Richard Pak

Found a link to this parody site of the homeland security symbols (via AskMetaFilter). This is my favorite symbol:

The images are real homeland security symbols.  In all seriousness, my friend Chris Mayhorn from North Carolina State University has researched these homeland security symbols and found that not everyone can interpret the real meaning of these warnings:

Mayhorn, C. B., Wogalter, M. S., & Bell, J. L. (2004).  Are we ready?  Misunderstanding homeland security safety symbols.  Ergonomics in Design, 12, 6-14.

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By February 2009, all over-the-air television broadcasts in the United States will be digital.  There are good reasons for the switch such as better use of bandwidth.  However, people who still use rabbit ear antennas for TV reception will need a new digital converter box which is not a simple undertaking.  While this video is obviously tongue-in-cheek, the switch-over will not be easy for many.  As the video illustrates, it is not clear how to get an antenna, and afterward, how to install it.

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I’m at the airport waiting to board a flight.  Here is a funny warning message that greeted me on the parking garage ticket-dispensing machine:

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In the recent issue of the journal Psychology and Aging, researchers Andrew Reed, Joseph Mikels, and Kosali Simon examined whether older adults would prefer having fewer options when faced with a decision-making task.  Confirming previous research, they found that across 6 domains (e.g., prescription health plans, hospitals), older adults preferred having fewer options rather than greater.

In their study, 102 older adults (ranging in age from 60-94) and 99 younger adults (ranging in age from 18-24) completed questionnaires asking about their desired number of choices in everyday decisions.

The authors surmised that older adults prefered fewer choices because of their awareness of their reduced decision-making competence (metacognitive recognition of their own limitations).

This kind of research certainly could have human factors and design implications.  However, it might be too simplistic to just suggest that we give older adults fewer options.  More research is necessary

Reed, A. E., Mikels, J. A., & Simon, K. I.  (2008).  Older adults prefer less choice than younger adults.  Psychology and Aging, 23, 671-675.

This brief report reminds me of the easy to read book, The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz.

The Paradox of Choice

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New York’s 11 public hospitals are at the forefront of a national movement to standardize color coding of hospital wristbands to designate patient conditions, in which purple — the color of amethyst — means “Do Not Resuscitate.” Red, or ruby, indicates allergies, while yellow — call it amber — marks someone at risk for falling.

The goal is to prevent potentially dangerous mistakes, like giving the wrong food to an allergic child, or allowing a patient with balance problems to walk unescorted down a freshly waxed hallway. The drive was spurred, in part, by a notorious 2005 Pennsylvania case in which a patient nearly died because a nurse used a yellow band thinking it meant “restricted extremity” (don’t draw blood from that arm), as it did at another hospital where the nurse sometimes worked, when at this hospital it meant D.N.R.

Hospital Bracelets Face Hurdles as They Fix Hazard - NYTimes.com

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Easy usability testing on the Mac is now possible with Silverback.  The software looks incredibly simple and is quite inexpensive.  Although it appears to have much less functionality than Morae (on the PC), it is about 30 times cheaper!  They probably shouldn’t be compared since Morae has so much more functionality, but Silverback looks like a good solution to capture footage like users reacting to the game Spore.

Using the built-in camera on the Mac, it records user facial expressions as well as on-screen activity.

Silverback — guerrilla usability testing

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