Applying psychological science to the CCTV review process: a review of cognitive and ergonomic literature

As CCTV cameras are used more and more often to increase security in communities, police are spending a larger proportion of their resources, including time, in processing CCTV images when investigating crimes that have occurred (Levesley & Martin, 2005; Nichols, 2001). As with all tasks, there are ways to approach this task that will facilitate performance and other approaches that will degrade performance, either by increasing errors or by unnecessarily prolonging the process. A clearer understanding of psychological factors influencing the effectiveness of footage review will facilitate future training in best practice with respect to the review of CCTV footage. The goal of this report is to provide such understanding by reviewing research on footage review, research on related tasks that require similar skills, and experimental laboratory research about the cognitive skills underpinning the task. The report is organised to address five challenges to effectiveness of CCTV review: the effects of the degraded nature of CCTV footage, distractions and interrupts, the length of the task, inappropriate mindset, and variability in people’s abilities and experience. Recommendations for optimising CCTV footage review include (1) doing a cognitive task analysis to increase understanding of the ways in which performance might be limited, (2) exploiting technology advances to maximise the perceptual quality of the footage (3) training people to improve the flexibility of their mindset as they perceive and interpret the images seen, (4) monitoring performance either on an ongoing basis, by using psychophysiological measures of alertness, or periodically, by testing screeners’ ability to find evidence in footage developed for such testing, and (5) evaluating the relevance of possible selection tests to screen effective from ineffective screener

Visualizing a Task Performer’s Gaze to Foster Observers’ Performance and Learning : a Systematic Literature Review on Eye Movement Modeling Examples

Eye movement modeling examples (EMMEs) are instructional videos (e.g., tutorials) that visualize another person’s gaze location while they demonstrate how to perform a task. This systematic literature review provides a detailed overview of studies on the effects of EMME to foster observers’ performance and learning and highlights their differences in EMME designs. Through a broad, systematic search on four relevant databases, we identified 72 EMME studies (78 experiments). First, we created an overview of the different study backgrounds. Studies most often taught tasks from the domains of sports/physical education, medicine, aviation, and STEM areas and had different rationales for displaying EMME. Next, we outlined how studies differed in terms of participant characteristics, task types, and the design of the EMME materials, which makes it hard to infer how these differences affect performance and learning. Third, we concluded that the vast majority of the experiments showed at least some positive effects of EMME during learning, on tests directly after learning, and tests after a delay. Finally, our results provide a first indication of which EMME characteristics may positively influence learning. Future research should start to more systematically examine the effects of specific EMME design choices for specific participant populations and task types

The interplay between methodologies, tasks and visualisation formats in the study of visual expertise

The author examines the  methodological contributions of the ten unique reviews developed in this special issue on the methodologies for studying visual expertise. Opportunities, research results and lessons, offered by each methodology are analyzed according to four dimensions criteria: (i) The different levels of visual and cognitive processes targeted in the different methods; (ii) The effect of the task gaols and  task design on the outcomes; (iii) The potential effect of the format (dynamic versus static) of the visual material and the interactive features provided in previous studies (iv) The potential modulating effect of learners individual differences. Concluding comments are developed  about the limitations of each method but also about the challenge and promises of designing and using combined and synchronized methods

The development of a human-robot interface for industrial collaborative system

Industrial robots have been identified as one of the most effective solutions for optimising output and quality within many industries. However, there are a number of manufacturing applications involving complex tasks and inconstant components which prohibit the use of fully automated solutions in the foreseeable future. A breakthrough in robotic technologies and changes in safety legislations have supported the creation of robots that coexist and assist humans in industrial applications. It has been broadly recognised that human-robot collaborative systems would be a realistic solution as an advanced production system with wide range of applications and high economic impact. This type of system can utilise the best of both worlds, where the robot can perform simple tasks that require high repeatability while the human performs tasks that require judgement and dexterity of the human hands. Robots in such system will operate as “intelligent assistants”. In a collaborative working environment, robot and human share the same working area, and interact with each other. This level of interface will require effective ways of communication and collaboration to avoid unwanted conflicts. This project aims to create a user interface for industrial collaborative robot system through integration of current robotic technologies. The robotic system is designed for seamless collaboration with a human in close proximity. The system is capable to communicate with the human via the exchange of gestures, as well as visual signal which operators can observe and comprehend at a glance. The main objective of this PhD is to develop a Human-Robot Interface (HRI) for communication with an industrial collaborative robot during collaboration in proximity. The system is developed in conjunction with a small scale collaborative robot system which has been integrated using off-the-shelf components. The system should be capable of receiving input from the human user via an intuitive method as well as indicating its status to the user ii effectively. The HRI will be developed using a combination of hardware integrations and software developments. The software and the control framework were developed in a way that is applicable to other industrial robots in the future. The developed gesture command system is demonstrated on a heavy duty industrial robot

