Sarah Sharples

• Professor at University of Nottingham

Digital manufacturing technologies (DMTs) have the potential to transform industry productivity, but their introduction into the workplace is often a complex process, requiring not only technical expertise but also an awareness of ethical and societal challenges surrounding human–system integration. Concerns about the introduction of new technology...

Culture plays an essential role in the success of product design, especially in the age of a global economy where there is a high probability of discrepancy between the designer's intention and the consumer's response. However, the role of culture is often challenging to identify and measure. In the current paper, we employed Repertory Grids to inv...

High quality information is a key element of passenger experience, and a current area of research and innovation for the transport sector. While there is research on obtaining feedback and opinions from rail passengers on information provision, there is a knowledge gap around industry perspectives on information delivery. Addressing this gap is use...

A prototype application designed to help coordinate the search activities of small teams of people was developed and tested in a field experiment. Implementing a 2 × 2 experimental design, participants worked in teams in order to find a series of “search targets” in a naturally occurring outdoor environment. The paper demonstrates a novel methodolo...

Despite the potential importance of emotional aspects in information seeking, there is a lack of adequate attention to emotions' role in facilitating serendipitous information encountering. This paper contributes to this research gap by investigating the role of emotions during the process of perceiving and experiencing serendipitous information en...

This paper presents a cognitive task analysis to derive models of decision making for rail maintenance processes. Maintenance processes are vital for safe and continuous availability of rail assets and services. These processes are increasingly embracing the ‘Intelligent Infrastructure’ paradigm, which uses automated analysis to predict asset state...

The motivation behind using physiological measures to estimate cognitive activity is typically to build technology that can help people to understand themselves and their work, or indeed for systems to do so and adapt. While functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been shown to reliably reflect manipulations of mental workload in differen...

Background: The concept of serendipity has become increasingly interesting for those undertaking serendipity research in recent years. However, serendipitous encounters are subjective and rare in a real-world context, making this an extremely challenging subject to study. Methods: Various methods have been proposed to enable researchers to understa...

As Digital Manufacturing transforms traditionally physical work into more system-monitoring tasks, new methods are required for understanding people’s mental workload and prolonged capacity for focused attention. Many physiological measures have shown promise for detecting changes in cognitive state, and recent advances in sensor technology offer m...

This paper seeks to elicit and structure the factors that shape the execution and, in particular, the coordination of work in Out of Hours care. Evenings and weekends in UK hospitals are managed by specific Out of Hours (OoH) care arrangements, and associated technology. Managing care within the constraints of staff availability and demands is a ke...

Automated and assistive technologies are being introduced to the rail industry to support the tasks of drivers and signallers. As rail tasks become less physical and more cognitive, measurement of human performance and evaluation of the impact of these new technologies needs to evolve. As pressure to achieve high performance increases, the importan...

Background: Patient safety literature has long reported the need for early recognition of deteriorating patients. Early warning scores (EWSs) are commonly implemented as "track and trigger," or rapid response systems for monitoring and early recognition of acute patient deterioration. This study presents a human factors evaluation of a hospital-wi...

Transport sharing describes a growing set of practices, systems and services that sit between traditional notions of private and public transport provision, and may have benefits in terms of both improving mobility in society and helping to address environmental challenges. This report highlights those factors relevant to a human or user-centric ad...

Well-established models of workload focus on the cognitive demands placed on an individual and the capacity of cognitive resources to respond to those demands. These models, and the range of measurement tools which have been used to capture workload in real world and laboratory settings have been vital in ensuring design of work to take into accoun...

This paper reports the findings of a series of interviews with search and rescue volunteers. Participants were asked to recall accounts of particular incidents which involved searching for a missing adult who could be considered ‘vulnerable’. The purpose of this study was to discover what types of decisions are made during missing incidents; includ...

Domains such as utilities, power generation, manufacturing and transport are increasingly turning to data-driven tools for management and maintenance of key assets. Whole ecosystems of sensors and analytical tools can provide complex, predictive views of network asset performance. Much research in this area has looked at the technology to provide b...

BACKGROUND Patient safety literature has long reported the need for early recognition of deteriorating patients. Early warning scores (EWSs) are commonly implemented as “track and trigger,” or rapid response systems for monitoring and early recognition of acute patient deterioration. This study presents a human factors evaluation of a hospital-wide...

