As automation becomes more prevalent in society, the frequency that systems involve interactive human-automation control increases. Previous studies have shown accountability to be a valuable way of eliciting human engagement and reducing various biases, but these studies have involved the presence of an authority figure during the research. The current research sought to explore the effect of accountability in the absence of an authority figure. To do this, 40 participants took part in this study by playing a microworld simulation. Half were told they would be interviewed after the simulation, and half were told data was not being collected. Eleven dependent variables were collected (accountability, number of resources shared, player score, agent score, combined score, and the six measures of the NASA- Task Load Index), of which statistical significance was found in number of resources shared, player score, and agent score. While not conclusive, the results suggest that accountability affects human-automation interactions even in the absence of an authority figure. It is suggested that future research seek to find a reliable way to measure accountability and examine how long accountability effects last.

Interface design has a large impact on the usability of a system, and the addition of multitasking only makes these systems more difficult to use. Information processing, mental workload, and interface design are determining factors that impact the performance of usability, and therefore interface design needs to be more adapted to users undergoing a high mental workload. This study examines how a primary task, visual tracking, is affected by a secondary task, memory. Findings show that a high mental workload effects reaction time and memory performance on layouts with a high index of difficulty. Further research should analyze the effects of manipulating target size and distance apart independently from manipulating the index of difficulty on performance.

Across a wide variety of sports, our visual abilities have been proven to profoundly impact performance. Numerous studies have examined the effects of visual training in athletes and have found supporting evidence that performance can be enhanced through vision training. The present case study aimed to expand on research in the field of stroboscopic visual training. To do so, twelve softball players, half novice and half expert, took part in this study. Six underwent a four-week stroboscopic training program and six underwent a four-week non-stroboscopic training program. The quantitative data collected in this case study showed that training group (stroboscopic vs. non-stroboscopic) and skill level (novice vs expert) of each softball player were significant factors that contributed to how much their fielding performance increased. Qualitative data collected in this study support these findings as well as players’ subjective reports that their visual and perceptual skills had increased. Players trained in the stroboscopic group reported that they felt like they could “focus” on the ball better and “predict” where the ball would be. Future research should examine more participants across a longer training period and determine if more data would yield even greater significance for stroboscopic training.

Highly automated vehicles require drivers to remain aware enough to takeover

during critical events. Driver distraction is a key factor that prevents drivers from reacting

adequately, and thus there is need for an alert to help drivers regain situational awareness

and be able to act quickly and successfully should a critical event arise. This study

examines two aspects of alerts that could help facilitate driver takeover: mode (auditory

and tactile) and direction (towards and away). Auditory alerts appear to be somewhat

more effective than tactile alerts, though both modes produce significantly faster reaction

times than no alert. Alerts moving towards the driver also appear to be more effective

than alerts moving away from the driver. Future research should examine how

multimodal alerts differ from single mode, and see if higher fidelity alerts influence

takeover times.

The current study investigated how multimedia pacing (learner-control versus system-paced) and presentation styles (visual-only versus audio/visual) impact learning physics concept material, mental effort, and self-efficacy. This 2X2 factorial study randomly assigned participants into one of four conditions that manipulated presentation style (visual-only versus audio/visual) and pacing of the content (system-paced versus learning-controlled). Participant's learning was measured by recording their retention of information and ability to transfer information. Measures of perceived difficulty (mental effort) and perceived ability (self-efficacy) were also obtained. No significant effects were observed in this study which doesn’t support the existence of either the modality or reverse modality effect at least in these noisier online learning environments. In addition, the hypothesis that their effects could be an artifact of experimental design could not be proven as the learner control condition did not yield any significant results.

The focus of this study is on evaluating the perceived service quality of a passenger using Self Service Technologies (SST) based service delivery systems at airports. Previously, studies have been conducted to evaluate the benefits of these service delivery systems for the service providers and in theory, the benefits the passengers or customers may receive from using these SSTs. However, not much research has been done comparing the benefits passengers perceive from the SSTs and how the same compares with the benefits perceived by passengers while using a conventional service-employee based service delivery system, for example, manned check-in desks at airports. The data for the study was collected by surveying passengers using the scale questionnaire designed by Lin and Hsieh in 2011, named SSTQUAL (Self Service Technologies Quality), to evaluate service quality delivered by SST based service delivery systems in terms of perceived functionality, enjoyment, design-assurance-convenience, security/privacy and customization. These different dimensions were compared among passengers who utilized Self Service Kiosks (SSKs) and passengers who used check-in-desks to check their luggage in. The data derived from the responses was analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to compare the between-subject effects of the dimensions as well as the overall multivariate significance in the difference between the service quality perceived between the two check-in methods. It was found that though the cumulative perceived service quality was not influenced by the method of check-in, individual service quality dimensions like Enjoyment, Design, Convenience and Assurance were influenced by the check-in method. Positive correlation was also established between the method of check-in and customer behavioral intentions of recommending and using the respective airline’s service again as well as going through the process of using the respective airline’s SST again.

