Julien Nelson

6DoF navigation in virtual worlds: comparison of joystick-based and head-controlled paradigms

6DoF navigation in a virtual world can usually be implemented by two types of navigation techniques: joystick-based input devices and steering metaphors based on movements of the users body, e.g. head-controlled paradigms. These two different types of 6DoF navigation techniques provide users with the same level of control, but the latter introduces the users physical movements in the navigation, which we believe will improve the navigation experience in immersive virtual environments. In this paper, we compare these two types of 6DoF navigation techniques in an immersive context, through an experiment using both objective and subjective measurements to assess user performance, the occurrence of cybersickness symptoms and the level of presence, when using either of these navigation paradigms.

Proposition of a PLM tool to support textile design

The key stakes in the implementation of a new PLM tool for the early stages of design in textile industry. Following a comprehensive overview of existing PLM solutions and of the suitability of their functions to the world of textile design, we mapped and quantified the collaborative exchanges involved in the design of a textile product in the Devanlay company, based on a series of semi-directed interviews.The technical data which must be managed by the future system. The emergence of PLM tools, following increasing competition between businesses requires a fine-grained analysis of user needs, in terms of collaboration and exchanges of technical data before designing and deploying the system.The field work that allowed us to specify and test some useful solutions to implement a PLM solution. This research work opens many different prospects. The current climate of economic competition forces businesses to adapt more than ever to the expectations of their customers. Faced with new challenges, practices in textile design have evolved in order to be able to manage projects in new work environments. After presenting a state of the art overview of collaborative tools used in product design and making functional comparison between PLM solutions, our paper proposes a case study for the development and testing of a collaborative platform in the textile industry, focusing on the definition of early stages of design needs. The scientific contributions presented in this paper are a state of the art of current PLM solutions and their application in the field of textile design; and a case study where we will present, define, and test the mock-up of a collaborative tool to assist the early stages, based on identified intermediary representations.

Are online discussions enough to constitute communities of practice in professional domain? A case study of ergonomics' practice in France

The goal of our research is to characterise how online discussions may provide support to the construction of a Virtual Community of Practice, as a way to develop a profession. To do so, we investigate the functions (sharing information, resources or experience) and the nature of knowledge (e.g. methodology and trends of ergonomics) exchanged on Ergoliste, a French-speaking online mailing list dedicated to ergonomics, as well as the status of participants. Our results reveal that the list has both informative and formative functions as it deals with sharing/seeking information, resources and experience, mainly between experts and novices in ergonomics, exchanging about situated and circumstantiated aspects of practices. Finally, these results are complemented by interviews with list participants which on the one hand confirm the main functions of the list and, on the other hand, reveal divergence in the perception that list participants belonging to a “community” structured only around this list. This research opens some prospects for more longitudinal investigations of the contents of the list, to analyse more deeply how the list can be viewed as an efficient tool to co-elaborate knowledge about ergonomics and its development.

Interactions in an online community in ergonomics: from sharing information to comparing practices?

The goal of our research is to characterize practices shared in an online community dedicated to ergonomics in order to understand how these online discussions are a means to construct co-elaborated knowledge about ergonomics and its practices. This communication presents a preliminary study of the nature (purpose of interactions, topics) and structure (relations between participants, purposes and topics) of exchanges on Ergoliste, a French speaking online mailing list dedicated to ergonomics. We show that the mailing list is mostly dominated by ergonomists (consultants, ergonomists working in private companies, institutions, students) seeking and sharing resources: information about jobs and resources (documentation, literature, etc.) and experiences about various topics (methodology, trades of ergonomics, specific tools or work settings...). It also opens some prospects for more longitudinal investigations of the contents of the list, to analyze more deeply how the list can be viewed as an efficient tool to co-elaborate knowledge about ergonomics and its development.

