Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Usability Inspection Methods After 15 Years Of Research And Practice, Tasha Hollingsed, David Novick

Selected Works Temporary Series

Usability inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluation, the cognitive walkthrough, formal usability inspections, and the pluralistic usability walkthrough, were introduced fifteen years ago. Since then, these methods, analyses of their comparative effectiveness, and their use have evolved in different ways. In this paper, we track the fortunes of the methods and analyses, looking at which led to use and to further research, and which led to relative methodological dead ends. Heuristic evaluation and the cognitive walkthrough appear to be the most actively used and researched techniques. The pluralistic walkthrough remains a recognized technique, although not the subject of significant further …

A Computational Model Of Culture-Specific Conversational Behavior, Dusan Jan, David Herrera, Bilyana Martinovski, David Novick, David Traum

Selected Works Temporary Series

This paper presents a model for simulating cultural differences in the conversational behavior of virtual agents. The model provides parameters for differences in proxemics, gaze and overlap in turn taking.We present a review of literature on these factors and show results of a study where native speakers of Nrth American English, Mexican Spanish and Arabic were asked to rate the realism of the simulations generated based on different cultural parameters with respect to their culture.

A Novel Class Of Metal-Directed Supramolecular Dna-Delivery Systems, Juan Noveron

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Single-Crystal To Single-Crystal Phase Transitions Of Bis(N-Phenylisonicotinamide)Silver(I) Nitrate Reveal Cooperativity Properties In Porous Molecular Materials, Juan Noveron

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Single-Crystal To Single-Crystal Phase Transitions Of Bis(N-Phenylisonicotinamide)Silver(I) Nitrate Reveal Cooperativity Properties In Porous Molecular Materials, Juan Noveron

Departmental Papers (Chemistry)

No abstract provided.

A Novel Class Of Metal-Directed Supramolecular Dna-Delivery Systems, Juan Noveron

Departmental Papers (Chemistry)

No abstract provided.

Integrated Geophysical Data Processing And Interpretation Of Crustal Structure In Ethiopia With Emphasis On The Ogaden Basin And Adjacent Areas, Ketsela Tadesse

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The combined effects of magmatism and stretching due to asthenosphere upwelling modifies the crustal structure of the Earth as seen in the Ethiopian rift and adjacent areas. The Ethiopian rift provides unique opportunities to understand the nature of rifted crust and the intensity of its modification by magmatic processes. I used geological and geophysical data to conduct an integrated study in and around the Ethiopian rift including the northern Kenyan rift and the northern part of the Kenyan dome. New gravity, controlled source seismic, and teleseismic data from the EAGLE (Ethiopia-Afar Geoscientific Lithospheric Experiment) were used as additional constraints in …

What Users Say They Want In Documentation, David Novick, Karen Ward

Selected Works Temporary Series

While earlier work provided a partial view of users’ preferences about manuals, for most users in most work contexts the important question remains open: What do users want in documentation? This paper presents the results of a study in which a diverse cross-section of 25 users was interviewed in depth about their needs and preferences with respect to software help systems, whether printed or on-line, that they use at work. The study’s participants indicated that they preferred documentation, whether online or printed, that is easy to navigate, provides explanations at an appropriate level of technical detail, enables finding as well …

Why Don't People Read The Manual?, David Novick, Karen Ward

Selected Works Temporary Series

Few users of computer applications seek help from the documentation. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of why this is so and examines how, in real work, users solve their usability problems. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 subjects representing a varied cross-section of users, we find that users do avoid using both paper and online help systems. Few users have paper manuals for the most heavily used applications, but none complained about their lack. Online help is more likely to be consulted than paper manuals, but users are equally likely to report that they solve their …

Co-Generation Of Text And Graphics, David Novick, Brian Lowe

Selected Works Temporary Series

content in documentation, it is possible to produce both text and graphics from a single common source. One approach to co-generation of text and graphics uses a single logical specification; a second approach starts with CAD-based representation and produces a corresponding textual account. This paper explores these two different approaches, reports the results of using prototypes embodying the approaches to represent simple figures, and discusses issues that were identified through use of the prototypes. While it appears feasible to co-generate text and graphics automatically, the process raises deep issues of design of communications, including the intent of the producer of …

Usability Over Time, Valerie Mendoza, David Novick

Selected Works Temporary Series

Testing of usability could perhaps be more accurately described as testing of learnability. We know more about the problems of novice users than we know of the problems of experienced users. To understand how these problems differ, and to understand how usability problems change as users change from novice to experienced, we conducted a longitudinal study of usability among middle-school teachers creating Web sites. The study looked at the use both the use of documentation and the underlying software, tracking the causes and extent of user frustration over eight weeks. We validated a categorization scheme for frustration episodes. We found …

Root Causes Of Lost Time And User Stress In A Simple Dialog System, Nigel Ward, Anais Rivera, Karen Ward, David Novick

Selected Works Temporary Series

As a priority-setting exercise, we compared interactions between users and a simple spoken dialog system to interactions between users and a human operator. We observed usability events, places in which system behavior differed from human behavior, and for each we noted the impact, root causes, and prospects for improvement. We suggest some priority issues for research, involving not only such core areas as speech recognition and synthesis and language understanding and generation, but also less-studied topics such as adaptive or flexible timeouts, turn-taking and speaking rate.

Symmetry Operator For The Maxwell Equations, Jose O. Andrade

Graduate Student Papers (Physics)

In this work is shown that when the background space-time is type D solution of the Einstein vacuum equations with or without cosmological constant, a symmetry operator can be found for the Maxwell equations, as a consequence of that each component of the electromagnetic spinor satisfies a decoupled equation and that all the vacuum type D metrics admit a two index Killing spinor. Besides, the Maxwell equations are solved when the background space-time is the Carter A metric.

