The static nature of traditional warnings cannot always capture the user’s attention. The effecti... more The static nature of traditional warnings cannot always capture the user’s attention. The effectiveness of a warning refers to the way in which it prompts the user to engage in safe behavior. It is known that behavioral compliance is the “golden measure” for evaluating the effectiveness of a warning. Several studies have shown that traditional warnings are not effective in an emergency. Several researches indicate that dynamic safety warnings are more effective than static ones. However, these studies are mostly in critical situations such as emergency evacuations. Literature is not clear about the existence of research on warnings in warehouse operating environments. However, it is known that warehouses are environments where employees often work under pressure and are often involved in accidents. This study objective was to compare the effectiveness of static safety warnings with dynamic ones. This kind of study in real-life is a difficult issue. So, we used an immersive virtual environment for this purpose. Virtual Reality (VR) can be assumed as the most adequate methodology to use in this context, as it overcomes methodological, financial and ethical limitations. Fourteen volunteers participated in the experience. Main results confirmed that dynamic warnings produce greater behavioral compliance even in less dynamic situations such as workplaces such warehouses .
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
Virtual reality (VR) was created to give and enhance good user experiences, when the participants... more Virtual reality (VR) was created to give and enhance good user experiences, when the participants interact with virtual environments. These experiences have been successfully used in entertainment contexts, giving unforgettable user experiences. Nowadays, VR as used as a persuasive technology intentionally designed to change people’s attitude and behavior in different contexts (i.g. marketing, health). In this context, the objective of this paper is to discuss about the potentialities of VR for behavior change and presents a framework to use VR for behavior change, particularly related with safety at work situations. This framework is composed by five steps, to include VR in an organization. A discussion about the measurements and VR equipment’s to be used is made, to help the potential professionals to use VR to worker behavior changes proposals. In synthesis, this framework may not only improve worker behavior increasing the awareness of potential risks in the real work, but also unconsciously influence their routine behaviors which lead to the safety.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
The emotional reactions caused during the interaction with a product interfered in the evaluation... more The emotional reactions caused during the interaction with a product interfered in the evaluation by the user. For the assistive technologies, like the wheelchairs, there is a range of emotional reactions associated with the image of disease, despite the importance of these products for the independence of the people. Many studies about wheelchairs focused in biomechanical and functional aspects, without emphasis in other aspects of the user experience with these products. In this context, the aim of this work is to evaluate if the wheelchair with different design features provoke different emotional reactions in users and non-users of this assistive technology. Geneva Emotional Wheel was applied to 30 people wheelchair users and 30 people wheelchair non-users during a video with two wheelchairs in a virtual environment 3D. The results indicate that a wheelchair with a modern design causes more positive emotional reactions than a wheelchair with traditional design. It is considered these results can cooperate with wheelchair designers, as well as in health services in the context of prescription of this assistive technology.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2017
This pilot study aimed to evaluate the viability of using a Virtual Environment (VE) prototype fo... more This pilot study aimed to evaluate the viability of using a Virtual Environment (VE) prototype for conducting research regarding technology-based safety signs, i.e., Augmented Reality (AR) warnings. Using a complex work-related context (comprised of two hazardous situations with distinct salience levels) and a sample of 12 workers (27–60 years), the study’s objectives were to assess: the AR safety signs’ effectiveness in enhancing hazard-risk behaviors and promoting behavioral compliance; as well as the participants’ overall user experience. To undergo such an evaluation, the following issues were addressed: simulator sickness; level of presence; hazard and safety sign perception; and overall usability. Results reveal that: the AR warnings were effective in identifying hazards and in prompting compliant behaviors; and despite slight simulator sickness, participants were highly engaged, as well as adequately perceived both hazards and warnings. Thus, the VE prototype proved to be adequate for safety sign research regarding AR warnings.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 4, 2019
