Abstract

Encouraging people to make sustainable transport choices remains a global challenge and many interventions have been attempted. This study investigated the reflection on own/others’ subjective experiences (SE) as an intervention using a smartphone application as the intervention tool. Participants were car drivers and used the app to automatically capture and reflect on their commute journeys and experiences. The experimental group were also able to reflect upon others’ experiences across car, walk and cycle modes. Others’ experiences were designed based on a previous self-report study. Results of the study showed that quantitative measures of intentions to change were not affected by the intervention but that qualitative data showed that the positive experience of the active transport modes did bring about reflection on behaviour and a potential influence on opinions and intentions which warrants further study. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

International audience; People with disabilities may encounter many communication difficulties. Our main goal is to develop a communication system, called COMMOB, designed to assist people with cerebral palsy in different contexts: at home, at work and in public places. After a brief review of the different categories of as-sistive communication systems, our user-centered design approach is presented. It was tested in a public place in the context of a help request by a cerebral palsy person in a wheelchair. The result concerns particularly the response rate. The assistive power of COMMOB was rated from the respondents' and the user's point of view. The main lesson to be learned is that the most difficult was to attract the attention of people and to engage the interaction. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

International audience; Communication is an important act in the development and empowerment of human beings. Through language, humans communicate their needs, desires, moods... Unfortunately, many physical and mental disabilities deprive some people of such communication means. Nowadays various Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems exist in order to help people with disabilities. Virtual keyboards are the most common AAC systems for physical disabilities. Concerning mental disability, there are tools based on pictograms. This paper is divided into two parts. First, we put forward a critical review of various AAC systems with a focus on users with athetoid cerebral palsy. Second, the paper presents work in progress concerning a communication system for such users. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

International audience; The aim of the present contribution is to test whether and to what extent cognitive load theory may account for working memory performance in the field of ergonomics. We will briefly present the theoretical and methodological principles of cognitive load theory, developed initially by Sweller (1988) in the field of educational psychology, and some of the more critical issues addressed recently. Thereafter, we report three experiments exploring the relations between the three load categories defined by cognitive load theory, by using working memory tasks. The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic cognitive load categories was explored by manipulating respectively task difficulty and time pressure. The consequences of the less documented germane load were proposed to depend on participants’ alertness that varies spontaneously across the day (Galy, Cariou, and Mélan, 2012). In order to test for additive effects between load categories, effects of intrinsic and extrinsic load were explored both separately and simultaneously, and when participants’ alertness level was either high or low. This procedure was tested in a mental arithmetic task and in a recall task performed by participants in controlled laboratory conditions and when the same arithmetic task was performed by air traffic controllers in a real-job situation. Results led to the conclusion of an additive interaction between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load factors, in addition to modulatory effects by germane load. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

In this research, the effects of culture, cognitions, and emotions on crisis management and prevention are analysed. An agent-based crowd evacuation simulation model was created, named IMPACT, to study the evacuation process from a transport hub. To extend previous research, various socio-cultural, cognitive, and emotional factors were modelled, including: language, gender, familiarity with the environment, emotional contagion, prosocial behaviour, falls, group decision making, and compliance. The IMPACT model was validated against data from an evacuation drill using the existing EXODUS evacuation model. Results show that on all measures, the IMPACT model is within or close to the prescribed boundaries, thereby establishing its validity. Structured simulations with the validated model revealed important findings, including: the effect of doors as bottlenecks, social contagion speeding up evacuation time, falling behaviour not affecting evacuation time significantly, and travelling in groups being more beneficial for evacuation time than travelling alone. This research has important practical applications for crowd management professionals, including transport hub operators, first responders, and risk assessors. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

