Analyzing the Impact of Cognitive Load in Evaluating Gaze-based Typing

Gaze-based virtual keyboards provide an effective interface for text entry by eye movements. The efficiency and usability of these keyboards have traditionally been evaluated with conventional text entry performance measures such as words per minute, keystrokes per character, backspace usage, etc. However, in comparison to the traditional text entry approaches, gaze-based typing involves natural eye movements that are highly correlated with human brain cognition. Employing eye gaze as an input could lead to excessive mental demand, and in this work we argue the need to include cognitive load as an eye typing evaluation measure. We evaluate three variations of gaze-based virtual keyboards, which implement variable designs in terms of word suggestion positioning. The conventional text entry metrics indicate no significant difference in the performance of the different keyboard designs. However, STFT (Short-time Fourier Transform) based analysis of EEG signals indicate variances in the mental workload of participants while interacting with these designs. Moreover, the EEG analysis provides insights into the user's cognition variation for different typing phases and intervals, which should be considered in order to improve eye typing usability.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, IEEE CBMS 201

A Video Analysis of Eye Movements during Typing: How Effective is Handwriting during Note-Taking Tasks?

Keyboard input for non-alphabetical languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, is problematic because it is labor intensive and imposes a high cognitive load. In our previous work, we measured the effectiveness of handwriting during a note-taking task in Japanese, and found that the input speed during note-taking was higher by hand than by keyboard. The results also showed that the quality of notes taken by hand was higher than that of notes taken by keyboard, and this might have been due to the higher cognitive load during typing. In addition, observation during the experiment revealed several problems subjects faced in the keyboard input task. To evaluate the significance of these observations, we had to obtain quantitative evidence through further study of participant behavior. Therefore, we repeated the experiment, this time with video analysis of the keyboard subtask. By analyzing the participants’ eye movements and their behavior throughout the keyboard subtask we obtained quantitative evidence to support our findings from the previous study. Here, we describe this experiment and our findings in detail

Translation, interpreting, cognition

Cognitive aspects of the translation process have become central in Translation and Interpreting Studies in recent years, further establishing the field of Cognitive Translatology. Empirical and interdisciplinary studies investigating translation and interpreting processes promise a hitherto unprecedented predictive and explanatory power. This collection contains such studies which observe behaviour during translation and interpreting. The contributions cover a vast area and investigate behaviour during translation and interpreting – with a focus on training of future professionals, on language processing more generally, on the role of technology in the practice of translation and interpreting, on translation of multimodal media texts, on aspects of ergonomics and usability, on emotions, self-concept and psychological factors, and finally also on revision and post-editing. For the present publication, we selected a number of contributions presented at the Second International Congress on Translation, Interpreting and Cognition hosted by the Tra&Co Lab at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Most of the papers in this volume are formulated in a particular constraint-based grammar framework, Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar. The contributions investigate how the lexical and constructional aspects of this theory can be combined to provide an answer to this question across different linguistic sub-theories

Gaze-based cursor control impairs performance in divided attention

In this work we investigate the effects of switching from mouse cursor control to gaze-based control in a computerized divided attention game. We conducted experiments with nine participants performing a task that requires continuous focused concentration and frequent shifts of attention. Despite carefully controlling experimental and design aspects, the performance of subjects was considerably impaired when using gaze-based control. The participants were experienced users of the mouse control version of the task, we adjusted the difficulty to the more demanding conditions and selected the parameters of gaze input based on previous research findings. In contrast to our assumptions, experienced users could not get used to gaze-based control in the amount of experiments we performed. Additionally we consider the strategies of users, i.e. their method of problem solving, and found that it is possible to make progress in our task even during a short amount of practice. The results of this study provide evidence that the adoption of interfaces controlled by human eye-gaze in cognitively demanding environments require careful design, proper testing and sufficient user training

The way out of the box

Synopsis: Cognitive aspects of the translation process have become central in Translation and Interpreting Studies in recent years, further establishing the field of Cognitive Translatology. Empirical and interdisciplinary studies investigating translation and interpreting processes promise a hitherto unprecedented predictive and explanatory power. This collection contains such studies which observe behaviour during translation and interpreting. The contributions cover a vast area and investigate behaviour during translation and interpreting – with a focus on training of future professionals, on language processing more generally, on the role of technology in the practice of translation and interpreting, on translation of multimodal media texts, on aspects of ergonomics and usability, on emotions, self-concept and psychological factors, and finally also on revision and post-editing. For the present publication, we selected a number of contributions presented at the Second International Congress on Translation, Interpreting and Cognition hosted by the Tra&Co Lab at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

Eye-tracking assistive technologies for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the loss of muscle control. For individuals with ALS, where mobility is limited to the movement of the eyes, the use of eye-tracking-based applications can be applied to achieve some basic tasks with certain digital interfaces. This paper presents a review of existing eye-tracking software and hardware through which eye-tracking their application is sketched as an assistive technology to cope with ALS. Eye-tracking also provides a suitable alternative as control of game elements. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has been utilized to improve eye-tracking technology with significant improvement in calibration and accuracy. Gaps in literature are highlighted in the study to offer a direction for future research

Lying to identity: analysis of latencies from interviews.

openDetecting liars of personal identities is becoming an increasingly important goal. However, an obstacle to this endeavor is that deceivers can prepare a "lie script" prior to investigative interviews, producing narratives that are indistinguishable from those of truth tellers. To overcome this limitation, specific interview techniques have been developed that pose cognitive disadvantages for deceivers, such as including unexpected questions alongside control and expected questions. Unexpected questions can be considered a "rehearsal averting strategy" since liars cannot anticipate and prepare responses in advance. Consequently, when confronted with unexpected questions, liars are compelled to generate an immediate deceptive statement, inhibit the truth, and replace it with a fabricated narrative, while ensuring that the deception remains undetectable to the interviewer. This process of information reconstruction leads to increased response times and error rates for unexpected questions. Even truth tellers will experience an increase in cognitive load when responding to unexpected questions, but their responses, based on genuine memory traces, will be more comparable. The purpose of this study is to assess whether it is possible to discriminate between identity liars and truth tellers by analyzing response times and errors obtained from face-to-face interviews that implement unexpected questions.Detecting liars of personal identities is becoming an increasingly important goal. However, an obstacle to this endeavor is that deceivers can prepare a "lie script" prior to investigative interviews, producing narratives that are indistinguishable from those of truth tellers. To overcome this limitation, specific interview techniques have been developed that pose cognitive disadvantages for deceivers, such as including unexpected questions alongside control and expected questions. Unexpected questions can be considered a "rehearsal averting strategy" since liars cannot anticipate and prepare responses in advance. Consequently, when confronted with unexpected questions, liars are compelled to generate an immediate deceptive statement, inhibit the truth, and replace it with a fabricated narrative, while ensuring that the deception remains undetectable to the interviewer. This process of information reconstruction leads to increased response times and error rates for unexpected questions. Even truth tellers will experience an increase in cognitive load when responding to unexpected questions, but their responses, based on genuine memory traces, will be more comparable. The purpose of this study is to assess whether it is possible to discriminate between identity liars and truth tellers by analyzing response times and errors obtained from face-to-face interviews that implement unexpected questions