This study aims to evaluate the behavioral compliance with dynamic safety warnings, in different ... more This study aims to evaluate the behavioral compliance with dynamic safety warnings, in different levels of cognitive load in warehouses. Participated in the study forty subjects between the ages of 17 and 47. Participants performed two simultaneous tasks, while compliance with safety warnings was evaluated. Cognitive load had three levels (neutral, low cognitive load, high cognitive load) modulated through difficulty of double task. Behavioral compliance was 77.1% in the condition where there was no double task (neutral condition), in the condition of low cognitive load, 90.7% were consonants, and in the condition of high cognitive load the percentage dropped to 45.7%. Results suggest that the presentation of safety information is sensitive to cognitive load. In a work environment, where the demand for cognitive resources is high, there is a need to design stronger warnings that can increase compliance.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
Many air accidents result from contributing human factors, and maintenance is responsible for the... more Many air accidents result from contributing human factors, and maintenance is responsible for the large number of interventions in the industry. In his context, the main objectives of this study was to identify and understand the existence of problems for the workers related with maintenance activities under whole belly of the aircraft and define a concept for the development of an equipment that can solve the encountered problems and meet the needs of the industrial organization for performing tasks below the aircraft. We had encountered problems related to musculoskeletal injuries due to poor conditions, visual fatigue due to poor lighting and accidents related to head injury with aircraft structures. Brainstorming meetings with the workers, health and safety professionals, designers and ergonomists allows the definition of the main requirements for a “maintenance car” to avoid the previous problems.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, 2016
The effectiveness of safety warnings is measured by user’s behavior compliance. Although complian... more The effectiveness of safety warnings is measured by user’s behavior compliance. Although compliance is an important component in determining the success of a warning, its study becomes difficult to be developed in a real situation, due to methodological, financial and ethical issues. Virtual Reality (VR) can be a solution to these limitations. VR has the advantage of offering realistic experiences that even the person not being physically present in the environment feels like being there. However, for this to happen, it is necessary to develop 3D environments and narratives involving participants as if they were real situations. Since the construction of realistic 3D environment and consistent narratives a challenge for researchers, this study aims to develop and evaluate a 3D environment with a narrative to safety warnings effectiveness studies. The first part (development of virtual environment/narrative) was done through meetings with the multidisciplinary team Ergonomics Laboratory. The aim was to define requirements for the narrative and the virtual environment design features. The second part (evaluation of the prototype), through pilot tests, results will be discussed.
This article presents a case study developed at a transformer production industry. The interventi... more This article presents a case study developed at a transformer production industry. The intervention focuses on the human-machine interaction during the realization of the activity and the consequences that derive when conception of the machine isn ́t user centered developed. The context of the intervention, the tasks involved in the analyzed work situation and method aspects that led to the intervention are described. The principal results of the analyses witch show the need of a re-conception intervention of the workstation are also presented.
In the last years, the ergonomic studies of wheelchairs emphasized only the mechanical functional... more In the last years, the ergonomic studies of wheelchairs emphasized only the mechanical functionalities, like materials, durability, and biomechanical aspects of wheelchair propulsion. However, despite the importance of these characteristics for the independence of people, few studies have highlighted the aspects related to their user experience (UX). An Assistive Technology is not objects of desire, like a mobile phone. A wheelchair can stigmatize the user and therefore influence their UX. This paper aims to evaluate the UX and perception of stigmatization, related to two wheelchairs, with different design solutions, by crossing this data with their self-esteem. AttralkDiff2, Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were applied to 26 wheelchair users during the visualization of two videos with the wheelchairs in a virtual 3D environment. Results indicate that a wheelchair with an innovative design, presents a better UX and less association with stigma when compared to a traditional wheelchair.
The inclusion of people with cerebral palsy is not an easy path, because many of them preserve th... more The inclusion of people with cerebral palsy is not an easy path, because many of them preserve their cognitive abilities, despite being unable to speak, walk, or even both. This paper presents a study on the games applied in the education of people with cerebral palsy using Brain Computer Interface (BCI). Children affected by Cerebral Palsies have a disturbance in the control of their postures and body movements as a result of a brain injury. These injuries are the result of several causes. The most frequent is linked to the lack of oxygen flow to the brain, occurring either during or immediately after birth. The objective of the current research is to study the evaluation of the game we developed, called Questing Ruins. The methodology used was that of qualitative approach and case study. At the end we present Questing Ruins, an adventure game for entertainment and environmental awareness.
