IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Subject "Human-computer interaction"

Browsing by Subject "Human-computer interaction"

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A Framework for Training Animals to Use Touchscreen Devices for Discrimination Tasks
(ACM, 2022-12) Cunha, Jennifer M.; Renguette, Corinne C.; Technology Leadership and Communication, School of Engineering and Technology
Recent technological advances have made touchscreen devices more widely available for animal-computer interaction, but there is little consensus about methods for discrimination task training frameworks. Here we discuss the potential enrichment and communicative uses for touchscreen-based interactions as well as benefits and limitations of automated learning systems and social learning systems. We review the literature for discrimination training methods on touchscreen devices for a variety of species and discuss what we recommend as an expanded framework for cross-species discrimination training methods. This framework includes environment and device selection and setup, orientation and habituation, touchscreen shaping skills, and discrimination training. When done ethically, human-assisted animal interaction with technology can improve psychological wellbeing and cognitive enrichment through environmental choice and control, enhance human-animal relationships, and provide data collection opportunities for research.
ACTIVE READING ON TABLET TEXTBOOKS
(2015-04-17) Palilonis, Jennifer Ann; Defazio, Joseph; Bolchini, Davide; Butler, Darrell; Voida, Amy
To study a text, learners often engage in active reading. Through active reading, learners build an analysis by annotating, outlining, summarizing, reorganizing and synthesizing information. These strategies serve a fundamental meta-cognitive function that allows content to leave strong memory traces and helps learners reflect, understand, and recall information. Textbooks, however, are becoming more complex as new technologies change how they are designed and delivered. Interactive, touch-screen tablets offer multi-touch interaction, annotation features, and multimedia content as a browse-able book. Yet, such tablet textbooks-in spite of their increasing availability in educational settings-have received little empirical scrutiny regarding how they support and engender active reading. To address this issue, this dissertation reports on a series of studies designed to further our understanding of active reading with tablet textbooks. An exploratory study first examined strategies learners enact when reading and annotating in the tablet environment. Findings indicate learners are often distracted by touch screen mechanics, struggle to effectively annotate information delivered in audiovisuals, and labor to cognitively make connections between annotations and the content/media source from which they originated. These results inspired SMART Note, a suite of novel multimedia annotation tools for tablet textbooks designed to support active reading by: minimizing interaction mechanics during active reading, providing robust annotation for multimedia, and improving built-in study tools. The system was iteratively developed through several rounds of usability and user experience evaluation. A comparative experiment found that SMART Note outperformed tablet annotation features on the market in terms of supporting learning experience, process, and outcomes. Together these studies served to extend the active reading framework for tablet textbooks to: (a) recognize the tension between active reading and mechanical interaction; (b) provide designs that facilitate cognitive connections between annotations and media formats; and (c) offer opportunities for personalization and meaningful reorganization of learning material.
Agreement Study Using Gesture Description Analysis
(IEEE, 2020-10) Madapana, Naveen; Gonzalez, Glebys; Zhang, Lingsong; Rodgers, Richard; Wachs, Juan; Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine
Choosing adequate gestures for touchless interfaces is a challenging task that has a direct impact on human-computer interaction. Such gestures are commonly determined by the designer, ad-hoc, rule-based or agreement-based methods. Previous approaches to assess agreement grouped the gestures into equivalence classes and ignored the integral properties that are shared between them. In this work, we propose a generalized framework that inherently incorporates the gesture descriptors into the agreement analysis (GDA). In contrast to previous approaches, we represent gestures using binary description vectors and allow them to be partially similar. In this context, we introduce a new metric referred to as Soft Agreement Rate (SAR) to measure the level of agreement and provide a mathematical justification for this metric. Further, we performed computational experiments to study the behavior of SAR and demonstrate that existing agreement metrics are a special case of our approach. Our method was evaluated and tested through a guessability study conducted with a group of neurosurgeons. Nevertheless, our formulation can be applied to any other user-elicitation study. Results show that the level of agreement obtained by SAR is 2.64 times higher than the previous metrics. Finally, we show that our approach complements the existing agreement techniques by generating an artificial lexicon based on the most agreed properties.
