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Currently, autonomous vehicles are being evaluated by how well they interact with humans without evaluating how well humans interact with them. Since people are not going to unanimously switch over to using autonomous vehicles, attention must be given to how well these new vehicles signal intent to human drivers from

Currently, autonomous vehicles are being evaluated by how well they interact with humans without evaluating how well humans interact with them. Since people are not going to unanimously switch over to using autonomous vehicles, attention must be given to how well these new vehicles signal intent to human drivers from the driver’s point of view. Ineffective communication will lead to unnecessary discomfort among drivers caused by an underlying uncertainty about what an autonomous vehicle is or isn’t about to do. Recent studies suggest that humans tend to fixate on areas of higher uncertainty so scenarios that have a higher number of vehicle fixations can be reasoned to be more uncertain. We provide a framework for measuring human uncertainty and use the framework to measure the effect of empathetic vs non-empathetic agents. We used a simulated driving environment to create recorded scenarios and manipulate the autonomous vehicle to include either an empathetic or non-empathetic agent. The driving interaction is composed of two vehicles approaching an uncontrolled intersection. These scenarios were played to twelve participants while their gaze was recorded to track what the participants were fixating on. The overall intent was to provide an analytical framework as a tool for evaluating autonomous driving features; and in this case, we choose to evaluate how effective it was for vehicles to have empathetic behaviors included in the autonomous vehicle decision making. A t-test analysis of the gaze indicated that empathy did not in fact reduce uncertainty although additional testing of this hypothesis will be needed due to the small sample size.

ContributorsGreenhagen, Tanner Patrick (Author) / Yang, Yezhou (Thesis director) / Jammula, Varun C (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting

Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting of a set of instructions, headphones and different materials, is a quick, effective and efficient way to mimic having some of the stressors those living with Alzheimer's, or other types of dementia, may experience in their day-to-day lives. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on caregivers’ emotions and attitudes toward dementia, before and after the virtual experience using a qualitative approach. It is hypothesized that the intervention will educate and instill empathy in the caregivers, overall, improving the delivery of their care in the future. Participants were asked open ended questions before and after the intervention using the virtual experience and four themes emerged: (1) Being more patient, (2) Slowing down, (3) Empathy and (4) Being positive. The findings suggest further education about the disease process is needed to help caregivers understand the actions of dementia related behaviors. Also, education about different strategies to handle some negative behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia can be done to improve the situation. Overall, the findings showed an increase in empathy and positive words or phrases from the participants, suggesting the simulation experience was an applicable and ethical intervention.
ContributorsPfohl, Marin Elizabeth (Co-author) / Latini, Abigail (Co-author) / Hamilton, Gillian (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Maribeth (Committee member) / Uriri-Glover, Johannah (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting

Changing Caregivers Attitudes toward dementia study was conducted to assess changes in attitudes of formal caregivers caring for persons with dementia in a palliative care setting. An eight-minute virtual experience activity was delivered to 40 para-professional caregivers of those diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe dementia. The virtual experience consisting of a set of instructions, headphones and different materials, is a quick, effective and efficient way to mimic having some of the stressors those living with Alzheimer's, or other types of dementia, may experience in their day-to-day lives. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on caregivers’ emotions and attitudes toward dementia, before and after the virtual experience using a qualitative approach. It is hypothesized that the intervention will educate and instill empathy in the caregivers, overall, improving the delivery of their care in the future. Participants were asked open ended questions before and after the intervention using the virtual experience and four themes emerged: (1) Being more patient, (2) Slowing down, (3) Empathy and (4) Being positive. The findings suggest further education about the disease process is needed to help caregivers understand the actions of dementia related behaviors. Also, education about different strategies to handle some negative behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia can be done to improve the situation. Overall, the findings showed an increase in empathy and positive words or phrases from the participants, suggesting the simulation experience was an applicable and ethical intervention.
ContributorsLatini, Abigail Louise (Co-author) / Pfohl, Marin (Co-author) / Hamilton, Gillian (Thesis director) / Gallagher, Maribeth (Committee member) / Uriri-Glover, Johannah (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05