This study presents the co-design process of an educational game for citizenship, involving child... more This study presents the co-design process of an educational game for citizenship, involving children aged 10–14 years old. The game project was born in the context of “Plenarinho”, a portal of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. Several authors have shown that using digital games has great teaching potential, as they have important principles of different learning theories. However, the creation of an educational game is a complex process that must focus itself on the educational goals of the demanding organization and on final users’ interests. Notwithstanding, in educational game design, target groups rarely contribute since the beginning of design phases. Facing this, we decided to explore the co-design methodology as a way to find answers to the following question: What type of contributions can a creation process involving children bring along to the design of an educational game? Our study was constituted by two stages. The first stage was made up of meetings with the organization’s team and it was dedicated to the definition of the game requirements. The second stage was the one of co-design with children and was dedicated to collective creativity throughout the design process. It was constituted by six meetings. Results suggest that co-designing with younger users is a promise to successfully conciliate learning into fun and engaging games. Users, despite their age, can provide us information about various game mechanics characteristics, visual and narrative characteristics, helping us to design solutions, which considered both pedagogical and playful sides.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, 2016
Personas are representations of archetypal users aimed at guiding developers during the designing... more Personas are representations of archetypal users aimed at guiding developers during the designing process. Because users—especially children—cannot be easily accessed, Personas have the potential to gather information regarding characteristics of a wide variety of people. Knowing user’s abilities and needs is very important for making decisions about the fun conceptual system and the concepts that players should learn. This study presents the steps in the creation of Child Personas (CP) that will be used for designing a political educational game for Brazilian students. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire applied to 674 students aged 9–15 living in different regions in Brazil. To analyze the data collected by survey we ran the Two Step Cluster Analysis that has automatically determined three different clusters. Based on it we have created three child-personas by giving them, name, age, grade, family configuration, school, hobbies, activities, and a narrative to contextualize their lives.
Considered as a not fully appropriated way for load carriage on the spine, backpacks tend to be t... more Considered as a not fully appropriated way for load carriage on the spine, backpacks tend to be the elected products by students to carry their own school supplies [4]. Its use has been pointed out as a determinant aspect that contributes to the appearance of back pain and musculoskeletal disorders, mainly in growth stage children [4, 5]. Spine overload, often seen when wearing backpacks, is considered one of the main risk factor for the degeneration of intervertebral discs [1, 6, 7]. For further understanding this matter, the difficulties found in quantifying spinal acting loads, lead to the development of a considerable amount of biomechanical computerized models. The dissemination of this kind of models, lead to the need of their results evaluation as a very important aspect to consider in the selection of the most adequate software for specific study situations. Major findings allowed to apprehend the best way to apply posterior loads onto the spine of backpack users using HARSim by dynamically comparing its results with the ones presented by Rose [2]. This paper presents all the process, allowing its reproduction and application for this type of carrying transportation system for further studies to come.
The static nature of traditional warnings cannot always capture the user’s attention. The effecti... more The static nature of traditional warnings cannot always capture the user’s attention. The effectiveness of a warning refers to the way in which it prompts the user to engage in safe behavior. It is known that behavioral compliance is the “golden measure” for evaluating the effectiveness of a warning. Several studies have shown that traditional warnings are not effective in an emergency. Several researches indicate that dynamic safety warnings are more effective than static ones. However, these studies are mostly in critical situations such as emergency evacuations. Literature is not clear about the existence of research on warnings in warehouse operating environments. However, it is known that warehouses are environments where employees often work under pressure and are often involved in accidents. This study objective was to compare the effectiveness of static safety warnings with dynamic ones. This kind of study in real-life is a difficult issue. So, we used an immersive virtual environment for this purpose. Virtual Reality (VR) can be assumed as the most adequate methodology to use in this context, as it overcomes methodological, financial and ethical limitations. Fourteen volunteers participated in the experience. Main results confirmed that dynamic warnings produce greater behavioral compliance even in less dynamic situations such as workplaces such warehouses .
