Lesley Strawderman

Reverse 911 as a Complementary Evacuation Warning System

This study investigates the effectiveness of Reverse 911 warning systems compared with other evacuation warning sources. This study also investigates the impact of individual differences on evacuation behavior, and presents a regression model of evacuation behavior on the basis of empirical data. A 57 question survey was administered by telephone to people who had been affected by the 2007 San Diego wildfires, with 1020 usable responses (8.4% response rate). By signal detection theory, Reverse 911 warnings had the best performance compared with other evacuation warning sources, as indicated by the high influence rating (0.66) and hit rate (1.00). People who received the Reverse 911 warning also had a significantly higher rate of evacuation (0.80), as did those who received warnings from more than one source (0.78). Regression analysis shows that the Reverse 911 warning was critical in predicting whether an individual evacuated. Demographic factors, including knowledge and experience with previous wildfires, also played a significant role in evacuation rates, and therefore must be considered when designing a warning system.

Quality and usability in a student health clinic

PURPOSE To evaluate the service quality and usability of a student health clinic. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A measurement tool, termed SERVUSE, was created by modifying SERVQUAL. The modified survey included all five original dimensions in addition to a usability dimension. The survey was administered to 200 patients at the health clinic. FINDINGS SERVUSE was found to be a valid tool for measuring service quality in this setting. The health clinic received a gap score of -0.357, showing that customer expectations were not met. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The student health clinic and subject participants are a special population that may display different characteristics from other healthcare providers. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS SERVUSE is a tool that can be used to aid in improving a health clinics service quality. Usability is an important feature for healthcare providers to improve. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This paper provides useful information to healthcare providers, especially in a university setting.

Simulating operational behaviors of pedestrian navigation

Navigation is an innate ability for humans, but simulating this capability in a virtual environment is no easy task and has been of interest to researchers for over a decade. This paper describes the development of ISAPT, an individual-based Intermodal Simulator for the Analysis of Pedestrian Traffic. ISAPTs development is based on the observed behaviors of pedestrians reported from the literature and simulates the strategies employed by pedestrians for collision avoidance, including changes in speed and trajectory, passing strategies, and distance between objects. The implementation of these behaviors and strategies is described in the paper along with the results from a validation study. These results illustrate that the micro-level simulation of individual pedestrians gives ISAPT the ability to reproduce identified macro-level pedestrian behavior, as well as the capability to reproduce the operational statistics of an observed pedestrian corridor. Such functionality is necessary to support the use of simulation as a tool for designers and planners in the design and evaluation of intermodal facilities.

Assessing the utility of TAM, TPB, and UTAUT for advanced driver assistance systems

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are intended to enhance driver performance and improve transportation safety. The potential benefits of these technologies, such as reduction in number of crashes, enhancing driver comfort or convenience, decreasing environmental impact, etc., have been acknowledged by transportation safety researchers and federal transportation agencies. Although these systems afford safety advantages, they may also challenge the traditional role of drivers in operating vehicles. Driver acceptance, therefore, is essential for the implementation of these systems into the transportation system. Recognizing the need for research into the factors affecting driver acceptance, this study assessed the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) for modelling driver acceptance in terms of Behavioral Intention to use an ADAS. Each of these models propose a set of factors that influence acceptance of a technology. Data collection was done using two approaches: a driving simulator approach and an online survey approach. In both approaches, participants interacted with either a fatigue monitoring system or an adaptive cruise control system combined with a lane-keeping system. Based on their experience, participants responded to several survey questions to indicate their attitude toward using the ADAS and their perception of its usefulness, usability, etc. A sample of 430 surveys were collected for this study. Results found that all the models (TAM, TPB, and UTAUT) can explain driver acceptance with their proposed sets of factors, each explaining 71% or more of the variability in Behavioral Intention. Among the models, TAM was found to perform the best in modelling driver acceptance followed by TPB. The findings of this study confirm that these models can be applied to ADAS technologies and that they provide a basis for understanding driver acceptance.

Driver behavior and accident frequency in school zones: Assessing the impact of sign saturation

Based on the models of human information processing, if a driver observes too many of the same signs, he or she may no longer pay attention to those signs. In the case of school zones, this expected effect may lead to non-compliance to posted speeds, negatively impacting safety around nearby schools. This study aims to investigate the effect of the number of nearby school zones on driver behavior (vehicle speed and compliance) and accident frequency. As a measure of the density of school zones, this study introduced and defined a new term sign saturation and presented a methodology to calculate sign saturation for school zones. Results found a significant effect of sign saturation on vehicle speed, compliance, and accident frequency. This study also examined the speeding behavior in school zones for different time of the day and day of the week. Results found that speeding was more prevalent in the early mornings and during the weekends.

