bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accessible Web Browser Interface Design for Users with Low Vision
Authors: Arditi Aries , Lu Jianwei
Published: January 2012

We are studying user interface (UI) features that would be helpful to users with moderate to severe low vision and have developed a novel web browser front end that we believe will enhance efficiency and accessibility of the web to this large and growing population. The UI incorporates well-accepted principles and empirical knowledge from vision and rehabilitation sciences that go far beyond simple screen magnification. With an emphasis on simplicity and ease of use, the UI is designed so that once configured, no adjustments will be needed, regardless of what document the user is viewing. The UI will allow users simultaneous access to both the global features of web documents as the author intended, along with enlarged text tailored to the user's needs; this will allow access to all web pages without requiring that sites have special markup or authoring.
Synthetic Vision Displays for Planetary and Lunar Lander Vehicles
Authors: Arthur Jarvis (Trey) J. , Prinzel Lawrence J. , Williams Steven P. , Shelton Kevin J. , Kramer Lynda J. , Bailey Randall E. , Norman Robert M.
Published: January 2012

Aviation research has demonstrated that Synthetic Vision (SV) technology can substantially enhance situation awareness, reduce pilot workload, improve aviation safety, and promote flight path control precision. SV, and related flight deck technologies are currently being extended for application in planetary exploration vehicles. SV, in particular, holds significant potential for many planetary missions since the SV presentation provides a computer-generated view for the flight crew of the terrain and other significant environmental characteristics independent of the outside visibility conditions, window locations, or vehicle attributes. SV allows unconstrained control of the computer-generated scene lighting, terrain coloring, and virtual camera angles which may provide invaluable visual cues to pilots/astronauts, not available from other vision technologies. In addition, important vehicle state information may be conformally displayed on the view such as forward and down velocities, altitude, and fuel remaining to enhance trajectory control and vehicle system status. The paper accompanies a conference demonstration that introduced a prototype NASA Synthetic Vision system for lunar lander spacecraft. The paper will describe technical challenges and potential solutions to SV applications for the lunar landing mission, including the requirements for high-resolution lunar terrain maps, accurate positioning and orientation, and lunar cockpit display concepts to support projected mission challenges.
The Effect of Supplementing Textual Materials with Virtual World Experiences on Learning and Engagement
Authors: Greenstein Joel S. , Hayes Harskin , Stephens Benjamin R. , Peters Chris L.
Published: January 2012

This study investigated whether participating in an educational experience in the virtual world called Second Life enhances college student learning of introductory topics in the physical and behavioral sciences. Our research hypotheses were that students who complete a learning module which includes a virtual world experience and a text-based presentation will learn more than students who complete the text-based presentation alone and that they will also find this learning experience more engaging. Ten undergraduate students participated in the study. Five learned about tsunamis, first through a Second Life experience and then through a handout. They learned about schizophrenia through a handout alone. The other five learned about schizophrenia, first through a Second-Life experience and then through the handout. These students learned about tsunamis through the handout alone. Upon completion of each tutorial, participants completed an exam and two surveys. When students completed both a Second Life experience and a handout on a topic, they achieved higher exam scores (p<0.005) and rated the learning experience more engaging (p<0.005) than when they completed the handout alone. Participant ratings of the ease-of-use of the learning modules that included a Second Life experience were slightly lower than those for the modules that involved only a handout, but this difference was not significant. These results suggest that experiences in virtual worlds are a useful instructional supplement to academic readings.
US-Brazil Cognitive Systems Engineering Exchange Program
Authors: Guerlain Stephanie , Woods David , Gomes Jose Orlando
Published: January 2012

We describe the design of a US-Brazil cognitive systems engineering exchange program. Rather than students “swapping” places from one institution to another, the student teams (made up of senior level undergraduate students from both countries) spend the first six months in Brazil defining their projects and collecting data and the last six months in the United States analyzing the data and proposing solutions. Together, the students take courses, conduct weekly site visits to their industrial partner and help each other to socialize and learn the language and culture of the respective country while helping to recruit and prepare the following year's group of students.
Subjective Ratings of Accessibility Using Full-Scale Bathroom Environments
Authors: Feathers David , Steinfeld Edward
Published: January 2012

Full-scale modeling was used to assess subjective ratings of difficulty for the bathroom environment across four different configurations. Two configurations complied with nationally accepted accessibility standards. One exceeded the standards, representing a “universal design”; the other was representative of a common yet unsupportive design. Participants simulated activities of daily living and offered subjective ratings of each design in general, and for each sub-area (e.g. toilet, shower, lavatory) for each design. Results demonstrate subjective differences between bathroom configurations. The interaction between humans and the built environment should include a host of diagnostic tools complete with subjective assessments.
Interface Design Characteristics of a Popular Emergency Department Information System
Authors: Fairbanks Rollin J. , Guarrera Theresa K. , Karn Keith S. , Caplan Stanley H. , Shah Manish N. , Wears Robert L.
Published: January 2012

