Evaluating Added Value of Augmented Reality to Assist Aeronautical Maintenance Workers - Experimentation on On-Field Use Case

Augmented Reality (AR) technology facilitates interactions with information and understanding of complex situations. Aeronautical Maintenance combines complexity induced by the variety of products and constraints associated to aeronautic sector and the environment of maintenance. AR tools seem well indicated to solve constraints of productivity and quality on the aeronautical maintenance activities by simplifying data interactions for the workers. However, few evaluations of AR have been done in real processes due to the difficulty of integrating the technology without proper tools for deployment and assessing the results. This paper proposes a method to select suitable criteria for AR evaluation in industrial environment and to deploy AR solutions suited to assist maintenance workers. These are used to set up on-field experiments that demonstrate benefits of AR on process and user point of view for different profiles of workers. Further work will consist on using these elements to extend results to AR evaluation on the whole aeronautical maintenance process. A classification of maintenance activities linked to workers specific needs will lead to prediction of the value that augmented reality would bring to each activity

Phenotypic Variation and Bistable Switching in Bacteria

Microbial research generally focuses on clonal populations. However, bacterial cells with identical genotypes frequently display different phenotypes under identical conditions. This microbial cell individuality is receiving increasing attention in the literature because of its impact on cellular differentiation, survival under selective conditions, and the interaction of pathogens with their hosts. It is becoming clear that stochasticity in gene expression in conjunction with the architecture of the gene network that underlies the cellular processes can generate phenotypic variation. An important regulatory mechanism is the so-called positive feedback, in which a system reinforces its own response, for instance by stimulating the production of an activator. Bistability is an interesting and relevant phenomenon, in which two distinct subpopulations of cells showing discrete levels of gene expression coexist in a single culture. In this chapter, we address techniques and approaches used to establish phenotypic variation, and relate three well-characterized examples of bistability to the molecular mechanisms that govern these processes, with a focus on positive feedback.

Understanding the barriers to successful adoption and use of a mobile health information system in a community health center in São Paulo, Brazil: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Mobile technology to support community health has surged in popularity, yet few studies have systematically examined usability of mobile platforms for this setting. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study of 14 community healthcare workers at a public healthcare clinic in São Paulo, Brazil. We held focus groups with community healthcare workers to elicit their ideas about a mobile health application and used this input to build a prototype app. A pre-use test survey was administered to all participants, who subsequently use-tested the app on three different devices (iPhone, iPad mini, iPad Air). Usability was assessed by objectively scored data entry errors and through a post-use focus group held to gather open-ended feedback on end-user satisfaction. RESULTS: All of the participants were women, ranging from 18–64 years old. A large percentage (85.7%) of participants had at least a high school education. Internet (92.8%), computer (85.7%) and cell phone (71.4%) use rates were high. Data entry error rates were also high, particularly in free text fields, ranging from 92.3 to 100%. Error rates were comparable across device type. In a post-use focus group, participants reported that they found the app easy to use and felt that its design was consistent with their vision. The participants raised several concerns, including that they did not find filling out the forms in the app to be a useful task. They also were concerned about an app potentially creating more work for them and personal security issues related to carrying a mobile device in low-income areas. CONCLUSION: In a cohort of formally educated community healthcare workers with high levels of personal computer and cell phone use, we identified no technological barriers to adapting their existing work to a mobile device based system. Transferring current data entry work into a mobile platform, however, uncovered underlying dissatisfaction with some data entry tasks. This dissatisfaction may be a more significant barrier than the data entry errors our testing revealed. Our results highlight the fact that without a deep understanding of local process to optimize usability, technology-based solutions in health may fail. Developing such an understanding must be a central component in the design of any mHealth solution in global health

An Approach to Holistic Development of Serious Games and Learning Simulations

This discourse is an argument for a holistic approach to developing learning games and computer mediated experiences through the intersections of the areas of efficacy, effectiveness, and user experience in designing and developing serious games and simulated learning experiences. Some examples are explored in which reasonably effective design approaches could have been improved by a more holistic and iterative approach. The approach includes the integration of learning objectives, outcomes, usability, motivation, experience, ludus, aesthetics, cost and sustainability of the systems based on research within the fields of education, learning theory, game design theory, and simulation. These constructs explain the need for an iterative and holistic approach to designing and developing learning games. Embracing iterative and learning centered design of serious games will perpetuate development of effective educational technology. © 2014 Springer International Publishing

“Thinking about thinking aloud”:An investigation of think-aloud methods in usability testing

Usability has become an imperative aspect of survival on the web, thus, it has always been considered as a crucial aspect of web design. This paper presents the results of a study that compared two think-aloud usability testing methods: the concurrent think-aloud and the retrospective think-aloud methods. Data from task performance, testing experience, and usability problems were collected from 40 participants equally distributed between the two think-aloud conditions. The results found that while the thinking aloud method had no impact on task performance and participants testing experience, participants using the concurrent think-aloud method detected a larger number of minor problems with the test interface than participants using the retrospective think-aloud method. These findings suggest a reason for preferring the concurrent think-aloud method to the retrospective one