche...

Goal based user interface for managing business solutions in an on demand environment

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally provide a goal-based graphical user interface for managing business solutions and more particularly, a user interface that helps a user manage and achieve the user's goals across multiple platforms for the solutions utilized by the goals. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention provide a system for managing goals that allows a user to create/customize specific user goals and/or modify existing goals to meet the user's needs.

Relative expertise scores and recommendations

Abstract: Content recommendations customized to a user's knowledge are provided. The user's knowledge is assessed from the user's activity history and the expertise of the user regarding each of the various topics relative to a cohort group is determined. Based on the user's score, the user can be classified into various competency levels ranging from a novice to an expert in each topic. Content items for improving the user's scores in the various topics can be forwarded based on the user's classification and activity history. If the user is recognized as an expert in a particular topic, questions from other users regarding the particular topic can be directed to the user for the responses.

Method and apparatus for personalized marketing

Abstract: The system provides personalized marketing combined with the user satisfaction of gamified applications and playing games, which provides a unique offer presentation entertainment solution with the computer implemented capacity to personalize offers. The system includes a learning module that collects data and behavioral information from each user and customizes advertising, offers, and even application utility/play for the user. Over time, the system provides interaction with the user that provides consumer opportunities that are more likely to be accepted by the user.

Users' perceptions of usability and aesthetics as criteria of pre- and post-use preferences

Abstract: This study focuses on a better understanding of user preferences based on perceived usability and perceived aesthetics. For this, previous studies on the relationships among perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, user performance and user preference are reviewed with the consideration of occurrence of actual use, and their findings are summarised and analysed in terms of relationships of interest, variable measurements, experimental domains, participant types, usability/aesthetics manipulations, and performance measures. The study also considers possible reasons of conflicting findings for the relationship between perceived usability and perceived aesthetics after actual use. A conceptual model for user preferences is constructed to show the processes of users’ preference-making before and during/after actual use and to emphasise mutual influences and feedback loops in user experience. Finally, several suggestions for future research are made to confirm or clarify existing findings by considering various influential factors.

Domain expertise determination

Abstract: A user's domain expertise may be estimated through several factors by monitoring different aspects of a user's interaction with a web browser. Based on the user's domain expertise, search results may be presented to the user that is commensurate with their expertise, resulting in a more efficient and productive on line session. A user's expertise in a knowledge domain may be determined from the user's behavior, including analyzing search queries, monitoring how the user navigates between and through websites, and analyzing the specific cites visited. As a user interacts with a browser, the user's estimated domain expertise may be updated and used to provide appropriate and useful search results. In many embodiments, a user may have different expertise levels for different technical domains.

Public websites and human–computer interaction: an empirical study of measurement of website quality and user satisfaction

Abstract: The focus of this paper is to investigate measurement of website quality and user satisfaction. More specifically, the paper reports on a study investigating whether users of high-quality public websites are more satisfied than those of low-quality websites. Adopting a human–computer interaction perspective, we have gathered data from the 2009 public website awards in Scandinavia. Our analysis of Norwegian and Danish websites reveals that the use of quality criteria is highly technical compared to the traditional usability testing focus on efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of the actual system use by representatives. A Pearson correlation analysis of user evaluation from 296 websites that participated in the Danish web award Bedst pa Nettet ‘Top of the Web’ showed no significant positive correlation between website quality and user satisfaction. We put forward recommendations for further investigation: 1 inclusion of real users citizens and businesses in real-use setting in the evaluation process could help move forward the understanding of the relationship between website quality and end-user satisfaction; 2 the lack of correlation between website quality and user satisfaction could be a point of departure for critical discussions of future implementation of public information and services and 3 additional and in-depth research of the measurement of website quality in the public sector, user expectations and the impacts of website quality improvements on user satisfaction.

Emotion-based user identification for online experiences

Abstract: Emotional response data of a particular user, when the particular user is interacting with each of multiple other users, is collected. Using the emotional response data, an emotion of the particular user when interacting with each of multiple other users is determined. Based on the determined emotions, one or more of the multiple other users are identified to share an online experience with the particular user.