The audio/visual mismatch and the uncanny valley: an investigation using a mismatch in the human realism of facial and vocal aspects of stimuli
(2011-03-16) Szerszen, Kevin A.; MacDorman, Karl F.; Faiola, Anthony; Bolchini, Davide; Lu, Amy Shirong
Empirical research on the uncanny valley has primarily been concerned with visual elements. The current study is intended to show how manipulating auditory variables of the stimuli affect participant’s ratings. The focus of research is to investigate whether an uncanny valley effect occurs when humans are exposed to stimuli that have an incongruity between auditory and visual aspects. Participants were exposed to sets of stimuli which are both congruent and incongruent in their levels of audio/visual humanness. Explicit measures were used to explore if a mismatch in the human realism of facial and vocal aspects produces an uncanny valley effect and attempt to explain a possible cause of this effect. Results indicate that an uncanny valley effect occurs when humans are exposed to stimuli that have an incongruity between auditory and visual aspects.
Brand and usability in content-intensive websites
(2014-07-11) Yang, Tao; Bolchini, Davide; Pfaff, Mark; MacDorman, Karl F.; Cox, Anthony D.
Our connections to the digital world are invoked by brands, but the intersection of branding and interaction design is still an under-investigated area. Particularly, current websites are designed not only to support essential user tasks, but also to communicate an institution's intended brand values and traits. What we do not yet know, however, is which design factors affect which aspect of a brand. To demystify this issue, three sub-projects were conducted. The first project developed a systematic approach for evaluating the branding effectiveness of content-intensive websites (BREW). BREW gauges users' brand perceptions on four well-known branding constructs: brand as product, brand as organization, user image, and brand as person. It also provides rich guidelines for eBranding researchers in regard to planning and executing a user study and making improvement recommendations based on the study results. The second project offered a standardized perceived usability questionnaire entitled DEEP (design-oriented evaluation of perceived web usability). DEEP captures the perceived website usability on five design-oriented dimensions: content, information architecture, navigation, layout consistency, and visual guidance. While existing questionnaires assess more holistic concepts, such as ease-of-use and learnability, DEEP can more transparently reveal where the problem actually lies. Moreover, DEEP suggests that the two most critical and reliable usability dimensions are interface consistency and visual guidance. Capitalizing on the BREW approach and the findings from DEEP, a controlled experiment (N=261) was conducted by manipulating interface consistency and visual guidance of an anonymized university website to see how these variables may affect the university's image. Unexpectedly, consistency did not significantly predict brand image, while the effect of visual guidance on brand perception showed a remarkable gender difference. When visual guidance was significantly worsened, females became much less satisfied with the university in terms of brand as product (e.g., teaching and research quality) and user image (e.g., students' characteristics). In contrast, males' perceptions of the university's brand image stayed the same in most circumstances. The reason for this gender difference was revealed through a further path analysis and a follow-up interview, which inspired new research directions to unpack even more the nexus between branding and interaction design.
The effect of shared dynamic understanding on willingness to contribute information: design and analysis of a mega-collaborative interface
(2016-05-06) Newlon, Christine Mae; Bolchini, Davide P.; Faiola, Anthony; McDaniel, Anna M.; MacDorman, Karl F.
Collaborative helping via social networking conversation threads can pose serious challenges in emergency situations. Interfaces that support complex group interaction and sense-making can help. This research applies human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and collaboration engineering in developing an interactive design, the Mega-Collaboration Tool (MCT). The goal is to reduce the cognitive load of a group’s growing mental model, thus increasing the general public’s ability to organize spontaneous collaborative helping. The specific aims of this research include understanding the dynamics of mental model negotiation and determining whether MCT can assist the group’s sense-making ability without increasing net cognitive load. The proposed HCI theory is that interfaces supporting collaborative cognition motivate contribution and reduce information bias, thus increasing the information shared. These research questions are addressed: 1. Does MCT support better collaborative cognition? 2. Does increasing the size of the shared data repository increase the amount of information shared? 3. Does this happen because group members experience 1) a greater sense of strategic commitment to the knowledge structure, 2) increased intrinsic motivation to contribute, and 3) reduced resistance to sharing information? These questions were affirmed to varying degrees, giving insight into the collaborative process. Greater content did not motive group members directly; instead, half of their motivation came from awareness of their contribution’s relevance. Greater content and organization improved this awareness, and also encouraged sharing through increased enthusiasm and reduced bias. Increased commitment was a result of this process, rather than a cause. Also, MCT increased collaborative cognition but was significantly hampered by Internet performance. This challenge indicates MCT’s system components should be redesigned to allow asynchronous interaction. These results should contribute to the development of MCT, other collaboration engineering applications, and HCI and information science theory.
