Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction aims to sensitize the systems designer to the problems faced by the user of an interactive system. The book grew out of a course entitled ""The User Interface: Human Factors for Computer-based Systems"" which has been run annually at the University of York since 1981. This course has been attended primarily by systems managers from the computer industry.
The book is organized into three parts. Part One focuses on the user as processor of information with studies on visual perception; extracting information from printed and electronically presented text; and human memory. Part Two on the use of behavioral data includes studies on how and when to collect behavioral data; and statistical evaluation of behavioral data. Part Three deals with user interfaces. The chapters in this section cover topics such as work station design, user interface design, and speech communication.
It is hoped that this book will be read by systems engineers and managers concerned with the design of interactive systems as well as graduate and undergraduate computer science students. The book is also suitable as a tutorial text for certain courses for students of Psychology and Ergonomics.

ContributorsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart One The User as a Processor of Information Chapter 1 Visual Perception: an Intelligent System with Limited Bandwidth 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Luminance, Contrast and Brightness 1.3 Color Sensitivity 1.4 The Visual System as a Spatiotemporal Filter 1.5 Perception as an Active Process 1.6 Summary 1.7 Further Reading Chapter 2 Reading: Extracting Information from Printed and Electronically Presented Text 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Cognitive Psychology of Reading 2.3 Legibility 2.4 Special Problems Associated with Reading from CRT Displays 2.5 Summary 2.6 Further Reading Chapter 3 Human Memory: Different Stores with Different Characteristics 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Short Term Memory Stores 3.3 Long Term Memory 3.4 Summary and Conclusions 3.5 Further Reading Chapter 4 Thinking and Reasoning: Why is Logic so Difficult? 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Deductive Reasoning 4.3 Inductive Reasoning 4.4 Summary 4.5 Further ReadingPart Two The Use of Behavioral Data Chapter 5 How and When to Collect Behavioral Data 5.1 The Value of Behavioral Data 5.2 When to Collect Behavioral Data 5.3 Behavioral Measures 5.4 Selecting Subjects 5.5 Designing Experiments 5.6 Summary 5.7 Further Reading Chapter 6 Statistical Evaluation of Behavioral Data 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Testing for Differences between Means 6.3 Correlation 6.4 Summary 6.5 Further Reading Chapter 7 Example of an Experiment: Evaluating Some Speech Synthesisers for Public Announcements 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Experiment One - Method 7.3 Results 7.4 Conclusions from Experiment One 7.5 Experiment Two 7.6 Summary and General Discussion 7.7 Further ReadingPart Three The User Interface Chapter 8 Work Station Design, Activities and Display Techniques 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Input Devices 8.3 Output Devices 8.4 Facility or Feature Selection Techniques 8.5 Display Techniques 8.6 Summary 8.7 Further Reading 8.8 References Chapter 9 Dialog Design: Characteristics of User Knowledge 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Field Studies of System Use 9.3 Experimental Studies of System Use 9.4 Application of Findings 9.5 Summary 9.6 Further Reading Chapter 10 User Interface Design: Generative User Engineering Principles 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Problems in Interactive System Design: Motivation for a Better Way 10.3 Introducing Generative User-Engineering Principles 10.4 Examples of Gueps 10.5 A Warning against Pseudo-Generative Principles 10.6 Summary 10.7 Further Reading Chapter 11 Future Uses of Future Offices 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Setting the Scene 11.3 Scene One - the First Consultation 11.4 Scene Two - on Location in Camden Town Friday Morning the Next Week 11.5 Summary 11.6 Further Reading Chapter 12 Speech communication: the Problem and Some Solutions 12.1 Speech as a Medium for Communication 12.2 Speech Articulation and Recognition: How Do People Do It? 12.3 Speech Production and Recognition: How Can Machines Do It? 12.4 Summary 12.5 Further Reading Chapter 13 Speech Communication: How to Use It 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Machine-Generated Speech 13.3 Voice Recognition 13.4 Interactive Systems 13.5 Summary 13.6 Further Reading Chapter 14 Human Factors Problems in the Design and Use of Expert Systems 14.