Integration of information technology (IT) in the medical field has increased with the patient safety movement of the past decade, but without an optimization of user interface (UI) design. In particular, health IT such as an emergency department information system (EDIS) is becoming a common tool in EDs across the US. While there are published standards for the design of medical devices requiring usability testing, health IT systems do not have the same requirements. Although the EDIS was created to support work previously accomplished through a dry erase board, its impact on patient safety has yet to be studied. This study explores usability issues in an existing EDIS application and their potential impact on patient safety.
The Evaluation of Structured Communication Tools in Healthcare
Authors: Marshall Stuart , Harrison Julia , Flanagan Brendan
Published: January 2012

Suboptimal communication between health professionals has been identified as a significant causative factor in incidents compromising patient safety. The use of a structured method of communication has been suggested to improve the quality of information exchange, particularly with inexperienced practitioners. One structure that has been suggested to improve communication is the situational briefing tool SBAR. This tool was developed by the US Navy for standardizing important and urgent communication in nuclear submarines. Despite its widespread uptake in some areas of healthcare, its effectiveness has until recently been unproven. This paper describes the benefits and pitfalls of methods we have used to prove the effectiveness of these communication tools.
Shifts in Functions of a New Technology over Time: An Analysis of Logged Electronic Intensive Care Unit Interventions
Authors: Anders Shilo , Woods David D. , Patterson Emily S. , Schweikhart Sharon
Published: January 2012

A study of logged interventions at an electronic intensive care unit (e-ICU) was conducted to examine how functions changed over a two-year period. In total, 2301 log entries of e-ICU interventions from 2005 and 2007 were uniquely coded as to function. A Chi square goodness of fit analysis revealed that 7 out of 11 functions (64%) significantly changed over the two years that were measured. There were increases seen by the log data in the e-ICU nurses calling ICU nurses to supply missing information, recommend the use of best practices, and providing education to ICU nurses. Additionally, increases were seen for e-ICU physicians receiving requests for ordering actions to be taken on patients. Decreases were seen in e-ICU nurses communicating critical lab results and vital sign changes to ICU nurses. We discuss how these shifts relate to several of our predicted archetypical patterns for how new technologies change over time, both in terms of their primary functions as well as changes to positive and negative “unintended” consequences on secondary functions.
Rehabilitation Ergonomics: The Clinical Utility of Ergonomic Tools and Methodology
Authors: Campello Marco
Published: January 2012

The process of rehabilitation, accommodation and return-to-work entails an assessment of a patient's ability to engage in work activities, an analysis of job demands and the matching of these elements to determine whether the individual and the job are compatible. The process involves numerous stakeholders, whereby ergonomists may analyze the demands of the job, clinicians may assess the individual's abilities and the matching is conducted as a joint effort. The success of the joint effort depends on the communication between several professional disciplines. To improve the communication we need tools that advance the decision making. The process of ‘ergonomics for one’ requires tools and methodologies of sufficient resolution to address the individual's needs. From the ergo-nomist's perspective, do we have tools that support clinical decision making regarding the ability of an individual patient to return to work? Similarly, does the ergonomist have tools to assist in adapting the job to the individual's abilities? The session is aimed for practitioners involved in industrial ergonomics as well as rehabilitation. The panel will examine several attempts to address these questions conceptually or practically, limiting the scope of the discussion to rehabilitation and accommodations of physical impairments. The goal of the session is to identify areas and directions that need further research and development.
Flight Management System (FMS) Execution Task Time Modeling for Loading Terminal Area Navigation (RNAV) Procedure Changes
Authors: Smith Elida C.
Published: January 2012

