Chapter 10- The Way Forward

      Circutry Viewer (Edward Rozzo/Corbis)
 

Nicolaus Copernicus: (February 19, 1473) I put this here because i had forgotten what this man had done. I find it of great interest that he had several jobs/roles in his life time- like us now.  ”Among the great polymaths of the Renaissance, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, physician, classical scholar, translator, Catholic cleric, jurist, governor, military leader, diplomat and economist. Among his many responsibilities, astronomy figured as little more than an avocation — yet it was in that field that he made his mark upon the world.” (Contributors, 2008)

            The Circuitry Viewer is pretty cool, but I wonder how useful it is? “High Tech is not the same as Human Tech” (284)

This is a superb goal, “We would like to see technological innovation used to improve, not threaten, the quality of life of everyone else on the planet.” (286)

Human Tech with a human face- At first glance do you know what these mean? (Check out Tech Terms next week to find out)

• Task Analysis

• Stimulus Response Compatibility

• Behaviour shaping constraints

• Feedback Design

• Shape Coding

• Products for the disabled or elderly

                                                              What Can You Do To Make A Difference ? To Encourage Human Tech Products? (Add it to the blog)

Give mental prizes to those who practice good design : send flowers. Jeer those who don’t: send weeds. 290

Peoples needs will have to be put ahead of technology for it’s own sake; potential users of the product need to be consulted and involbed from the very start; prototypes built and tested with real users (not wizards) to see what works and doesn’t work-and the results from these tests need to be iteratively used to improve the design of the product. (294)

I loved the examples from Out of Poverty: and Into Something More Comfortable; that I decided to buy a copy as a Christmas gift for my dad.

 Fin

 

EPILOGUE~We Are All Designers

 SOME OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

 

 GLOBAL BREAD KNIFE   

 

                                          

(Knives)                                       George Jensen (jmbaucom, 2008)                      Volkswagen (Show)      

 

                                                            

      Ipod (Media, 2006)                   2008 Volkswagen Passat Dashboard (Axe, 2008)          (Apollinaris, 2007)

 

                                                                              

OXO Peeler (Sur La Table, 2008)            Lie-Nielsen plane (Perez)                                        Kuhn Rikon (2008)

Screw Pull Lever Model Wine Opener (Wave Cave INC)     

When something gives pleasure, when it becomes a part of our lives,

and when the way we interact with it helps define our place in society and in the world,

then we have love. Design is part of this equation. but personal interaction is the key.

Love comes by being earned, when an objects special characteristic makes a daily part of our lives,

when it deepens our satisfaction, weather because of it’s beauty, it’s behaviour, or our reflective component.”

                                                                                                                                        ( Norman, 2003, p. 227)   

I agree with Norman that the visceral is pleasurable - an integral part of ownership.

It sells a product, it creates affinity , “anthropomorphism” with a product. That, “I can’t live without it!

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

Chapter 7~ The Future of Robots

Asimov’s Four Laws of Robotics

Zeroth Law: A robot may not injure humanity, or through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. Asimov didn’t need this capability in his early stories: to determine just when an action- or lack of action- will harm all humanity is truly sophisticated, probably beyond the abilities of most people.

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being  or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this would violate the Zeroth Law of Robotics, could be labelled safety ” it isn’t legal, let alone proper , to produce things that can hurt people. as a result, all machines today are designed with multiple safeguards to minimize the likelihood that they can harm by their actions.

Second Law: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings,except where such orders would conflict with the Zeroth or First Law. Machines today do not have an independent mind, so they must obey orders: they have no choice but to follow the commands given to them. If they fail, they face the ultimate punishment, they are shut off and sent to the repair shop.

Third Law: A robot must protect it’s own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the zeroth , first, or second law. Given the limited capability of toady’s machines , were laws one and two seldom apply, this law is of most importance today, for we would be most annoyed if our expensive robot damaged or destroyed itself. (Norman, 2004, p.197-200)

The movie IRobot was made with these laws in mind-

(myxmovie, 2008)

It’s futuristic and yet very plausible that Robots will soon take care of and educate our children, take care of the household, and protect our world.