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
Virtual reality (VR) was created to give and enhance good user experiences, when the participants... more Virtual reality (VR) was created to give and enhance good user experiences, when the participants interact with virtual environments. These experiences have been successfully used in entertainment contexts, giving unforgettable user experiences. Nowadays, VR as used as a persuasive technology intentionally designed to change people’s attitude and behavior in different contexts (i.g. marketing, health). In this context, the objective of this paper is to discuss about the potentialities of VR for behavior change and presents a framework to use VR for behavior change, particularly related with safety at work situations. This framework is composed by five steps, to include VR in an organization. A discussion about the measurements and VR equipment’s to be used is made, to help the potential professionals to use VR to worker behavior changes proposals. In synthesis, this framework may not only improve worker behavior increasing the awareness of potential risks in the real work, but also unconsciously influence their routine behaviors which lead to the safety.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
The emotional reactions caused during the interaction with a product interfered in the evaluation... more The emotional reactions caused during the interaction with a product interfered in the evaluation by the user. For the assistive technologies, like the wheelchairs, there is a range of emotional reactions associated with the image of disease, despite the importance of these products for the independence of the people. Many studies about wheelchairs focused in biomechanical and functional aspects, without emphasis in other aspects of the user experience with these products. In this context, the aim of this work is to evaluate if the wheelchair with different design features provoke different emotional reactions in users and non-users of this assistive technology. Geneva Emotional Wheel was applied to 30 people wheelchair users and 30 people wheelchair non-users during a video with two wheelchairs in a virtual environment 3D. The results indicate that a wheelchair with a modern design causes more positive emotional reactions than a wheelchair with traditional design. It is considered these results can cooperate with wheelchair designers, as well as in health services in the context of prescription of this assistive technology.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2017
This pilot study aimed to evaluate the viability of using a Virtual Environment (VE) prototype fo... more This pilot study aimed to evaluate the viability of using a Virtual Environment (VE) prototype for conducting research regarding technology-based safety signs, i.e., Augmented Reality (AR) warnings. Using a complex work-related context (comprised of two hazardous situations with distinct salience levels) and a sample of 12 workers (27–60 years), the study’s objectives were to assess: the AR safety signs’ effectiveness in enhancing hazard-risk behaviors and promoting behavioral compliance; as well as the participants’ overall user experience. To undergo such an evaluation, the following issues were addressed: simulator sickness; level of presence; hazard and safety sign perception; and overall usability. Results reveal that: the AR warnings were effective in identifying hazards and in prompting compliant behaviors; and despite slight simulator sickness, participants were highly engaged, as well as adequately perceived both hazards and warnings. Thus, the VE prototype proved to be adequate for safety sign research regarding AR warnings.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 4, 2019
This study aims to evaluate the behavioral compliance with dynamic safety warnings, in different ... more This study aims to evaluate the behavioral compliance with dynamic safety warnings, in different levels of cognitive load in warehouses. Participated in the study forty subjects between the ages of 17 and 47. Participants performed two simultaneous tasks, while compliance with safety warnings was evaluated. Cognitive load had three levels (neutral, low cognitive load, high cognitive load) modulated through difficulty of double task. Behavioral compliance was 77.1% in the condition where there was no double task (neutral condition), in the condition of low cognitive load, 90.7% were consonants, and in the condition of high cognitive load the percentage dropped to 45.7%. Results suggest that the presentation of safety information is sensitive to cognitive load. In a work environment, where the demand for cognitive resources is high, there is a need to design stronger warnings that can increase compliance.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 24, 2018
Many air accidents result from contributing human factors, and maintenance is responsible for the... more Many air accidents result from contributing human factors, and maintenance is responsible for the large number of interventions in the industry. In his context, the main objectives of this study was to identify and understand the existence of problems for the workers related with maintenance activities under whole belly of the aircraft and define a concept for the development of an equipment that can solve the encountered problems and meet the needs of the industrial organization for performing tasks below the aircraft. We had encountered problems related to musculoskeletal injuries due to poor conditions, visual fatigue due to poor lighting and accidents related to head injury with aircraft structures. Brainstorming meetings with the workers, health and safety professionals, designers and ergonomists allows the definition of the main requirements for a “maintenance car” to avoid the previous problems.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, 2016
The effectiveness of safety warnings is measured by user’s behavior compliance. Although complian... more The effectiveness of safety warnings is measured by user’s behavior compliance. Although compliance is an important component in determining the success of a warning, its study becomes difficult to be developed in a real situation, due to methodological, financial and ethical issues. Virtual Reality (VR) can be a solution to these limitations. VR has the advantage of offering realistic experiences that even the person not being physically present in the environment feels like being there. However, for this to happen, it is necessary to develop 3D environments and narratives involving participants as if they were real situations. Since the construction of realistic 3D environment and consistent narratives a challenge for researchers, this study aims to develop and evaluate a 3D environment with a narrative to safety warnings effectiveness studies. The first part (development of virtual environment/narrative) was done through meetings with the multidisciplinary team Ergonomics Laboratory. The aim was to define requirements for the narrative and the virtual environment design features. The second part (evaluation of the prototype), through pilot tests, results will be discussed.
This article presents a case study developed at a transformer production industry. The interventi... more This article presents a case study developed at a transformer production industry. The intervention focuses on the human-machine interaction during the realization of the activity and the consequences that derive when conception of the machine isn ́t user centered developed. The context of the intervention, the tasks involved in the analyzed work situation and method aspects that led to the intervention are described. The principal results of the analyses witch show the need of a re-conception intervention of the workstation are also presented.