Flexibility needs for managing terminal operations are proposed to be accomplished in the future by issuing Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedure changes. The aircraft response latency and variability introduced by choosing to issue RNAV and/or RNP procedure changes in lieu of radar vectoring must be considered due to the time-critical nature of Air Traffic Control (ATC). Among the causes for latency and latency variability in aircraft response is flight deck procedure loading requirements. A Keystroke Level Model was used to estimate task execution times for loading three types of RNAV procedure changes in two simulated Flight Management Systems (FMS), the Honeywell Pegasus model and a Smiths U10.6 model, using Aerosim Technologies Inc. desktop simulator software. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted for each procedure change type to evaluate differences in task execution times across FMS types. Significant differences were shown for runway transition procedure change execution times, F (1, 12) = 11.55, p < 0.01. A second comparison of task execution times for achieving similar operational outcomes by issuing either a RNAV Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) procedure change or a RNAV runway transition change was made. A one-way ANOVA, conducted for each FMS type, showed significant differences between the RNAV STAR and runway transition procedure change execution times, F (1, 4) = 69.58, p < 0.01 for the Honeywell Pegasus and F (1, 4) = 13.81, p = 0.02 for the Smiths U10.6 FMS models. Results provide an initial understanding of aircraft response latency associated with loading RNAV procedure changes in the FMS and latency variance across FMS types.
Effects of Frequency Sorting Towards Finding Optimal Organizations of Hierarchal File Structures
Authors: Stanley Clayton T. , Byrne Michael D. , Ramos Katherine R.
Published: January 2012

Browsing through a hierarchy of information is a common task, but the relationship between human performance and parameters of the hierarchy are still incompletely understood. Based on Cockburn, Gutwin, & Greenberg (2007), we developed a model of this task involving two components at each level of the hierarchy: visual search time and motor movement time. A Monte Carlo simulation of the model shows how the optimal breadth of a hierarchal structure depends on both the size of the structure and how efficiently users perform the visual search. We fit a function to the Monte Carlo data which produced an optimum breadth consistent with the literature, and also shows analytically how properties like sorting can affect performance. The model indicates that the optimal hierarchy breadth depends heavily on the efficiency of the users' visual search; if the search can be sub-linear, then very broad hierarchies can be highly efficient.
How Do Military Teams from Different Nations Perform in a Game-Based Simulated Environment?
Authors: Lindoff Jenny , Andersson Jan , Rencrantz Carin
Published: January 2012

An experiment was completed in a game-based environment in five countries to study differences on team performance. Military teams of four were asked to look for hidden weapons in a small town without angering the local citizens (thus gaining goodwill and/or badwill). The results showed differences in performance between the different nations. However, other factors such as English ability, computer experience and age also affected performance. Three related, but somewhat different performance measures were used: Performance score, Goodwill points and Badwill points. Further analyses revealed a pattern indicating that different nations may have used different strategies solving their task. The team characteristics were related to Performance and Goodwill, but not related to Badwill. Speculatively, English proficiency could be one important criterion for success in multinational coalitions, but it does not fully explain the obtained differences on team performance from the experiment.
Assessment of the User's Dependability-Relevant Abilities for Enhanced Human-Technology Interaction
Authors: Wagner Achim , Bartolein Christian , Jipp Meike , Badreddin Essameddin
Published: January 2012

The dependability of human-technology interaction can significantly be enhanced if the operators' errors occurring due to a mismatch of the system's demands and the actually present (cognitive) abilities of the operator are reduced. This is why, an approach is introduced on which basis a technical system can automatically assess its user's ability level and reconfigure itself or its interface accordingly. The proposed automated assessment is based on the task's difficulty, the user's reaction towards the task he/she is executing with the system at hand, and a logarithmic sigmoid function. Simulation experiments are presented and first results discussed, demonstrating that the proposed realization of the automated assessment allows reliably estimating the individual levels of the dependability-relevant user abilities.
Three-Dimensional Joint Kinematics of the Upper Extremity in Reach Movements under Whole-Body Vibration Exposure
Authors: Kim Heon-Jeong , Martin Bernard J.
Published: January 2012

Simulation of human reach movements is an essential component for proactive ergonomic analysis and computer-aided engineering of biomechanical models. Most studies on reach kinematics described human movements in a static environment, however the models derived from these studies cannot be applied to the analysis of human reach movements in vibratory environments such as in-vehicle operations. Earlier studies on reach performance under vibration exposure focused mainly on fingertip end-point accuracy. This study analyzes three dimensional joint kinematics of the upper extremity in reach movements performed in static and vibratory conditions. The ultimate goal is to develop an active biodynamic model capable of simulating reach movements in vibratory environments. Thirteen seated subjects performed reach movements to four target directions distributed in the right hemisphere. The results show differences and similarities in the characteristics of movement patterns of upper body segments for static and dynamic environments. Identification of movement patterns in terms of joint kinematics can be used to determine some biodynamic principles of upper body segments coordination in reach motion.
Improving Link Analysis Method in User Interface Design Using a New Computational Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Lin Cheng-Jhe , Yu Wanyan , Wu Changxu
Published: January 2012

