RESEARCH QUESTION: Does Online "Working Out Work" as a Treatment and Prevention for Depression in Older Adults? An Analysis of a Prescribed and Monitored Exercise Program Administered via the Internet for Senior Adults with Depression.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate and access the effectiveness of an online prescribed and monitored exercise program for the treatment of depression in Older Adults. The Dependent Variable for the study is Depression. The Independent Variable for the study is the Effects of Exercise administered via the Internet and the population is geriatric adults defined as senior adults aged 50 and older. Depression is defined by Princeton University Scholars (Wordnet, 2006) as a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity.
METHODS: The presence and severity of depression will be assessed by using The Merck Manual of Geriatrics (GDS-15) Geriatric Depression Scale. Assessments will be performed at baseline, before and after the treatment is concluded. The subjects will complete the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) prior to participating in an exercise program three times per week.
LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH: The limitations of this study are: 1) There is a small sample size limited to Senior Adults aged 50 - 80, and 2) there is no control group with structured activity or placebo, therefore researcher is unable to evaluate if the marked improvement was due to a non-specific therapeutic effect associated with taking part in a social activity (group online exercise program). Further research could compare and analyze the positive effects of a muscular strength training exercise program verses a cardiovascular training exercise program.

The WaterSim America is an interactive iPad game app included with the exhibition that takes users through several scenarios and asks them to make decisions about how their town’s water supply should be distributed among a variety of user groups, including townspeople, farming, industry, and energy. The purpose of this applied project was to design user personas which will be used by the developers at Arizona State University’s (ASU) Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) to improve the Smithsonian’s WaterSim America app (SWSA) that they designed for the new Smithsonian Institute’s Water Ways Traveling Exhibition (SWWTE) and to recommend improvements to the app. To do this, I created a contextual inquiry with select SWWTE user groups in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to observe the app in the context of use. The primary goal of this research was to observe potential users engaging with the app and then interview them about their experiences with the app. Based on the research, I offer six recommendations to improve the educational value of the WSAA. This report includes the research methods of this study, participants’ feedback and seven user personas based on the research.

Operational materials--the procedural guidelines provided to front line employees of Banner Bank--act as a guide to completing complex banking transactions. Being able to successfully navigate these materials and complete the complex transactions are essential to meeting both the client's expectations and maintaining federal regulations. However, employees have noted a lack of usability with these materials, resulting in confusion and frustration while trying to navigate the operational materials to successfully complete client requests. Employees who try to use these guides commit errors that result in negative client impact, as well as putting the bank at risk for being out of compliance with federal regulations. To analyze and address this situation, I designed a usability test and deployed a survey given to division branch management.

The purpose of this project is to show how to develop research-based criteria and how to apply them to a specific product, Evernote's iOS mobile help tool. Initial research involved analyzing current usability research publications by performing the following steps: coding each sample for most frequent usability criteria, clarifying and simplifying each entry, reorganizing the content in each code for frequency, and combining each topic in the new organizational structure to create a single set of research-based usability guidelines. The new guidelines were used to evaluated Getting Started and Getting Started Guide from the perspective of a non-business, English-speaking, novice iOS user. The final step resulted in the following list of recommendations to improve the user experience: review and adjust the navigation design, reconsider the information design to ensure that it reflects the wide variety of users and platforms, adjust the visual design to meet cultural expectations and user needs, and edit content for clarity, word choice, and grammatical style.

This project compiled findings from both primary and secondary applied research on the design and content structure on the current knowledge bases (KB) of product related documentation for the accesso Siriusware product suite. The findings from the research and study improved understanding surrounding our end-user perceptions of knowledge base functionality and usability. In addition, the findings became the framework for building an implementation strategy to improve knowledge base design and development. The implementation strategy is included in the report, and these findings will be used to update documentation and develop the KB.

The field of radio broadcast requires the cohesion of several different skill sets in order to be a success. KHEA Radio has used a traditional form of teaching, which means taking a one-on-one approach. Taking this approach has worked for years in the past and has been the only option for teaching. The down side to this method of teaching is that it requires one seasoned employee to stop their work and take the time to train a new employee. Because of the significant void in the area of instructional content for radio sound engineering, my co-worker and I had to troubleshoot this console and basically teach ourselves its functions. I saw the need for better instructional content on the Internet and in print based on my own experiences. The skills used to create the following instructional content were gained from course work at Arizona State University. The graduate department of Technical Communication makes every effort to equip students with varied skills that can be applied to different fields within the overall scheme of technical communication. This guide serves as a tool for radio broadcast novices to learn the basics of sound board operation.

YourBrandPartner.com exists to provide content to those seeking specific advice and information on purchasing custom promotional items. For this investigation, I conducted a usability test with a select user group to identify user experience issues. The primary goal of this research was to conduct general usability testing through large group survey and a small in-person usability testing group. I designed surveys and tests to investigate if users experienced difficulties in finding the information they were looking for on the website. Based on the results of this study, I recommend reviewing the visual design of the website, increasing site speed, creating a better experience between the blog and e- commerce interactions, and creating an environment that is more accommodating of where the user is in the buying process. This full report includes expanded participant feedback, methodology behind the study, and full recommendations for improvement.