This chapter discusses man-machine interface. PLC has to “connect” to human operators, accepting commands from them and displaying the status of the plant in a form that can readily and easily be understood. A digital display driven in BCD normally uses one of the unused binary codes, 1010 to 1111, to generate a blank display. Simple digital inputs (pushbuttons, joysticks, switches) are normally allocated one input per motion and do not require anything particularly special. Concerning PLC with analog signals, flows, temperatures, pressures, etc., these will usually be displayed to the operator. A graphics terminal has just two connections to the outside world, a serial link connection and a power supply. The Allen Bradley Panelview family was designed to replace switches, pushbuttons, numeric displays, and similar devices. The Panelview built up a graphics screen with semigraphic characters placed on a screen with a “pick and place” menu approach. Siemens provides a vast range of operator terminals from simple text-only message displays to complete computer-based Scada systems. One major advantage of graphical displays is that mistakes can be rectified without leaving scars, albeit at some cost. The operator will need to input data and initiate actions. Where a simple text message is to be displayed, possibly with embedded data, message displays driven by a simple serial link carrying ASCII coded characters can be used. PCs have much better graphics capability than the average PLC, so it is not surprising that PCs are increasingly being used as the link between humans and PLC systems. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

JODE purposes to deliver international readers with high quality peer-reviewed academic articles on a wide variety of issues related to open and distance learning, in areas such as technology-assisted learning, computer based training, computer-aided instruction or computer assisted instruction, internet-based training, web-based training, online training, virtual training, virtual learning environments, m-learning, digital education, education on social networking, massive online open courses, game-based learning, active learning, content design, e-assessment, mobile applications, e-video, the quality of open and distance education and accreditation etc. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

