Policy implications of ubiquitous technologies in the car : privacy, data ownership, and regulation

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-61).Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the United States, providing freedom in travel and enterprise for many people. However, motor vehicle accidents are the largest component of unintentional injuries and contribute to a high degree of morbidity and mortality for all ages. This thesis analyzes the relationship between feedback technologies and driver behavior. Based on the findings, policy recommendations were made to help ensure that the privacy and trust of the public are not compromised, as ubiquitous technologies become a reality in automobiles. The thesis provides an overview of the most modem mechanisms available in cars today. Furthermore, this thesis takes the first steps to combining existing technologies into a single system that not only tracks driver behavior, but also provides feedback in the hopes of improving drive performance and safety. The qualitative discussion includes a stakeholder analysis of the prime interests and effects of all parties that are impacted by ubiquitous technologies in the car. The qualitative discussion also contains the results of four focus groups that were conducted to gain first hand insights about the view of the drivers about monitoring technologies in the car.(cont.) This study finds that most drivers have a symbiotic relationship with the technologies that exist in their car; however, drivers feel uncomfortable with a fully automated system. Their concerns rise from the belief that fully automated systems take control away from the driver. Drivers were also concerned about the privacy and security of the data collected and stored by these technologies in their vehicles. These concerns can be addressed within the existing legal framework, but additional regulations also need to be designed because as the technology changes so will the concerns. Therefore, it is important to design policies that are flexible, rather than completely depending on current regulations to address future concerns.by Alex Fernando Narváez Bustamante.S.M

Efficacy, national/international practices and motivational factors of lifelong driver education for the aging population

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-152).In a society facing a significant increase in its aging population, older driver education/training is emerging as a potential solution to help seniors drive more safely, thus maintaining their mobility and quality of life. Nonetheless, sufficient evidence has not emerged directly linking such programs to significant reductions in accident rates for seniors. But older driver education has produced certain outcomes that have been indirectly linked to driver safety. Among these secondary outcomes that led to significant reductions in crash rates are increases in self-regulation (i.e., modifying driving behavior to compensate for certain physical limitations) and a measure of visual/perceptual ability called Useful Field of View (UFOV). Despite some questions surrounding the efficacy of these programs, older driver courses are offered in the United States and internationally among various countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Many of the courses address similar core topics such as the effects on driving from certain physiological, cognitive changes that accompany aging. On the other hand, the programs can vary more on structural/administrative factors. For example, many courses in Europe offer behind the wheel training to supplement the material learned in the classroom.(cont.) For other courses, including those in the United States, the teaching approach is confined more to lectures. Often, the primary incentive for attending the domestic classes is a reduction in auto insurance premiums upon graduating. But in other states like Massachusetts such a discount is not offered. To more closely examine the motivations of older drivers without such an incentive, a survey was conducted on two sets of adults: one group who enrolled in a senior driver course in Massachusetts and another that chose not to take the course. An analysis of the survey findings indicated the primary reason the first group took the course was to be a "safer driver". In addition, that there are significant differences between the two groups on several fronts, including levels, types of motivation, systematic factors such as demographics and health conditions, and their attitudes about driving and older driver edlucation in general. Based upon the findings on motivation, efficacy, and domestic/international programs in older driver education, some ideas have been formulated for potentially improving the safety benefit of older driver education.(cont.) The proposals cover both structural/administrative (e.g., incentives offered to students, instruction fees), institutional (e.g., formation of public/private partnerships) and curriculum based enhancements. The effectiveness of such courses with these recommended features in reducing crash rates, directly or indirectly through the secondary measures, is a topic for additional research.by Richard Israels.S.M

Applications of electroencephalography in construction

A wearable electroencephalogram (EEG) is considered a means for investigating psychophysiological conditions of individuals in the workplace in order to ameliorate occupational health and safety. Following other sectors, construction scholars have adopted this technology over the past decade to strengthen evidence-based practices to improve the wellbeing of workers. This study presents the state-of-the-art hardware, algorithms, and applications of EEG as a platform that assists in dealing with the risk-prone and complex nature of construction tasks. After summarizing the background of EEG and its research paradigms in different sectors, a comprehensive review of EEG-enabled construction research is provided. First, through a macro-scale review aided by bibliometric analysis a big picture of the research streams is plotted. Second, a micro-scale review is conducted to spot the gaps in the literature. The identified gaps are used to classify the future research directions into theoretical, application, and methodological developments

Device profiling analysis in Device-Aware Network

As more and more devices with a variety of capabilities are Internet-capable, device independence becomes a big issue when we would like the information that we request to be correctly displayed. This thesis introduces and compares how existing standards create a profile that describes the device capabilities to achieve the goal of device independence. After acknowledging the importance of device independence, this paper utilizes the idea to introduce a Device-Aware Network (DAN). DAN provides the infrastructure support for device-content compatibility matching for data transmission. We identify the major components of the DAN architecture and issues associated with providing this new network service. A Device-Aware Network will improve the network's efficiency by preventing unusable data from consuming host and network resources. The device profile is the key issue to achieve this goal.http://archive.org/details/deviceprofilingn109451301Captain, Taiwan ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited