265 research outputs found
Error by design: Methods for predicting device usability
This paper introduces the idea of predicting ‘designer error’ by evaluating devices using Human Error Identification (HEI) techniques. This is demonstrated using Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) and Task Analysis For Error Identification (TAFEI) to evaluate a vending machine. Appraisal criteria which rely upon user opinion, face validity and utilisation are questioned. Instead a quantitative approach, based upon signal detection theory, is recommended. The performance of people using SHERPA and TAFEI are compared with heuristic judgement and each other. The results of these studies show that both SHERPA and TAFEI are better at predicting errors than the heuristic technique. The performance of SHERPA and TAFEI are comparable, giving some confidence in the use of these approaches. It is suggested that using HEI techniques as part of the design and evaluation process could help to make devices easier to use
Absolute identification by relative judgment
In unidimensional absolute identification tasks, participants identify stimuli that vary along a single dimension. Performance is surprisingly poor compared with discrimination of the same stimuli. Existing models assume that identification is achieved using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes. The authors propose an alternative relative judgment model (RJM) in which the elemental perceptual units are representations of the differences between current and previous stimuli. These differences are used, together with the previous feedback, to respond. Without using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes, the RJM accounts for (a) information transmission limits, (b) bowed serial position effects, and (c) sequential effects, where responses are biased toward immediately preceding stimuli but away from more distant stimuli (assimilation and contrast)
A field study of team working in a new human supervisory control system
This paper presents a case study of an investigation into team behaviour in an energy distribution company. The main aim was to investigate the impact of major changes in the company on system performance, comprising human and technical elements. A socio-technical systems approach was adopted. There were main differences between the teams investigated in the study: the time of year each control room was studied (i.e. summer or winter),the stage of development each team was in (i.e. 10 months), and the team structure (i.e. hierarchical or heterarchical). In all other respects the control rooms were the same: employing the same technology and within the same organization. The main findings were: the teams studied in the winter months were engaged in more `planning’ and `awareness’ type of activities than those studies in the summer months. Newer teams seem to be engaged in more sharing of information than older teams, which maybe indicative of the development process. One of the hierarchical teams was engaged in more `system-driven’ activities than the heterarchical team studied at the same time of year. Finally, in general, the heterarchical team perceived a greater degree of team working culture than its hierarchical counterparts. This applied research project confirms findings from laboratory research and emphasizes the importance of involving ergonomics in the design of team working in human supervisory control
Algorithmic Complexity for Short Binary Strings Applied to Psychology: A Primer
Since human randomness production has been studied and widely used to assess
executive functions (especially inhibition), many measures have been suggested
to assess the degree to which a sequence is random-like. However, each of them
focuses on one feature of randomness, leading authors to have to use multiple
measures. Here we describe and advocate for the use of the accepted universal
measure for randomness based on algorithmic complexity, by means of a novel
previously presented technique using the the definition of algorithmic
probability. A re-analysis of the classical Radio Zenith data in the light of
the proposed measure and methodology is provided as a study case of an
application.Comment: To appear in Behavior Research Method
Systems, interactions and macrotheory
A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI
Objects as culture-specific referents of color terms in Russian
The present study is an extension of our analysis of Russian basic color terms (BCTs) elicited in a web-based psycholinguistic experiment. Color samples (N = 600) were approximately uniformly distributed in the Munsell color solid. An unconstrained color-naming method was employed. Native Russian speakers (N = 713; 333 males) participated in the study. Among 1422 elicited unique color words, 698 terms (49%) were derived from object names. Here we explore object-derived non-BCTs, focusing on broad classes of names referred to objects, categories
within these, and the inventory of color terms, as well as their frequency, patterns of derivation, and derivational productivity. Six classes of object referents were identified: flora, fauna, inanimate nature, food and beverages, man-made objects, body and bodily products. In detail, 20 most frequent object-derived terms are reported. These are accompanied by analysis of gender differences and representation
of the terms' denotata on the Munsell Mercator projection. In addition, Russian object-derived color terms are related to those in English; discussed are
differences between the 2 languages in the color term classes, inventories and incidences.
We conclude that Russian object-derived color terms follow the generic metonymy pattern, that is, signifying color of objects in the speakers' natural
environment. The inventory is also language-specific, reflecting social practices, preferences and views entrenched in the traditional Russian culture. Furthermore, recent extensive development of the inventory signals 2 novel phenomena: marked
globalization influence, surfacing as abundant transliteration of English referent loanwords, and noticeable sociolectal diversification that manifests itself by novel evocative color terms, particularly in marketing and advertisement
Hierarchical task analysis: Developments, applications and extensions
Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) is a core ergonomics approach with pedigree of over thirty years continuous use. At its heart, HTA is based upon a theory of performance and has only three governing principles. Originally developed as a means of determining training requirements, there was no way the initial pioneers of HTA could have foreseen the extent of its success. HTA has endured as a way of representing a system sub-goal hierarchy for extended analysis. It has been used for a range of applications, including interface design and evaluation, allocation of function, job aid design, error prediction, and workload assessment. Ergonomists are still developing new ways of using HTA which has assured the continued use of the approach for the foreseeable future
Cleaning up systematic error in eye-tracking data by using required fixation locations
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