Kjell Ivar Øvergård

PUCs: detecting transparent, passive untouched capacitive widgets on unmodified multi-touch displays

Capacitive multi-touch displays are not designed to detect passive objects placed on them-in fact, these systems usually contain filters to actively reject such touch data. We present a technical analysis of this problem and introduce Passive Untouched Capacitive Widgets (PUCs). Unlike previous approaches, PUCs do not require power, they can be made entirely transparent, they are detected reliably even when no user is touching them, and they do not require internal electrical or software modifications of the touch display or its driver. We show the results from testing PUCs on 17 different off-the-shelf capacitive touch display models, and provide initial technical design recommendations.

Control situations in high-speed craft operation

The control situation framework presented by Petersen (Cogn Technol Work 6(4):266–274, 2004) is elaborated upon in the context of military high-speed craft navigation. An observational study was done on a military navigational exercise in Indre Folda, a stretch of particularly demanding confined waters in Norway. The concept of control strategies is presented as a term related to how navigators choose to take out the control possibilities present in the system. Control actions are viewed as actions that fix the control demands and control possibilities over longer time-scales. Control strategies are different from control actions in that they continuously alter the control demands and control possibilities through its execution.

Knobology Revisited: A Comparison of User Performance between Tangible and Virtual Rotary Knobs

We present an experimental comparison of tangible rotary knobs and touch-based virtual knobs in three output conditions: eyes-on, eyes-free, and peripheral. Twenty participants completed a simple rotation task on a interactive surface with four different input techniques (two tangibles and two virtual touch widgets) in the three output conditions, representing the distance from the locus of attention. We found that users were in average 20% faster using tangible knobs than using the virtual knobs. We found that tangible knobs retains performance even if they are not in the locus of attention of the users. We provide four recommendations of suit- able choosing knobs based on tasks and design constraints.

Knobology in use: an experimental evaluation of ergonomics recommendations

The scientific basis for ergonomics recommendations for controls has usually not been related to active goal-directed use. The present experiment tests how different knob sizes and torques affect operator performance. The task employed is to control a pointer by the use of a control knob, and is as such an experimentally defined goal-directed task relevant to machine systems in general. Duration of use, error associated with use (overshooting of the goal area) and movement reproduction were used as performance measures. Significant differences between knob sizes were found for movement reproduction. High torques led to less overshooting as opposed to low torques. The results from duration of use showed a tendency that the differences between knob sizes were reduced from the first iteration to the second iteration. The present results indicate that the ergonomically recommended ranges of knob sizes might differently affect operator performance.

Control strategies used by experienced marine navigators: observation of verbal conversations during navigation training

This article investigates the relationship between the control situation framework, as presented by Bjørkli et al. (Cogn Technol Work 9:67–80, 2007), and observed operator action and communication in high-speed craft operation in the Norwegian Royal Navy. The reported data include two series of events during sailing in the Norwegian archipelago where uncertainty of ship position, challenges of manoeuvring and navigation strategies are addressed. The results indicate that the navigators perform actions and communicate in accordance with the key features of the control situation framework, and thus adapt to the interrelation between control possibilities and control requirements. The navigators were guided by explicit knowledge of the functional characteristics of psychical and temporal dynamics, which were actualized in manoeuvring. It indicates that the control situation framework can be used to describe the models the operators use.

Women Are Better Leaders Than They Think: Gender Differences in the Self-Assessment of Leadership Skills in the Maritime Industry

It is highly desirable that women and men have the same access to maritime training and work aboard ships. Gender stereotypes affect judgment of competence in women and men differently. This study investigated female and male maritime officers’ ability to evaluate their leadership skills. A 360° leader evaluation survey obtained both self-assessments and co-worker assessments of maritime officers’ leadership (both positive and negative) skills, using the MLQ-5X leadership questionnaire. Results from 17 female and 30 male maritime officers shows an interaction between gender and errors in self-evaluation (tendency to over-estimate or under-estimate) of leadership skills. Female leaders tended to underrate their actual leadership skills, while male maritime officers tended to overrate their leadership skills relative to the evaluations of their co-workers. For negative leadership skills, female maritime officers over-estimated the level of negative leadership skill they had, while male leaders under-estimated their level of negative leadership skills. For positive leadership skills, the opposite relation was present (women under-estimated and men over-estimated the level of positive leadership skills). These results point—for the first time—to a gender difference in the evaluation of leadership skills in the maritime domain. An overtly critical attitude towards one’s own leadership skills might be a factor in explaining why many women choose to abstain from high-status positions in the maritime industry. Maritime leadership training can be made more inclusive by focusing on gender differences in the (self)-evaluation of leadership skills.

Maritime Managers of the Future – What do They Think is Good Leadership?

The maritime industry is multinational and multicultural. Understanding which leadership skills that are effective in such environments is necessary to be a successful leader. Work experience in multinational companies will give a different insight into which management practices are seen as desirable for future maritime leaders within a global industry. According to trait theories there are properties that can be trained and some that are linked to personality, which are not easily trainable. Since leadership skills are a combination of both trainable and not so trainable skills, it is necessary to understand what types of skills are seen as endorsed, and not endorsed by the future maritime managers. The present paper shows results from a questionnaire study using the GLOBE Leadership questionnaire where 52 master of maritime management students (i.e. maritime managers of the future) rates 112 different leadership skills according to which degree these skills support outstanding leadership or not. The results show which leadership skills the maritime leaders of the future believe will support outstanding leadership. Contrasts between participant with and without work experience form multinational corporations will be shown -- giving an indication of how the perception of leadership is changed through work experience in a multi-cultural context. The result will give an insight in how future management practices should be. Knowledge of the universally endorsed maritime leadership skills can be used as a guideline in the recruitment process for maritime managers.

Towards Automated Performance Assessment for Maritime Navigation

This paper presents the outcome of a pre‐project that resulted in an initial version (prototype) of an automated assessment algorithm for a specific maritime operation. The prototype is based on identified control requirements that human operators must meet to conduct safe navigation. Current assessment methods of navigation in simulators involve subject matter experts, whose evaluations unfortunately have some limitations related to reproducibility and consistency. Automated assessment algorithms may address these limitations. For a prototype, our algorithm had a large correlation with evaluations performed by subject matter experts in assessment of navigation routes. The results indicate that further research in automated assessment of maritime navigation has merit. The algorithm can be a stepping stone in developing a consistent, unbiased, and transparent assessment module for evaluating maritime navigation performance. http://www.transnav.eu the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation Volume 11

How extreme environments can impact the training of industrial operators

Extreme environments, either natural or artificial, can greatly affect the effectiveness and safety of operators. Scope of the paper is to provide a rather detailed list of extreme working environments and the effects produced on the workers in terms of disturbances, efforts, and misrepresentation of real operating conditions. These elements can influence the operators’ awareness and therefore call for the definition of dedicated training methods. The concluding part of the article discusses the recommended features that a training simulator for extreme environments should implement to improve the situational awareness and safety of operators.

Detection of ungrounded objects on mutual capacitance touch screens

Mutual capacitance touch screens are responsible for detecting billions of human fingers touching them around the world every day. Being able to use such screens for detection of ungrounded objects as well, would make it easier develop compatible tangible user interface objects that could extend the functionality of the screens. We present results from both simulations and experiments showing that the sensing principle used in these screens are able to detect ungrounded objects.