HCI Reading Journal - Journal #2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HCI Reading Journal - Journal #2 - Research Paper Example However I must add that an interface goes beyond this. It might sound strange but I think I have some emotional attachment to my Smartphone its interface is so interactive and convenient that I sometimes feel incomplete without it. It has totally changed m experience in many ways. My nephew who is about 2 years is fond of me; he would jump at the sound of my voice. But that was before I realized that after the normal hug he would go straight for my phone and keep pressing the screen and motioning me to open an application that has an animation of a cat that would repeat any sound he makes. I could see he was excited and totally loved it. I thought this was normal but once we started this class I was able to understand the role played by design. According to Heim (2008), cognitive aspect of design determines the effectiveness of the interface. At this early age the kid was able to create a perception of the interface and consequently create an attachment. In essence, the interface was able to achieve its purpose due to the adequate thought put into its cognitive design. In my local town, there is an ATM boot that has three ATM machines placed in one row. The machines work alright and are very convenient. I did not see any problem in this setup until I read in Heims text about the consideration of public computers in relation to work space. In his argument, Heim (2008) postulates that design should consider the working space needed for a particular device. This opened my mind regarding the ATM machines; the working space is so small you literally can brush your shoulders when moving from one machine to another. This not only affects the comfort that should be accorded to a public computer but most importantly infringes on privacy. This is something that needs to be addressed in public computing devices that are used by hundreds of people in a

Technology Does Wonderful Things For People But It Also Enables Them Research Paper

Technology Does Wonderful Things For People But It Also Enables Them to Isolate Themselves - Research Paper Example Although technology has helped in the development of the world, the recent arguments accused technology to impose certain ill-effects by isolating people restricting them to socialize. The arguments have mostly been concentrated on the grounds that people get socially isolated owing to their favoritism of game consoles or their experiences of internet bullying (â€Å"How Technology Affects Us†). Thesis Statement The discussion would emphasize on the development of technology and correspondingly on its role in causing social isolation. Stating precisely, the objective of the essay would be to evaluate the reality behind accusing technology to cause isolation among individuals in the current day context. Thus, the discussion henceforth will attempt to analyze the various advantages and limitations of technology which especially concentrates on its functions as a means of communication and a driver of globalization. Discussion Social isolation is referred to the act of developing a gap or distance between an individual and their belonging community which further results in lessened interaction of people with their surroundings. In the modern phenomenon, one frequently attributed reason for social isolation, especially among teenagers has been indicated towards the ill-effects of rapidly increasing influence of technology on modern lifestyles. It has been thus argued that people are getting immensely attached to game consoles as well as social networking sites which cause a negative impact on the society in terms of isolating individuals by limiting their reasons to interact with the outer world (Biordi & Nicholson 68-115). Conversely, from a generalized perspective, the advancement of technology has been signified to facilitate better interaction of communities throughout the world involving web services as well as mobile phones. For instance, the numerous social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, Linkedin, MySpace and Spoke are immense ly popular among people today. These sites are mainly used with the purpose of interacting with people anywhere in the world which apparently presents an opposing perspective towards the criticism of technology acting as a causing factor of social isolation (â€Å"Social Networking Sites; More Harm than Good?†). However, stating for or in favor of the argued statement, human beings are revealed to get immensely attached to televisions and game consoles which restricts them from socializing within the community and their surroundings. Today, people are getting hugely immersed with technological gadgets which cause a negative impact on the socializing activities of individuals. For instance, technology advancements as video games have immensely affected the young generation as well as adults being increasingly preferred as relaxation activities by people. It is in this context that recent researches reveal playing video games continuously as well as deciphering excessive depend ence on it may cause an individual to minimize interaction with their surroundings. Hence, in a way, playing excessive video games may isolate an individual from the society. It may also develop an unfavorable affect on the behavior of an individual as many games may be designed with the inclusion of violent contents. Apart from isolating