The use of standard electrode potentials to predict the taste of solid metals

Not all metals taste equally metallic when placed in the mouth. While much work has been done to examine the metallic taste sensations arising from metal ions in solutions, there is comparatively less known about the taste of solid metals. In this study seven metals in the form of spoons were used to compare the perception of taste arising from solid utensils placed inside the mouth. 32 participants tasted seven spoons of identical dimensions plated with each of the following metals: gold, silver, zinc, copper, tin, chrome and stainless steel. More negative standard electrode potentials were found to be good predictors of solid metals that had tastes scoring highest for the taste descriptors strong, bitter, and metallic. Thus, it was found that both gold and chrome (having the most positive standard electrode potentials) were considered the least metallic, least bitter and least strong tasting of the spoons. Zinc and copper (having the most negative standard electrode potentials) were the strongest, most metallic, most bitter, and least sweet tasting of the spoons. We conclude that gold and chrome have tastes that are less strong than metals with lower standard electrode potential

The perception of materials through oral sensation

This paper presents the results of a multimodal study of oral perception conducted with a set of material samples made from metals, polymers and woods, in which both the somatosensory and taste factors were examined. A multidimensional scaling analysis coupled with subjective attribute ratings was performed to assess these factors both qualitatively and quantitatively. The perceptual somatosensory factors of warmth, hardness and roughness dominated over the basic taste factors, and roughness was observed to be a less significant sensation compared to touch-only experiments. The perceptual somatosensory ratings were compared directly with physical property data in order to assess the correlation between the perceived properties and measured physical properties. In each case, a strong correlation was observed, suggesting that physical properties may be useful in industrial design for predicting oral perception

A manifesto for cognitive ergonomics: re-evaluating technology usability for the 21st century

Computer infiltration into the workplace and society has been extensive, yet the ideals of efficacy, efficiency and satisfaction have not been wholly met. We propose an ambitious framework to take forward Cognitive Ergonomics. We define Cognitive Ergonomics as an interdisciplinary field of research and practice dedicated towards: • Improving human wellbeing, mankind and our environment • By understanding and supporting human cognition • When at work or performing goal-directed tasks • With computers and other engineered artefacts. This revitalizing framework will be based on: • Interdisciplinary Research • Research-based Policy • Education The proposed interdisciplinary framework will refocus on the classical facets of usability and include work-relevant emotions as well as understanding the minimal requirements for successful interactions (including understanding agency). The research-based policy will focus on efficacy in terms of human cognitive ergonomics in a holistic perspective (i.e. producing the effects we want without adverse effects). This will include complex questions about interface design in the context of the organisational and business models that influence its development (e.g. monetization). The educational concerns will focus on efficiency and include minimal programmes for all computer scientists and all end-users, as well as the consequences of digital mediation in learning generally. This framework will differentiate cognitive ergonomics from its cognate fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Psychology, and address a gap between the social sciences and engineering that has become more urgent in the past 5-10 years. It is ideally suited to be carried forward by the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics, as this framework is specifically a collaborative effort grounded in European intellectual and scientific tradition; a perspective that offers a much-needed contrast and complement to Anglosphere research and development agendas in interactive technologies

What does not happen: quantifying embodied engagement using NIMI and self-adaptors

Previous research into the quantification of embodied intellectual and emotional engagement using non-verbal movement parameters has not yielded consistent results across different studies. Our research introduces NIMI (Non-Instrumental Movement Inhibition) as an alternative parameter. We propose that the absence of certain types of possible movements can be a more holistic proxy for cognitive engagement with media (in seated persons) than searching for the presence of other movements. Rather than analyzing total movement as an indicator of engagement, our research team distinguishes between instrumental movements (i.e. physical movement serving a direct purpose in the given situation) and non-instrumental movements, and investigates them in the context of the narrative rhythm of the stimulus. We demonstrate that NIMI occurs by showing viewers’ movement levels entrained (i.e. synchronised) to the repeating narrative rhythm of a timed computer-presented quiz. Finally, we discuss the role of objective metrics of engagement in future context-aware analysis of human behaviour in audience research, interactive media and responsive system and interface design

A time series feature of variability to detect two types of boredom from motion capture of the head and shoulders

Boredom and disengagement metrics are crucial to the correctly timed implementation of adaptive interventions in interactive systems. psychological research suggests that boredom (which other HCI teams have been able to partially quantify with pressure-sensing chair mats) is actually a composite: lethargy and restlessness. Here we present an innovative approach to the measurement and recognition of these two kinds of boredom, based on motion capture and video analysis of changes in head and shoulder positions. Discrete, three-minute, computer-presented stimuli (games, quizzes, films and music) covering a spectrum from engaging to boring/disengaging were used to elicit changes in cognitive/emotional states in seated, healthy volunteers. Interaction with the stimuli occurred with a handheld trackball instead of a mouse, so movements were assumed to be non-instrumental. Our results include a feature (standard deviation of windowed ranges) that may be more specific to boredom than mean speed of head movement, and that could be implemented in computer vision algorithms for disengagement detection

Wearable sensor metric for fidgeting: screen engagement rather than interest causes NIMI of wrists and ankles

