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1. Students and Panelists Focus on More-Usable Everything |
by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
In the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge, Megan Killian is discussing her research on Houghton bike paths.
"We want to make them easy, safe and convenient," she says, also defining usability. On World Usability Day, celebrated for the first time on the Tech campus Thursday, she was not alone.
Student groups presented their work ranging from textbook prices to "participatory design" to how to create a student organization. Later, a panel would discuss usability related to transportation around the globe, this year's World Usability Day theme. The broad range of topics promoted usability as more than a nice concept to consider when designing a web page.
But Killian's work does include a web page, through the city of Houghton website ( www.cityofhoughton.com/documents/Bike_Plan.pdf ), and she discusses her loftier usability goals for bike paths.
"We want Houghton to be well known nationally for its bike-path system," she says. "We want to show that, even with all the hills, you can still ride a bike in Houghton, and we want to keep it safe so more people are riding bikes."
The PhD student in biomedical engineering has two large aerial photos of Houghton on her poster, showing warm- and all-weather usage of streets for bicycling. Somewhat surprisingly, Sharon Avenue is a popular route in the colder months. She is also working with local businesses to put up more bike racks, working with the local governments and MDOT to designate more bike routes, and handing out pamphlets to increase drivers' awareness of bikes.
Michael Walters and Brett Bradley just want to find a good deal on a textbook. And guess what? They found it at the Campus Bookstore!
"We found out that students don't know what the ISBN number is," Walters says. "And we discovered they didn't know how to use the ISBN number to get the best deal, which is the bookstore's price-match policy."
Walters, Bradley and Dennis Cole came up with the textbook price idea and ran it by groups of 10 incoming freshmen for review. They refined their booklets, "Finding the Best Deal on Your Textbooks," with the first-years' feedback and published it with a slick plastic-comb binding.
Walters, a computer network and system administration major, also says students learned that the ISBN number ensured they were getting the proper, usually latest, version of the textbook for their class, whether they used the Campus Bookstore, Amazon.com, half.com or others.
Jenna Dahlstrom's research focuses on participatory design, which seems an ultimate usability project.
"We looked at the (J. R. Van Pelt) Library Digital Studio," she says, pointing at photos of the room. "We focused on the users' needs in the design process, comparing the work of the photo- and video-editing, large format printers and laminator users."
They also used focus groups, the psychology major said, before suggesting a redesign that would indeed be more efficient for all the users.
And, yes, the psych major allowed herself to analyze the users' minds occasionally, if unofficially.
Later, the panelists tackled issues large and small, from muddy roads in Bolivia to radio buttons in Fords.
They were introduced by Bruce Seely, dean of the College of Sciences and Arts, who framed usability within the transportation theme. "The automobile was the ideal model of what people wanted," Seely said, resulting in more than 135 million cars on our roads today.
Undergraduates Elise Cleary (Humanities) and Kari Klaboe (Civil and Environmental Engineering), students who have participated in the International Senior Design class, saw those muddy Bolivian potholes up close.
Focusing on Santa Cruz, their work was "not rural," but encountered problems with cows, other animals, sand, and, during the wet season (October to April), much erosion on the mostly dirt roads.
"It has to do with accessibility," Cleary says, noting in one example where unfinished road improvements resulted in mounds of dirt blocking access to houses. And, she says, "The solution will come from a combination of engineering skill and social understanding."
Misunderstood are the two major components of rail traffic: freight and passenger, according to Pasi Lautala, research assistant professor for the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute. Freight is doing very well, Lautala says, but passenger rail traffic is not.
"Freight moves large volumes over large distances with reasonable terrain and is cost-efficient due to private ownership," he says. Passenger rail systems are the opposite in all aspects, with a lack of usability driving down demand.
What results from this "competition" versus "collaboration" is intermodal transportation systems, Lautala says, "involving boats, trucks and airplanes working in conjunction with rail for freight, and airlines, buses, light rail and cars working with passenger rail systems."
The future?
"Rail is three times as efficient as a truck," Lautala says, "so think about the carbon footprint."
Panelist Tim Colling focuses on road signage, including one extremely bad example close to where he was speaking.