Implications of Designing Instructional Video Using Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

This study explored the implications of designing instructional video using an integrated model includes segmenting, signaling, and weeding. Two intact sections (n=226) participated in the study, treatment group learned from a video designed with SSW model and the control group learned from the original video. The SSW design has several implications: the SSW model is an effective way to design instructional video, improves students’ learning outcomes, reduces their perceived learning difficulty, assists and promotes their higher-level learning. Each design principle has its unique effect on the leaning goals and facilitates certain learning outcomes and loses its potency for others. Finally, SSW model may better be used with long video to adjust students’ metacognitive process to the new video design

Training Effects of Adaptive Emotive Responses From Animated Agents in Simulated Environments

Humans are distinct from machines in their capacity to emote, stimulate, and express emotions. Because emotions play such an important role in human interactions, human-like agents used in pedagogical roles for simulation-based training should properly reflect emotions. Currently, research concerning the development of this type of agent focuses on basic agent interface characteristics, as well as character building qualities. However, human-like agents should provide emotion-like qualities that are clearly expressed, properly synchronized, and that simulate complex, real-time interactions through adaptive emotion systems. The research conducted for this dissertation was a quantitative investigation using 3 (within) x 2 (between) x 3 (within) factorial design. A total of 56 paid participants consented to complete the study. Independent variables included emotion intensity (i.e., low, moderate, and high emotion), levels of expertise (novice participant versus experienced participant), and number of trials. Dependent measures included visual attention, emotional response towards the animated agents, simulation performance score, and learners\u27 perception of the pedagogical agent persona while participants interacted with a pain assessment and management simulation. While no relationships were indicated between the levels of emotion intensity portrayed by the animated agents and the participants\u27 visual attention, emotional response towards the animated agent, and simulation performance score, there were significant relationships between the level of expertise of the participant and the visual attention, emotional responses, and performance outcomes. The results indicated that nursing students had higher visual attention during their interaction with the animated agents. Additionally, nursing students expressed more neutral facial expression whereas experienced nurses expressed more emotional facial expressions towards the animated agents. The results of the simulation performance scores indicated that nursing students obtained higher performance scores in the pain assessment and management task than experienced nurses. Both groups of participants had a positive perception of the animated agents persona

AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER-BASED ANIMATIONS AND VISUALIZATION SEQUENCE ON LEARNERS' UNDERSTANDING OF HADLEY CELLS IN ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

Research examining animation use for student learning has been conducted in the last two decades across a multitude of instructional environments and content areas. The extensive construction and implementation of animations in learning resulted from the availability of powerful computing systems and the perceived advantages the novel medium offered to deliver dynamic representations of complex systems beyond the human perceptual scale. Animations replaced or supplemented text and static diagrams of system functioning and were predicted to significantly improve learners' conceptual understanding of target systems. However, subsequent research has not consistently discovered affordances to understanding, and in some cases, has actually shown that animation use is detrimental to system understanding especially for content area novices (Lowe 2004; Mayer et al. 2005). This study sought to determine whether animation inclusion in an authentic learning context improved student understanding for an introductory earth science concept, Hadley Cell circulation. In addition, the study sought to determine whether the timing of animation examination improved conceptual understanding. A quasi-experimental pretest posttest design administered in an undergraduate science lecture and laboratory course compared four different learning conditions: text and static diagrams with no animation use, animation use prior to the examination of text and static diagrams, animation use following the examination of text and static diagrams, and animation use during the examination of text and static diagrams. Additionally, procedural data for a sample of three students in each condition were recorded and analyzed through the lens of self regulated learning (SRL) behaviors. The aim was to determine whether qualitative differences existed between cognitive processes employed. Results indicated that animation use did not improve understanding across all conditions. However learners able to employ animations while reading and examining the static diagrams and to a lesser extent, after reading the system description, showed evidence of higher levels of system understanding on posttest assessments. Procedural data found few differences between groups with one exception---learners given access to animations during the learning episode chose to examine and coordinate the representations more frequently. These results indicated a new finding from the use of animation, a sequence effect to improve understanding of Hadley Cells in atmospheric circulation