Link analysis (LA) method is one of major user interface analysis methods in HCI. However, it seemed that it has several limitations, including negligence of high-frequency, low-link elements in a control interface and underestimation of the total moving distance in real task settings. To improve LA in these limitations, this study developed an algorithm based on the concept of optimizing the total moving distance and the outcome of the algorithm can be quantitatively validated. The findings along with the difficulties faced in this study might provide beneficial reference as well as challenges worth for future studying.
Evaluating Website Quality Using E-Service Quality Dimensions
Authors: Gnaneswaran V. , Pujari P. S. , Bishu R. R.
Published: January 2012

The objectives of this study are to determine the key dimensions that affect user experience on the website and evaluate a tool for measuring website quality. Two e-commerce websites, both from same business domain, were tested across the service quality dimensions identified in this study using a questionnaire. 15 subjects from a company group and 10 subjects from a student group participated the user testing. The results of user testing were then compared with website heuristic evaluation and indicated that the e-service quality dimensions could be used to capture user experience and evaluate quality of a website from a user satisfaction point of view. The results also have ramifications for designers of business websites.
Using Music in Spatial Audio Displays: Localization Ability with Complex Sounds
Authors: Crisler Matthew C. , Tyrrell Richard A.
Published: January 2012

Spatial audio displays represent a promising method of conveying directional information, but have generally been implemented using tones and other stimuli that may limit user acceptance. As a first step toward evaluating the utility of spatializing complex auditory stimuli, we asked participants in three experiments to localize the source of sounds varying in content (musical, vocal, or noise), speaker location (±45°, ±90°, or headphones), and volume level. The sounds were processed using two methods to simulate nine source locations from 40° left to 40° right. Participants' responses generally followed the virtual location of the source; participants made correct left vs. right judgments and significant differences were seen between most adjacent locations. Importantly, localization abilities were unaffected by the content of the auditory stimuli. These results support the continued examination of spatializing musical stimuli to convey directional information while minimizing boredom and fatigue.
Helicopter Pilot Performance: Inadvertent Flight into Instrument Meteorological Conditions
Authors: Crognale Michael A. , Krebs William H.
Published: January 2012

The problem of inadvertent VFR flight into IMC has been well documented as a major cause of general aviation accidents. The performance limits of fixed wing pilots under these circumstances have also been investigated with alarming results. However this problem has not yet been studied sufficiently in civilian helicopter pilots. In general helicopter operations are more complex than those of fixed wing aircraft for several reasons including increased control difficulty and the ability to operate in a variety of flight regimes such as slow flight, hover, low level, and high speeds. Each of the different helicopter flight regimes has different operational and control demands. The present study is aimed at quantifying helicopter pilot performance after inadvertent VFR into IMC at different speeds and altitudes of operation. We report here on data collected from instrument rated commercial helicopter pilots in simulated flight from VFR conditions to IMC. Data were collected on the aircraft attitude and performance as well as pilot control inputs. In addition an objective analysis was performed on the pilot input data that provided information regarding the amount of corrections that the pilots were using during flight. This analysis treated pilot inputs as a time series and quantified variability in the control inputs by calculating power in the Fourier spectrum of the digitized control position data stream. This analysis is valuable in that it provides an objective measure of pilot effort. The analysis was also applied to aircraft performance metrics. An “error” analysis was also conducted on the aircraft attitude data which enumerated the rate at which the aircraft was judged to be in a attitude that would reduce safety as predetermined by helicopter pilot experts. Both analyses revealed important information regarding the relationships between visibility, altitude, airspeed, aircraft performance, and pilot effort. In particular, while pilots quickly improved performance such that safe attitudes were maintained, the amount of effort required to maintain proper attitude remained high for longer periods of time. Pilot effort eventually decreases with repeated practice.
A Brief Examination of how Situation Awareness and Confidence are Affected in a Simulated Multinational Coalition C2 Headquarters
Authors: Lichacz Frederick M. J.
Published: January 2012

An often-cited impediment to the development of good situation awareness (SA) in multinational coalition operations is linguistic differences. However, in addition to linguistic differences, groups can differ in terms of cognitive biases and national cultures. This paper presents some preliminary findings about the impact that language, cognitive biases, and national cultures have on SA and confidence within a multinational coalition headquarters.
Team Performance in Real and Virtual Worlds: The Perceived Value of Second Life
Authors: McNeese Nathaniel J. , Pfaff Mark S. , Santoro Gerald M. , McNeese Michael D.
Published: January 2012

