scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Design Evaluation with Virtual Prototypes Versus a Physical Product

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 4723
Author(s):  
Chih-Hsing Chu ◽  
Erh-Ting Kao

Design evaluation is an important stage in the product development process. Virtual prototypes enable economic design evaluation with higher flexibility, but the evaluation effectiveness may be limited compared to that of the real product. Few studies have analyzed whether or not virtual prototypes are comparable with the real product on the evaluation of product attributes. In this study, we conducted two-stage experiments to compare the effectiveness of design evaluation by using virtual prototypes versus the product they aim to represent. Numerous design features were evaluated from a physical appearance and usability point of view with assessment measurements including performance accuracy and the emotional responses of the users. The experimental results revealed that the visual virtual prototypes were typically not as effective in estimating the physical and appearance features, while no significant difference was observed in the usability between the evaluation media. The visual virtual prototypes tended to invoke more negative and passive emotional states in comparison to the actual product. However, with the addition of instant sensory feedback, the emotional responses were raised to a more positive and active level, which was similar to the one observed with the physical product. The findings of this study indicate the shortcomings of using virtual prototypes in the design evaluation process. Our conclusions may assist future studies in improving the practicality of virtual prototyping by the addition of useful features.

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 2016-2026
Author(s):  
Tamara R. Almeida ◽  
Clayton H. Rocha ◽  
Camila M. Rabelo ◽  
Raquel F. Gomes ◽  
Ivone F. Neves-Lobo ◽  
...  

Purpose The aims of this study were to characterize hearing symptoms, habits, and sound pressure levels (SPLs) of personal audio system (PAS) used by young adults; estimate the risk of developing hearing loss and assess whether instructions given to users led to behavioral changes; and propose recommendations for PAS users. Method A cross-sectional study was performed in 50 subjects with normal hearing. Procedures included questionnaire and measurement of PAS SPLs (real ear and manikin) through the users' own headphones and devices while they listened to four songs. After 1 year, 30 subjects answered questions about their usage habits. For the statistical analysis, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey's post hoc test, Lin and Spearman coefficients, the chi-square test, and logistic regression were used. Results Most subjects listened to music every day, usually in noisy environments. Sixty percent of the subjects reported hearing symptoms after using a PAS. Substantial variability in the equivalent music listening level (Leq) was noted ( M = 84.7 dBA; min = 65.1 dBA, max = 97.5 dBA). A significant difference was found only in the 4-kHz band when comparing the real-ear and manikin techniques. Based on the Leq, 38% of the individuals exceeded the maximum daily time allowance. Comparison of the subjects according to the maximum allowed daily exposure time revealed a higher number of hearing complaints from people with greater exposure. After 1 year, 43% of the subjects reduced their usage time, and 70% reduced the volume. A volume not exceeding 80% was recommended, and at this volume, the maximum usage time should be 160 min. Conclusions The habit of listening to music at high intensities on a daily basis seems to cause hearing symptoms, even in individuals with normal hearing. The real-ear and manikin techniques produced similar results. Providing instructions on this topic combined with measuring PAS SPLs may be an appropriate strategy for raising the awareness of people who are at risk. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12431435


Author(s):  
Irene Zempi ◽  
Imran Awan

This chapter examines the implications of online/offline Islamophobia for victims including increased feelings of vulnerability, fear and insecurity. Participants also suffered a range of psychological and emotional responses such as low confidence, depression and anxiety. Additionally, participants highlighted the relationship between online and offline Islamophobia, and described living in fear because of the possibility of online threats materialising in the ‘real world’. Many participants reported taking steps to become less ‘visible’ for example by taking the headscarf or face veil off for women and shaving their beards for men.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jie Sun ◽  
Zhiruo Wang ◽  
Xiaoyi Dang ◽  
Yang Zhang

In China in recent years, the rental housing market has boomed, but insufficient attention has been paid to microsubject tenants in the market, and there is a lack of research results on tenants’ decision-making processes. In keeping with the characteristics of China’s accommodation-renting population, this study takes as its research object graduating students, who form an important group in the housing rental market, and focuses on the information retrieval process underlying prospective tenants’ rental decisions. First, it investigates tenants’ concerns during the renting process by means of questionnaires. Second, using eye-tracking experiments, the real online renting process is simulated and tenants’ web listings are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. In the process of information search, the characteristics and rules of browsing the entry search page, the listings page, and the details page are obtained, and the factors that prospective tenants pay attention to in their search for rental information are obtained. The research results show that initial alphabetical sorting of the term search page can improve the subjects’ efficiency in locating the target keywords, the text information display area of the listings page receives more attention than others, and the real concern factors of the tenants on the page listing details are generally consistent with their selected factors but deviate slightly. Finally, the layout and display of web page information affect how subjects’ attention is distributed, and web page information presents a significant difference in attention between upper and lower pages.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Barzy ◽  
Ruth Filik ◽  
David Williams ◽  
Heather Jane Ferguson

