University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI _March 5____ , 20 03____ I,__________Scott Garrett Pitkin___________________, hereby submit this as part of the requirements for the degree of: ___________Master of Design_____________________ in: ___________the School of Design___________________ It is entitled: ___________Design and Delivery of a _______________ ___________Pervasive Web Application Interface_____ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Approved by: _Karen Monzel, Chair____ _Janet Bohren___________ _J. A. Chewning_________ _Stephen D'Amico_______ _Marty Plumbo__________ DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF A PERVASIVE WEB APPLICATION INTERFACE A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF DESIGN in the School of Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning 2003 by Scott Garrett Pitkin B.S., Carnegie Mellon University, 1996 Thesis Committee: Associate Professor Karen Monzel, Chair Associate Professor Janet Bohren Associate Professor J. A. Chewning Assistant Professor Marty Plumbo Stephen D’Amico, Procter & Gamble ABSTRACT In an urban park system, pervasive computing promises to supplement all aspects of a park visit with relevant information resources. The result is an understanding of the park system that facilitates visitation and the integrated, educational experience of nature. This thesis explores the development of on-line information resources for Cincinnati Parks. A Park Finder and Park Guide are utilities designed for the desktop and mobile computing environments, respectively. The Park Finder matches user interests with the available parks and opportunities. Interactive maps are used to display layers of information such as the parks that have hiking or the location of a trail at a specific park. The Park Guide enhances the actual park visit. After selecting a park, electronic nature guides provide information about trails, birds, flowers and many other topics. Both utilities work together, at different stages of the park visit, to provide contextually purposed information. Copyright © 2003 Scott Pitkin. All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members, whose time and energy have been invaluable to my progress in the program. On a personal and professional basis, I feel privileged to know and work with such a talented group. Also, many fellow graduate students have been a source of inspiration. Thank you. At the Cincinnati Parks, I would like to thank Gerald Checco for his generous support and Chris Carroll for his knowledge of nature and his commitment to improving the parks and nature education. Also, thank you to Larry Annett, Jen Brenner, Lisa Schafer, Evring Francis, Olivia Canada and Darrick Ramsey. I would like to give special thanks to my Mom, Dad, Andrea, Ric and Laura for your constant support, motivation and positive energy. PREFACE Due to the rapid pace of change in Internet and wireless communication technology, this thesis reflects the current technology for a short window in time. Technology research, on which this document is based, was completed between September 2002 and February 2003. Though future developments are unpredictable, current trends in digital devices, mobile computing and the Internet indicate that the conclusions herein should remain applicable for some time. This thesis describes the creation of a web application interface that is delivered to desktop and mobile computing platforms. The document contains terminology that describes the use and operation of digital devices as well as their underlying technologies, communication infrastructures and architectures. Also, references to web development software such as Macromedia® Flash and Macromedia® Dreamweaver and other web standards are included in the following discussion. Readers unfamiliar with the terminology of these domains should consult Appendix A: Glossary of Technical Terminology. I have sometimes imagined a library, i.e. a collection of the works of true poets, philosophers, naturalists, etc., deposited not in a brick and marble edifice in a crowded and dusty city. but rather far away in the depths of the primitive forest. -- Henry David Thoreau, 3 February 1852 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................ iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. v PART I: OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 6 COMPUTING TRENDS...................................................................................................... 9 INTEGRATED EXPERIENCES........................................................................................ 13 INTRODUCTION TO THE CINCINNATI PARKS ............................................................ 15 PART II: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................... 22 THE PARK EXPERIENCE............................................................................................... 22 PARK INFORMATION MODEL....................................................................................... 23 BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY ....................................................................................... 25 TARGET AUDIENCE ....................................................................................................... 27 SCENARIOS .................................................................................................................... 28 SOLUTION OVERVIEW................................................................................................... 37 KEY ISSUES .................................................................................................................... 39 TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE ....................................................................................... 44 PART III: DESIGN APPROACH ................................................................................................... 51 PROTOTYPE SCOPE...................................................................................................... 51 INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE................................................................................... 53 CONTENT DEVELOPMENT............................................................................................ 56 DESIGN ELEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 59 INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS............................................................................................. 67 USER INPUT AND EVALUATION................................................................................... 74 PART IV: FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CONCLUSION .............................................................. 76 FUTURE DIRECTIONS.................................................................................................... 76 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION..................................................................................... 77 i BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 80 Books............................................................................................................................... 80 Periodicals....................................................................................................................... 81 On-line Sources .............................................................................................................. 81 Multimedia....................................................................................................................... 82 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 84 Appendix A: Glossary of Technical Terms.................................................................. 84 Appendix B: Park Survey Form..................................................................................... 87 Appendix C: Park Survey Informed Consent............................................................... 88 Appendix D: Park Survey Analysis............................................................................... 89 Appendix E: Park Survey Research Proposal............................................................. 91 Appendix F: Park Survey Approval Letter ................................................................... 93 Appendix G: Proposed Park Database Attributes....................................................... 94 Appendix H: Website Benchmark Evaluations............................................................ 95 Appendix I: Task Analysis............................................................................................. 97 Appendix J: Park Finder Formative Evaluation........................................................... 99 Appendix K: Park Guide Formative Evaluation......................................................... 100 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Park Information Model: Information Resources Based On Context .............................

Load more