Michelle Rusch - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Michelle Rusch
The Census-in-the-Schools program promotes data literacy and increases awareness of Census Bureau... more The Census-in-the-Schools program promotes data literacy and increases awareness of Census Bureau products and activities by providing educators with teaching tools, resource materials, workshops, and other professional development opportunities. In addition to targeting teachers, the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (PIO) is expanding the current Web site to include online activities for students in grades K-12. Specific to this round of testing, PIO has tested web content customized for grades K-6 1 .
Left turns at urban intersections can be dangerous, especially when views are obstructed or pedes... more Left turns at urban intersections can be dangerous, especially when views are obstructed or pedestrians are present. Impairments in driver vision, motor, and cognition functions may further increase left-turn risk. We examined this problem in a simulated environment that included left-turn scenarios to study the driving behaviors of 28 drivers, ages 37 to 88 years, six of whom had "Useful Field of View" (UFOV) impairments. Subjects also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. The simulated drive included an urban section with six left turns in three types of scenarios: 1) a semi truck blocking the view of oncoming traffic, 2) a lead vehicle obstruction, and 3) a pedestrian crossing ahead of the turning driver. Results showed a mean (SD) of 1.46 (1.60) collisions per driver (range 0 to 7), 83% of which occurred at intersections with semi trucks. Far visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, UFOV, Mini Mental State Examination, Trail-Making Test Part B, the Wisconsin Card Sort task, and age were all associated with the total number of collisions (Pearson correlation magnitudes between 0.37 to 0.77; p-values<0.05). Spearman correlations were less significant. Findings indicate that visual obstruction by on oncoming semi-truck is a particularly dangerous left-turn situation.
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings
This study investigated adjustments made to learning materials for an Industrial Engineering Huma... more This study investigated adjustments made to learning materials for an Industrial Engineering Human Factors course at a public research university in the United States. Adjustments were made in an attempt to improve student comprehension of course content. Modifications included creating alternative homework assignments, design exercises, active classroom learning lessons, and lecture presentations to accommodate learning styles defined by Kolb‟s experiential learning theory. The same instructor taught the course before and after adjustment. Performance scores (e.g. homework, quizzes, exams) were used to evaluate whether or not the changes in course materials were associated with an improvement in student comprehension of material. Results suggested that while the adjusted materials educated all learning styles similarly, they did not significantly improve student performance. Significant differences were found across various disciplines; however, adjustments reduced these difference...
Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, Jan 29, 2015
Social pressure influences human behavior including risk taking, but the psychological and neural... more Social pressure influences human behavior including risk taking, but the psychological and neural underpinnings of this process are not well understood. We used the human lesion method to probe the role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in resisting adverse social pressure in the presence of risk. Thirty-seven participants (11 with vmPFC damage, 12 with brain damage outside vmPFC, and 14 without brain damage) were tested in driving simulator scenarios requiring left-turn decisions across oncoming traffic with varying time gaps between the oncoming vehicles. Social pressure was applied by a virtual driver who honked aggressively from behind. Participants with vmPFC damage were more likely to select smaller and potentially unsafe gaps under social pressure, while gap selection by the comparison groups did not change under social pressure. Participants with vmPFC damage also showed prolonged elevated skin conductance responses (SCR) under social pressure. Comparison groups show...
Accident; analysis and prevention, 2014
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to ... more The objective of this study was to assess the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to assist middle-aged and older drivers with a range of UFOV impairments, judging when to make left-turns across oncoming traffic. Previous studies have shown that AR cues can help middle-aged and older drivers respond to potential roadside hazards by increasing hazard detection without interfering with other driving tasks. Intersections pose a critical challenge for cognitively impaired drivers, prone to misjudge time-to-contact with oncoming traffic. We investigated whether AR cues improve or interfere with hazard perception in left-turns across oncoming traffic for drivers with age-related cognitive decline. Sixty-four middle-aged and older drivers with a range of UFOV impairment judged when it would be safe to turn left across oncoming traffic approaching the driver from the opposite direction in a rural stop-sign controlled intersection scenario implemented in a static base driving sim...
Aging can impair executive control and emotion regulation, affecting driver decision-making and b... more Aging can impair executive control and emotion regulation, affecting driver decision-making and behavior, especially under stress. We used an interactive driving simulator to investigate ability to make safe left-turns across oncoming traffic under pressure in 13 older (> 65 years old) and 16 middle-aged (35-56 years old) drivers. Drivers made left-turns at an uncontrolled intersection with moderately heavy oncoming traffic. Gaps between oncoming vehicles varied and increased gradually from 2 s to 10 s. Drivers made two left-turns with a vehicle honking aggressively behind (pressure condition), and two left-turns without the honking vehicle (control condition). Results showed that middle-aged drivers made more cautious turning decisions under pressure (by waiting for larger and safer gaps, p < .001), but older drivers did not. Further, older driver turning paths deviated under pressure compared to the control condition (p < .05), but the middle-aged group did not. Moreover, across all subjects, better executive function was significantly correlated with larger increases of accepted gap size from control to honking (p < .01). The findings suggest that older drivers are more sensitive to traffic challenges from environmental pressure and that neural models of older driver performance and safety must factor in age-related changes in executive control and emotion processing.
