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This study aims to investigate the usability of a public university website for measuring its efficiency, users’ satisfaction or anxiety while searching for and retrieving information through different devices.

A task-based approach was adopted for the study. Twenty-eight participants were asked to complete 11 information-searching tasks on the website. The participants were divided into two groups. The tasks were carried out by members of each group, using desktop and mobile devices in a rotating fashion. Volunteers observed the participants' actions and recorded information regarding their productivity, time usage (using a timer), satisfaction or annoyance while performing each task. Finally, based on the use of the devices, a comparison was established between the participants' performance accuracy, efficiency and anxiety.

The study provides an overview of a task-based user experience carried out on the university website using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. According to the results, participants' satisfaction levels were generally high, and their anxiety levels were low while completing the tasks on a mobile device. In comparison to the desktop, it took less time overall to complete all tasks. On the other hand, using a desktop computer (97.1%) resulted in better task completion success rates for participants than using a mobile device (85.7%).

No previous task-based evaluation study of this kind has been conducted to assess the usability of any university website in Bangladesh.

Properly allocating an organization's activities within a building is vital to reducing the relational complexity arising from process–environment interactions. Multiple relationships are mapped, and certain interferences are only identified after these have been processed. The method/software employed for this task is Mapping Activity Environment Allocation (MAEA). However, data input and interpretation of results depend on the usability conditions of the organization's agents. This paper presents MAEA's usability test results.

Test sessions and interviews were carried out with seven agents registered at a University Hospital. Participants were instructed to think aloud during its use, and immediately afterward, responded to semi-structured interviews. Test sessions were audio recorded and screen captured.

Participants found the software easy to use and pointed out valuable implications for professional and academic use. In addition to relationship, priority and parallelism data, customized visualizations were created, including organizational charts, flowcharts and activity flow routes on the floor plan.

MAEA's simplicity allows non-designers to conduct evidence-based assessments and decisions. It allows designers to test their proposals during the programming and outline proposal stages.

A more detailed definition of design requirements from the beginning increases the conditions to successfully achieve project goals.

The ability to map the allocation of activity-spaces in the pre-design phase of building architecture allows for early identification of interactions, aiding in the development of more robust project requirements during programming.

The study aims to pioneer an innovative approach for the evaluation of government portal websites (GPWs) by introducing an eye-tracking-based method. The research meticulously pinpoints and analyses the distinct usability issues and challenges that users encounter while navigating and interacting with GPWs.

This study devises an eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation approach, which focuses on the major functions (i.e. government information disclosure, government services and interactive responses) of GPWs. An Entropy Weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (EW-TOPSIS) method is employed to process eye-tracking indicator results for deriving GPW usability results.

The proposed approach is demonstrated to assess the usability of 12 GPWs in pilot smart cities in China, and it is found that most GPWs have lower-than-average usability. GPWs with low usability require more cognitive load that exhibit increased fixation and saccade. The comparisons among the GPW usability results from (1) the eye-tracking experiment, (2) questionnaire surveys and (3) the ready-made performance evaluation report validate the effectiveness of eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation.

The work contributes to shifting the GPW usability evaluation approach from a subjective judgment paradigm to an objective paradigm, as well as provides implications for enhancing GPW usability, including improving search function, reducing website complexity and prioritizing user needs.

Recognising current, significant rates of youth sexual violence and abuse (YSVA) and the need for more comprehensive prevention approaches to combat this social issue, new approaches are required to ensure that agency is given to the people who are most affected and who know their lives the best. This paper aims to report a youth-led (Young Voices United [YVU] Committee) participatory design approach aimed at delivering the highest level of engagement to understand what people agree is needed to reduce YSVA in their own communities.

The seven-step co-design (Trischler et al., 2019) process was implemented following ethical clearance. Over five months, 13 group co-design sessions involving 102 young people aged 12–25 years, 17 parents/caregivers (including young mums) and 9 teacher/guidance officers were conducted. Purposive sampling was undertaken to ensure that young people who had previously experienced YSVA or were most at risk of experiencing YSVA were overrepresented. Convenience sampling was used to gain wider community involvement in co-design. Four sessions were facilitated by YVU members, who were aged between 12 and 25 years, and more than 66 people helped the design team. Inductive thematic analysis identified emergent themes across completed co-design sessions.

New ideas and solutions to prevent YSVA can be identified by young people who have previously experienced violence, carers, other young people and community members. A core finding in this study is the need for positive relationship role models and an enhanced understanding of consent. Education and training, a community promotional campaign, sector involvement, capacity-building and consideration of the unique needs of different target audiences were key ideas emerging from youth-led co-design. The YVU Committee provided recommendations for resource prioritisation.

