Applying the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Techniqueto Small Screens

Karin Sicheritz
karinsi@stp.ling.uu.se
Language Engineering Programme
Departmentof Linguistics
Uppsala University



Abstract                                                                                  
This thesis describes the implementation and the evaluation of a graphical user             
interface (GUI) employing the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) technique.             
The GUI was implemented on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) featuring a 4.5               
inch touch-sensitive colour screen.
    The aim of the user evaluation was two-fold: firstly, to compare self-paced             
RSVP with reading on paper medium, in terms of reading speed, reading comprehension,
reading efficiency, experienced workload and readers' attitude; secondly,               
to examine whether sonification(adding audio information) of the text is a way to               
height en the reading experience when reading with RSVP .                                       
    The user evaluation was conducted with ten subjects using a repeated-measurement              
design. The texts usedweresix chaptersof August Strindberg's Roda Rummet.   
Four different conditions were administered: book, two self-paced RSVP formats,                  
and a sonified RSVP format presented at constant speed. The evaluation showed                  
no significant differences in reading speed, comprehension, or reading efficiency                 
between reading from the book and the self-paced RSVP conditions. A linear                 
speed-accuracy trade-off between comprehension and reading speed was found.                  
For each 100-word increase in reading speed comprehension decreased by 9%.                   
The subjects rated all six factors in a workload index, except Physical demand,             
significantly higher for the self-paced RSVP conditions than for paper medium.                
Regarding attitude, subjects found RSVP significantly more difficult, less 
comprehensible, and less stimulating than reading from a book.                                       


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