 

Chapter 6~ Emotional Machines

(Borenstein,2006)

Machines that can sense emotion are an emerging new frontier of research, one that raises many questions as it addresses, both in how machines might detect emotions and in how to determine the most appropriate way of responding.” (Norman, 2004, p.188) He goes on to explain how even humans have trouble responding to emotions and that this indeed is a complex task.  It will be great though to have a robot who could empty trash, clean dishes, vacuum, do all the house hold tasks, make me dinner, and comfort me when needed- No one would get married! OR perhaps they would marry their robots!

 How do you program true understanding?

When machines display emotions, they provide a rich and satisfying interaction with people, even though most of the richness and satisfaction, most of the interpretation and understanding comes from within the head of the person, not from the artificial system.” (Norman, 2004, p.194)

I like the functionality of the kitchen Norman describes, I found myself exclaiming, I want one! and with a kitchen renovation on the to do list in the near future, I’m thinking I might wait for another say 5-10 years. Normans exciting description:

“I can imagine a family of robot appliances in the kitchen- refrigerator,pantry, coffeemaker, cooking and dishwasher robots all configured to communicate with each other and to transfer food, dishes and utensils back and forth. The home servant robot wanders about , picking up dirty dishes, delivering them to the dishwasher robot. The dishwasher returns the clean dishes to the robot pantry, which stores them  until needed by a person or another robot.” (Norman,2004, p.170) Talk about too many cooks! It is very exciting and it’s really not a far out idea. For example; check out

The Smart Fridge(Nandini, 2007)

 Remember, the GE’s Kitchen of the Futureconcept that features interconnected suite of products with interactive controls that communicates with all kitchen appliances using a predictive computing system. So, you will get to know beforehand if you are running out-of your grocery stock. Now, designer Kim Otto of Denmark’s Innovation Lab has come-up with a Smart Fridge concept (yes this too is a concept) that is equipped with a RFID reader and a touch screen computer, making it aware of its own contents. So, you don’t have to check for what’s left in the refrigerator before preparing any meal or making a shopping list for grocery-items. The Smart Fridgewill alert you if there’s a product recall, and can remind you to pick-up stuff via a text message or it is even capable of establishing direct contact between you and their producers via internet. The Smart Fridge is a version of Siemens refrigerator with a built-in TV that is outfitted with an RFID reader and the existing flatscreen was replaced by a touch screen with an embedded Postallo computer equipped with customised database and web software by PragmaSoft. Innovation Labreports that despite being a prototype, the fridge is fully operational; and is a glimpse of what future technology has in store for us!” (Nandini, 2007)

 It wasn’t that long ago that was ice was delivered by a horse and cart so people could refrigerate food during the summer. (Paden, 2007)

 

 My uncle’s $8.00 favorite (Case, 2002)

                                                                                VS

THE INTELLIGENT COFFEE MACHINE

The super automatic coffee machine will use artificial intelligence to churn-up a delicious cup of coffee based on their owner’s thoughts. The machine works by learning the drinking patterns for the first several weeks and then it adapts itself to the drinking preference of its user. So, it knows when you are in mood for strongly brewed espresso, creamy decaf cafe au lait, French vanilla cappuccino or any other taste. Now, if you are wondering how does it knows when you are yearning for which type of coffee throughout the day…then you will have to learn to cope-up with the curiosity as the company is tight-lipped about this aspect, as it is the crux of his invention. But he hints at GPS tracking or existing RFID technology.The machine will also be connected to the Internet, and you’ll be able to get your brew started with a simple phone call. Though, the speed dial feature on cellular phones is pretty much in the theoretical phase, the company believes that the technology enabling an appliance to learn and react to its user’s preferences, so-called “ubiquitous computing”, is already both available and affordable and so the technology will make it in the near future. (Lafayette, 2007)

 I have decided to wait to buy new appliances, and wait some more for the prices to drop- so I can enjoy a robotic kitchen. While, I’m waiting- I’ll be saving up! 