The Active Travel Dashboard (ATD) integrates open data into a GIS-based platform with a view to encouraging active travel (cycling and walking). The paper describes the motivation, development and future directions of the ATD project

Recent work has demonstrated that functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy has the potential to measure changes in Mental Workload with increasing ecological validity. It is not clear, however, whether these measurements are affected by anxiety and stress of the workload, where our informal observations see some participants enjoying the workload and...

Research continues to correlate physical signals with mental activity, as opposed to physical activity, with physiological sensors. Further, with the proliferation of wearable technology, it seems imminent that our smart watches can soon keep track of our mental activity as well as our physical activity. Our research is working towards accurately m...

Purpose The current understanding of serendipity is based primarily on studies employing westerners as the participants, and it remains uncertain whether or not this understanding would be pervasive under different cultures, such as in China. In addition, there is not a sufficient systematic investigation of context during the occurrence of serendi...

Efficient asset maintenance is key for delivering services such as transport. Current rail maintenance processes have been mostly reactive with a recent shift towards exploring proactive modes. The introduction of new ubiquitous technologies and advanced data analytics facilitates the embedding of a ‘predict-and-prevent’ approach to managing assets...

Objective: This paper aims to explore the role of factors pertaining to trust in real-world automation systems through the application of observational methods in a case study from the railway sector. Background: Trust in automation is widely acknowledged as an important mediator of automation use, but the majority of the research on automation...

Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) are becoming ubiquitously available, being embedded both into everyday mobility via smartphones, and into the life of the home via ‘assistant’ devices. Yet, exactly how users of such devices practically thread that use into their everyday social interactions remains underexplored. By collecting and studying audio data f...

Feedback is valuable for allowing us to improve on tasks. While retrospective feedback can help us improve for next time, feedback “in action” can allow us to improve the outcome of on-going tasks. In this paper, we use data from functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy to provide participants with feedback about their Mental Workload levels during hi...

The present study was conducted in order to glean an in-depth understanding of the journey experiences of rail passengers, with an investigation into the informational priorities of frequent travellers and leisure travellers. 16 semi-structured interviews were carried out with the participants within their travel environment, with the aim of collec...

One of the recurring questions in designing dynamic control environments is whether providing more information leads to better operational decisions. The idea of having every piece of information is increasingly tempting (and in safety critical domains often mandatory) but has become a potential obstacle for designers and operators. The present res...

This poster highlights physiological measures that could be applied in rail to assess human performance. Physiological measures detect physical changes in the body such as heart rate. The poster maps out what is current in the world of physiological measurement, focused on measures that are sensitive to mental task load or cognitive performance. Th...

In this work we examine the concept of using of routinely collected connectivity data to identify the subject interests of a population of visitors to a university open day. We describe and demonstrate the use of a prototype algorithm for performing the subject classification based on the visitors movement and an event timetable. On an open day the...

Advances in the area of wearable devices that record physiological changes provides researchers with greater opportunities to detect stress (and other psychological states) in real-time. This paper describes research that explores the use of heart rate monitors to gather physiological data from participants over a number of days. From this research...

There is increasing demand for a systems approach within national healthcare guidelines to provide a systematic and sustainable framework for improvements in patient safety. Supported by this is the growing body of evidence within Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) healthcare literature for the inclusion of this approach in health service design, provi...

Adherence to treatment in asthma is often poor, particularly in adolescents and children where the condition is most prevalent. Electronic monitoring devices have shown potential for improving inhaler use, yet little research has considered the attitudes of patients towards these devices. We gave seven adolescents with asthma an electronic monitori...

The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will have an impact on the train driving task and train driver behaviour. This paper presents part of the final study of series of studies that have been conducted as part of a three-year research project, which investigated the effects of ERTMS on train drivers’ behaviours. In recent times, a num...

Intelligent Mobility (IM) is an upcoming major research transport theme for accounting for, incorporating and accommodating advances in mobile ubiquitous technologies. New mobile technologies and services, have changed the way passengers interact with others and with transport facilities. Mobile technologies can transform how passengers experience...

One of the recurring questions in designing dynamic control environments is whether providing more information leads to better operational decisions. The idea of having every piece of information and increasing situation awareness is so tempting (and in safety critical domains often mandatory) that has become an obstacle for designers and operators...

Introduction Electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) are the optimal method for collecting objective data on inhaler use in asthma. Recent research has investigated the attitudes of patients with asthma towards these devices. However, no research to date has formally considered the opinions of stakeholders and decision-makers in asthma care. These ind...