Various studies in the team cognition literature suggest the primacy of face-to-face interaction over various forms of electronically-mediated communication. Theories supporting distributed cognition and anchored perception indicate that select forms of communication media may create impoverished shared mental models that fail to transfer understanding across team members. Of particular interest in this study is the perceived value of a new virtual communication medium, Second Life, as compared to face-to-face or auditory teleconferencing in a team task. Team members perceived the face-to-face modality to better aid the team than Second Life or the auditory teleconferencing mode, yet the results show an experience-based bias toward face-to-face interaction. Team success was rated worst for the auditory condition. Discussion of these results are developed in terms of their impact on theory, practice, and applications. Additional data analyses are suggested that will yield in-depth understanding of Jasper team performance.
Perceived Usability of Ergonomic Interventions for Steel Bucking Bars
Authors: Hull Spring S. , Chaparro Barbara S. , Jorgensen Michael J.
Published: January 2012

Steel bucking bars used in sheet metal assembly tasks lack application of ergonomic principles. Four bucking bar interventions were evaluated for perceived usability and compared to a steel bucking bar. The interventions included a tungsten bucking bar, Viscolas® rubber wrap adhered to a steel bucking bar, a steel bar paired with an anti-vibration glove, and a steel bar with a detachable handle. Usability measures included rank order of interventions, Borg Perceived Exertion Scale results, rivet quality, and participant willingness to recommend each intervention to others. Participants perceived less exertion using the tungsten bucking bar and were more likely to recommend the tungsten bucking bars to others. Half of the participants ranked the tungsten bucking bar as their first choice of all the interventions tested. The handle and the wrap were also considered usable by most participants. Participants perceived the most exertion using the steel bucking bar and were less likely to recommend the steel bar to others.
A Call to Classify and Quantify Hospital Medication Errors: Results from a Meta-Analysis
Authors: Moore Kristin S. , Balk Stacy A.
Published: January 2012

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine published To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System which stated that between 44,000 to 98,000 patient deaths occur annually due to largely preventable medical errors. While this number is staggering, the number of errors adversely affecting patients in ways other than death must be much greater. The goal of the current study was to determine the types of in-hospital drug-related medical errors that occur, as well as to quantify the proportion and severity of those errors. A lack of consistency across studies in hospital error reporting prevented an accurate analysis of drug-related errors and their severity. The authors recommend future studies (and hospitals alike) adhere to, at minimum, five guidelines in error reporting. It is hoped that with standardized reporting methods a better understanding of medication-related errors can be gained, thus resulting in the design and implementation of error-reducing measures.
Detecting Mental Workload Fluctuation during Learning of a Novel Task Using Thermography
Authors: Kang Jihun , Babski-Reeves Kari
Published: January 2012

Training has been identified as a means to reduce mental workload. However, there are limitations associated with many current mental workload measurement techniques. Thermography of the face has been identified as a potential workload measurement tool that may be more closely related to performance and subjective ratings of performance than many other physiological measures. The objective of this study was to validate the efficacy of thermography for assessing mental workload. Twenty participants, 10 males and 10 females, completed seven blocks of an alpha-numeric task. Changes in nose temperature (ANT), task accuracy, reaction time, and two subjective mental workload ratings were collected. Performance improved over time, while ANT and subjective mental workload ratings decreased. Nose temperature was found to be strongly correlated with both performance measures and subjective perceptions of mental workload.
Recovering from Unexpected Lane Drifts
Authors: Monk Christopher A. , Kidd David G.
Published: January 2012

A desktop driving simulator was used to investigate how drivers react to an unexpected lane drift. Participants drove scenarios in which vision was occluded for three to seven 1-second intervals, in which a wind gust pushed them laterally during the final occlusion in a series. No-task and an odd/even digit task condition were used to vary the cognitive load during the occlusions. Steering angle and lateral lane position profiles were used to identify steering reaction times and time to regain lateral lane stability after a lane drift. Results showed that drivers were quicker to counter-steer and regain lateral lane position stability in the digit task occlusion condition.
Eye-Tracking Patterns of Web Portal Browsing
Authors: Owens Justin W. , Shrestha Saurav , Chaparro Barbara S.
Published: January 2012

This paper reports on the scan patterns of users browsing a 2-column and 3-column web portal page. Consistent scanning patterns for each of the 2-column and 3-column web portal pages were found. Users typically fixated the portal channel in the upper left of the 2-column layout and in the top, center channel of the 3-column page. Implications including the likelihood and efficiency of portal users finding information on portal pages are discussed.
Eye Movements on a Single-Column and Double-Column Text Web Page
Authors: Shrestha Sav , Owens Justin , Chaparro Barbara S.
Published: January 2012

