Janan Smither - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Janan Smither
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Social robots are a proposed solution to feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Given the p... more Social robots are a proposed solution to feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Given the psychological complexity of experienced trait loneliness and its potential to reduce perceived social presence, an experiment using a social robot was conducted to examine how trait loneliness impacted perceived social co-presence, psychobehavioral interdependence, and subjective mutual presence in social robot interactions. Furthermore, we explored whether these effects differed from human-to-human interactions. Although trait loneliness only affected third order subjective copresence among the three social presence dimensions, individuals with higher trait loneliness were more likely to accept the robot as a social companion.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care
Research on patient experiences within healthcare systems tend to report a variety negative encou... more Research on patient experiences within healthcare systems tend to report a variety negative encounters. This can be especially observed in food distribution systems within nursing homes. While nursing homes have various practices and structures that affect a resident’s physical and mental health, the process of food distribution considerably relates to issues of autonomy. Because loss of independence may lead to increased rates of elderly loneliness and depression, mealtimes and the process of food distribution are an integral part of improving a resident’s quality of life and encouraging socialization and self-sufficiency. Moreover, developing patient experiences within food distribution systems, whether centralized or decentralized, will likely improve resident’s autonomy and self-efficacy, reduce frustration, and enhance their overall mental and physical health. The present study utilizes Arhippainen’s User Experience heuristics to identify manners of augmenting patient experienc...
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care
As COVID-19 cases continue to be prevalent, at-home testing for the illness will continue to be i... more As COVID-19 cases continue to be prevalent, at-home testing for the illness will continue to be in demand. At-home testing is convenient as results are obtained quickly and often at a lower cost. This study utilized Nielsen’s Ten Usability Heuristics to evaluate at-home COVID-19 test kits, with consideration given to older users when applicable. Understanding whether users can correctly use and interpret these tests is critical to ensure the kits provide accurate results and to ensure user trust. Results of our analysis showed that there is a need for at-home COVID-19 test kits to improve the way results are presented and implement more error prevention techniques. In regards to older users, the kits would benefit from clearing up ambiguities which require reference materials, accommodating users with contrast sensitivity difficulties, and ensuring that the test kit products are easy to manually handle. While the kits have acceptable usability, improvements to the usability of COVID...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
As intelligent personal assistants gain popularity, the technology sees increasing adoption by ol... more As intelligent personal assistants gain popularity, the technology sees increasing adoption by older users. The device’s use of natural language processing for human-agent interaction purportedly makes it easier for older users to adopt. However, to properly understand how older users perceive and use the devices, continuous user research is needed. To this end, we conducted a user perception, task performance, and social presence study with two standalone IPAs to assess elements of usability and user experience. Additionally, since current research indicates that the devices may help ameliorate loneliness in older populations, the present study assessed perceived social presence and its relationship to loneliness in our sample. Results indicate that older users are mostly satisfied with the device interactions regardless of their actual performance while using the devices. Finally, in our sample, loneliness was not associated with perceived social presence.
2022 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Human-Machine Systems (ICHMS)
2022 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Human-Machine Systems (ICHMS)
Proceedings of the Technology, Mind, and Society
For individuals who rely on assistive mobility technology (e.g. wheelchairs), functional dependen... more For individuals who rely on assistive mobility technology (e.g. wheelchairs), functional dependence can often be augmented through supplementary technologies. One such technology is a wheelchair mounted robotic arm (WMRA), consisting of an "arm" portion that ends with a gripper or "hand." Certain perceptual, visual, and physical abilities have been shown to impact an individual's proficiency in completing simulated activities of daily living (ADLs) using the WMRA. However, the interfaces for traditional WMRAs have minimal adaptive capabilities to ameliorate any perceptual deficiencies of the user. Working with the UCF MANUS robot, a 6 degree of freedom device with a touch screen and 3-dimensional mouse controls, engineers implemented compensations, or interface adaptions, which are proposed to aid users who have limitations in spatial ability and working memory. The compensations include button highlighting to suggest the next move, "true north" indicator to aid in robot realignment, easier object detection whereby contrast between the object and its background is increased, and a text box reminder of the task at hand. In preparation for user testing, a heuristic evaluation was conducted using Nielsen's Heuristics (Nielsen, 1995). Heuristic violations were identified related to specific compensations as well as in the overall system and suggestions for improvements are provided. Future research will focus on implementing and evaluating compensations for the additional individual differences identified as contributing to performance in using a WMRA.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Patient experiences within the healthcare system are often negative due to the predominantly syst... more Patient experiences within the healthcare system are often negative due to the predominantly system-centric nature of healthcare, as well as the physical or mental symptoms of the medical condition being experienced. Improved patient experiences are likely to improve patient visits, engagement with treatment, reduce frustration, and in some medical conditions, improve treatment outcomes. One way to improve patient experiences is to apply user experience principles to the design of patient interactions within the healthcare system. The present study utilized Arhippainen’s User Experience heuristics to identify ways in which patient experiences can be improved. Fundamental restructuring towards patient-centric experiences and general security practices would lead to improved PX and perceptions of healthcare.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
