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The role of ontology in the organizational learning cycle is established by proposing a conceptual model and by introducing history representation on ontology display. It is hypothesized that history representation in an ontology display helps organizational learning by facilitating individual learning and that compatibility between the methods of ontology display and those of history representation is important to improve individual learning performance.

An intranet portal is considered as an information infrastructure (organizational memory information system, OMIS) supporting organizational learning. The properties and the hierarchical structure of information and knowledge in an intranet portal OMIS was identified as a problem for navigation tools of an intranet portal interface.

A research to develop a predictive model for quantifying the risk of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among video-display terminal (VDT) operators was conducted. The study involved 100 female participants, 45 of which were diagnosed with CTS and 55 without CTS. The resulting model accurately identified 73%, from both the CTS and non-CTS groups. After cross validation, the model accurately identified 69% of the CTS group and 65% of the non-CTS group.

Task presentation concerns how information is presented. Previous studies of differences between the alphanumeric presentation and the graphic presentation of task information have reported inconclusive or inconsistent results because the effect of task structure and its interaction with task presentation have been ignored. This study explored the compatibility between task presentation and task structure. Two forms of task presentation, namely, the alphanumeric presentation and the graphic presentation, were examined. Two types of task structure, namely, linear procedural and conditional branching, were examined. A nested factorial experiment was conducted for a comprehension of computer programs. Program code written in C programming language was used as the alphanumeric presentation of computer programs. Flowchart was the graphic presentation of computer programs. 32 subjects participated, 16 being exposed only to the alphanumeric presentation, while another 16 were exposed only to the graphic presentation. Each subject performed tasks with both types of structure. Four measures were collected, task completion time, number of errors, subjective rating of task difficulty, and subjective rating of mental workload. Analysis indicated significant interaction between presentation and the structure of task on all four measures. On each measure, the graphic flowchart presentation was more compatible with the conditional branching tasks than the alphanumeric program code presentation. On the two subjective measures of task difficulty and mental workload, the alphanumeric program code presentation was more compatible with the linear procedural tasks than the graphic flowchart presentation.

A survey of the preferences and problems of users of the World Wide Web shows that techniques that improve users' knowledge and ability to select and search web sites increase their satisfaction. The speed of accessing sites and locating specific knowledge are the most important considerations for the users. A menu containing a list of all the search tools will increase user satisfaction. A standard language for the tools and guidelines for their usage will improve the search process.

In this research a relationship between an hierarchical menu's depth and the perceived complexity of a task involving menu retrieval was proposed and validated. 12 subjects were asked to use six different hierarchical menus of varying breadth and depth. The dependent variables were response time and accuracy. The independent variables were depth and breadth of the hierarchy. Subsequent to experimentation, the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire on users' perceptions of the complexity of the different menu structures. As depth increased, perceived complexity of the menus increased significantly. These phenomena are linked to an existing theory of task complexity. We suggest that the cognitive component influencing users' perceptions of task complexity was short-term memory load.

An experiment classifying computer programming knowledge into five different levels of abstraction confirms that the experts have better abstract knowledge than the novices. The experiment also tests whether mastering of knowledge at different abstraction levels changes with skill levels indicates and indicates that differences in levels depend on what abstract or concrete knowledge is involved. The experts have better concrete knowledge than the novices at the physical but not at the logical level, and better abstract knowledge at the conceptual and functional but not objective level.

Visual mediators can be effectively used to assist low spatial individuals in information search works on computer screens. The adjustment of low spatial individuals is dependent on the removal of the need to evolve a mental model of the structure of embedded task information. This can be accomplished through the presentation of the information in an hierarchical or linear form on the screen.

Examination of the time taken for high/low strength tasks by eight students using Hypercard on the Macintosh computer reveals the existence of computer interphase personality. The study involves a program that considers the task strength as high or low and the personality of the computer interphase and the user as either extrovert or introvert. While the introvert user works faster with an introvert computer interface than an extrovert interphase for a given task of high strength, the extrovert user exhibits no preference among interphases and is faster than his counterpart only in tasks of low strength.

A study conducted on the usefulness of protocol analysis as a cognitive task analysis methodology in identifying personnel selection requirements for non-physical, computer tasks shows that protocol analysis can help improve the Position Analysis Questionnaire, a consensus based analysis technique. The findings confirm the hypothesis that cognitive task analysis can provide information on decision-making and helps enhance traditional techniques. Dependence on such cognitive analysis will increase when the automation of physical task components increases.

Studies on the effect of human-computer interface design on postural dynamics reveals that cognitive tasks parameters affect postural dynamics. The physical and organizational work environments interact to affect posture. Twelve subjects are involved in the study that uses 12 scenarios based on two major congnitive task requirement factors.

The study of diversity induced cognitive restructuring abilities on human computer performance incorporating a three-dimensional conceptual model reveals that a knowledge of the system structure can help control the effects of differences in task information. The model is evaluated using 18 field dependent and 18 field-independent subjects. The search task is performed under two unstructured and one structured task condition.