This youth-led co-design process empowered the community. Project stakeholders have since formed partnerships won funding and used that funding to co-design and trial a new programme aiming to provide a safe haven for young people at risk of YSVA. The pilot programme delivers a safe and supportive environment for young people delivered at a time when it is needed most. Other geographical areas are now seeking to replicate the programme. The co-design processes and tools detailed in this study can be adapted to the design of programmes for those already engaged with the youth justice system and should be considered as part of a public health approach to effectively prevent and respond to YSVA and other youth crimes.

This paper advances understanding, providing a practical approach that ensures youth views are given weight [audience and influence described in Lundy’s (2007) participatory framework]. This paper explains how the YVU Committee, established at the commencement of the project, oversaw the community co-design effort, which followed Trischler et al.’s (2019) seven-step co-design process. Ideas were generated, and consensus views were consolidated, delivering the highest level of engagement according to Willmott et al.’s (2022) methodology, agent of change, training and engagement taxonomy. The participatory design method led to high levels of community engagement, and the success of the project is attributed to the establishment of the YVU Committee and stakeholder support.

Usability is one of the key concerns in the development of mobile learning applications. The aim of this paper is to design and validate a usability evaluation questionnaire (UEQ) for mobile learning applications.

The UEQ was developed in four stages: selecting primary studies and extracting usability problems, thematic analysis, creating UEQ items and validation and reliability using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

CFA to derive the model fit was computed using AMOS to test the construct validity. The model-fit values were within their respective expected acceptance levels. To assess the reliability of the instrument item loadings, the internal consistency coefficients such as Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s Omega and composite reliability were considered. Indicator loadings ranged between 0.735 and 0.933, fulfilling the threshold of above 0.7.

The study provides a novel UEQ for mobile learning applications, which can be used by developers and in academic research to assess mobile learning applications.

Targeting the common functions of the Zhejiang Library website, elderly individuals were invited to complete six experimental tasks on the improved website interfaces, and subjective data (PAD emotion scale and usability evaluation) and objective data (eye movement data) were recorded to verify the effects of graphic layout and navigation position on the information-seeking experience of elderly individuals.

This study analyzes the effect of the graphic layout and navigation position of the Zhejiang Library’s website interface on the emotional state, perceived usability and information-seeking time of elderly individuals, with the aim of providing guidance and suggestions for the elderly-oriented reform of the public library website.

The experimental results show that the graphic layout has a significant effect on the emotional state and perceived usability of elderly individuals, and the navigation position has a significant effect on the information-seeking time; the interaction between graphic layout and navigation position exerts a significant effect on the information-seeking time of elderly individuals. The eye movement data show that elderly individuals have a better information-seeking experience when the top navigation bar and image-text matched arrangement are used for the interface layout.

This study adopts a new approach combining subjective data and eye movement data to evaluate the effect of the public library website’s interface layout on the information-seeking experience for older people. The findings can provide a theoretical basis and methodological support for the elderly-oriented reform of public library websites. They can also provide scientific design suggestions for age-friendly interface layouts of other Internet products and service applications.

The primary objective was to develop a user-centered mobile health application (app) tailored to the specific health information needs of among immigrant women from diverse backgrounds in Korea.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 immigrant women to gain insights into their health information-seeking behavior. Based on the findings, a mobile app was designed and developed. A beta version of the app underwent validation by an MD and seven expert reviewers who assessed the app for content accuracy and conformance to mobile heuristics. Last, immigrant women (n = 12) evaluated the usability of the app.

The study revealed that the interviewed immigrant women had strong health information needs related to pregnancy and parenting. Most of them used multiple sources to find and verify health information. Language barriers were identified as a major obstacle to accessing and evaluating health information. The results of the user test indicated that the app effectively facilitated study participants' search for reliable health information, meeting their specific needs.

This research extended the literature by addressing the limited availability of mobile apps tailored to the health information needs of immigrant women in Korea.

By incorporating multilingual support and focusing on pregnancy and parenting information, the health app serves as a valuable tool to bridge the gap in health information access and to facilitate the well-being of immigrant women in the country.

Luxury as a construct warrants an assessment of entities promoting themselves as luxurious offerings. Therefore, this study attempts to evaluate the experiencescapes of luxury trains operating in developed and developing countries to assess the presence of luxury values in the elements affecting tourists' experiences and immersion.

Two different types of luxury trains were selected from across developed and developing countries for a holistic assessment of the experiencescapes. Through netnography and hermeneutic interpretation, this study analyzes 218 experiential descriptions on Tripadvisor from luxury trains of Australia, UK, Peru and India.

Although luxury trains in both the regions entailed financial, functional, social and individual value, they struggled to offer these values in conjunction. While the positioning of luxury trains in developing countries under the “inaccessible luxury” segment is exaggerated, developed countries were also found to struggle with customer service and management.

By emphasizing on areas within the control of the service providers, short-haul luxury trains can be a better fit in developing countries. Better usability testing and employee training should be undertaken to improve the functional values of luxury in long-haul luxury trains of developed countries.