This study examines user eye movement patterns of a single-column and double-column text web page. The results show a higher number of fixations for information in a second column of an article than for the same information in the lower portion of a single column. In addition, the typical “F” pattern appeared in the left column of the double-column layout, but not in the right column. Users also had more fixations on page elements outside of the textual content, such as ads, when they were browsing than when they were searching.
Testing the Efficacy of Synthetic Vision during Non-Normal Operations as an Enabling Technology for Equivalent Visual Operations
Authors: Kramer Lynda J. , Williams Steven P.
Published: January 2012

Synthetic Vision (SV) may serve as a revolutionary crew/vehicle interface enabling technology to meet the challenges of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) concept - that is, the ability to achieve or even improve on the safety of Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations, maintain the operational tempos of VFR, and potentially retain VFR procedures independent of actual weather and visibility conditions. One significant challenge lies in the definition of required equipage on the aircraft and on the airport to enable the EVO concept objective. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of the presence or absence of SV, the location (head-up or head-down) of this information during an instrument approach, and the type of airport lighting information on landing minima. Another key element of the testing entailed investigating the pilot's awareness and reaction to non-normal events (i.e., failure conditions) that were unexpectedly introduced into the experiment. These non-normals are critical determinants in the underlying safety of all-weather operations. This paper presents the experimental results specific to pilot response to non-normal events using head-up and head-down synthetic vision displays.
You Cannot Ignore It: Attention to ‘Irrelevant’ Sound during a Pre-exposure Period Does Not Reduce its Disruption of Serial Recall
Authors: Perham Nick , Banbury Simon
Published: January 2012

The deleterious effects of background sound on performance are documented in both the applied and auditory distraction literature (e.g., Perham, Banbury & Jones, 2007a, 2007b). However, debate surrounds whether background sound can be habituated to through pre-exposure. Potential support comes from the attentional capture account where irrelevant sound captures attention through an orienting response (OR) and habituation of this reduces auditory distraction (Cowan, 1995). However, there is a difference between the original conception of the OR and that proposed by Cowan: the former required attention to stimuli whereas the latter required inattention (Jones, Macken, & Mosdell, 1997). This conceptual difference was tested using pre- and post-exposure serial recall performance under quiet, matched (attention to same sound during exposure and serial recall) and mismatched (attention to alternative sound during exposure and serial recall) conditions. The lack of difference between conditions suggests that attending to irrelevant sound does not reduce auditory distraction.
Simulator Sickness during Head Mounted Display (HMD) of Real World Video Captured Scenes
Authors: Moss Jason , Scisco Jenna , Muth Eric
Published: January 2012

The effect of viewing a display of the “real-world” via an HMD on simulator sickness was investigated. We hypothesized that simulator sickness would increase as time performing a task wearing an HMD increased. Also, we predicted that viewing a “real-world” display via an HMD compared to a control of not using an HMD would result in greater sickness. Participants made 200 head movements to look at eight different objects during two within-subjects conditions: (1) wearing an HMD and viewing a video display of the room; and (2) not wearing an HMD. Sickness scores were greater when viewing the room through the HMD and increased as time on task increased in both conditions. These findings suggested that characteristics of the HMD as well as task performance may have contributed to simulator sickness.
An Evaluation of the Long Duration use of an Head Mounted Display
Authors: Litaker Harry , Thompson Shelby , Archer Ronald
Published: January 2012

The goal of the current study was to fill a gap in the literature concerning the long duration use of a near-eye head/helmet mounted display (HMD). This research has been an ongoing endeavor to create a Mobile Information SysTem (MIST) that could aid in Intravehicular (IVA) and Extravehicular (EVA) activities with astronauts. There have been numerous publications discussing the use of near-eye HMDs, or immersive environments, and physiological side effects, but relatively none examining long duration effects. Two participants wore the MIST, including a near-eye HMD, for approximately four hours to examine the long duration effects. Using a Cooper Harper, Corlett and Bishop Discomfort Scale, and NASA TLX, we found little to no significant differences between participants over time, and in most cases, scores improved with time. These results suggest that persons can don and use an HMD for long periods of time with no physical side effects.
Developing a Framework for Intuitive Human-Computer Interaction
Authors: O'Brien Marita A. , Rogers Wendy A. , Fisk Arthur D.
Published: January 2012

