Everyday Technologies Lab

The Everyday Technologies Lab investigates human factors issues about decision-making and error by individuals not trained in the domains or technologies with which we must engage.  We apply experimental psychology techniques to examining how an individual's capabilities and limitations affect their technology interactions. Check out the Human Factors blog for discussion and examples of everyday products that may not have been designed based on these techniques. We are particularly interested in understanding how typical individual differences like age affect the types of everyday technologies used and how new technologies will be learned. As the population in industrialized countries ages, this imperative to create effective, efficient, usable, safe technologies that can help older adults maintain their independence becomes even more crucial. Because our location was affected by the extended blackout following the Tornado Outbreak on April 27, 2011, we have also began researching how residents can prepare for these inevitable natural and manmade disasters. The ultimate goal of our research is to transfer this knowledge to designers of technologies, housing, transportation systems, etc. to improve design. If you are interested in assisting with this research, please contact the primary investigator for this lab, Dr. Marita O'Brien at marita.obrien@uah.edu

Publications

Rogers, W.A., O’Brien, M.A., & Fisk, A.D., (in press), Cognitive engineering to support successful aging. In J. Lee & A. Kirlik (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Engineering. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

O’Brien, M.A. & Rogers, W.A., (2012), Design for aging: Enhancing everyday technology Use. In R.Z. Zheng, R.D. Hill, & M.K. Gardner (Eds.), Engaging Older Adults with Modern Technology: Internet Use and Information Access Needs (pp. 105-123). Hershey, PA: IGI Publishing.

O’Brien, M.A., Rogers, W.A., & Fisk, A.D. (2012). Understanding age and technology experience differences in use of prior knowledge for everyday technology interactions. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing, 4(2), Article 2, doi: 10.1145/2141943.2141947.

Olson, K. E., O’Brien, M.A., Rogers, W.A., & Charness, N. (2011). Diffusion of technology for younger and older adults. Ageing International, 36(1), 123-145.doi:10.1007/s12126-010-9077-9

O'Brien, M.A., Rogers, W.A., & Fisk, A.D. (2008). Text entry interface design requirements at a glance. Ergonomics in Design, 16 (4),16-22. 

O'Brien, M.A., Rogers, W.A., Fisk, A.D., & Richman, M. (2008), Assessing design features of virtual keyboards for text entry. Human Factors, 50, 680-698.

O’Brien, M.A., Rogers, W. A., & Fisk, A. D. (2008).  Developing a framework for intuitive human-computer interaction.  In Proceedings of the 52^nd Annual Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting (pp 1645-1649), Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. 

Presentations

O’Brien, M.A., Bass, E.J., Bliss, J.P., Cooke, N.J., Kalsher, M.J., & Mayhorn, C.B. (accepted), Improving residents’ response to disaster warnings: A discussion panel. To be presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting.

Shreeves, M. & O’Brien, M.A., (August 2012), Cognitive decision-making among residents during an extended natural disaster. Research and Creative Experience for Undergraduates, UA Huntsville, Huntsville, AL.

O’Brien, M.A. (July 2012), Everyday Technologies after a Disaster: Examining Consumer Usage during an Extended Power Outage. Presented at the 37^th Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop 2012, Broomfield, CO.

Mitzner, T.L., O’Brien, M.A., & Rogers, W. A. (May 2012).  Emerging Technologies for Health Care and Aging. Presented at Computer Human Interaction (CHI) 2012, May 5-10, 2012, Austin, TX.

O’Brien, M.A., Weger, K., DeFour, M.E., & Reeves, S.M. (2011), Examining the role of age and experience on use of knowledge in the world for everyday technology interactions. Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting. Las Vegas, NV.

Jordan, M., Weger, K., O’Brien, M.A., O’Neill, J., & Whitt, A. (April 2011), Effects of work backgrounds and interests on technology use and computer experience. 2011 Human Factors and Applied Psychology Conference, Daytona Beach, FL.