During the present COVID-19 global pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is ta... more During the present COVID-19 global pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tasked with providing information and public guidance for appropriate COVID-19 prevention and management. However, public perception is varied and disseminated information must compete with sources of misinformation. Given usability’s impact on trust, usefulness, and attitudes towards systems, we conducted a usability heuristic assessment of the CDC’s COVID-19 information dissemination practices on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Results show a critical need for dissemination practices to include design elements which help reduce external influences. Additionally, the usability of the CDC health information is impacted by the medium through which the information is disseminated, especially when the information is released via social media.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Online settings have become more commonplace for interactions. Currently, a common-place interact... more Online settings have become more commonplace for interactions. Currently, a common-place interaction is with a chatbot of some kind when traversing the web, however, chatbots offer a limited amount of communication channels for social interactions. These limitations could possibly be addressed by using social robots as alternatives for interacting. The present study examines the effects of a real visual component in an online viewing task on participants’ perceived beliefs (hedonic and utilitarian) of a virtual agent. Perceptual judgments were collected after actively viewing a task with one of the two agents (chatbot or online social robot). The focus of the study was to determine whether social robots offer an increased hedonic experience compared to chatbots. Additionally, utilitarian factors were explored. Results indicated that the online social robot offered an overall better experience being perceived as more hedonic as well as being more perceived as easier to use and adapta...
Gerontechnology, 2020
Background: Robotic kits are a popular, modern pastime primarily marketed and designed for younge... more Background: Robotic kits are a popular, modern pastime primarily marketed and designed for younger generations. Kits designed for use by older adults have the potential to promote cognitive, physical, and social engagement. Objective: This study sought to determine characteristics and abilities of older adults that predicted efficiency, perceived usability, and engagement in building a market-available kit. Methods: Fifty-nine adults, 25 males, and 34 females, ages 55 to 87 (M = 70.80, SD = 8.44) completed a series of assessments for spatial visualization, visual abilities, working memory, and dexterity before assembling a robot kit. Results: Backwards regression was utilized to create significant prediction models for five outcome variables: time on task, perceived system usability, task engagement, distress (i.e. negative affect), and worry (i.e. self-focused attention). Conclusion: Results indicated that younger individuals and those with higher spatial visualization ability completed the build faster and perceived the kit to be more usable. Dexterity in the non-dominant hand also predicted faster build times. The findings of this study can be used to inform gerontechnological designs of assembly kits. Future studies can examine if the important factors identified here are predictive of performance in building more complex robotic kits.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2021
eHealth applications are expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare syste... more eHealth applications are expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare systems by providing improved medical information flow between medical providers and patients. Although the technology is expected to empower patients, lower treatment costs, and provide real-time collection of health data, individuals may be apprehensive about the use and efficacy of eHealth technologies. Medical professionals are often unaware of human factors technology acceptance or usability models which impact the use of medically focused technology, such as eHealth applications. Similarly, human factors professionals are often unaware of treatment adherence models which map the relationship of illness factors and individual differences to treatment protocols. The present paper presents a theoretical approach through which technology acceptance and usability models should be combined with medical treatment adherence models to ensure that eHealth applications are used properly and effect...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2021
Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have gained in popularity over the last decade. However, w... more Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have gained in popularity over the last decade. However, while the devices have been adopted in over a quarter of US households, users often fail to engage with the devices regularly once the initial novelty use wears off and users fail to find new and useful ways in which to interact with the devices. One way companies improve both the usability of the devices and a user’s conceptual model of what an IPA is capable of is through the use of built-in touchscreen displays which can offer passive suggestions to users, increasing knowledge of available features and interactions. We compared two standalone IPAs to test if including a touchscreen on the device improved usability and perceived usefulness. Results indicate that touchscreen displays do not necessarily improve the usability, perceived usefulness, or perceived task effectiveness of an IPA device.