The technological development in recent years is currently reflected in the implementation of more and more advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). A clear example is found in the automated driving systems being marketed today. Some of these systems are capable of controlling crucial driving tasks such as keeping the vehicle within the lane or maintaining speed and the distance with the front vehicle constant. While this technology is still not mature enough to allow fully autonomous driving, current systems allow partially automated driving, or Level 2 (SAE, 2016). Level 2 automation enables feet-free, and for short periods hands-free driving, under specific situations. Yet, the driver is still expected to monitor the road and the system and be ready to intervene when required by the system. Regarding this, studies from the driving and other domains have warned about potential performance problems associated with placing operators in such monitoring role. Factors such as vigilance decrements or proneness to engage in other activities have been proposed to explain these problems; however, their role in the context of Level 2 automation remains to be further investigated. In this context, the main aims of this thesis were to understand the attentional effects of monitoring a Level 2 automated system and to investigate drivers’ strategies to integrate additional tasks while using such system. In particular, the following research questions were established: 1) Does monitoring a Level 2 system affect driver attention after short driving periods?; 2) Does Level 2 automation facilitate the performance of additional tasks?; 3) How do drivers integrate additional tasks into their monitoring responsibilities, and how is that influenced by automation trust and experience?. A complementary aim of this thesis was to explore the applicability of the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique to detect the effects of different types of ADAS, i.e. Level 2 automation and a visual in-vehicle information system (IVIS), on drivers’ attention and on specific processing resources. Three studies were conducted to address the aforementioned research questions. In Study I and III, the participants were asked to drive Level 2 automated and manually while performing an auditory oddball task (Study I) or a visuomotor task (Study III). In Study II, the participants were instructed to perform a computer tracking task with or without the support of an artificial visual IVIS while executing a secondary auditory oddball task. Measurements included performance indicators from the primary and secondary tasks, as well as subjective and psychophysiological measures. ERPs (N1 and P3 amplitude and latencies) elicited by the auditory oddball task were used to assess the participants’ attentional resource allocation. Glance behaviour was also recorded to analyse drivers’ visual monitoring strategies in Study III. In addition, subjective measures of mental workload, vigilance or automation trust were collected. Last, driving parameters such as speed, time spent on the left lane or number overtakings were used to account for driving strategies to integrate an additional task while driving Level 2 automated or manually (Study III). As hypothesized, monitoring a Level 2 automated system for short periods led to lower perceived demands and to reductions in the allocation of attentional resources to the auditory oddball task, as shown by lower amplitudes in the P3 component (Study I). In Study III, driving Level 2 automated led to worse performances on an additional visuomotor task, compared to when driving manually, which contradicted our expectations. Additionally, when the system was active, drivers tended to look less to the road and more to the dashboard; however, only drivers with automation experience or who perceived the system as more robust increased their visual attention to the additional task. Furthermore, the results from Study II showed that some specific ERPs parameters, namely N1 latency and P3 amplitude, were also sensitive to the demands of IVIS while performing the tracking task. Based on previous studies (Young and Stanton, 2002), the lower attentional resource allocation observed in Study I could reflect a cognitive underload effect induced by the Level 2 automated driving. Cognitive underload is proposed as one of the explaining mechanisms for the observed worse performances in the additional visuomotor task during the automated conditions in Study III. However, other effects such as overload or task interferences could also explain this. Finally, the results revealed by the ERPs in Studies I and II suggest that this could be a useful technique to detect alterations in drivers’ attention due to the excessive high or low demands placed by different ADAS. ERPs also showed a greater diagnosticity than other measures in the detection of specific task requirements of perceptual and cognitive resources. Thus, ERPs may be useful as a complementary tool to other mental workload measures. Given that drivers need to remain attentive at all times while interacting with a Level 2 automated vehicle, the use of countermeasures to mitigate the negative attentional effects reported in this thesis is highly recommended. Specific training programs enhancing drivers’ knowledge of the system or the implementation of systems that inform about the system reliability or detect inadequate driver states could be promising solutions. Ägare av fordon med nivå 2-automation har nu möjlighet att köra utan att använda pedalerna, och under korta perioder, även utan att behöva styra i specifika trafiksituationer. Emellertid förblir de fortfarande ansvariga för att kontinuerligt övervaka den omgivande trafikmiljön liksom det automatiserade systemet. Även om automatiserade fordon har potential att öka säkerheten, har tidigare studier visat på betydande problem förknippade med förares svårigheter att övervaka automatiserade system en längre tid. Denna avhandlings huvudsakliga syfte var att förstå vilken inverkan nivå 2- automatiserad körning har på förares uppmärksamhet och beteende under två situationer: a) då föraren övervakar trafiken och systemet, b) då föraren övervakar trafiken och systemet, och samtidigt utför en sidouppgift av visumotorisk karaktär. Dessutom undersöktes även vilken inverkan tillit till och erfarenhet av nivå 2-automation hade på förarens övervakningsstrategier av och användning av systemet. Ett ytterligare, kompletterande syfte med denna avhandling, var att undersöka användbarheten av event-related potentials (ERP) -tekniken för att bättre kunna detektera eventuella förändringar som förknippas med nivå 2-automation. Specifikt analyserades N1 och P3 ERP-komponenterna. Dessutom användes denna teknik i avhandlingen för att upptäcka ökning av den mentala arbetsbelastningen i samband med förarens interaktion med andra vanliga stödsystem, exempelvis fordonets informationssystem. Tre olika studier genomfördes. I Studie I (simulatorstudie) observerades att körning med nivå 2- automation under korta perioder medförde generella minskningar av uppmärksamhetsresursallokering. Denna effekt upptäcktes som en minskning av amplituden hos P3-komponenten, framkallad av utförandet av en sekundär auditiv uppgift. I Studie III (på väg) upptäcktes sämre prestation på en sidouppgift av visumotorisk karaktär under körning med nivå-2 automation jämfört med manuell körning. Det observerades även att förare med större erfarenhet av systemet och/eller högre skattningar av systemets robusthet, tenderade att titta mindre på vägen och mer på sidouppgiften. Slutligen, i Studie II (laboratoriestudie), upptäcktes att ERP var användbart för att detektera ökningar av krav associerade med utförandet av en datoradministrerad spårningsuppgift, baserad på ett artificiellt visuellt IVIS. I allmänhet tyder resultaten i denna avhandling på att nivå 2-automation kan leda till kognitiv underbelastning, en effekt som tidigare har observerats i högre grader av automation. Nedsättning av uppmärksamhet, beroende på kognitiv underbelastning, kan förklara de sämre prestationerna på sidouppgiften under körning med nivå 2-automation som observerades i studie III. Dock behöver resultatet undersökas ytterligare eftersom andra effekter, som överbelastning eller specifik uppgiftskonkurrens, också kan ha skett. I enlighet med avhandlingens kompletterande syfte, uppvisade användningen av ERP, som ett komplementärt verktyg till andra sätt att mäta mental arbetsbelastning, lovande resultat. ERP kan användas för att upptäcka ytterligare effekter av olika stödsystem, som antingen ökar eller minskar de krav som ställs på föraren. Nu finns fordon med nivå 2-automation på vägarna. Trots detta är vissa säkerhetsproblem, förknippade med deras effekter på förarens förmågor och beteende, fortfarande olösta. Det är därför nödvändigt att insatser görs för att mildra sådana problem så att framtida incidenter i trafiken kan förhindras i så stor utsträckning som möjligt. Förhoppningsvis bidrar denna avhandling till att öka förståelsen för de verkliga effekterna av nivå 2-system på förare och uppmuntrar till fler framtida studier inom området.