Objective: In this paper, we aim to evaluate the use of electronic technologies in out of hours (OoH) task-management for assisting the design of effective support systems in health care; targeting local facilities, wards or specific working groups. In addition, we seek to draw and validate conclusions with relevance to a frequently revised service...

In this paper we unpack the use of conversational agents, or so-called intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), in multi- party conversation amongst a group of friends while they are socialising in a café. IPAs such as Siri or Google Now can be found on a large proportion of personal smartphones and tablets, and are promoted as ‘natural language’ in...

This paper examines 10 challenges for making automation a team player (Klein et al., 2004) in the context of Evolvable Assembly Systems (EAS) with the aim of delivering requirements for effective hybrid human-automation decision making. Specific decision making use cases for a demonstrator system were analysed to capture opportunities and requireme...

User uptake and acceptance of new technologies or innovations is driven by the attitudes and psychology of the users as much as it is driven by the technological capabilities. Perceived utility, perceived ease of use, and trust in the system all play major roles in uptake and acceptance. In order to facilitate user uptake of a smartphone applicatio...

One of the recurring questions in designing dynamic control environments is whether providing more information leads to better operational decisions. The idea of having every piece of information and increasing situation awareness is so tempting (and in safety critical domains often mandatory) that has become an obstacle for designers and operators...

Alarm management is a key component of the successful operation of a prognostic or health-monitoring technology. Although alarms can alert the operator to critical information, false alarms and alarm flooding can cause major difficulties for successfully diagnosing and acting upon infrastructure faults. Human factors approaches seek to design more-...

Practitioner article published in the Ergonomist

In this paper we present indoor positioning within unknown environments as an unsupervised labelling task on sequential data. We explore a probabilistic framework relying on wireless network radio signals and contextual information, which is increasingly available in large environments. Thus, we form an informative spatial classifier without resort...

There is growing evidence of greater rates of morbidity and mortality in hospitals during out-of-hours shifts, which appears to be exacerbated during the period in which newly qualified doctors commence work. In order to combat this issue, an online simulation of a night shift was developed and trialled in order to improve the non-technical skills...

Cloud manufacturing adopts a cloud computing paradigm as the basis for delivering shared, on-demand manufacturing services. The result is customer-centric supply chains that can be configured for cost, quality, speed and customisation. While the technical capabilities required for cloud manufacturing are a current focus, there are many emerging que...

In many highways environments electronic media such as variable message signs are increasingly being used to provide drivers with up-to-date dynamic information in order to influence driving decision making during journeys. These decisions may be associated with strategic choices, such as route selection, or tactical decisions, such as driving at a...

PASSME (Personalised Airport Systems for Seamless Mobility and Experience) is an EU-Horizon 2020-funded project focusing on enhancing passengers experience at airports while reducing air travel time, through optimising interiors, luggage flow and offering real-time personalised information. We identified current processes, interactions and needs pa...

This study investigates Chinese consumers’ adoption of the innovative 3D printing systems for small-scale manufacturing in home settings. Empirical studies were conducted in a survey with 256 participants. The number of significant determinants that affect an individual’s decision to adopt 3D printing systems has been identified by applying a model...

We present the findings from a study of how people interleave mobile phone use with conversation in pubs. Our findings, informed by ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, unpack the interactional methods through which groups of people in pubs occasioned, sustained, and disengaged from mobile device use during conversation with friends. Fundame...

Background Electronic monitoring devices with an audio-visual reminder function can significantly improve asthma inhaler adherence and control in children.1 However, the relationship between attitudes, patterns of medication use and clinical outcomes are unknown. Aim To examine individual patterns of inhaled corticosteroid use, and their relationsh...

Rail industry has recently seen a change in priorities and opportunities employed in Asset(s) Management and Maintenance. Traditionally, Rail Asset Management involved re-active strategies for service provision and maintenance. Often, though, the mere nature of asset maintenance, which involves on-site inspection and supervision, facilitates cases...

Electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) offer the most accurate solution for recording adherence to inhaled medication, however to ensure maximum impact it is important to understand patient attitudes towards them. This study investigated the attitudes of adolescents with asthma towards the 'SmartTrack' Smart Inhaler – an EMD that records the date and...

