The neural correlates of ideation in product design engineering practitioners

In product design engineering (PDE), ideation involves the generation of technical behaviours and physical structures to address specific functional requirements. This differs from generic creative ideation tasks, which emphasise functional and technical considerations less. To advance knowledge about the neural basis of PDE ideation, we present the first fMRI study on professional product design engineers practising in industry. We aimed to explore brain activation during ideation, and compare activation in open-ended and constrained tasks. Imagery manipulation tasks were contrasted with ideation tasks in a sample of 29 PDE professionals. The key findings were: (1) PDE ideation is associated with greater activity in left cingulate gyrus; (2) there were no significant differences between open-ended and constrained tasks; and (3) a preliminary association with activity in the right superior temporal gyrus was also observed. The results are consistent with existing fMRI work on generic creative ideation, suggesting that PDE ideation may share a number of similarities at the neural level. Future work includes: functional connectivity analysis of open-ended and constrained ideation to further investigate potential differences; investigating the effects of aspects of design expertise/training on processing; and the use of novelty measures directly linked to the designer’s internal processing in fMRI analysis

On the relation between body and movement space representation: an experimental investigation on spinal cord injured people

Body Representation (BR) and Movement Space Perception (MSP) are fundamental for human beings in order to move in space and interact with object s and other people. Both BR and space representation change after spinal cord injuries in complete paraplegic individuals (CPP), who suffer from lower limbs paralysis and anesthesia. To date, the interaction between BR and MSP in paraplegic individuals rem ains unexplored. In two consecutive experiments, we tested I ) if the individual\u2019s wheelchair is embodied in BR; and ii) if the embodied wheelchair modifies the MSP. For the first question a speeded detection task was used. Participants had to respond to v isual stimuli flashing on their trunk, legs or wheelchair. In three counterbalanced conditions across participant, they took part to the experiment while: 1) sitting in their wheelchair, 2) in another wheelchair, or 3) with the LEDs on a wooden bar. To in dicate the embodiment, there was no difference in the CPP\u2019s responses for LEDs on the body and personal wheelchair while these were slower in other conditions After this, while sitting in their or another wheelchair, CPPs were asked to judge the slope of a ramp rendered in immersive virtual reality and to estimate the distance of a flag positioned over the ramp. When on their own wheelchair, CPPs perceived the flag closer than in the other wheelchair. These results indicate that the continuous use of a too l induces embodiment and that this i mpact on the perception of MSP

Psychological challenges for the analysis of style.

This article remains the copyright of Cambridge University Press. The definitive version of this article can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S089006040606015XAnalyses of styles in design have paid little attention to how people see style, and how designers use perceptions of style to guide designing. While formal and computational methods for analysing styles and generating designs provide impressively parsimonious accounts of what some styles are, they do not address many of the factors that influence how humans understand styles. The subtlety of human style judgements raises challenges for computational approaches to style. This paper differentiates between a range of distinct meanings of 'style', and explores how designers and ordinary people learn and apply perceptual similarity classes and style concepts in different situations to interpret and create designed artefacts. A range of psychological evidence indicates that style perception is dependent on knowledge, and involves the interaction of perceptual recognition of style features and explanatory inference processes that create a coherent understanding of an object as an exemplar of a style. This paper concludes by outlining how formal style analyses can be used in combination with psychological research to develop a fuller understanding of style perception and creative design

The design of speech-based automated mobile phone services using interface metaphors

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Interface metaphor is a widely used design technique for interactive computer systems. The advantages of using interface metaphors derive from their ability to promote active learning, which enables a user to transfer knowledge from a familiar real world domain, to an unfamiliar computing domain. Interface metaphor is not currently used for the design of automated phone services, and it was the aim of this thesis to examine whether interface metaphor could improve the usability of speech-activated automated mobile phone services. A human-centred design methodology was followed to generate, select, and develop potential metaphors, which were used to implement metaphor-based phone services. An experimental methodology was then used to compare the usability of the metaphor-based services with the usability of currently available number-based phone services. The first experiment examined the effect of three different interface metaphors on the usability of a mobile city guide service. Usability was measured as a range of performance and attitude measures, and was supplemented by telephone interview data. After three consecutive days of usage, participants both preferred, and performed better with, the service that was based on an office filing system metaphor. Experiment two was conducted over a six week period, and investigated the effect of users' individual differences, and the context of use, on the usability of both the office filing system metaphor-based service, and a non-metaphor service. The results showed that performance with the metaphor-based service was significantly better than performance with the non-metaphor service. The usability of the metaphor-based service was not significantly affected by users' individual characteristics and aptitudes, whereas the number-based service was, suggesting that metaphor-based services may be more usable for a wider range of potential users. Usability levels for both services were found to be consistent across both private and public locations of use, suggesting that speech-activated mobile phone services provide a flexible means of information access. Experiment three investigated the strategies used by participants when interacting with mobile phone services, specifically the visualisation strategy that was used by two thirds of the metaphor-based service participants in experiment two. In addition to the attitude and performance measures used for experiments one and two, face-to face interviews were conducted with participants. The results indicated that significantly more participants visualised the metaphor-based services relative to a non-metaphor service, and that visualisation of the service structure led to significant performance improvements. This thesis has demonstrated the usability benefits of interface metaphor as a design technique for speech-based mobile phone services. These benefits of metaphor appear to derive from their ability to provide a mental model of the phone service that can be visualised, and their ability to accommodate the individual differences of users

