Search results for "Human Factors"
showing 10 items of 795 documents
A Case of Cooperative Sound Design
2016
In this design case study, protocol and linkographic analysis are applied to a task of cooperative vocal sketching, proposed in the scope of educational research activities. The understanding of the cognitive behaviors involved in sound creation is aimed at setting the ground for the development of rigorous, designerly evaluation practices tailored to sound design, all the way to the final interactive product. Relevant qualitative and quantitative information about the creative process informs the assessment and possibly improvement of sound design methods.
Interaction by ear
2019
Abstract Speech-based interaction is now part of our everyday experiences, in the home and on the move. More subtle is the presence of designed non-speech sounds in human-machine interactions, and far less evident is their importance to create aural affordances and to support human actions. However, new application areas for interactive sound, beyond the domains of speech and music, have been emerging. These range from tele-operation and way-finding, to peripheral process monitoring and augmented environments. Beyond signalling location, presence, and states, future sounding artifacts are expected to be plastic and reconfigurable, and take into account the inherently egocentric nature of so…
Exploring usability and accessibility of avatar-based touchless gestural interfaces for autistic people
2018
Many prior works investigated the potential of pervasive technologies and interactive applications to increase access capabilities to digital content for people with disability, particularly Neuro-Developmental Disorders (NDDs). In this paper, we present an exploratory study aimed at understanding if an avatar-based touchless gestural interface is able to foster interest towards digital representations of artworks, e.g. paintings or sculptures usually exhibited in museums, and to make them more accessible for such people. In particular, the study involved three autistic people and a therapist, and allowed us to report the potential of an avatar to communicate the interactivity and stimulate…
Child-display interaction: Exploring avatar-based touchless gestural interfaces
2019
During the last decade, touchless gestural interfaces have been widely studied as one of the most promising interaction paradigms in the context of pervasive displays. In particular, avatars and silhouettes have been proved to be effective in communicating the touchless gestural interactivity supported by displays. In the paper, we take a child-display interaction perspective by exploring avatar-based touchless gestural interfaces. We believe that large displays offer an opportunity to stimulate child experience and engagement, for instance when learning about art, as well as bringing a number of challenges. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) identifying the relevant aspects of childr…
They are looking at me! Understanding how Audience Presence Impacts on Public Display Users
2017
It is well known from prior work, that people interacting as well as attending to a public display attract further people to interact. This behavior is commonly referred to as the honeypot effect. At the same time, there are often situations where an audience is present in the vicinity of a public display that does not actively engage or pay attention to the display or an approaching user. However, it is largely unknown how such a \textit{passive audience} impacts on users or people who intend to interact. In this paper, we investigate the influence of a passive audience on the engagement of people with a public display. In more detail, we report on the deployment of a display in a public s…
Human Activity Recognition Process Using 3-D Posture Data
2015
In this paper, we present a method for recognizing human activities using information sensed by an RGB-D camera, namely the Microsoft Kinect. Our approach is based on the estimation of some relevant joints of the human body by means of the Kinect; three different machine learning techniques, i.e., K-means clustering, support vector machines, and hidden Markov models, are combined to detect the postures involved while performing an activity, to classify them, and to model each activity as a spatiotemporal evolution of known postures. Experiments were performed on Kinect Activity Recognition Dataset, a new dataset, and on CAD-60, a public dataset. Experimental results show that our solution o…
Plantxel: Towards a plant-based controllable display
2018
The use of plants as a mean for both visualization and interaction has been already explored in smart environments. In this work, we explore the possibility of constructing a controllable dynamic plant-based display using thigmonastic plants, i.e. plants that change the shape and position of their leaves as a response to external stimuli. As an initial step towards this vision, we first introduce our approach of building a plant-based pixel (plant-pixel, or plantxel), and the principles of composing a plantxel-based public display. We then present the results of a feasibility study conducted with Mimosa spegazzinii plants, showing that our approach can achieve an acceptable contrast ratio, …
Investigating Proactive Search Support in Conversations
2018
Conversations among people involve solving disputes, building common ground, and reinforce mutual beliefs and assumptions. Conversations often require external information that can support these human activities. In this paper, we study how a spoken conversation can be supported by a proactive search agent that listens to the conversation, detects entities mentioned in the conversation, and proactively retrieves and presents information related to the conversation. A total of 24 participants (12 pairs) were involved in informal conversations, using either the proactive search agent or a control condition that did not support conversational analysis or proactive information retrieval. Data c…
Early pastoral communities in the mountains of Sicily. Prehistoric evidence from Vallone Inferno (Scillato) in the palaeoenvironmental framework of t…
2021
Abstract This paper discusses the Middle Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age phases of the occupation of a rock shelter at Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Palermo) in Sicily. Vallone Inferno is a key site for studying the early establishment and development of pastoralism in the prehistoric mountainous environments of Sicily. Seasonal use of the site as a shelter is documented for the earliest pastoral communities that exploited the Madonie mountain range. The results of the analysis of pottery and lithic assemblages contribute to the definition of two chronocultural frameworks that were linked by the same economic subsistence base. The special role of obsidian emerges, while the mobility pattern…
Cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms in children: the protective role of self-efficacy beliefs in a multi-wave longitudinal study.
2014
The current multi-wave longitudinal study on childhood examined the role that social and academic self-efficacy beliefs and cognitive vulnerabilities play in predicting depressive symptoms in response to elevations in idiographic stressors. Children (N = 554; males: 51.4 %) attending second and third grade completed measures of depressive symptoms, negative cognitive styles, negative life events, and academic and social self-efficacy beliefs at four time-points over 6 months. Results showed that high levels of academic and social self-efficacy beliefs predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms, whereas negative cognitive styles about consequences predicted higher depression. Furthermore,…