MarsCAPE: Mars Communicated through an Augmented, Physical Environment

In the last decade, vast amounts of planetary science data has been made available publicly often focused on Mars. Such data is typically disseminated via the web and made available through screen-based visualisations. However, this approach can make it difficult to convey the broader context of a feature of interest or the spatial arrangement of surface phenomena. To better support learning and engagement, we present and evaluate MarsCAPE: Mars Communicated through an Augmented, Physical Environment. MarsCAPE consists of physical models of the surface of Mars, augmented by projected information and visualizations. To assess its learning and engagement value, a structured workshop and formal evaluation were conducted. Participants reported a significant increase in knowledge, found the models engaging, and exhibited natural learning without prompting. Systems such as MarsCAPE have potential to provide an interesting, educational way for the public to access planetary data that goes beyond the capabilities of on-screen visualizations

Designing task workflows to ensure the best scientific outcomes in citizen science

Citizen science, or ‘public participation in scientific research’, can be described as research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional participants often through crowd-sourcing techniques. The advance of modern day internet technology that has made the world a more connected place has resulted in a surge of citizen science projects, especially online platforms which allow volunteers to take part in research in both an asynchronous and geographically abstract manner. Due to this increased interest, citizen science is becoming a distinct field of research in its own right beyond the original scientific problems it was devised to address. Although some of this research has considered interface HCI and functionality, there has been relatively little attention paid specifically to human factors issues. Through this work we attempt to address this shortfall, by considering citizen science as a form of ‘work’. Due to its similarities in terms of repetition with production lines of the early 20th century and more recently on-screen visual inspection tasks, some of the many decades of ergonomics research in this field are applied specifically to the virtual citizen science arena. We make a first step in considering how virtual citizen science systems can be better designed for the needs of the volunteer, exploring how manipulating task flow affects both the quality of information collected, and the volunteers’ experience of using the interface. A hierarchical task analysis of 12 Zooniverse projects revealed that the types of tasks, judgements and the way they are presented to the volunteer varies greatly, independent of the science discipline involved. Furthermore, through differing designs of the Zooniverse’s ‘Planet Four: Craters’ platform, it was shown that task workflow design factors such as autonomy, variety, task type and volunteer judgement required can influence the amount of data collected, the accuracy of this data and both volunteer engagement and motivation. Simpler tasks with fewer volunteer judgements required resulted in a significantly greater volume of data collected, however accuracy is affected with an increase of false-positive classifications. Volunteers reported a preference for greater autonomy and task variety, a stance reflected in the number of times they visited and returned to the platform, however this also significantly reduced the accuracy of classifications – both in terms of inter-participant agreement and expert judgement comparison. The interplay of task workflow factors and their effect has been shown to be a complex affair. Through the empirical data collected, a model has been derived predicting the influence of different task workflow configurations on classification numbers over time since a platforms’ launch. It demonstrates that when considering task workflow design, developers of future citizen science platforms will need to perform a balancing act. The importance of user engagement, the data needs of the science case and the resources that can be committed both in terms of time and data reduction will need to be weighed, and balanced with the realistic public reach and promotion the science case can be predicted to generate

Citizen science and the professional-amateur divide: lessons from differing online practices

Online citizen science platforms increasingly provide types of infrastructural support previously only available to organisationally-based professional scientists. Other practices, such as creative arts, also exploit the freedom and accessibility afforded by the World Wide Web to shift the professional-amateur relationship. This paper compares communities from these two areas to show that disparate practices can learn from each other to better understand their users and their technology needs. Three major areas are discussed: mutual acknowledgement, infrastructural support, and platform specialisation. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of differing practices, and lessons that can be learnt for online citizen science platforms

Planet Four: Craters - Optimizing task workflow to improve volunteer engagement and crater counting performance

Virtual citizen science platforms allow nonscientists to take part in scientific research across a range of disciplines, including planetary science. What is required of the volunteer can vary considerably in terms of task type, variety, judgment required, and autonomy—even when the overall goal is unchanged. Through analysis of our live Zooniverse Planet Four: Craters citizen science platform, the effects of task workflow design factors including volunteer autonomy, task variety, task type, and judgment required on volunteer engagement and crater marking performance were investigated. Website analytics showed volunteers using the Full interface (most autonomy and variety) were more likely to return to the platform, although the amount of time spent per visit was unaffected by the interface used. However, analysis of performance suggested that how this time was used did differ. The interface involving the least complex task resulted in the greatest amount of data and rate of collection, although this also coincided with a greater number of false positives when compared with the expert. Performance in terms of agreement, both between participants and with the expert judgment, was significantly improved when using the Stepped interface for crater position and the Ramped (Mark) when measuring diameter—interfaces that both directly measured the metric with a specific, delineated task. The implications for planetary scientists considering the citizen science route is that there is a balancing act to perform, weighing the importance of volunteer engagement with scientists' data needs and the resources that can be committed to data validation

