A Study on the Effect of Non-Traditional Demographic Populations in an Undergraduate Computer Science Course

There is a significant amount of research analyzing the effect of race, gender, and other common demographical data on student interest and performance in computer science. However, there is relatively little research concerning less common demographic populations, such as introverts, artistic students, and visual learners. This study investigates if these less traditional demographic data affect student performance or interest in computer science and what effect delaying coding in introductory courses may have on these populations. We taught three sections of an introductory computer science course (one which delayed coding by half a term) and compared student performance and interest with non-traditional demographic data. We find relatively little correlation between student grades and their demographic data, but this study supports the idea that the delayed programming affects student interest

Developing an Optimized UI for Traffic Incident Managers

Traffic Incident Managers (TIMs) coordinate first responders and help resolve traffic-related incidents. Currently, some use over fifteen different software applications with unique functionalities across three monitors to manage incidents, leading to redundant data entry, unnecessary task switching, and delayed responses. 40 hours of TIMs’ screens were recorded during their normal work hours at the Iowa Department of Transportation (DoT). The resulting task analysis from these videos greatly influenced the design of a simplified, web-based, user interface (UI) prototype. The new UI offers a 42.9% reduction in the steps required to manage an incident by combining the functionality of the fifteen different applications used in the existing system into a single, structured UI. This research approach offers a UI model to other DoTs that can lead to faster and more effective incident management.This is a manuscript of a proceeding published as Helgerson, Andrina, Jamiahus Walton, Celia Loya, Christopher Kawell, Katherine Atwell, Quinn Monaghan, Lakshay Ahuja, Hesham Hassan, Stephen B. Gilbert, and Anuj Sharma. "Developing an Optimized UI for Traffic Incident Managers." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 62, no. 1 (2018): 292-296. DOI: 10.1177%2F1541931218621067. Posted with permission.</p