Macht der kognitive Stil einen Unterschied?: Folgen verschiedener Visualisierungsarten und Modalitäten für den Lernerfolg in Bezug auf den visuellen und verbalen kognitiven Stil

This doctoral thesis is based on three quantitative studies conducted on 464 participants. The main goal was to investigate the role of visual-verbal cognitive style when learning with dynamic and non-dynamic learning materials. The first study revealed important differences regarding the way in which visualizers and verbalizers observe static picture/text combinations in order to learn from them. That is to say that visualizers concentrated mostly on pictures while verbalizers on texts, exhibiting an active way of learning but mostly within textual (verbalizers) or pictorial (visualizers) areas of stimuli. Contradictory to expectations, visualizers did not directly show any supremacy in dealing with pictures, as they did not identify relevant areas sooner than verbalizers. Indirectly though, the results confirmed that verbalizers are less proficient in decoding pictorial information, as they switched to non-informative parts of it sooner than visualizers. Although the retention test did not show any differences on learning outcomes between both groups, visualizers achieved better results on a comprehension test. The results of the second study confirmed that, when learning with system controlled multimedia environments, spoken explanatory narration brings better results than a written one does. Additionally, an influence of the visual cognitive style on learning with written explanatory text was found. That is, when using a combination of static pictures and written text, higher visual cognitive style comes along with better learning outcome. On the other hand, a combination of higher visual cognitive style, animation and written modality of explanations results in deterioration of learning outcome. The study did not provide any significant results regarding an influence of verbal cognitive style on learning. In the third study the issues of learner/ system control were addressed, when learning with spoken modality of explanatory text. The results revealed that spoken modality design yielded better outcomes when learning in system-paced design rather than self-paced and with animation rather than static pictures. In the group of highly developed visualizers though, the combination of static pictures, self-pacing and spoken narration led to a decline of learning outcomes and to cognitive overload. Again, there were no significant results regarding the verbal cognitive style. The results of the three studies support the assumption of an important role of cognitive style in learning. They indicate a moderating role of visual cognitive style when learning with dynamic and non-dynamic multimedia. This role depends on the design (self-controlled, system-controlled) and modality of explanations (spoken, written) though. Additionally, the differences in gaze patterns between visualizers and verbalizers shed more light on the way in which these two groups of learners retrieve information from multimedia materials. This doctoral research makes a contribution to theoretical research on multimedia learning and cognitive styles, as well as to practical implications on learning materials’ design and efficient education.Diese Dissertation umfasst drei quantitative Studien mit insgesamt 464 Teilnehmern. Dabei war das Hauptziel, die Rolle visueller und verbaler kognitiver Stile beim Lernen mit dynamischen und nicht-dynamischen Lernmaterialien zu untersuchen. Die erste Studie enthüllte deutliche Unterschiede in Bezug auf die Art und Weise, in welcher Visualisierer und Verbalisierer statische Bild/Text-Kombinationen analysieren, um von diesen zu lernen. Konkret konzentrieren sich Visualisierer primär auf die Bilder, wohingegen Verbalisierer eher auf die Texte fokussieren. Lernende beider Typen weisen jedoch dabei eine aktive Art des Lernens innerhalb ihrer präferierten Stimuli auf. Entgegen der Erwartungen zeigten Visualisierer jedoch keine Überlegenheit im Umgang mit Bildern im Vergleich zu Verbalisierern, da sie keine schnellere und effektivere Identifikation relevanter Bereiche innerhalb der Bilder erzielten. Indirekt bestätigen jedoch die Ergebnisse, dass Verbalisierer weniger Kompetenzen im Umgang mit Bildinformationen aufwiesen, da sie schneller auf die nicht-informativen Bereiche der Bilder wechselten als die Visualisierer. Obwohl der Wissenstest in Bezug auf den Lernerfolg keine Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Gruppen zeigte, erreichten die Visualisierer bessere Resultate im Verständnistest. Die Ergebnisse der zweiten Studie bestätigten, dass beim Lernen mit einer multimedialen, nichtinteraktiven Lernumgebung eine auditive Erklärung zu besseren Lernergebnissen führt als ein schriftlich dargebotener Text. Zudem konnte ein Einfluss des visuellen kognitiven Stils auf das Lernen mit Texten aufgezeigt werden. Dieser stellt sich durch die Tatsache dar, dass Personen mit einem ausgeprägteren visuellen kognitiven Stil einen besseren Lernerfolg erzielen, wenn eine Kombination aus statischen Bildern und geschriebenem Text verwendet wird. Andererseits kann jedoch eine Kombination aus einem ausgeprägten visuellen kognitiven Stil, Animationen und auditiven Erklärungen wiederum zu einer Verschlechterung des Lernerfolgs führen. Die Studie konnte jedoch keine signifikanten Ergebnisse in Bezug auf den Einfluss verbaler kognitiver Stile auf das Lernen nachweisen. In der dritten Studie ging es um den Einfluss interaktiver Kontrollelemente (selbstgesteuert vs. systemgesteuert) beim Lernen mit auditiven Erklärungen oder schriftlichen Texten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass auditive Erklärungen zu besseren Lernerfolgen führt, wenn systemgesteuert statt selbstgesteuert (also nicht-interaktiv) gelernt wird. Zudem zeigte in diesem Fall die Verwendung von Animationen bessere Resultate als die von statischen Bildern. In der Gruppe der „Visualisierer“ mit ausgeprägtem visuellen kognitiven Stil führte die Kombination von statischen Bildern, selbstgesteuertem Design und auditiv dargebotenen Informationen hingegen zu einer kognitiven Überlastung und einem Rückgang der Lernerfolge. Auch in dieser Studie gab es keine signifikanten Ergebnisse in Bezug auf den verbalen kognitiven Stil. Die Ergebnisse der drei Studien unterstützen die Annahme, dass der kognitive Stil eine wichtige Rolle beim Lernen spielt. Insbesondere der visuelle kognitive Stil scheint einen moderierenden Einfluss beim Lernen mit dynamischen und nicht-dynamischen Medien auszuüben. Dieser Einfluss hängt dabei vom Design (selbstgesteuert vs. systemgesteuert) und der Modalität der Erklärungen (auditiv vs. textuell) ab. Zudem konnte durch die Analyse der Blickmuster zwischen Visualisierern und Verbalisierern ein erweitertes Verständnis darüber gewonnen werden, wie die beiden Gruppen unterschiedlich mit Informationen aus multimedialen Materialien umgehen. Diese Doktorarbeit leistet damit einen Beitrag zur theoretischen Forschung im Bereich des multimedialen Lernens und kognitiver Stile sowie zu praktischen Konsequenzen des Designs von Lernmaterialien zu effektiver Bildung