 

Chapter 9~ Political Imperatives II: Safe Guarding Public Interest

Top down political design interventions are

literally life- and -death decisions- modern day invisible hands that can touch and change the quality of all our lives. ”

                                                     (Vicente, 2003, p.250)

While I was reading this chapter- I kept thinking about the news of the Syringe Scare at the High Prairie hospital, where, ”nurses at the health complex had been routinely injecting drugs into patients, using intravenous lines with the same syringe… and parents worried they or their children may have contracted hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV from syringes reused in medical and dental surgery for years( back to 2004) at the High Prairie Health Complex. ” (Edmonton CTV,2008) My son had a Tonsillectomy in High Prairie in 1999 while I had many Cortisone injections between 1998-2004.   I wanted to understand the dynamics, using Vicente’s Human Tech Ladder from the the Top-Down to get a better understanding of how something so serious can and did go undetected for so long.

                                                                                                                                                

                            (CTV, 2005)                  (Edmonton CTV, 2008)

Human Tech Ladder	Walkerton  Walkerton Chronology Tragedy (CTV, 2004)	High Prairie Dirty syringe scare at High Prairie hospital
Political Imperatives	Federal Government Cut Backs for a “leaner meaner government” (Vicente, 2003, p. 264) Walkerton Public Utilities Commission Ontario Ministry of Health   No follow ups, offered no training, and massive cut backs financial and personnel	·         Health Quality Council of Alberta “The practice of reusing needles to inject medication into IV lines used to be common”,  Dr. Gerry Predy, Alberta’s acting chief medical officer of health.(CBC News,2008) He further adds “It’s changed gradually over time in different places, so there’s probably not one date that we can say it actually changed.” Who over saw that everyone was following NEW procedures?
Organizational	Less regulation, loop holes in reporting systems.	Nurses were unaware of policy change. They had been doing it one way for a long time, and even though some may have known about the dangers, no one spoke up- until this October 2008.
Team	Scared and tried to cover up mistakes, lied and altered documents- no accountability from the top two functions.	“ fewer than five nurses were routinely injecting painkillers into intravenous lines with syringes that had already been used in lines attached to other patients.” (Smoky River Express,2008) The problem in High Prairie was discovered earlier this month by a manager who observed a nurse using a dirty syringe.   “We’re talking about a group of staff isolated in one department in the facility,” said Tim Guest, a vice-president for the local health region. “It’s not widespread in the entire facility. It’s] a very small number of employees — less than five.”Health Minister Ron Liepert said he suspects human error is the root cause,” Smoky River Express
Psychological	They didn’t even know what E-Coli was or did. (Vicente,2003, p.259) People started getting sick- didn’t want to be responsible- lied	Intravenous lines sometimes have blood seeping into them from a vein and a syringe Technology  of using and discarding syringes changed Maybe Ineffective policies and procedures? Mechanistic thinking of the IV Lines? Maybe, “sunk-cost fallacy” was being practiced? (Vicente, 2003, p.57”
Physical	Too lazy to get proper readings Too busy to read reports	Human capabilities might have been different. Why only 5 people in one department-were using an old procedure? Was it there shift or a physical limitation?

 

 

  

 

Chapter 8~ Political Imperatives I: Technology for Better or Worse?

WHAT DO THESE THREE

                         THINGS HAVE IN COMMON ?

 

  Sept. 11, 2001                      Hollerith Census Tabulator            Human Rights

       (Chakote, 2008)                        (Cidcamelia, 2007)                      (Memonson7, 2008)                

These examples are striking because they show that Human-tech thinking at the political level can make use of existing technologies from below to serve remarkably diverse political imperatives. An airplane can be a safe mode of transportation or a weapon of mass destruction; punch-card technology can be used to conduct a census or to orchestrate a campaign of genocide; video cameras can be used to convince the world that human rights are being violated or that the Holocaust never really happened.

If you can create a tight Human-tech fit between a technological system and human nature, then you have a much better chance of achieving your political objectives-

for good or ill.