Keywords: Self-Service Technologies, SSTQUAL, service-quality parameters, self check-in kiosks, manned check-in desks, technological readiness, customer behavioral intentions, MANOVA.

This study exmaines the effect of in-vehicle infotainment display depth on driving performance. More features are being built into infotainment displays, allowing drivers to complete a greater number of secondary tasks while driving. However, the complexity of completing these tasks can take attention away from the primary task of driving, which may present safety risks. Tasks become more time consuming as the items drivers wish to select are buried deeper in a menu’s structure. Therefore, this study aims to examine how deeper display structures impact driving performance compared to more shallow structures.

Procedure. Participants complete a lead car following task, where they follow a lead car and attempt to maintain a time headway (TH) of 2 seconds behind the lead car at all times, while avoiding any collisions. Participants experience five conditions where they are given tasks to complete with an in-vehicle infotainment system. There are five conditions, each involving one of five displays with different structures: one-layer vertical, one-layer horizontal, two-layer vertical, two-layer horizontal, and three-layer. Brake Reaction Time (BRT), Mean Time Headway (MTH), Time Headway Variability (THV), and Time to Task Completion (TTC) are measured for each of the five conditions.

Results. There is a significant difference in MTH, THV, and TTC for the three-layer condition. There is a significant difference in BRT for the two-layer horizontal condition. There is a significant difference between one- and two-layer displays for all variables, BRT, MTH, THV, and TTC. There is also a significant difference between one- and three-layer displays for TTC.

Conclusions. Deeper displays negatively impact driving performance and make tasks more time consuming to complete while driving. One-layer displays appear to be optimal, although they may not be practical for in-vehicle displays.

Using a modified news media brand personality scale developed by Kim, Baek, and Martin (2010), this study measured the personalities of eight news media outlets and combined them into the same associative network with participants’ self-image via the Pathfinder tool (Schvaneveldt, Durso, & Dearholt, 1989). Using these networks, this study was able to both explore the personality associations of participants and observe if self-congruity, measured by the distance between the self-image node and a brand, is significantly related to participant preference for a brand. Self-congruity was found to be significantly related to preference. However, this relationship was mediated by participants’ fiscal and social orientation. Overall, using Pathfinder to generate associative networks and measure self-congruity could be a useful approach for understanding how people perceive and relate to different news media outlets.

This study used an online survey methodology looking at all levels of archers and coaches to understand their perceptions of the shooting process and Mental Game importance. The survey asked about the archer's skill level and their training style, as well as their perception of the importance of each step in the shooting process and the different parts of the Mental Game. The study also processed the impact of performance of an archer based on their perception of importance of the different steps of the shooting process and the Mental Game. Depending on if the archer has ever had a coach, certain steps of the shooting process and certain parts of the Mental Game was impacted by having a coach at one time. While, the level of coach also impacts how the Mental Game is perceived. Throughout this study, imagery was the most impacted by the level of coach the participant is, if the participants have ever had a coach, and how the participants perform.

Medical errors are now estimated to be the third leading cause of death in the United States (Makary & Daniel, 2016). Look-alike, sound- alike prescription drug mix-ups contribute to this figure. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) have recommended the use of Tall Man lettering since 2008, in which dissimilar portions of confusable drug names pairs are capitalized in order to make them more distinguishable. Research on the efficacy of Tall Man lettering in differentiating confusable drug name pairs has been inconclusive and it is imperative to investigate potential efficacy further considering the clinical implications (Lambert, Schroeder & Galanter, 2015). The present study aimed to add to the body of research on Tall Man lettering while also investigating another possibility for the mechanism behind Tall Man’s efficacy, if it in fact exists. Studies indicate that the first letter in a word offers an advantage over other positions, resulting in more accurate and faster recognition (Adelman, Marquis & Sabatos-DeVito, 2010; Scaltritti & Balota, 2013). The present study used a 2x3 repeated measures design to analyze the effect of position on Tall Man lettering efficacy. Participants were shown a prime drug, followed by a brief mask, and then either the same drug name or its confusable pair and asked to identify whether they were the same or different. All participants completed both lowercase and Tall Man conditions. Overall performance measured by accuracy and reaction time revealed lowercase to be more effective than Tall Man. With regard to the position of Tall Man letters, a first position advantage was seen both in accuracy and reaction time. A first position advantage was seen in the lowercase condition as well, suggesting the location of the differing portion of the word matters more than the format used. These findings add to the body of inconclusive research on the efficacy of Tall Man lettering in drug name confusion. Considering its impact on patient safety, more research should be conducted to definitively answer the question as to whether or not Tall Man should be used in practice.