Typically developing (TD) adults are able to keep track of story characters’ emotional states online while reading. Filik et al. (2017) showed that initially, participants expected the victim to be more hurt by ironic comments than literal, but later considered them less hurtful; ironic comments were regarded as more amusing. We examined these processes in autistic adults, since previous research has demonstrated socio-emotional difficulties among autistic people, which may lead to problems processing irony and its related emotional processes despite an intact ability to integrate language in context. We recorded eye movements from autistic and non-autistic adults while they read narratives in which a character (the victim) was either criticised in an ironic or a literal manner by another character (the protagonist). A target sentence then either described the victim as feeling hurt/amused by the comment, or the protagonist as having intended to hurt/amused the victim by making the comment. Results from the non-autistic adults broadly replicated the key findings from Filik et al. (2017), supporting the two-stage account. Importantly, the autistic adults did not show comparable two-stage processing of ironic language; they did not differentiate between the emotional responses for victims or protagonists following ironic vs. literal criticism. These findings suggest that autistic people experience a specific difficulty taking into account other peoples’ communicative intentions (i.e. infer their mental state) to appropriately anticipate emotional responses to an ironic comment. We discuss how these difficulties might link to atypical socio-emotional processing in autism, and the ability to maintain successful real-life social interactions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung-Min Shin ◽  
Ji-Eun Park ◽  
Sanghun Lee ◽  
Sun-Mi Choi ◽  
Yo-Chan Ahn ◽  
...  

Siguan acupoints have been used to treat gastrointestinal symptoms in acupuncture practices for a long time. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Siguan acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility under accelerated conditions using a randomized, sham-acupuncture-controlled, crossover study. Twenty-one healthy male subjects were hospitalized and randomized into either a real acupuncture group (at Siguan acupoints) or a sham acupuncture group. Subjects were administered with mosapride citrate (15 mg a day) for 2 days starting 24 hours before the first acupuncture treatment. Immediately after the administration of radio markers, acupuncture treatment was conducted 4 times at 12-hour intervals. Gastrointestinal motility was assessed using radiograph distribution of the radio-markers located in the small intestine, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, rectum, and outside the body immediately after the first acupuncture treatment and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours. After a 2-week washout period, the real acupuncture group in the first session was treated with sham acupuncture in the second session, and vice versa. Gastrointestinal motility was generally reduced in the real acupuncture group compared with the sham acupuncture group throughout the 4 different time points. A significant difference was observed at 24 hours following the first acupuncture treatment (P<0.05).


Author(s):  
Bridget Khursheed

This chapter examines usability evaluation in the context of the Diploma in Computing via the Internet offered by the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education and, to some extent, its on-site course partner. This ongoing online course is aimed at adult non-university (the “real world” of the chapter title) students. The chapter follows the usability evaluation process through the life cycle of course development, delivery and maintenance, analysing the requirements and actions of each stage and how they were implemented in the course. It also discusses how pedagogical evaluation must be considered as part of this process, as well as the more obvious software considerations, and how this was achieved within the course. Finally it draws some conclusions concerning the enhancements to course usability of the virtual classroom and how this atypical evaluation material can and should be integrated into an overall usability evaluation picture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 140-142
Author(s):  
Pornpatr A. Dharmasaroja ◽  
Disya Ratanakorn ◽  
Samart Nidhinandana ◽  
Thammanard Charernboon

ABSTRACT Background: Computer-based Thai Cognitive Test or Computer-based Thai Mental State Examination (cTMSE) was developed aiming to help doctors to easily get the accurate results of TMSE in a routine, busy outpatient clinics. The purpose of this study was to compare the evaluation process in terms of feasibility, duration of the test, participants/administrator preference, and the results of cognitive test between cTMSE and the standard Thai Mental State Examination (sTMSE). Methods: Twenty-two elderly participants (>60 years old) who were not demented and 22 patients with mild-to-moderate dementia were included in the study. All participants would be asked to have TMSE by standard method (sTMSE) and computer-based method (cTMSE), at least 2 weeks and up to 2 months apart. Scores and duration of the test were compared using dependent paired t-test. Agreement of the tests between two methods and Kappa statistics were analyzed. Results: Paired t-test showed no significant difference in scores between the two methods (mean sTMSE vs. cTMSE: 22.84 vs. 22.62, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [−0.465] to 0.987, P = 0.524). Percent of agreement between the two methods was 92.5%, with the Kappa of 0.85 (P < 0.001). Duration of the test by sTMSE was slightly shorter than the cTMSE (7.31 min vs. 7.97 min, 95% CI: [−1.159] to [−0.175], P = 0.09). Overall, participants liked being tested by cTMSE more than sTMSE. Conclusion: Computer-based TMSE was feasible to use and accurate for screening in aging adults and for cognitive evaluation in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia.


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