A sociotechnical system approach to virtual citizen science: an application of BS ISO 27500:2016

We discuss the potential application to virtual citizen science of a recent standard (BS ISO 27500:2016 "The human-centred organisation") which encourages the adoption of a sociotechnical systems perspective across a wide range of businesses, organizations and ventures. Key tenets of the standard concern taking a total systems approach, capitalizing on individual differences as a strength, making usability and accessibility strategic objectives, valuing personnel and paying attention to ethical and values-led elements of the project in terms of being open and trustworthy, social responsibility and health and wellbeing. Drawing upon our experience of projects in our laboratory and the wider literature, we outline the principles identified in the standard and offer citizen science themed interpretations and examples of possible responses

Patient-maintained propofol sedation: the anaesthetists' point of view

Many operations within the UK do not require general anaesthesia, and are instead carried out under sedation. A doctor normally provides this, and as the patient is not in control, they may be either under or over-sedated due to a misjudgement of patient anxiety. One solution would be to allow the patients to directly control their own sedation level. This paper presents an invention for innovation (i4i) project developing such a Patient Maintained Propofol Sedation Device (PMPSD). Due to the health risks associated with under and over-sedation, the anaesthetists' interface takes on an added importance to ensure they can oversee the process and intervene when needed. Through the project, a unique opportunity has arisen where anaesthetists have been involved throughout the interface design process, contributing to the development and testing of a prototype. We present this prototype, highlight its key features and how it differs from existing sedation pump interface systems. As the project continues, the interface will be used as part of a clinical trial at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust involving 80 orthopaedic patients throughout the rest of 2018 and into 2019

A sociotechnical system approach to virtual citizen science: an application of BS ISO 27500:2016

We discuss the potential application to virtual citizen science of a recent standard (BS ISO 27500:2016 "The human-centred organisation") which encourages the adoption of a sociotechnical systems perspective across a wide range of businesses, organizations and ventures. Key tenets of the standard concern taking a total systems approach, capitalizing on individual differences as a strength, making usability and accessibility strategic objectives, valuing personnel and paying attention to ethical and values-led elements of the project in terms of being open and trustworthy, social responsibility and health and wellbeing. Drawing upon our experience of projects in our laboratory and the wider literature, we outline the principles identified in the standard and offer citizen science themed interpretations and examples of possible responses

A prototype patient-maintained propofol sedation system using target controlled infusion for primary lower-limb arthroplasty

Each year, many operations in the UK are performed with the patient awake, without the use of general anaesthesia. These include joint replacement procedures, and in order to reduce patient anxiety, the supervising anaesthetist delivers the sedative propofol intravenously using a target-controlled infusion (TCI) device. However, it is clinically challenging to judge the required effect-site concentration of sedative for an individual patient, resulting in patient care issues related to over or under-sedation. To improve the process, patient-maintained propofol sedation (PMPS), where the patient can request an increase in concentration through a hand-held button, has been considered as an alternative. However, due to the proprietary nature of modern TCI pumps, the majority of PMPS research has been conducted using prototypes in research studies. In this work, a PMPS system is presented that effectively converts a standard infusion pump into a TCI device using a laptop with TCI software. Functionally, the system delivers sedation analogous to a modern TCI pump, with the differences in propofol consumption and dosage within the tolerance of clinically approved devices. Therefore, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the system as a safe alternative to anaesthetist-controlled TCI procedures. It represents a step forward in the consideration of PMPS as a sedation method as viable alternative, allowing further assessment in clinical trials

User experience of digital technologies in citizen science

The growing interest in citizen science has resulted in a new range of digital tools that facilitate the interaction and communications between citizens and scientists. Considering the ever increasing number of applications that currently exist, it is surprising how little we know about how volunteers interact with these technologies, what they expect from them, and why these technologies succeed or fail. Aiming to address this gap, JCOM organized this special issue on the role of User Experience (UX) of digital technologies in citizen science which is the first to focus on the qualities and impacts of interface and user design within citizen science. Seven papers are included that highlight three key aspects of user-focused research and methodological approaches. In the first category, "design standards", the authors explore the applicability of existing standards, build and evaluate a set of guidelines to improve interactions with citizen science applications. In the second, "design methods", methodological approaches for getting user feedback, analysing user behaviour and exploring different interface designs modes are explored. Finally, "user experience in the physical and digital world" explores crossovers with other fields to improve our understanding of user experiences and demonstrate how design choices not only influence digital interactions but also shape interactions with the wider world