“I'd like to be under the sea”: Contextual cues in virtual environments influence the orientation of idea generation

Abstract Several studies have urged to explore the connections between virtual environments and creativity, both to study the processes underlying creativity and to support improved performance in creative tasks. Virtual environments, in particular, allow fine control over contextual cues present in the environment, which may serve as inspiration for creative work. However, using this potential to the fullest requires a detailed understanding of how the environment may influence creative processes. The literature suggests that contextual cues present in the environment may guide the exploration of specific categories of ideas, leading to increased originality; but also that examples of solutions – which are, undoubtedly, contextual cues themselves – may lead to reduced creativity through a conformity effect. We successively conducted two experiments in virtual environments. In the first, we manipulated the contents of the environment to prime specific concepts – water or forest – and examined the effects on creative output in a divergent thinking task. In the second experiment, we manipulated the nature of the environment and the presence or absence of examples of solutions, and examined the output of a task involving drawing alien creatures. In both experiments, the contents of environment influenced the nature of the creative output by priming specific concepts.

Analyzing Interaction Dynamics at the Fuzzy Front-End of Innovation Projects: A Tool for Prospective Ergonomics

Prospective ergonomics is defined as an emerging mode of ergonomic intervention focused on the anticipation of future user needs and activities for innovation design. This is a fairly new topic of research for ergonomics and implies the development of new methods of intervention, a sustained dialog with other domains such as innovation management, and a better understanding of the activity deployed by design teams at the fuzzy front-end of design projects. In order to address this need, we analyzed verbal communication between members of an ad hoc team whose goal was to structure future projects for the development of systems making use of emerging technologies in the field of bioinformatics, during a KCP workshop for innovation management. Our results show that the activity deployed by this team – composed of software developers, user representatives and an ergonomist - comprises epistemic and argumentative aspects, just as the subsequent design activity does. We discuss these results in terms of research on prospective ergonomics and on design activities.

The Multivariate Approach and Design of the Creative Process

Creativity is often described as an essential aspect of the innovative design process. As such, many authors have proposed models aiming to describe existing creative practices, both at the macro level—i.e. the stages involved in a creative process—and at the micro level—i.e. the underlying cognitive processes. Conversely, many other models are of a prescriptive nature: their goal is not to describe existing practices, but to structure them in order to help professionals deal with the uncertainty that is inherent to creativity. Whatever the type, such models aim to answer the following question: how can creative work be structured in order to ensure the optimal deployment of creative potential? The multivariate approach posits that creative behaviour is made possible by interactions between multiple resources including cognitive, conative, emotional and environmental factors. Like existing models, the multivariate approach has shown potential for both descriptive and prescriptive modelling of the creative process. In this chapter, we will review existing research on the multivariate approach of creativity. We will begin by describing the theoretical and methodological background of such models. We will then go on to describe some of the results obtained by multivariate modelling of the creative process in recent years. Finally, we describe some prospects for future research, specifically concerning prescriptive modelling—that is, the design of the creative process.

The Use of a Multilevel System Model for Analyzing Stakeholders at Different Levels in Health Care Systems

Participatory design or co-design is defined as the active engagement of all stakeholders in a design process. However, in many co-design projects, only end users are involved. Participants are often considered as the traditional representatives of a generalized stakeholder group, without prior analysis made on each individual’s specific interest. These assumptions fail to capture opportunities for integration and satisfy multiple stakeholders simultaneously, which is required to design successful products in complex systems like health care. To maximize the benefit of collaboration, it is important for designers to improve understanding of the participants and their role as a stakeholder in their product’s ecosystem. This study aims to contribute to this understanding by discussing a potential visualization method that maps different stakeholders’interest in the development of new products within the health care system. The method is based on a Multilevel Design Model and was tested by means of a researchbased- modeling approach, in which several design experts where asked to map or position several design phenomena on a pre-defined template. Both the selection of the phenomena and the mapping results of the various experts where evaluated through comparison. A positive correlation was found between the type of expertise of the different experts, and their specific interest in the innovation system. This led to the conclusion that the visualisation method may prove to be a useful instrument for analysing stakeholders at different levels of institutional and nontechnical systems. Therefore, it may potentially help to manage the problem of complexity and resolve equivocality in the design process.