Abstract

traffic control (ATC) simulator and on-the-job training requires a valid and reliable assessment system. Competence-based assessment results in more effective learning processes and better founded pass–fail decisions, which may contribute to an increased output of competent controllers from training. At Air Traffic Control The Netherlands (LVNL) we designed an assessment system based on a newly defined set of competences. The ATC Performance Model, derived from this competence analysis, has served as a framework for the design. This article describes the background, the design process, the properties, and the evaluation results of the competence-based assessment system in use by LVNL.

Abstract

The rapid advance of technologies is revolutionizing the way people work and transforming society into a digital world. In the shipping domain, many innovative technical systems have been designed and developed in the past decades, aiming to enable the maritime users to achieve the goal of safety, efficiency and effectiveness. The introduction of advanced technologies into workplaces that are intended to aid humans have also created unprecedented challenges. As their workplaces are inundated with new artefacts that cause confusion and information overloading, human users frequently find themselves in a supporting role to serve technology, being responsible for automation issues and blamed for “human errors” that sometimes result in tragic results. Today’s work in shipping is generally getting more distributed, complex and demanding. These challenges are closely associated with the design and use of technologies. Human-technology interactions in the context of sociotechnical systems has become an important research topic. It explores the relation between humans and machines to illustrate how interface design could address the human limitations, shape social interactions and provide ecological implications. This thesis considers the context of the shipping domain to investigate the impact of innovative technology, design issues and opportunities in various projects that attempt to increase safety or/and efficiency. The exploration and discourse in these applied projects are positioned in sociotechnical systems which include human, technology and organisational constituents. The thesis aims to achieve a deeper understanding of human-technology interactions from psychological, sociological and ecological perspectives, reflecting the ways in which technology interacts with humans. It aims to form a pluralistic epistemology to provide design implications and enlighten knowledge and organisational management within sociotechnical systems. The results have identified many issues related to situation awareness, attention and automation bias. It suggests the importance of adapting interfaces to the human limitations and accommodating the context change to support decision making. Perspectives of Activity Theory, distributed cognition and situated learning have high reference value in human-computer interaction research, providing insightful understanding about the nature of knowledge and interaction design, particularly how tool mediation could facilitate social interaction. In addition, technology-centric design that only concerns “user-interface” interaction is identified having significant limitations in complex systems. “Human errors” and organisational failures should be perceived via a holistic thinking. The results have presented the importance of adopting pluralistic approaches to understand the sociological factors and the nature of the work that is undergoing transitions along the shipping industry’s ecology. Overall, the thesis has identified the need to go beyond the pure cognitivist approach to better understand the complexity of human-computer interaction and human factors research, forming a deepened understanding towards an emerging interdisciplinary language of sociotechnical systems. To truly contribute to safety, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability, it is critical to develop a pluralistic epistemology and a comprehensive human-centric vision regarding design and technological innovation in the digital revolution.