Global corporation rollout of ruggedised handheld devices: a Lean Six Sigma case study

Lean Six Sigma is an approach that focuses on improving quality of finished products and continuous improvement during the creation of these products by reducing variation and eliminating non-value-add work within an organisation. Combining the principles and tools from Lean and Six Sigma into a single ideology is not a new concept as the application of this strategy has been documented throughout many industries in numerous case studies over the years. However, literature has not provided cases of Lean Six Sigma application to the selection and application of handheld technology in the services industry. This paper presents a case study where Lean Six Sigma tools were implemented in a global, service-based, logistics organisation. The application of these Lean and Six Sigma tools and principles were used to identify areas of improvement in the quality and timeliness of selecting and implementing a new ruggedised handheld device for field workers.

The Effect of Design and Placement of Work-Zone Warning Signs on Driver Speed Compliance: A Simulator-Based Study

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS In this work, simulated driving was used to test how characteristics of dynamic message signs impact driver behavior when entering designated work zones. Driver compliance with posted speed limits was measured in response to signs that differed in terms of placement distance and type of sign design. Signs should be placed farther ahead of the work zone to enhance speed compliance. Such compliance can also be enhanced by using concise sign content. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background and Rationale: In recent years, the number of occupational fatalities occurring as a result of workers being struck by vehicles while on the job has remained high. Fatalities are especially apparent at road construction sites, where nearly half of the fatal occupational injuries were classified as a worker being struck by a moving vehicle, highlighting the need for research to identify techniques to reduce the incidence of injury in future years. Purpose: This project investigated how the characteristics of a dynamic message sign can impact driver compliance with posted information in work-zone settings, specifically signs indicating speed reduction. Methods: Driving simulation was used to assess the effects of three placement distances (305, 457, and 610 m before the work zone) and four sign designs (differing in whether the sign was static versus dynamic and the amount of information presented). The study was completed by 39 participants, during which driving speed and compliance with speed change were recorded. Results: Placement of the speed-reduction signs impacted driver behavior, with greater placement distances being associated with higher speed reduction and compliance rates. Speed reduction was also significantly impacted by sign design, with the largest speed reduction apparent with signs that are static or with dynamic signs that presented one complete statement per display frame. Conclusions: To achieve greater driver compliance with speed limits within work zones, greater sign placement distance is preferred. The content of dynamic message sign needs to be engineered to increase driver compliance by presenting direct, relevant information in concise and complete phrases.

Utilization of behavioral studies in developing the intermodal simulator for the analysis of pedestrian traffic (ISAPT)

Abstract The effective and efficient design of intermodal facilities is highly dependent on the pedestrian use of these facilities. A pedestrian simulation model, intermodal simulator for the analysis of pedestrian traffic (ISAPT), was created to study the impact of facility design on pedestrian behavior. This paper presents results from an empirical study examining the walking behavior of pedestrians in a corridor and how it was used to improve ISAPT. To quantify pedestrian behavior, 20 minutes of video footage from a university building corridor were studied. The travel speed of the 68 pedestrians included in the analysis was normally distributed with an average of 1.00 m/s. The facility had a flow rate of 0.92 ped/min/m and an overall area module of 1.14 m2/ped. To incorporate the findings into ISAPT, the buildings architecture was represented in the simulation. Resource points and barriers, path markers, and pedestrian characteristics were added to the model as well. Future work related to planned empirical studies and modeling strategies are presented.

Introducing a New Usability Framework for Analyzing Usability in a Multiple-device System

This paper fills in the theoretical gap in the existing usability evaluation literature by introducing a new usability framework: the Usability Paradigm for Multiple Device System (UPMDS). The traditional usability framework for single interface evaluation is not sufficient to analyze usability in multiple-device system, in which the interrelationship between the devices has an impact on user performance. Therefore, the transfer of learning paradigm was adopted. The UPMDS framework consists of two usability attributes: transferability and user perception, which were further decomposed into effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction, attractiveness. Three measurement types, behavioral cues, subjective ratings, and self reported results, were suggested to address the existing challenges in usability evaluation. Future research is suggested to utilize the concept of transfer of learning in the area of usability evaluation, and provide empirical validation to the current usability framework.

Simulation modeling of pedestrian behavior in the presence of unmanned mobile robots

Abstract Interactions between pedestrians and robots are becoming more commonplace. In public areas, for example, robots may be used for information dissemination, security, or patrol tasks. Based upon existing literature in the field of human-robot interaction, the ISAPT simulation system was revised to model individual pedestrian behavior in the presence of a mobile robot. Using an agent-based modeling approach, pedestrians are statistically assigned one of six reported behaviors when a robot is encountered: interact, watch, curious, ignore, cautious, and avoid. The modeling methods for incorporating these behaviors include modifying a pedestrians existing agenda and/or their perception of the threat represented by the non-humanoid robot, while the pedestrian continues to make navigation decisions based on their overall utility function. This paper discusses the implementation of this capability and presents results on ISAPTs ability to reproduce the different behaviors reported in the literature. Data collected in a field study are used to further validate the system by comparing measures from observed behaviors to simulation output. Validation measures included lateral distance to robot and lateral path deviation. These results illustrate this approach is an effective means for adding this capability to microsimulation modeling systems.