End-User Needs of Fragmented Databases in Higher Education Data Analysis and Decision Making
(2019-05) Briggs, Amanda; Cafaro, Francesco; Dombrowski, Lynn; Reda, Khairi
In higher education, a wealth of data is available to advisors, recruiters, marketers, and program directors. However, data sources can be accessed in a variety of ways and often do not seem to represent the same data set, presenting users with the confounding notion that data sources are in conflict with one another. As users are identifying new ways of accessing and analyzing this data, they are modifying existing work practices and sometimes creating their own databases. To understand how users are navigating these databases, the researchers employed a mixed methods research design including a survey and interview to understand the needs to end users who are accessing these seemingly fragmented databases. The study resulted in a three overarching categories – access, understandability, and use – that affect work practices for end users. The researchers used these themes to develop a set of broadly applicable design recommendations as well as six sets of sketches for implementation – development of a data gateway, training, collaboration, tracking, definitions and roadblocks, and time management.
End-User Needs of Fragmented Databases in Higher Education Data Analysis and Decision Making
(MDPI, 2021) Briggs, Amanda; Cafaro, Francesco; Human-Centered Computing, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
In higher education, a wealth of data is available to advisors, recruiters, marketers, and program directors. These large datasets can be accessed using an array of data analysis tools that may lead users to assume that data sources conflict with one another. As users identify new ways of accessing and analyzing these data, they deviate from existing work practices and sometimes create their own databases. This study investigated the needs of end users who are accessing these seemingly fragmented databases. Analysis of a survey completed by eighteen users and ten semi-structured interviews from five colleges and universities highlighted three recurring themes that affect work practices (access, understandability, and use), as well as a series of challenges and opportunities for the design of data gateways for higher education. We discuss a set of broadly applicable design recommendations and five design functionalities that the data gateways should support: training, collaboration, tracking, definitions and roadblocks, and time
An Examination of Coursera as an Information Environment: Does Coursera Fulfill its Mission to Provide Open Education to All?
(Taylor & Francis, 2013-07-29) Audsley, Samantha; Fernando, Kalyani; Maxson, Bronwen; Robinson, Brittany; Varney, Katie
In terms of international education, this concept of online education seems to be a growing trend. Edxonline.org, Minervaproject.com and Udacity.com are all new massive online open courses (MOOCs) —education websites similar to Coursera offering students the ability to receive the best education from elite universities entirely online. In this digital age, students are seeking ways to receive an education that is convenient and fits well with their lifestyles, but is also credible. The most tantalizing promise of a company like Coursera is the role it might play in improving education for the world’s have-nots: high school dropouts, the global poor, and those less able to self-teach (Kamenetz, 2012).
Eyes-free interaction with aural user interfaces
(2015-04-11) Rohani Ghahari, Romisa; Bolchini, Davide
Existing web applications force users to focus their visual attentions on mobile devices, while browsing content and services on the go (e.g., while walking or driving). To support mobile, eyes-free web browsing and minimize interaction with devices, designers can leverage the auditory channel. Whereas acoustic interfaces have proven to be effective in regard to reducing visual attention, a perplexing challenge exists in designing aural information architectures for the web because of its non-linear structure. To address this problem, we introduce and evaluate techniques to remodel existing information architectures as "playlists" of web content - aural flows. The use of aural flows in mobile web browsing can be seen in ANFORA News, a semi-aural mobile site designed to facilitate browsing large collections of news stories. An exploratory study involving frequent news readers (n=20) investigated the usability and navigation experiences with ANFORA News in a mobile setting. The initial evidence suggests that aural flows are a promising paradigm for supporting eyes-free mobile navigation while on the go. Interacting with aural flows, however, requires users to select interface buttons, tethering visual attention to the mobile device even when it is unsafe. To reduce visual interaction with the screen, we also explore the use of simulated voice commands to control aural flows. In a study, 20 participants browsed aural flows either through a visual interface or with a visual interface augmented by voice commands. The results suggest that using voice commands decreases by half the time spent looking at the device, but yields similar walking speeds, system usability and cognitive effort ratings as using buttons. To test the potential of using aural flows in a higher distracting context, a study (n=60) was conducted in a driving simulation lab. Each participant drove through three driving scenario complexities: low, moderate and high. Within each driving complexity, the participants went through an alternative aural application exposure: no device, voice-controlled aural flows (ANFORADrive) or alternative solution on the market (Umano). The results suggest that voice-controlled aural flows do not affect distraction, overall safety, cognitive effort, driving performance or driving behavior when compared to the no device condition.

Browsing by Subject "Human-computer interaction"

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