Barriers to creativity in the conceptual phase of engineering design : perceptions of designers at Rolls Royce Aerospace (Bristol) in new projects engineering

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/693 on 03.04.2017 by CS (TIS)Anecdotal evidence from experienced engineers suggest that barriers to creativity are often due to the limitations of current technology, methods and support systems (Baird, Moore, & Jagodzinski, 2000). The aim of this research was to explore what the perceived barriers to creativity are and how they are circumvented by design engineers working in New Projects Engineering (NPE), Rolls-Royce Aerospace (Bristol). Semi-structured interviews with four employees working in engineering design comprised a Scoping Study. This provided a general overview of the major issues perceived by the design engineers regarding barriers to creativity and resulted in six themes being identified. These themes were used as a framework for a Design Group Interviews Study that followed. Sixteen engineers comprising project managers, team leaders, experienced designers and new designers, graduate employees and trainees were interviewed using the same method. Using grounded theory to analyse the data, sixteen categories were drawn from the data. Confirmation of the findings was achieved through presentations and workshops with different groups from Rolls-Royce, and the development of an Interrelationship Digraph illustrating the relationships between the categories. The second phase of the research focused on the phenomena under current working conditions. In the Tracking Study interview diaries recorded with thirteen design engineers over an eight week period highlighted the salient issues relating to their perceived barriers to creativity. Thirteen categories (some of which could be mapped onto the previous categories and some which were new) were drawn from the data. Validation of the categories was achieved through direct observations of two design engineers in the week long Shadowing Study and completed this phase of the research. Mapping and interpretation of the findings in relation to the literature obtained further verification. From these analyses it was becoming evident that perceived barriers to creativity were present at many different layers of the enterprise from a macro, organisational level to the micro-environment of the individual design engineer. The final phase entailed the development of a conditional/consequential matrix model to illustrate the relationship between the macro and micro conditions, under which barriers to creativity were investigated, leading to the development of a theory. The final conclusions and suggestions for improvements demonstrate the relationship between high/low barriers and high/low creativity. The research has shown the benefits of taking an interdisciplinary socio-technical approach and has highlighted the importance and relevance of the social dimension, as well as the technological, in the investigation of engineering design.Rolls-Royce pl

Between risk mitigation and labour rights enforcement: Assessing the transatlantic race to govern AI-driven decision-making through a comparative lens

In this article, we provide an overview of efforts to regulate the various phases of the artificial intelligence (AI) life cycle. In doing so, we examine whether—and, if so, to what extent—highly fragmented legal frameworks are able to provide safeguards capable of preventing the dangers that stem from AI- and algorithm-driven organisational practices. We critically analyse related developments at the European Union (EU) level, namely the General Data Protection Regulation, the draft AI Regulation, and the proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions in platform work. We also consider bills and regulations proposed or adopted in the United States and Canada via a transatlantic comparative approach, underlining analogies and variations between EU and North American attitudes towards the risk assessment and management of AI systems. We aim to answer the following questions: Is the widely adopted risk-based approach fit for purpose? Is it consistent with the actual enforcement of fundamental rights at work, such as privacy, human dignity, equality and collective rights? To answer these questions, in section 2 we unpack the various, often ambiguous, facets of the notion(s) of ‘risk’—that is, the common denominator with the EU and North American legal instruments. Here, we determine that a scalable, decentralised framework is not appropriate for ensuring the enforcement of constitutional labour-related rights. In addition to presenting the key provisions of existing schemes in the EU and North America, in section 3 we disentangle the consistencies and tensions between the frameworks that regulate AI and constrain how it must be handled in specific contexts, such as work environments and platform-orchestrated arrangements. Paradoxically, the frenzied race to regulate AI-driven decision-making could exacerbate the current legal uncertainty and pave the way for regulatory arbitrage. Such a scenario would slow technological innovation and egregiously undermine labour rights. Thus, in section 4 we advocate for the adoption of a dedicated legal instrument at the supranational level to govern technologies that manage people in workplaces. Given the high stakes involved, we conclude by stressing the salience of a multi-stakeholder AI governance framework