Anatomy: The Relationship Between Internal and External Visualizations

This dissertation explored the relationship between internal and external visualizations and the implications of this relationship for comprehending visuospatial anatomical information. External visualizations comprised different computer representations of anatomical structures, including: static, animated, non-interactive, interactive, non-stereoscopic, and stereoscopic visualizations. Internal visualizations involved examining participants’ ability to apprehend, encode, and manipulate mental representations (i.e., spatial visualization ability or Vz). Comprehension was measured with a novel spatial anatomy task that involved mental manipulation of anatomical structures in three-dimensions and two-dimensional cross-sections. It was hypothesized that performance on the spatial anatomy task would involve a trade-off between internal and external visualizations available to the learner. Results from experiments 1, 2, and 3 demonstrated that in the absence of computer visualizations, spatial visualization ability (Vz) was the main contributor to variation in spatial anatomy task performance. Subjects with high Vz scored higher, spent less time, and were more accurate than those with low Vz. In the presence of external computer visualizations, variation in task performance was attributed to both Vz and visuospatial characteristics of the computer visualization. While static representations improved performance of high- and low-Vz subjects equally, animations particularly benefited high Vz subjects, as their mean score on the SAT was significantly higher than the mean score of low Vz subjects. The addition of interactivity and stereopsis to the displays offered no additional advantages over non-interactive and non-stereoscopic visualizations. Interactive, non-interactive, stereoscopic and non-stereoscopic visualizations improved the performance of high- and low-Vz subjects equally. It was concluded that comprehension of visuospatial anatomical information involved a trade-off between the perception of external visualizations and the ability to maintain and manipulate internal visualizations. There is an inherent belief that increasing the educational effectiveness of computer visualizations is a mere question of making them dynamic, interactive, and/or realistic. However, experiments 1, 2, and 3 clearly demonstrate that this is not the case, and that the benefits of computer visualizations vary according to learner characteristics, particularly spatial visualization ability