Journal of Vision, 2010
Abstract Introduction: Intersections are among the most hazardous roadway locations, particularly... more Abstract Introduction: Intersections are among the most hazardous roadway locations, particularly for left turns. This study evaluated effects of augmented reality (AR) cues on decisions to turn left across gaps in oncoming traffic. Method: Ten middle-aged drivers (Mean= 40.6 years, SD= 7.5; males= 4) were tested on six simulated rural intersection scenarios. Drivers activated the high beam lever the moment they judged it safe to turn and released the lever the moment it was unsafe. A transparent &amp;#x27;no turn left&amp;#x27;AR cue assisted ...
Journal of Vision, 2010
Results -Main e ect of condition on RT (sec) to perceive potential hazards (F(2,22)=6.02) -No e e... more Results -Main e ect of condition on RT (sec) to perceive potential hazards (F(2,22)=6.02) -No e ect on periphery accuracy (F(2,22)=0.23) -Uncued condition RT (Mean=3.18, SE=0.41) < static condition RT (Mean=4.79, SE=0.52, p = 0.002), but not di erent from the dynamic condition (Mean=3.44, SE=0.52, p = 0.59) -Dynamic condition RT < Static condition RT (p = 0.03)
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2013
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) cues... more Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) cues in improving driving safety among elderly drivers who are at increased crash risk because of cognitive impairments.
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2013
This simulator study evaluated the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to direct the ... more This simulator study evaluated the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to direct the attention of experienced drivers to roadside hazards. Twenty-seven healthy middle-aged licensed drivers with a range of attention capacity participated in a 54 mile (1.5 h) drive in an interactive fixed-base driving simulator. Each participant received AR cues to potential roadside hazards in six simulated straight (9 mile long) rural roadway segments. Drivers were evaluated on response time for detecting a potentially hazardous event, detection accuracy for target (hazard) and non-target objects, and headway with respect to the hazards. Results showed no negative outcomes associated with interference. AR cues did not impair perception of non-target objects, including for drivers with lower attentional capacity. Results showed near significant response time benefits for AR cued hazards. AR cueing increased response rate for detecting pedestrians and warning signs but not vehicles. AR system false alarms and misses did not impair driver responses to potential hazards.
The Census-in-the-Schools program promotes data literacy and increases awareness of Census Bureau... more The Census-in-the-Schools program promotes data literacy and increases awareness of Census Bureau products and activities by providing educators with teaching tools, resource materials, workshops, and other professional development opportunities. In addition to targeting teachers, the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (PIO) is expanding the current Web site to include online activities for students in grades K-12. Specific to this round of testing, PIO has tested web content customized for grades K-6 1 .
Left turns at urban intersections can be dangerous, especially when views are obstructed or pedes... more Left turns at urban intersections can be dangerous, especially when views are obstructed or pedestrians are present. Impairments in driver vision, motor, and cognition functions may further increase left-turn risk. We examined this problem in a simulated environment that included left-turn scenarios to study the driving behaviors of 28 drivers, ages 37 to 88 years, six of whom had "Useful Field of View" (UFOV) impairments. Subjects also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. The simulated drive included an urban section with six left turns in three types of scenarios: 1) a semi truck blocking the view of oncoming traffic, 2) a lead vehicle obstruction, and 3) a pedestrian crossing ahead of the turning driver. Results showed a mean (SD) of 1.46 (1.60) collisions per driver (range 0 to 7), 83% of which occurred at intersections with semi trucks. Far visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, UFOV, Mini Mental State Examination, Trail-Making Test Part B, the Wisconsin Card Sort task, and age were all associated with the total number of collisions (Pearson correlation magnitudes between 0.37 to 0.77; p-values<0.05). Spearman correlations were less significant. Findings indicate that visual obstruction by on oncoming semi-truck is a particularly dangerous left-turn situation.
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings
This study investigated adjustments made to learning materials for an Industrial Engineering Huma... more This study investigated adjustments made to learning materials for an Industrial Engineering Human Factors course at a public research university in the United States. Adjustments were made in an attempt to improve student comprehension of course content. Modifications included creating alternative homework assignments, design exercises, active classroom learning lessons, and lecture presentations to accommodate learning styles defined by Kolb‟s experiential learning theory. The same instructor taught the course before and after adjustment. Performance scores (e.g. homework, quizzes, exams) were used to evaluate whether or not the changes in course materials were associated with an improvement in student comprehension of material. Results suggested that while the adjusted materials educated all learning styles similarly, they did not significantly improve student performance. Significant differences were found across various disciplines; however, adjustments reduced these difference...
Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, Jan 29, 2015
Social pressure influences human behavior including risk taking, but the psychological and neural... more Social pressure influences human behavior including risk taking, but the psychological and neural underpinnings of this process are not well understood. We used the human lesion method to probe the role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in resisting adverse social pressure in the presence of risk. Thirty-seven participants (11 with vmPFC damage, 12 with brain damage outside vmPFC, and 14 without brain damage) were tested in driving simulator scenarios requiring left-turn decisions across oncoming traffic with varying time gaps between the oncoming vehicles. Social pressure was applied by a virtual driver who honked aggressively from behind. Participants with vmPFC damage were more likely to select smaller and potentially unsafe gaps under social pressure, while gap selection by the comparison groups did not change under social pressure. Participants with vmPFC damage also showed prolonged elevated skin conductance responses (SCR) under social pressure. Comparison groups show...
Accident; analysis and prevention, 2014
The objective of this study was to assess the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to ... more The objective of this study was to assess the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to assist middle-aged and older drivers with a range of UFOV impairments, judging when to make left-turns across oncoming traffic. Previous studies have shown that AR cues can help middle-aged and older drivers respond to potential roadside hazards by increasing hazard detection without interfering with other driving tasks. Intersections pose a critical challenge for cognitively impaired drivers, prone to misjudge time-to-contact with oncoming traffic. We investigated whether AR cues improve or interfere with hazard perception in left-turns across oncoming traffic for drivers with age-related cognitive decline. Sixty-four middle-aged and older drivers with a range of UFOV impairment judged when it would be safe to turn left across oncoming traffic approaching the driver from the opposite direction in a rural stop-sign controlled intersection scenario implemented in a static base driving sim...
Aging can impair executive control and emotion regulation, affecting driver decision-making and b... more Aging can impair executive control and emotion regulation, affecting driver decision-making and behavior, especially under stress. We used an interactive driving simulator to investigate ability to make safe left-turns across oncoming traffic under pressure in 13 older (> 65 years old) and 16 middle-aged (35-56 years old) drivers. Drivers made left-turns at an uncontrolled intersection with moderately heavy oncoming traffic. Gaps between oncoming vehicles varied and increased gradually from 2 s to 10 s. Drivers made two left-turns with a vehicle honking aggressively behind (pressure condition), and two left-turns without the honking vehicle (control condition). Results showed that middle-aged drivers made more cautious turning decisions under pressure (by waiting for larger and safer gaps, p < .001), but older drivers did not. Further, older driver turning paths deviated under pressure compared to the control condition (p < .05), but the middle-aged group did not. Moreover, across all subjects, better executive function was significantly correlated with larger increases of accepted gap size from control to honking (p < .01). The findings suggest that older drivers are more sensitive to traffic challenges from environmental pressure and that neural models of older driver performance and safety must factor in age-related changes in executive control and emotion processing.
Journal of Vision, 2010
Abstract Introduction: Intersections are among the most hazardous roadway locations, particularly... more Abstract Introduction: Intersections are among the most hazardous roadway locations, particularly for left turns. This study evaluated effects of augmented reality (AR) cues on decisions to turn left across gaps in oncoming traffic. Method: Ten middle-aged drivers (Mean= 40.6 years, SD= 7.5; males= 4) were tested on six simulated rural intersection scenarios. Drivers activated the high beam lever the moment they judged it safe to turn and released the lever the moment it was unsafe. A transparent &amp;#x27;no turn left&amp;#x27;AR cue assisted ...
Journal of Vision, 2010
Results -Main e ect of condition on RT (sec) to perceive potential hazards (F(2,22)=6.02) -No e e... more Results -Main e ect of condition on RT (sec) to perceive potential hazards (F(2,22)=6.02) -No e ect on periphery accuracy (F(2,22)=0.23) -Uncued condition RT (Mean=3.18, SE=0.41) < static condition RT (Mean=4.79, SE=0.52, p = 0.002), but not di erent from the dynamic condition (Mean=3.44, SE=0.52, p = 0.59) -Dynamic condition RT < Static condition RT (p = 0.03)
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2013
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) cues... more Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) cues in improving driving safety among elderly drivers who are at increased crash risk because of cognitive impairments.
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2013
This simulator study evaluated the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to direct the ... more This simulator study evaluated the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to direct the attention of experienced drivers to roadside hazards. Twenty-seven healthy middle-aged licensed drivers with a range of attention capacity participated in a 54 mile (1.5 h) drive in an interactive fixed-base driving simulator. Each participant received AR cues to potential roadside hazards in six simulated straight (9 mile long) rural roadway segments. Drivers were evaluated on response time for detecting a potentially hazardous event, detection accuracy for target (hazard) and non-target objects, and headway with respect to the hazards. Results showed no negative outcomes associated with interference. AR cues did not impair perception of non-target objects, including for drivers with lower attentional capacity. Results showed near significant response time benefits for AR cued hazards. AR cueing increased response rate for detecting pedestrians and warning signs but not vehicles. AR system false alarms and misses did not impair driver responses to potential hazards.