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Social robots are a proposed solution to feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Given the p... more Social robots are a proposed solution to feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Given the psychological complexity of experienced trait loneliness and its potential to reduce perceived social presence, an experiment using a social robot was conducted to examine how trait loneliness impacted perceived social co-presence, psychobehavioral interdependence, and subjective mutual presence in social robot interactions. Furthermore, we explored whether these effects differed from human-to-human interactions. Although trait loneliness only affected third order subjective copresence among the three social presence dimensions, individuals with higher trait loneliness were more likely to accept the robot as a social companion.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care
Research on patient experiences within healthcare systems tend to report a variety negative encou... more Research on patient experiences within healthcare systems tend to report a variety negative encounters. This can be especially observed in food distribution systems within nursing homes. While nursing homes have various practices and structures that affect a resident’s physical and mental health, the process of food distribution considerably relates to issues of autonomy. Because loss of independence may lead to increased rates of elderly loneliness and depression, mealtimes and the process of food distribution are an integral part of improving a resident’s quality of life and encouraging socialization and self-sufficiency. Moreover, developing patient experiences within food distribution systems, whether centralized or decentralized, will likely improve resident’s autonomy and self-efficacy, reduce frustration, and enhance their overall mental and physical health. The present study utilizes Arhippainen’s User Experience heuristics to identify manners of augmenting patient experienc...
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care
As COVID-19 cases continue to be prevalent, at-home testing for the illness will continue to be i... more As COVID-19 cases continue to be prevalent, at-home testing for the illness will continue to be in demand. At-home testing is convenient as results are obtained quickly and often at a lower cost. This study utilized Nielsen’s Ten Usability Heuristics to evaluate at-home COVID-19 test kits, with consideration given to older users when applicable. Understanding whether users can correctly use and interpret these tests is critical to ensure the kits provide accurate results and to ensure user trust. Results of our analysis showed that there is a need for at-home COVID-19 test kits to improve the way results are presented and implement more error prevention techniques. In regards to older users, the kits would benefit from clearing up ambiguities which require reference materials, accommodating users with contrast sensitivity difficulties, and ensuring that the test kit products are easy to manually handle. While the kits have acceptable usability, improvements to the usability of COVID...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
As intelligent personal assistants gain popularity, the technology sees increasing adoption by ol... more As intelligent personal assistants gain popularity, the technology sees increasing adoption by older users. The device’s use of natural language processing for human-agent interaction purportedly makes it easier for older users to adopt. However, to properly understand how older users perceive and use the devices, continuous user research is needed. To this end, we conducted a user perception, task performance, and social presence study with two standalone IPAs to assess elements of usability and user experience. Additionally, since current research indicates that the devices may help ameliorate loneliness in older populations, the present study assessed perceived social presence and its relationship to loneliness in our sample. Results indicate that older users are mostly satisfied with the device interactions regardless of their actual performance while using the devices. Finally, in our sample, loneliness was not associated with perceived social presence.
2022 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Human-Machine Systems (ICHMS)
2022 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Human-Machine Systems (ICHMS)
Proceedings of the Technology, Mind, and Society
For individuals who rely on assistive mobility technology (e.g. wheelchairs), functional dependen... more For individuals who rely on assistive mobility technology (e.g. wheelchairs), functional dependence can often be augmented through supplementary technologies. One such technology is a wheelchair mounted robotic arm (WMRA), consisting of an "arm" portion that ends with a gripper or "hand." Certain perceptual, visual, and physical abilities have been shown to impact an individual's proficiency in completing simulated activities of daily living (ADLs) using the WMRA. However, the interfaces for traditional WMRAs have minimal adaptive capabilities to ameliorate any perceptual deficiencies of the user. Working with the UCF MANUS robot, a 6 degree of freedom device with a touch screen and 3-dimensional mouse controls, engineers implemented compensations, or interface adaptions, which are proposed to aid users who have limitations in spatial ability and working memory. The compensations include button highlighting to suggest the next move, "true north" indicator to aid in robot realignment, easier object detection whereby contrast between the object and its background is increased, and a text box reminder of the task at hand. In preparation for user testing, a heuristic evaluation was conducted using Nielsen's Heuristics (Nielsen, 1995). Heuristic violations were identified related to specific compensations as well as in the overall system and suggestions for improvements are provided. Future research will focus on implementing and evaluating compensations for the additional individual differences identified as contributing to performance in using a WMRA.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Patient experiences within the healthcare system are often negative due to the predominantly syst... more Patient experiences within the healthcare system are often negative due to the predominantly system-centric nature of healthcare, as well as the physical or mental symptoms of the medical condition being experienced. Improved patient experiences are likely to improve patient visits, engagement with treatment, reduce frustration, and in some medical conditions, improve treatment outcomes. One way to improve patient experiences is to apply user experience principles to the design of patient interactions within the healthcare system. The present study utilized Arhippainen’s User Experience heuristics to identify ways in which patient experiences can be improved. Fundamental restructuring towards patient-centric experiences and general security practices would lead to improved PX and perceptions of healthcare.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