In the last years, the ergonomic studies of wheelchairs emphasized only the mechanical functional... more In the last years, the ergonomic studies of wheelchairs emphasized only the mechanical functionalities, like materials, durability, and biomechanical aspects of wheelchair propulsion. However, despite the importance of these characteristics for the independence of people, few studies have highlighted the aspects related to their user experience (UX). An Assistive Technology is not objects of desire, like a mobile phone. A wheelchair can stigmatize the user and therefore influence their UX. This paper aims to evaluate the UX and perception of stigmatization, related to two wheelchairs, with different design solutions, by crossing this data with their self-esteem. AttralkDiff2, Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were applied to 26 wheelchair users during the visualization of two videos with the wheelchairs in a virtual 3D environment. Results indicate that a wheelchair with an innovative design, presents a better UX and less association with stigma when compared to a traditional wheelchair.
The inclusion of people with cerebral palsy is not an easy path, because many of them preserve th... more The inclusion of people with cerebral palsy is not an easy path, because many of them preserve their cognitive abilities, despite being unable to speak, walk, or even both. This paper presents a study on the games applied in the education of people with cerebral palsy using Brain Computer Interface (BCI). Children affected by Cerebral Palsies have a disturbance in the control of their postures and body movements as a result of a brain injury. These injuries are the result of several causes. The most frequent is linked to the lack of oxygen flow to the brain, occurring either during or immediately after birth. The objective of the current research is to study the evaluation of the game we developed, called Questing Ruins. The methodology used was that of qualitative approach and case study. At the end we present Questing Ruins, an adventure game for entertainment and environmental awareness.
This study presents the co-design process of an educational game for citizenship, involving child... more This study presents the co-design process of an educational game for citizenship, involving children aged 10–14 years old. The game project was born in the context of “Plenarinho”, a portal of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. Several authors have shown that using digital games has great teaching potential, as they have important principles of different learning theories. However, the creation of an educational game is a complex process that must focus itself on the educational goals of the demanding organization and on final users’ interests. Notwithstanding, in educational game design, target groups rarely contribute since the beginning of design phases. Facing this, we decided to explore the co-design methodology as a way to find answers to the following question: What type of contributions can a creation process involving children bring along to the design of an educational game? Our study was constituted by two stages. The first stage was made up of meetings with the organization’s team and it was dedicated to the definition of the game requirements. The second stage was the one of co-design with children and was dedicated to collective creativity throughout the design process. It was constituted by six meetings. Results suggest that co-designing with younger users is a promise to successfully conciliate learning into fun and engaging games. Users, despite their age, can provide us information about various game mechanics characteristics, visual and narrative characteristics, helping us to design solutions, which considered both pedagogical and playful sides.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, 2016
Personas are representations of archetypal users aimed at guiding developers during the designing... more Personas are representations of archetypal users aimed at guiding developers during the designing process. Because users—especially children—cannot be easily accessed, Personas have the potential to gather information regarding characteristics of a wide variety of people. Knowing user’s abilities and needs is very important for making decisions about the fun conceptual system and the concepts that players should learn. This study presents the steps in the creation of Child Personas (CP) that will be used for designing a political educational game for Brazilian students. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire applied to 674 students aged 9–15 living in different regions in Brazil. To analyze the data collected by survey we ran the Two Step Cluster Analysis that has automatically determined three different clusters. Based on it we have created three child-personas by giving them, name, age, grade, family configuration, school, hobbies, activities, and a narrative to contextualize their lives.
Considered as a not fully appropriated way for load carriage on the spine, backpacks tend to be t... more Considered as a not fully appropriated way for load carriage on the spine, backpacks tend to be the elected products by students to carry their own school supplies [4]. Its use has been pointed out as a determinant aspect that contributes to the appearance of back pain and musculoskeletal disorders, mainly in growth stage children [4, 5]. Spine overload, often seen when wearing backpacks, is considered one of the main risk factor for the degeneration of intervertebral discs [1, 6, 7]. For further understanding this matter, the difficulties found in quantifying spinal acting loads, lead to the development of a considerable amount of biomechanical computerized models. The dissemination of this kind of models, lead to the need of their results evaluation as a very important aspect to consider in the selection of the most adequate software for specific study situations. Major findings allowed to apprehend the best way to apply posterior loads onto the spine of backpack users using HARSim by dynamically comparing its results with the ones presented by Rose [2]. This paper presents all the process, allowing its reproduction and application for this type of carrying transportation system for further studies to come.
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