This article not only assesses the validity of luxury trains' positioning but also provides new insights into the nature of the tourist immersion process. Having extensively discussed experiences in the backdrop of luxury, it contributes to the progression of literature on luxury trains, experiencescapes and immersion.

The purpose of this study is to examine the key research question, which is whether fintech innovation for financial inclusion has been successful in India? As fintech has been popular in many countries, there is very little understanding on how successful it has performed in India for financial inclusion. This research attempts to ravel important factors that may or may not have a direct or indirect impact on fintech innovation for financial inclusion, thereby dissecting the empirical data to reveal important information for the reader.

This study covers a comprehensive literature review, from which key variables are discovered, then develops hypotheses to be examined, followed by proposing a research model. The survey data examines important research instruments for fintech inclusion in India, identifying and measuring factors, leading to partial least squares (PLS) model testing. Finally, the key findings are reported.

The findings reveal that fintech innovation from variables such as users experience and motivation for digital payments drives usefulness and ease of use leading to financial inclusion. The security, trust, transparency and customer support when built into the fintech innovation for digital payments influences perceived ease of use (PEOU) and usefulness that mediates to uplift financial inclusion directly. Whereas perceived usefulness (PU) anchoring happens to be a precursor for the financial inclusion. On the contrary, cultural values for fintech innovation through PEOU and usefulness had no impact whatsoever on financial inclusion, thus demystifying cultural influences as non-influential factor.

Research limitations are that the study was conducted in India, and may not be generalised in other countries; however, it can be modified to fit future research. Survey data captured was from a particular region of South India, which may differ from the rest of the country. The sample size and research period were adequate; however, larger data sets would be more meaningful for longitudinal studies. As India is the second most populous country in the world, a comparison with other similar countries of the same size and geographical location will be useful for future research.

This research reveals that financial inclusion is much more complex than previously known and that the penetration of fintech has the capacity to go deeper and include a large number of people into the mainstream financial system and ameliorate the inequities in urban-rural gender and caste. The user’s experience, culture and motivations positively influenced the usefulness and ease of use for driving the financial inclusion of digital payments. Further security, trust, transparency and customer support can facilitate the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a tool for financial inclusion.

Fintech innovation for financial inclusion is based on the successful acceptance of the digital payment system by people in the society. This research has identified that for any fintech innovation, it is essential that society needs to benefit from it. Encouraging a larger population to switch to digital payments offer challenges and opportunities. While the opportunities are enormous research suggests that early adopters of new technology go through different phases of testing, in which a society can completely accept an innovation or can completely reject an innovation if the two mediating factors such as PU and ease of use do not perform as predicted, thus having a higher failure rate. On the other side, if such an innovation as fintech becomes successful it has the capacity to bring billions of people into mainstream financial inclusion, a success story that can greatly benefit the Indian society and which can be replicated among other countries in the world.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt in an effort to understand the influential factors from the point of view of users for the adoption of CBDC for financial inclusion. The main contribution of this paper is to examine the role of CBDC as an instrument to foster financial inclusion in India, which has not been attempted so far. The originality also lies to the heart of the research is dissecting and making meaningful sense of the empirical data, developing and measuring research instruments and hypotheses and finally adopting a PLS model to answer the key research question, which is whether fintech innovation for financial inclusion can be successful for India?

Designing digital artifacts is not a linear, straightforward process. This is particularly true when applying a user-centered design approach, or co-design, with users who are unable to participate in the design process. Although the reduced participation of a particular user group may harm the end result, the literature on solving this issue is sparse. In this article, proxy design is outlined as a method for involving a user group as proxy users to speak on behalf of a group that is difficult to reach. The article investigates the following research question: How can roleplaying be embedded in co-design to engage users as proxies on behalf of those who are unable to represent themselves?

The article presents a design ethnography spanning three years at a cancer rehabilitation clinic, where digital artifacts were designed to be used collaboratively by nurses and patients. The empirical data were analyzed using content analysis and consisted of 20 observation days at the clinic, six proxy design workshops, 21 telephone consultations between patients and nurses, and log data from the digital artifact.

The article shows that simulated consultations, with nurses roleplaying as proxies for patients ignited and initiated the design process and enabled an efficient in-depth understanding of patients. Moreover, the article reveals how proxy design as a method further expanded the design. The study findings illustrate: (1) proxy design as a method for initiating design, (2) proxy design as an embedded element in co-design and (3) six design guidelines that should be considered when engaging in proxy design.

The main contribution is the conceptualization of proxy design as a method that can ignite and initiate the co-design process when important users are unreachable, vulnerable or unable to represent themselves in the co-design process. More specifically, based on the empirical findings from a design ethnography that involved nurses as proxy users speaking on behalf of patients, the article shows that roleplaying in proxy design is a fitting way of initiating the design process, outlining proxy design as an embedded element of co-design.