During the present COVID-19 global pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is ta... more During the present COVID-19 global pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tasked with providing information and public guidance for appropriate COVID-19 prevention and management. However, public perception is varied and disseminated information must compete with sources of misinformation. Given usability’s impact on trust, usefulness, and attitudes towards systems, we conducted a usability heuristic assessment of the CDC’s COVID-19 information dissemination practices on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Results show a critical need for dissemination practices to include design elements which help reduce external influences. Additionally, the usability of the CDC health information is impacted by the medium through which the information is disseminated, especially when the information is released via social media.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Online settings have become more commonplace for interactions. Currently, a common-place interact... more Online settings have become more commonplace for interactions. Currently, a common-place interaction is with a chatbot of some kind when traversing the web, however, chatbots offer a limited amount of communication channels for social interactions. These limitations could possibly be addressed by using social robots as alternatives for interacting. The present study examines the effects of a real visual component in an online viewing task on participants’ perceived beliefs (hedonic and utilitarian) of a virtual agent. Perceptual judgments were collected after actively viewing a task with one of the two agents (chatbot or online social robot). The focus of the study was to determine whether social robots offer an increased hedonic experience compared to chatbots. Additionally, utilitarian factors were explored. Results indicated that the online social robot offered an overall better experience being perceived as more hedonic as well as being more perceived as easier to use and adapta...
Gerontechnology, 2020
Background: Robotic kits are a popular, modern pastime primarily marketed and designed for younge... more Background: Robotic kits are a popular, modern pastime primarily marketed and designed for younger generations. Kits designed for use by older adults have the potential to promote cognitive, physical, and social engagement. Objective: This study sought to determine characteristics and abilities of older adults that predicted efficiency, perceived usability, and engagement in building a market-available kit. Methods: Fifty-nine adults, 25 males, and 34 females, ages 55 to 87 (M = 70.80, SD = 8.44) completed a series of assessments for spatial visualization, visual abilities, working memory, and dexterity before assembling a robot kit. Results: Backwards regression was utilized to create significant prediction models for five outcome variables: time on task, perceived system usability, task engagement, distress (i.e. negative affect), and worry (i.e. self-focused attention). Conclusion: Results indicated that younger individuals and those with higher spatial visualization ability completed the build faster and perceived the kit to be more usable. Dexterity in the non-dominant hand also predicted faster build times. The findings of this study can be used to inform gerontechnological designs of assembly kits. Future studies can examine if the important factors identified here are predictive of performance in building more complex robotic kits.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2021
eHealth applications are expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare syste... more eHealth applications are expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare systems by providing improved medical information flow between medical providers and patients. Although the technology is expected to empower patients, lower treatment costs, and provide real-time collection of health data, individuals may be apprehensive about the use and efficacy of eHealth technologies. Medical professionals are often unaware of human factors technology acceptance or usability models which impact the use of medically focused technology, such as eHealth applications. Similarly, human factors professionals are often unaware of treatment adherence models which map the relationship of illness factors and individual differences to treatment protocols. The present paper presents a theoretical approach through which technology acceptance and usability models should be combined with medical treatment adherence models to ensure that eHealth applications are used properly and effect...
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2021
Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have gained in popularity over the last decade. However, w... more Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have gained in popularity over the last decade. However, while the devices have been adopted in over a quarter of US households, users often fail to engage with the devices regularly once the initial novelty use wears off and users fail to find new and useful ways in which to interact with the devices. One way companies improve both the usability of the devices and a user’s conceptual model of what an IPA is capable of is through the use of built-in touchscreen displays which can offer passive suggestions to users, increasing knowledge of available features and interactions. We compared two standalone IPAs to test if including a touchscreen on the device improved usability and perceived usefulness. Results indicate that touchscreen displays do not necessarily improve the usability, perceived usefulness, or perceived task effectiveness of an IPA device.