"Human–Computer Interaction." The phrase suggests a binary ontology: humans are here, computers are there, and HCI is where the twain meet.
This is not so, and Gupta (2012) explains why. There are two "main terms," Gupta says, "which are now defined under [HCI's] branch...: functionality and usability." Functionality comprises the set of actions and services that a user can take; usability corresponds to the range with which the user can this use the system (p. 1736). It appears to me, from his very setup, that Gupta is trying to integrate the user and the computer.
Tidal's (2012) case study of a university library's website presents an application of an integrated understanding of HCI. Tidal does not use all of Gupta's (2012) terminology, nor does he spend as much time analyzing the system side as Gupta's methodology might suggest (possibly because the content management system that Tidal studied "utilizes a 'what you see is what you get' (WYSIWYG) embedded editor...;" Tidal, 2012, p. 91). But Tidal's attention is free-floating--"Users were observed and asked to 'think aloud'" (p. 92)--and he responds to users' behaviors by considering, on the one hand, whether the website needs to be updated, and, on the other, where the users are coming from (e.g., from a place unfamiliar with "library jargon;" p. 95).
The upshot of Gupta's and Tidal's studies: researchers looking to do right by HCI must hold humans and computers in their minds at once.
Tidal's (2012) case study of a university library's website presents an application of an integrated understanding of HCI. Tidal does not use all of Gupta's (2012) terminology, nor does he spend as much time analyzing the system side as Gupta's methodology might suggest (possibly because the content management system that Tidal studied "utilizes a 'what you see is what you get' (WYSIWYG) embedded editor...;" Tidal, 2012, p. 91). But Tidal's attention is free-floating--"Users were observed and asked to 'think aloud'" (p. 92)--and he responds to users' behaviors by considering, on the one hand, whether the website needs to be updated, and, on the other, where the users are coming from (e.g., from a place unfamiliar with "library jargon;" p. 95).
The upshot of Gupta's and Tidal's studies: researchers looking to do right by HCI must hold humans and computers in their minds at once.
References
Gupta, R. (2012). Human Computer Interaction—A modern overview. International Journal of Computer Technology & Application, 3, 1736-1740.
Tidal, J. (2012). Creating a user-centered library homepage: A case study. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 28, 90-100.
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