                                                                                                                                                                                  (Vicente, 2003)

 You can download a free PDF of this book at (Amazon)

” Sun Tzu advocated that generals and warriors manipulate the resources and capabilities of their enemies to create a momentum that will advance their own purposes.” (Vicente, 2003)

“Why waste your own resources when you can use those of your enemy? It’s a simple but profound insight.”  THIS IS HOW THE BOTTOM UP APPROACH IS IMPLEMENTED.

TWIN TOWERS – September 11, 2001 USE OF THE BOTTOM UP APPROACH, from pages 233-235 in Kim Vicente’s book~ The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way We Use Technology.

They didn’t have the resources to design and create a system of their own to achieve their political aims, but they were ingenious enough to identify an existing technological system that was (unintentionally) exactly tailored to their destructive purpose. Every single detail seemed to provide a seamless design fit.”

Organizational Level:

                The US Immigration system was designed to be lax enough to let terrorists into the US easily using student visa despite the fact that several of them were known enemies of the states.

          Psychological Level:

                           Commercial jet airplanes were designed so that the psychomotor skills required to fly them could be easily be required from basic flying lessons.

         Physical Level:

                          The weapons themselves- the innocuous-appearing box cutters- were designed to cut cardboard but could be adapted for killing. 

                           The long transcontinental flights from the East Coast to the West meant that the planes were designed to carry large loads of fuel,

                           thus guaranteeing the terrorists a free, potent source of explosive.

 

                           The largely empty flights made it a simple matter for a handful of terrorists to take control of the crew, the passengers and the airplane

 

                           The design of the tall World Trade Towers made them tragically easy to find…. perfect targets

 

                           The materials to construct the twin towers were designed to buckle and yeild to a raging inferno fed by the impact of a fully fueled commercial plane.

 

         Political Level:

                                 The timing of the event- early in the morning of a bustling New York bussiness day – was “designed” so that the mass murder and destruction, would inevitably be noticed and recorded  for         posterity by the media,…. the fact they were in Manhatten, the financial epicentre of Western Capitalism, and filled with trade workers from around the world- made them an impeccble ideological target.

 I was reading this chapter while I was waiting for my son’s plane to arrive, so I found it to be scarey at the time. I think Vicente does an excellent job of demonstrating the bottom up dynamics of how Technology can be used for good and evil. I never saw or thought Technology would or could be used against humanity -I have descovered a new way of examining how things are done -using the Human Tech Ladder.

 

 

 

Chapter 7~ Management Matters

 

 (Library of Congress, 2008)

  SAN ANTONIO AEROPLANE MAIL CARRIER BETWEEN 1910-1915

If we believe that human life is precious and presumably we all do- then difficult though it may be, we should resist the impulse to rush to judgement. We should also examine the context in which the tragedy incurred, and ask a few more questions” (Vicente, 2003, p. 213)

     This is a great way to introduce the relationship of the Human Tech soft side and relate it to the Usability Factor  of identifying and “understanding the end user(s) unmet and unarticulated needs.” (Norman, 2005, p.74) I believe the process Vicente describes in this chapter of how the systems of people fail and how they can improve by using Charles Billings Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) the same strategy can be applied to gaining user feedback and thus making a better product. Vicente describes this 7 step process to improvement of the Human Tech factor  on pages 198 &199:

“The system begins in the real world were potential hazards… are felt…by front line workers, and the users of the product. 2ND: The front line worker or user writes a report of the near miss, or the problem. 3rd The report, the problem is “analyzed by experts” “they are essential ” as experts can categorize and understand the information, . 4Th The report is de-identified by removing all personal information, this protecting the user from a civil suit or prosecution. This step would provide users with an option  of want to keep their identity safe or sharing their information and signing a release form. 5Th The database created by the experts is available to researchers in government, universities and industries, the same could be done with a product especially if the product is universal like the i-pod; it would very helpful to put user feedback from Japan in the same place that user feedback from Canada is stored  so,  researchers can look for patterns and trends, see difficulties, detect problems and implement safeguards before major problems occur. They can identify and”understand the end user(s) unmet and unarticulated needs and design the product to better suit those needs. 6th The information is published andshared with the community, again very applicable to a new product, while getting the word out that this company cares, wants feedback, is listening to the people, and is designing a new-improved product! 7Th People see that something is being done, the problem is being heard and corrected-progress is being made. “People can feel good about the fact they are doing their part to improve aviation safety.” Or the end product. 