Many technology marketing materials tout the intuitive nature of products, but current human-computer interaction (HCI) guidelines provide limited methods to help designers create this experience beyond making them easy to use. This paper proposes a definition for intuitive interaction with specific attributes to allow designers to create products that elicit the target experience. Review of relevant literatures provides empirical evidence for the suggested working definition of intuitive HCI: interactions between humans and high technology in lenient learning environments that allow the human to use a combination of prior experience and feedforward methods to achieve an individual's functional and abstract goals. Core concepts supporting this definition were compiled into an organizational framework that includes: seeking user goals, performing well-learned behavior, determining what to do next, metacognition, knowledge in the head, and knowledge in the world. This paper describes these concepts and proposes design approaches that could facilitate intuitive behavior and suggests areas for further research.
Ecological Aesthetics Design: Presenting a Framework for Product Aesthetics
Authors: Rahman Moin , Jhangiani Ira
Published: January 2012

We have utilized the principles of ecological psychology in general, and its concept of “direct perception” (Gibson, 1966) in particular, to develop the Ecological Aesthetics Design (EAD) framework to explain how the ecology of a consumer influences his aesthetic judgment of a product. In the EAD framework, we have identified three ecologies (physical, socio-cultural and experience), which together, inform and influence a consumer's aesthetic judgment. Furthermore, based on findings from affective sciences, we show that aesthetic judgment itself is a form of direct perception, which actually is a nonconscious mode of gleaning a product's attributes (quality, function, etc.) through its appearance. The EAD approach provides a much needed framework for product designers to systematically determine the aesthetic requirements of a product for a specific group of consumers whose tastes, dispositions and attitudes are shaped by their ecology.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner – a Case Study in Large-Scale Design Integration
Authors: McMullin D. L. , Jacobsen A. R. , Carvan D. C. , Gardner R. J. , Goegan J. A. , Koehn M. S.
Published: January 2012

The development of an all-new commercial transport airplane presents a unique opportunity for the practical application of human factors and ergonomics skills and methods in a large-scale engineering program. From satisfying the needs and desires of a widely diverse global user population that includes passengers, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance workers, ground service personnel, and factory workers; to ensuring that the human interface is appropriately addressed across the whole airplane, including a vast array of systems; the integration of human factors into the overall design process represents a significant challenge to the human factors' community. Successfully balancing key human interface parameters such as safety, usability, producibility, maintainability, and training along with other design parameters such as economic viability, airplane mission requirements, and physical design constraints like weight, drag, and volume is the goal of human system integration.
Evaluation of Input Control Type and Screen View Orientation for a Hand-Held Radiation Detector
Authors: Crowe James , Castillejos Pamela , Herring Scarlett , Hallbeck M. Susan
Published: January 2012

Current radiation detectors are unwieldy, heavy, difficult to use and thus are not ergonomically designed. Easily usable control mechanisms are imperative for comfort, usability and accuracy for hand-held tools such as radiation detectors. A study, employing participants, examined the usability, design, and comfort of different handle designs and control mechanisms The purpose was to evaluate the prototypes for the main effects of control mechanism type, control orientation and word orientation on performance time. According to research findings for control type, the fastest performance time was found with vertically oriented push buttons and a vertical word orientation. The subjective results also showed a user preference for the vertical push button control. The results from this study can be used to drive future research and help develop a working prototype for a hand-held neutron detector.
A Comparison of Two Middle School Backpacks with Varying Comfort Features under an Increasing Load
Authors: Bauer Denise H. , Freivalds Andris
Published: January 2012

With an increase in schoolchildren reporting back pain, health officials are concerned over the long-term effects of carrying backpacks. One possible concern could be the type of backpack children are wearing. Two backpacks with varying comfort features were compared through a series of physiological and psychophysical measurements. It was found that there were no differences between the two backpacks and that choosing a backpack should possibly be a personal choice.
Understanding the Required Resources in Line Graph Comprehension
Authors: Fausset Cara Bailey , Rogers Wendy A. , Fisk Arthur D.
Published: January 2012

Visual line graphs are a prevalent form of communication as they provide a pictorial means to display relationships between entities. As such, understanding the cognitive resources required in processing line graphs would inform designers how to optimize the use of graphical displays. This study systematically investigated how graph task performance changes as a function of attention allocation (full or divided) and concurrent memory task (spatial or verbal). Twenty-four younger adults (mean age 19.2 years) completed either a trend comparison task or a point estimation task and a concurrent spatial or verbal task. Trend comparison performance did not significantly differ between the full and divided attention conditions; mean performance for all conditions was over 90% accurate. Interestingly, participants' point estimation performance was significantly better for the two divided attention conditions compared to the full attention condition which may be attributed to a motivational or stimulus effect. This study provides a base from which more research can be conducted to understand the verbal and spatial resources required in graph comprehension.
Drivers and Passengers: Are the Perceptions of Braking Time the Same?
Authors: Kelling Nicholas J. , Ryan Christopher D. , Halter Jeffery T. , Corso Gregory M.
Published: January 2012