Measuring fidgeting is an important goal for the psychology of mind-wandering and for human computer interaction (HCI). Previous work measuring the movement of the head, torso and thigh during HCI has shown that engaging screen content leads to non-instrumental movement inhibition (NIMI). Camera-based methods for measuring wrist movements are limited by the occlusion, supination and friction of the arm. Here we used a high pass filtered magnitude of wearable tri-axial accelerometer recordings during 2-minute passive HCI stimuli as a surrogate for movement of the wrists and ankles. With 24 seated, healthy volunteers experiencing HCI, this metric showed that wrists moved significantly more than ankles. We found that NIMI could be detected in the wrists and ankles; it distinguished extremes of interest and boredom via restlessness. We conclude that both free-willed and forced screen engagement can elicit NIMI of the wrists and ankles

Experience design: video without faces increases engagement but not empathy

Counter to prior claims that empathy is required for higher levels of engagement in human-computer interaction, our team has previously found that, in an analysis of 844 stimulus presentations, empathy is sufficient for high engagement, but is not necessary. Here, we ran a carefully controlled study of human-computer interactions with musical stimuli --- with and without visuals, and with and without recognizable people -- to directly test whether we could design an engaging stimulus that did not elicit empathy, by avoiding human faces or personal interaction. We measured subjective responses by visual analogue scale and found that the faceless stimulus was as engaging as the face-containing stimulus, but much less empathy-provoking. Therefore, we propose that empathy and engagement be considered independently during interaction design, because they are not monotonically related

Proxemics of screen mediation: engagement with reading on screen manifests as diminished variation due to self-control, rather than diminished mean distance from screen

Objective: Burgoon's theory of conversational involvement suggest that when people engage with a person, they will move slightly closer to them, often subtly and subconsciously. However, some studies have failed to extend this to human-computer interaction. Our hypothesis is that during online reading, engagement is associated with an expenditure of effort to hold the head upright, still and centrally. Method: We presented to 27 participants (ages 21.00 ± 2.89, 15 female) seated in front of 47.5x27 cm monitor two reading stimuli in a counterbalanced order, one (interesting) based on a best selling novel and the other (boring) based on European Union banking regulations. The participants were video-recorded during their reading while they wore reflective motion tracking markers. The markers were video-tracked off-line using Kinovea 0.8. Results: Subjective VAS ratings showed that the stimuli elicited the bored and interested states as expected. Video tracking showed that the boring stimulus (compared to the interesting reading) elicited a greater head-to-screen velocity, a greater head-to-screen distance range, a greater head-to-screen distance standard deviation, but not a further away head-to-screen mean distance. Conclusions: The more interesting reading led to efforts to control the head to a more central viewing position while suppressing head fidgeting

The complex relationship between empathy, engagement and boredom

In human computer interactions — especially gaming — the role of empathy has been mooted as a necessary prerequisite for higher levels of engagement and immersion. More recently other forms of engagement, including intellectual/cognitive engagement, have been proposed. In this study we present a carefully controlled dataset of human-computer interactions with a wide range of stimuli that ranged from highly engaging to boring to test these two theories. Analyzing 844 response sets to visual analogue scales (VAS) for empathy, interest, boredom, and engagement, we found that high empathy was sufficient for high engagement but is not necessary, whilst the converse was not true. We also found that empathy and boredom were incompatible with each other, but low levels of either were permissive rather than causal to the other. We conclude that there is no monotonic relationship between increasing empathy and engagement; either empathy is a sufficient (but not necessary) cause of engagement, or engagement is a necessary precursor to high empathy

Interactions between amiodarone and the hERG potassium channel pore determined with mutagenesis and in silico docking

AbstractThe antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone delays cardiac repolarisation through inhibition of hERG-encoded potassium channels responsible for the rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr). This study aimed to elucidate molecular determinants of amiodarone binding to the hERG channel. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were made at 37°C of ionic current (IhERG) carried by wild-type (WT) or mutant hERG channels expressed in HEK293 cells. Alanine mutagenesis and ligand docking were used to investigate the roles of pore cavity amino-acid residues in amiodarone binding. Amiodarone inhibited WT outward IhERG tails with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ∼45nM, whilst inward IhERG tails in a high K+ external solution ([K+]e) of 94mM were blocked with an IC50 of 117.8nM. Amiodarone’s inhibitory action was contingent upon channel gating. Alanine-mutagenesis identified multiple residues directly or indirectly involved in amiodarone binding. The IC50 for the S6 aromatic Y652A mutation was increased to ∼20-fold that of WT IhERG, similar to the pore helical mutant S624A (∼22-fold WT control). The IC50 for F656A mutant IhERG was ∼17-fold its corresponding WT control. Computational docking using a MthK-based hERG model differentiated residues likely to interact directly with drug and those whose Ala mutation may affect drug block allosterically. The requirements for amiodarone block of aromatic residues F656 and Y652 within the hERG pore cavity are smaller than for other high affinity IhERG inhibitors, with relative importance to amiodarone binding of the residues investigated being S624A∼Y652A>F656A>V659A>G648A>T623A