The Quantum Anharmonic Potential With The Linear Delta Expansion, Luis M. Sandoval

Graduate Student Papers (Physics)

In this report the problem of solving the Schrödinger equation for an anharmonic potential is treated using the technique known as the linear delta expansion. The method works by identifying three different scales in the problem: an asymptotic scale, which depends uniquely on the form of the potential at large distances; an intermediate scale, still characterized by an exponential decay of the wavefunction; and, finally, a short distance scale, in which the wavefunction is sizable. The method is found to be suitable to obtain both energy eigenvalues and wavefunctions.

The Rotundity Of Large Planetary Objects, Adesanwo Moradeyo

Graduate Student Papers (Physics)

The most obvious structural feature of planetary bodies is their roundness. This arises because of the dominate roles of the two effects of gravity and case of the deformation of matter, whether gas, liquid or solid. This project is about proving and solving out the time scale (τ ) of flow restoring the body to spherical shape when we consider a slightly deformed self-gravitating sphere and also checking for spherical of different planetary objects.

Modelling Stochastic Gene Expression, Olienka Patricia Fernandez

Graduate Student Papers (Physics)

No abstract provided.

Physica: The Newsletter Of Utep's Department Of Physics, Utep Department Of Physics

The Department of Physics

Electronic newsletter of UTEP's Department of Physics, December 2003.

Physica: The Newsletter Of Utep’S Department Of Physics, Utep Department Of Physics

The Department of Physics

Electronic newsletter of the UTEP Department of Physics, February 2003.

Physica Junior!: The Newsletter Of Utep’S Department Of Physics, Utep Department Of Physics

The Department of Physics

Electronic newsletter for high school students interested in physics, Fall 2002.

On Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods For Neural Networks, Raul Cruz-Cano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neural Networks (NN) have been used successfully to solve many different problems. It is an area of computer science and statistics that is very useful in real life. The advantages of NN consist of their ability to produce nonlinear input-output mapping, their adaptability, fault tolerance, uniform analysis and design. The search for better ways to train them consists of trying to find the optimal values of their free parameters. Some of these training algorithms are based on Markov Chains. They have some advantages over the traditionally used deterministic methods. In this document the main ideas related to these concepts are …

Physica: The Newsletter Of Utep's Department Of Physics, Utep Department Of Physics

The Department of Physics

Electronic newsletter for the UTEP Department of Physics, Spring 2002.

Physica Junior!: The Newsletter Of Utep's Department Of Physics, Utep Department Of Physics

The Department of Physics

Electronic newsletter for high school students interested in Physics, Spring 2002.

Lithospheric Structure Of The Basin And Range Province-Southwestern Colorado Plateau. Southeastern California, Southern Nevada, And Western Arizona, Nigel Oakley Hicks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Basin and Range Province of the western United States is an unusually wide continental rift zone and its structure and evolution have been the topic of much debate. Active source seismic surveys within the Basin and Range Province have delineated a relatively uniform crustal thickness (-30 km) despite varying magnitudes of crustal extension (<10-300 km). Large scale Cenozoic crustal extension has exhumed midcrustal rocks (from 10-20 km depth) along low angle detachment faults to create metamorphic core complexes (exposed lower plate rocks). In contrast to the extreme amounts of extension and internal deformation of the Basin and Range, the Colorado Plateau has remained a relatively rigid block, with a crustal thickness of 40-50 km, apparently resistant to the deformation processes that have shaped the Basin and Range observed today. In general, geophysical surveys reveal a significant contrast in crustal structure between the Basin and Range and it's transition into the Colorado Plateau.

The debate about the origin of the Basin and Range has underscored the need for additional geophysical constraints. Thus in this study, a regional analysis of lithospheric structure in the region of southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona that includes the Basin and Rangesouthwestern …

Evolution Of Quaternary Intraplate Mafic Lavas Detailed Using Helium-3 Surface Exposure And Argon-40/Argon-39 Dating, And Elemental And Helium, Strontium, Neodymium And Lead Isotopic Signatures: Potrillo Volcanic Field, New Mexico, United States Of America And San Quintin Volcanic Field, Baja California Norte, Mexico, Wendi Joan Whitehead Williams

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Pleistocene Potrillo volcanic field (PVF) resides within the southern axis of the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, U.S.A., near the eastern extent of the Basin and Range Province. Its alkalic mafic volcanism has resulted in several hundred cones, flows and maars distributed over approximately 4,600 km2. Alignments are segregated into two halves relative to the East Robledo fault system that dissects this field. Three of the five maars have brought peridotitic and lower to upper crustal xenoliths to the surface; several older, non maar-related flows from the west half of the field host ultramafic clots. Stratigraphic relationships, 3He surface …

Weighing Evidence In Sexual Abuse Evaluations: An Introduction To Bayes's Theorem, James Wood

Selected Works Temporary Series

This article introduces readers to Bayes' theorem, a simple mathematical formula that can illuminate general issues and assist evaluators in the field of child sexual abuse. The theorem is applied to a case study of sexual abuse allegations that arose during a custody dispute.

Weighing Evidence In Sexual Abuse Evaluations: An Introduction To Bayes's Theorem, James Wood

Departmental Papers (Psych)

This article introduces readers to Bayes' theorem, a simple mathematical formula that can illuminate general issues and assist evaluators in the field of child sexual abuse. The theorem is applied to a case study of sexual abuse allegations that arose during a custody dispute.