Examination and Assessment of Commercial Anatomical E-Learning Tools: Software Usability, Dual-Task Paradigms and Learning

Technological innovation is changing the landscape of higher education, and the competing interests and responsibilities of today’s learners have propelled the movement of post-secondary courses into the online environment. In the anatomical sciences, commercialized e-learning tools have become a critical component for teaching the intricacies of the human body when physical classroom space and cadaveric resources are limited. This dissertation comparatively assessed the impact of two commercial anatomical e-learning tools (1) a simple 2-dimensional e-learning tool (A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy) and (2) a complex tool that allows for a 3-dimensional perspective (Netter’s 3D Interactive Anatomy). The comparison was then extended to include a traditional visual-kinesthetic method of studying anatomy (i.e. a physical skeleton). Applying cognitive load theory and working memory limitations as guiding principles, a dual-task assessment with cross over design was used to evaluate cognitive load. Students were assessed using baseline knowledge tests, observation task reaction times (a measure of cognitive load), mental rotation test scores (a measure of spatial ability) and anatomy post-tests (a measure of knowledge recall). Results from experiments carried out in this thesis suggest that the value of commercial anatomical e-learning tools cannot be assessed adequately on the basis of an educator’s, or a software developer’s, intuition alone. Despite the delivery benefits offered by e-learning tools and the positive feedback they often receive, this research demonstrates that neither commercial e-learning tool conferred any instructional advantage over textbook images. In fact, later results showed that the visual-kinesthetic experience of physically manipulating a skeleton yielded major positive impacts on knowledge recall that A.D.A.M. Interactive Anatomy, as a visual only tool, failed to deliver. The results of this dissertation also suggest that the design of e-learning tools can differentially influence students based on their spatial ability. Moreover our results suggest that learners with low spatial ability may also struggle to relate anatomical knowledge if they are examined on contralateral images. By objectively assessing commercial anatomical e-learning tools against traditional, visual-kinesthetic modalities, educators can be confident that the learning tool they select will give their students the best chance to acquire an understanding of human anatomy

Expressive feedback from virtual buttons

The simple action of pressing a button is a multimodal interaction with an interesting depth of complexity. As the development of computer interfaces to support 3D tasks evolves, there is a need to better understand how users will interact with virtual buttons that generate feedback from multiple sensory modalities. This research examined the effects of visual, auditory, and haptic feedback from virtual buttons on task performance dialing phone numbers and on the motion of individual buttons presses. This research also presents a theoretical framework for virtual button feedback and a model of virtual button feedback that includes touch feedback hysteresis. The results suggest that although haptic feedback alone was not enough to prevent participants from pressing the button farther than necessary, bimodal and trimodal feedback combinations that included haptic feedback shortened the depth of the presses. However, the shallower presses observed during trimodal feedback may have led to a counterintuitive increase in the number of digits that the participants omitted during the task. Even though interaction with virtual buttons may appear simple, it is important to understand the complexities behind the multimodal interaction because users will seek out the multimodal interactions they prefer

On the dynamic interplay between perception and action - a connectionist perspective

Increasing evidence suggests that perception and action planning do not represent separable stages of a unidirectional processing sequence, but rather emerging properties of highly interactive processes. To capture these characteristics of the human cognitive system, we have developed a connectionist model of the interaction between perception and action planning: HiTEC, based on the Theory of Event Coding (Hommel, M_sseler, Achschersleben & Prinz, 2001). The model is characterized by representations at multiple levels and by shared representations and processes. It complements available models of stimulus__response translation by providing a rationale for (1) how situation-specific meanings of motor actions emerge, (2) how and why some aspects of stimulus__response translation occur automatically and (3) how task demands modulate sensorimotor processing. The model is demonstrated to provide a unitary account and simulation of a number of key findings with multiple experimental paradigms on the interaction between perception and action such as the Simon effect, its inversion (Hommel, 1993), and action__effect learning.Action Contro

Attention Restraint, Working Memory Capacity, and Mind Wandering: Do Emotional Valence or Intentionality Matter?

Attention restraint appears to mediate the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and mind wandering (Kane et al., 2016). Prior work has identifed two dimensions of mind wandering—emotional valence and intentionality. However, less is known about how WMC and attention restraint correlate with these dimensions. Te current study examined the relationship between WMC, attention restraint, and mind wandering by emotional valence and intentionality. A confrmatory factor analysis demonstrated that WMC and attention restraint were strongly correlated, but only attention restraint was related to overall mind wandering, consistent with prior fndings. However, when examining the emotional valence of mind wandering, attention restraint and WMC were related to negatively and positively valenced, but not neutral, mind wandering. Attention restraint was also related to intentional but not unintentional mind wandering. Tese results suggest that WMC and attention restraint predict some, but not all, types of mind wandering

Flexible Task Execution and Cognitive Control in Human-Robot Interaction

A robotic system that interacts with humans is expected to flexibly execute structured cooperative tasks while reacting to unexpected events and behaviors. In this thesis, these issues are faced presenting a framework that integrates cognitive control, executive attention, structured task execution and learning. In the proposed approach, the execution of structured tasks is guided by top-down (task-oriented) and bottom-up (stimuli-driven) attentional processes that affect behavior selection and activation, while resolving conflicts and decisional impasses. Specifically, attention is here deployed to stimulate the activations of multiple hierarchical behaviors orienting them towards the execution of finalized and interactive activities. On the other hand, this framework allows a human to indirectly and smoothly influence the robotic task execution exploiting attention manipulation. We provide an overview of the overall system architecture discussing the framework at work in different applicative contexts. In particular, we show that multiple concurrent tasks/plans can be effectively orchestrated and interleaved in a flexible manner; moreover, in a human-robot interaction setting, we test and assess the effectiveness of attention manipulation and learning processes