Dear Beatrice - The QWERTY problem was refuted as slowing down typing as the Dvorak keyboard was shown to increase results on a keyboard designed by Dvorak himself and was not independently tested, see David, P. A. 1985. Clio and the economics of QWERTY. American Economic Review Proceedings, 75(2), 332-336. Cheers, Denise --- "Jose P. Zagal" <jp@cc.gatech.edu> wrote:
"To counter this, the keys were displayed in random order and typing speeds accordingly slowed down. "
Not that it matters for your point, but my understanding is that the keys were not assigned randomly, rather they were organized according to the statistical frequencies of adjacent letters in English. The goal was to minimize the probability of using two keys that were linked to adjacent hammers. (thus easily becoming entangled).
Jose Z
Beatrice Ligorio wrote:
QWERTY Journal of technology, culture, and education Call for Papers
Qwerty is the commonly accepted name for the computer keyboard, comprising the first six letters of its top row. When typewriters were first introduced, the keys were arranged in alphabetical order. However this order meant that people typed too quickly such that the keys soon became entangled. To counter this, the keys were displayed in random order and typing speeds accordingly slowed down. In later years, despite the fact that the problem of speed had been completely overcome, the keyboard retained its random order. In our view, this represents an excellent metaphor for the entanglement of culture and technological tools.
The journal is a publication of the CKBG. Read more on the website: www.ckbg.org
Accepted articles may concern research, reviews, educational experiences and practices, theory on topics such as:
- theories and models on the use of new technologies in training contexts;
- online training environments;
- learning models on the net;
- distance learning, e-learning, blended e-learning;
- analysis protocols for web forum interactions;
- methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis in the learning environment experimentation ;
- intersubjectivity on the net;
- technology to support collaborative projects amongst schools;
- collaborative learning through and in online environments;
- social and communicational aspects of the net;
- digital identities;
- virtual reality;
- artefacts within activity systems,
- new genres of communication and texts produced by technology;
- psychological, semiotic, and social aspects of technology innovation;
- technology to preserve and valorise the cultural patrimony;
- new media;
- off-line effects of online interactions and activities.
Other related topics will be also welcomed.
NORMS FOR AUTHORS
Articles in Italian, English, and French will be accepted.
Manuscripts should follow the APA style.
Full manuscripts should be sent to the following email address: qwerty@progedit.com
Submissions for 2008 are required by 31st January 2008, however manuscripts and proposals for special issues are welcomed throughout the year.
Further information is available at: www.ckbg.org
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Denise N. Rall, PhD Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA Tues: Room T2.17, +61 (0)2 6620 3577 Mobile 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/drall/ Virtual member, Cybermetrics Group, University of Wolverhampton, UK http://cybermetrics.wlv.ac.uk/index.html Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html