  

(mvonraefeld, 2008)                                          (Klop’s, 2008)                                           (hokieian, 2008)

The one-eyed disciples of the mechanistic view…

Other Industries that could benefit from incidence reporting?

Army and the friendly fire problem…; teachers reporting and mandated to learn vs owning our learning…; police force and acountability i.e use of tasers and people dieing from them…,  to avoid blame and shame persecute approach…, tieing it to elected canidates-no system of accountability.

Vincristine Cycle of Death- failure to share/report information and inability too learn from mistakes, as it is counterintuitive.

Organizational Level-Systems of:

Incentives/Disincentives; Staffing levels; Management structures, Information flows across teams, Organizational cultures that there is a need for transparency & relationships.

 

Ch 6~ Staying on the Same Page~C T C

                                   Chapter 6 ~ Staying on the Same Page:

                                   Choreographing Team Coordination

Vicente states on page 163,

70 per cent of aviation accidents resulted

from poor crew coordination and

communication. Planes were crashing and

 people were dying because of a systems

flaw-because of the way in which crews

failed to communicate and coordinate. Here

 was a significant societal need that had to

 be addressed.”

 Through out this book Vicente has been referring to the “Human -Tech Ladder”. In this chapter, he describes how and why people who fly Airplanes and those who operate in Operating rooms, must be trained to work as a team, in order to manage the Ttechnology effectively. Vicente states,

A viable complex technological system can’t be developed merely by fitting the design to the physical and psychological characteristics of the individual team members. Affinity with team members must be achieved as well.” Designers must create a system that is tailored to the characteristics  and needs of the team as a distinct entity in its own right. If they don’t, the system won’t run effectively and accidents will occur. “(Vicente, 2003,156) 

 Vicente makes it clear that a goal in Human-Tech design , “is to have the instrument and person using it to become one balanced integrated system- that harmonious yin and yang” (Vicente, 2003, p.158)

                                                                                                                                                               (Ryan666, 2008)

In order to achieve yin and yang, effective teamwork must take place. Vicente makes some great points about how leaders act and how people respond, to their methodology.

                                                                         If your a leader in your organization, I hope you will use this information as a learning tool.

” What can happen when a captain does not take an authoritative leadership role by setting priorities, delegating tasks, and making sure that all responsibilities are covered?

   Eastern Flight 401

OR

When their is a strong autocratic leader that doesn’t listen to others, or a Captain who makes it clear he dislikes being questioned or criticized and in extreme cases won’t tolerater it? “(Vicente, 2003, p.159-160) Such an intimidating, overbearing attitude can make crew members decide to keep quiet rather than to question the authority of their captain” (Vicente, 2003, p.163)

United Airlines 173

70 per cent of aviation accidents resulted from poor crew coordination and communication. Planes were crashing and people were dying because of a systems flaw-because of the way in which crews failed to communicate and coordinate. Here was a significant societal need that had to be addressed.’

‘The objective is clear enough; to be effective, the technological system must pass the test of affinity with human nature at the team level.”