An aesthetics of touch: investigating the language of design relating to form

How well can designers communicate qualities of touch? This paper presents evidence that they have some capability to do so, much of which appears to have been learned, but at present make limited use of such language. Interviews with graduate designer-makers suggest that they are aware of and value the importance of touch and materiality in their work, but lack a vocabulary to fully relate to their detailed explanations of other aspects such as their intent or selection of materials. We believe that more attention should be paid to the verbal dialogue that happens in the design process, particularly as other researchers show that even making-based learning also has a strong verbal element to it. However, verbal language alone does not appear to be adequate for a comprehensive language of touch. Graduate designers-makers’ descriptive practices combined non-verbal manipulation within verbal accounts. We thus argue that haptic vocabularies do not simply describe material qualities, but rather are situated competences that physically demonstrate the presence of haptic qualities. Such competencies are more important than groups of verbal vocabularies in isolation. Design support for developing and extending haptic competences must take this wide range of considerations into account to comprehensively improve designers’ capabilities

Automation bias and prescribing decision support – rates, mediators and mitigators

Purpose: Computerised clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are implemented within healthcare settings as a method to improve clinical decision quality, safety and effectiveness, and ultimately patient outcomes. Though CDSSs tend to improve practitioner performance and clinical outcomes, relatively little is known about specific impact of inaccurate CDSS output on clinicians. Although there is high heterogeneity between CDSS types and studies, reviews of the ability of CDSS to prevent medication errors through incorrect decisions have generally been consistently positive, working by improving clinical judgement and decision making. However, it is known that the occasional incorrect advice given may tempt users to reverse a correct decision, and thus introduce new errors. These systematic errors can stem from Automation Bias (AB), an effect which has had little investigation within the healthcare field, where users have a tendency to use automated advice heuristically. Research is required to assess the rate of AB, identify factors and situations involved in overreliance and propose says to mitigate risk and refine the appropriate usage of CDSS; this can provide information to promote awareness of the effect, and ensure the maximisation of the impact of benefits gained from the implementation of CDSS. Background: A broader literature review was carried out coupled with a systematic review of studies investigating the impact of automated decision support on user decisions over various clinical and non-clinical domains. This aimed to identify gaps in the literature and build an evidence-based model of reliance on Decision Support Systems (DSS), particularly a bias towards over-using automation. The literature review and systematic review revealed a number of postulates - that CDSS are socio-technical systems, and that factors involved in CDSS misuse can vary from overarching social or cultural factors, individual cognitive variables to more specific technology design issues. However, the systematic review revealed there is a paucity of deliberate empirical evidence for this effect. The reviews identified the variables involved in automation bias to develop a conceptual model of overreliance, the initial development of an ontology for AB, and ultimately inform an empirical study to investigate persuasive potential factors involved: task difficulty, time pressure, CDSS trust, decision confidence, CDSS experience and clinical experience. The domain of primary care prescribing was chosen within which to carry out an empirical study, due to the evidence supporting CDSS usefulness in prescribing, and the high rate of prescribing error. Empirical Study Methodology: Twenty simulated prescribing scenarios with associated correct and incorrect answers were developed and validated by prescribing experts. An online Clinical Decision Support Simulator was used to display scenarios to users. NHS General Practitioners (GPs) were contacted via emails through associates of the Centre for Health Informatics, and through a healthcare mailing list company. Twenty-six GPs participated in the empirical study. The study was designed so each participant viewed and gave prescriptions for 20 prescribing scenarios, 10 coded as “hard” and 10 coded as “medium” prescribing scenarios (N = 520 prescribing cases were answered overall). Scenarios were accompanied by correct advice 70% of the time, and incorrect advice 30% of the time (in equal proportions in either task difficulty condition). Both the order of scenario presentation and the correct/incorrect nature of advice were randomised to prevent order effects. The planned time pressure condition was dropped due to low response rate. Results: To compare with previous literature which took overall decisions into account, taking individual cases into account (N=520), the pre advice accuracy rate of the clinicians was 50.4%, which improved to 58.3% post advice. The CDSS improved the decision accuracy in 13.1% of prescribing cases. The rate of AB, as measured by decision switches from correct pre advice, to incorrect post advice was 5.2% of all cases at a CDSS accuracy rate of 70% - leading to a net improvement of 8%. However, the above by-case type of analysis may not enable generalisation of results (but illustrates rates in this specific situation); individual participant differences must be taken into account. By participant (N = 26) when advice was correct, decisions were more likely to be switched to a correct prescription, when advice was incorrect decisions were more likely to be switched to an incorrect prescription. There was a significant correlation between decision switching and AB error. By participant, more immediate factors such as trust in the specific CDSS, decision confidence, and task difficulty influenced rate of decision switching. Lower clinical experience was associated with more decision switching (but not higher AB rate). The rate of AB was somewhat problematic to analyse due to low number of instances – the effect could potentially have been greater. The between subjects effect of time pressure could not be investigated due to low response rate. Age, DSS experience and trust in CDSS generally were not significantly associated with decision switching. Conclusion: There is a gap in the current literature investigating inappropriate CDSS use, but the general literature supports an interactive multi-factorial aetiology for automation misuse. Automation bias is a consistent effect with various potential direct and indirect causal factors. It may be mitigated by altering advice characteristics to aid clinicians’ awareness of advice correctness and support their own informed judgement – this needs further empirical investigation. Users’ own clinical judgement must always be maintained, and systems should not be followed unquestioningly