Two experiments were performed to investigate how the driving situation is perceived differently as a driver versus a passenger. The first experiment utilized an “ideal” brake onset time identified by previous research and investigated differences in the perception of “safe” and “comfort” between drivers and passengers. Both drivers and passengers were presented with animations of a driving situation. The animations involved different rates of closure between the vehicle being driven and a lead vehicle, stopping distances (based on time and rate of closure), and whether or not the lead vehicle was moving or stopped. Results show that participants preferred the proposed “ideal” brake onset time more than other times for all rates of closure. Also noted were significant differences between the perceptions of drivers and passengers. The second experiment explored the same questions of comfort and safety when in a simulated driving situation. Unlike the first experiment, in this experiment the driver stopped the animation. The results from the second experiment confirm those found in the first experiment.
Ethical and Privacy Issues with On-Road Driving Data: Panel Discussion
Authors: Chrysler Susan , Lee John D. , Lee Suzanne , Sayer James
Published: January 2012

As increased availability of low-cost video and vehicle instrumentation enables researchers to gather enormous sums of detailed information about driver behavior, researchers are forced to address a complex array of associated ethical and privacy issues. At the same time, new vehicle technologies include features which track location and store vehicle data. This panel discussion will concentrate on the identification of ethical and privacy problems, ideas, and solutions with the goal of working toward a set of definitions and guidelines that could be considered best practices in the conduct of on-road driving research and in the handling of personal travel data.
Response to Intersection Conflict Situations Across Driver Age and Experience
Authors: Dow Ben , Brown Tim , Marshall Dawn
Published: January 2012

Automobile crashes are a leading cause of death for teens, and intersections are common sites for crashes. Understanding how novice teen drivers respond differently than experienced adult drivers in common potential crash situations may further efforts to reduce the risk associated with teen drivers. A study involving novice teen drivers duplicated a portion of the protocol from a study involving adult drivers in order to compare novice teen performance to that of older and more experienced age groups. Two intersection events are examined: oncoming left turn and unexpected cross traffic from the right. Four categories of variables are used: anticipation of the event, response to the event, reaction time, and safety implications. Anticipation: novice drivers are the least likely to anticipate potential threats, whereas older drivers are the most likely anticipate such dangers. Response: overall, older participants were much more likely to steer to avoid and middle-aged drivers were the least likely to only apply the brakes. Reaction time: novice drivers had the fastest transition time to braking, and, interestingly, their reactions differed significantly from those of young drivers. Safety implications: novice drivers had the shortest values for minimum TTC, and older drivers had the largest values. Conclusions: older drivers had the largest safety margins, and despite novice teen drivers' faster reaction times, their safety margins are quite similar to middle-aged adult drivers.
How Much to Share with Users during Usability Testing
Authors: Roberts Linda , Barrett Natasha , Marr Emily
Published: January 2012

This study evaluated user behaviors during two different testing environments: no intervention (unfacilitated) versus moderate intervention (facilitated). Nineteen participants evaluated a complex 3-D application with about half in each of the two conditions. All subjects carried out a series of tasks and, for each task, we gathered completion times, ease of use and importance ratings, as well as open-ended comments and suggestions for improvement. At the end of the study, participants made System Usability Scale (SUS) and other ratings and gave overall impressions of the application. There were no differences depending on group (facilitated versus unfacilitated) for any of the quantitative task measures, including: percent success, time to complete the tasks, ease of use ratings, and importance ratings. However, we observed differences in suggestions for improving the application; comments were much richer and more useful for the facilitated group. There were reliable group differences in some of the general measures following task completion, including SUS ratings. These findings are discussed in relation to other observations in the literature and pros and cons of each method are described.
A Comparison between Cue-Based, Exemplar-Based, and Production-Based Training in an Air Traffic Control Scenario
Authors: Wiggins Mark W. , Glass Renee
Published: January 2012

The aim of this project was to investigate the extent to which a cue-augmented approach to training would facilitate the acquisition of skilled performance in a simulated air traffic control task. Four training conditions were developed, three of which were designed on the basis of different theoretical approaches to skill acquisition. The context for the research was air traffic control as it provided a useful, applied stimulus that involved correct or incorrect responses. Participants were tasked with learning to recognize when aircraft, displayed on a simulated air traffic control display, would be likely to be involved in a conflict in the absence of change in altitude or track. The results indicated that the generalization of training outcomes to novel stimuli was least accurate when exemplars were provided in the absence of augmented cue or production-based information. The outcomes of this research have implications for the design of training initiatives in applied operational settings.