It’s necessary to think about the creation of a training program as an equally important part of the overall design of the system, one that has a bearing on the ultimate impact of the technical components themselves.” (Vicente, 2003, p.163) Thus the creation of, “ Cockpit Resource Management program where team coordination and communication becomes critical. Cockpit voice recordings of real accidents where these failures proved fatal are used to create an unforgettable memory of how crucial crew coordination is to aviation safety.” (Vicente, 2003, p.164) Vicente also discusses how essential team work training is essential to Medical professionals. Leaders need to know their roles, beable to give explicit expectations, ask for help,  walk in others shoes (doctors in nurses), delegate responsibilities, set priorities, and make sure everyone on the team is informed. They need to respect others to gain respect and to maintain open honest communication. The CRM system teaches this in a simulated role-play. I would like to end that this teaching system has improved Aviation and is improving the medical field as well. It has helped Aviation so much that, there is a law that states pilots must take the training! (Vicente, 2003, p.169) I encourage the medical field to do the same. Vicente states, ” Create Human-tech systems that foster team coordination, and we know that doing so can help avoid catastrophic accidents and save lifes. Our future lies in our own hands.” (Vicente, 2003, p.182)

 

 

Help With Research

I need some input preferably from elementary students; Junior/Senior high school students opinions will help too, in a project I am working on with a team of teachers.

No names will be used, just the information I gather will be included in a paper,.

Our team is designing a prototype similar to Guitar Hero to teach Math skills to elementary students. I would like to know if users of Guitar Hero

Would.

 

1. Change anything to make the product more user friendly?

2. Wish Guitar Hero was built to teach Guitar?

3. How could Guitar Hero be used to teach Math in school? (From the users point of view)

4. Would the user enjoy using Guitar Hero or WI in Learning Elementary Math skills in school?

5. Any thoughts from game players on making this product a super learning tool.

 

I need to have the information by next Friday as our paper and presentation are due Tuesday, October 28Th.

 

 

Ch 5: People, Places and Things

I posted a question on our class blackboard. I am sitting in my room alone and playing a game with you, while you are sitting alone in your room- is this social interaction? I am writing and posting a Blog for tomorrow’s class. I don’t know when you will read it or who else may read it- Is this interaction? I posed the question to my folks and they agreed to disagree. Norman eludes to this near the end of the chapter,

The good news is that technologies enable us to feel connected, to be able to share our thoughts and feelings no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, independent of the time or time zone. The bad news is, of course, those very same things. if all my friends were always to keep in touch, there would be no time for anything else. Life would be filled with interruptions, twenty-four hours a day. Each interaction alone would be pleasant and rewarding,but the total impact would be overwhelming. The problem, however, is that the ease of short, brief communication with friends around the world disrupts the normal, everyday social interaction. Here, the only change is social acceptance.This can go in two directions. We could all accept the interruptions as a part of life, thinking nothing of it when several members of a group continually enter their own private space to interact with others(who may not be there)- friends, bosses, coworkers, family, or perhaps their video game, where their characters are in desperate need of help. The other is to limit their interactions, to let the telephone take messages by text, ( I have call display and thus is my answering machine), video or voice, so that the calls can be returned at a convenient time. I can imagine solutions designed to help facilatate this, so that the technology within a telephone might negotiate with a caller, checking calendars of each party and setting up a time to converse, all without bothering any of the individuals. We need technologies that provide the rich power of interaction with the disruption: we need to regain control over our lives. Control seems to be the common theme, whether to avoid frustration, alienation, and anger we feel towards toady’s technologies, or to permit us to interact with others reliably, or to keep tight the bonds between us and our family, friends, and colleagues. Not every interaction has to be done in real time, with participants interrupting one another, always available, always responding. The store-and-forward technologies- for example email and voice mail- allow messages to be sent at the sender’s convenience, but then listened to or viewed at the receivers convenience. We need ways of intermixing the seperate communication methods, so that we could choose mail, email, telephone, voice, text,as the occasion demands. ” (Norman, 2004, p.158-159)

I believe moderation and balance is the key, we need to come out of our computer rooms, away from our computers, and enjoy face-to-face social interactions with the people we love, and enjoy. This is the best interaction. However, we need to be thankful for the technologies that allow us to keep in touch with our friends and family around the globe. They get our message, that it is their turn to play the game, and they know we are there with them-even if they can’t see us, thus providing social interaction.”

Trust & Design~ Reliance, Confidence, and Integrity

Blaming Inanimate Objects~ Attributions of human motivations. make a good effort to understand these attributions. At the same time realize trust in a system needs to be earned.