This paper presents an evaluation of staff experiences before, during and after a large scale deployment of mobile technologies within an acute hospital. Qualitative data from thirteen clinical participants were analysed. We report on the impact on clinical working practices, staff experiences and acceptance of the mobile technologies, and the unde...

Much theoretical understanding of specific relationships between phenomena such as workload, performance and attention in Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/HF) has been based on studies conducted in the laboratory context. This setting is often chosen due to the ability to control variables and apply multiple, often intrusive measures, to capture det...

Currently there is a lack of digital tools for assessing the Wellbeing of those affected by dementia in a home environment. This paper presents an alternative to existing assessment modalities in order to facilitate large scale collection and analysis of data. This development will allow those affected to be assessed from the comfort of their own h...

Usability and trust have been observed to be related in several domains including web retail, information systems, and e-health. Trust in technology reflects beliefs about the attributes of a technology. Research has shown that trust is a key factor for the success of different systems – e.g., e-market, e-commerce, and social networks. Trust in tec...

Mobile device-based diary studies have potential as contextual data capture methods that address the limitations of the traditional paper-based diary method. While there have been a number of studies that demonstrate the power of the mobile device-based diary approach, there is less known about participants' experience of such studies. This paper p...

An increasing number of tools are being developed to help academics interact with information, but little is known about the benefits of those tools for their users. This study evaluated academics' receptiveness to information proposed by a mobile app, the SerenA Notebook: information that is based in their inferred interests but does not relate di...

Many systems have been developed to assist wayfinding for people with sight problems. There is a need for user requirements for such systems to be defined. This paper presents a study which aimed to determine such user requirements. An experiment was also conducted to establish the best way of guiding users between locations. The focus group result...

This study provides new insight for the attitudes of adolescents with asthma towards a device to monitor their inhaler use and to remind them when their next dose is due. The results showed a positive response from participants for having their inhaler use recorded and shared with key stakeholders, such as their parents, doctor and nurses. Furtherm...

Recent efforts have shown that functional near-infrared spec-troscopy (fNIRS) has potential value for brain sensing in HCI user studies. Research has shown that, although large head movement significantly affects fNIRS data, typical keyboard use, mouse movement, and non-task-related verbalisations do not affect measurements during Verbal tasks. Thi...

There is an urgent need to apply domain-specific social and collaborative HCI innovations to improve healthcare service delivery. However, the diversity of ethical issues surrounding research with new technologies in such settings is a large and relatively unchartered barrier. Whilst patient orientated issues are relatively well explored, far less...

Attitudes towards geographic information technology is a seldom explored research area that can be explained with reference to established theories of attribution. This article reports on a study of how the attribution of success and failure in pedestrian navigation varies with level of automation, degree of success and locus of control. A total of...

This paper describes an experiment that was undertaken to compare three levels of automation in rail signalling; a high level in which an automated agent set routes for trains using timetable information, a medium level in which trains were routed along pre-defined paths, and a low level where the operator (signaller) was responsible for the moveme...

The skill set required for junior doctors to work efficiently and safely Out of Hours (OoH) in hospitals has not been established. This is despite the OoH period representing 75% of the year and it being the time of highest mortality. We set out to explore the expectations of medical students and experiences of junior doctors of the non-technical s...

Cloud manufacturing offers a new paradigm in providing on-demand manufacturing services. This should offer benefits to both large organisations, and small and micro manufacturing service users and providers. It is not clear, however, how user requirements might diverge, or show consistency, depending on the size of the organisation. The paper compa...

Mobile device-based data capture studies have potential as contextual data collection methods to address the limitations of the traditional paper-based diary method. The ever-evolving computing power of mobile phones broadens the potential applications of such methods in novel and interesting ways. While there have been a number of studies that dem...

75% of the year is outside of the traditional working hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. During this 'out-of-hours' work, small teams of junior doctors in hospitals face significant challenges yet lack support. There is therefore an increased likelihood of adverse incidents during out-of-hours periods, and doctors report being particularly ill-...

Unlabelled: Attitudes towards geographic information technology is a seldom explored research area that can be explained with reference to established theories of attribution. This article reports on a study of how the attribution of success and failure in pedestrian navigation varies with level of automation, degree of success and locus of contro...

Serendipity occurs when unexpected circumstances and an “aha” moment of insight result in a valuable, unanticipated outcome. Designing digital information environments to support serendipity can not only provide users with new knowledge, but also propel them in directions they might not otherwise have traveled in—surprising and delighting them alon...