"It's been moved once, let's see if it is still around in the future," he laughs. He discussed traffic signals, too, and showed one great photographic example of an impossible-to-see signal in a city.
It's not usable if you can't see it.
The commandments of signs?
"You can't force drivers to obey them," Colling, the senior research scientist for LTAP, says. "They have to be immediately meaningful, they can be easily overused or misused, and they can't be a liability."
Finally, Chad Esselink, human-computer interaction and usability advocate at Ford Motor Company, discussed those usable dashboard buttons and other concerns, from websites to door handles to computer simulators for testing usability in Fords.
"The in-vehicle experience is one of our main foci," he says. "Can you perform tasks ahead of time like you have to do at 70 miles per hour? We do distraction testing in addition to safety, efficiency, reach and comfort.
"It's all about navigation," he adds, whether on a website or in a Ford.
And, in a way, summing up the panel and the day, Esselink discusses "usability as a psychology," where it becomes a way of life.
Easing our way down the road, across the Internet or on that bike path is doable, it seems, if it's more usable. |
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2. Tuesday Benefits Forum Cancelled, New Aetna Customer Service Line and Plan Cost Estimator Available |
submitted by the Benefits Office
Need more help determining what health plan to choose for 2009? Would you like to know approximately how much HuskyCare PPO and HuskyCare HSA will cost you in 2009? Aetna has developed a Plan Cost Estimator Tool that can help you in determining those costs. The link to the tool is https://www.aetna.com/planselection/mbrDis.jsp?id=541 . Please review the instructions for using the tool, keeping in mind the costs calculated are estimates.
The benefits forum on the 2009 benefits package open enrollment scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18, has been cancelled. The remaining forums, to be held in Memorial Union Ballroom B, are scheduled for
• Monday, Nov. 24, at 10 a.m.
• Tuesday Nov. 25, at 2 p.m.
• Monday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 10 a.m.
Aetna has dedicated a customer service line to answering Michigan Tech benefits questions, available until Jan. 1. For medical benefits, please call 888-215-8485. For dental benefits, please call 877-238-6200. Be sure to mention Michigan Tech's group number, 478821. |
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3. Five Football Players Earn Spots on All-GLIAC |
by Wes Frahm, director of athletic communications and marketing
Michigan Tech placed five players on All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Teams. Bill Behling (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View) and Phil Milbrath (Norway) were both named All-GLIAC first team. David Carmody (Newberry), Robert Haynes (Lansing/Sexton) and Drew Vanderlin (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) were selected to the All-GLIAC second team in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.
Behling, a junior offensive lineman, helped the Huskies rank in the top five of the GLIAC in scoring, total offense, rushing, pass efficiency and sacks allowed. He started all 11 games at right guard.
Milbrath, a sophomore running back, led the GLIAC in both rushing and scoring with his averages of 134.3 yards per game and 12.8 points per contest. He posted six 100-yard games and seven outings with at least two touchdowns.
Carmody paced Michigan Tech in tackles with 97 from his free safety position. The junior tallied 61 solo tackles and 36 assists. He also registered four interceptions and 10 total pass breakups in 2008.
Haynes earned his All-GLIAC accolade as a specialist. The senior played on nearly all of Tech's special teams units. He led the league in kickoff returns with 20.9 yards per return average. Haynes also started all 11 games at cornerback, where he was credited with four interceptions and 39 tackles.
Vanderlin was Tech's top pass rusher during the season with team highs in tackles for loss (7.0) and sacks (3.5). The sophomore recorded 29 total tackles with 16 solos and 13 assists.
In addition to the five first and second team honorees, the Huskies had six players who earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. They were senior offensive lineman Travis Coughlin (Royal Oak/Bishop Foley), junior offensive lineman Josh Frantti (Laurium/Calumet), junior quarterback Steve Short (Iron Mountain/Kingsford), junior wide receiver Bobby Slowik (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest), senior linebacker Sean Spellman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle) and senior wide receiver Keith White (Rhinelander, Wis.).
Michigan Tech finished 2008 in third place in the GLIAC standings with a 7-3 record. The Huskies compiled an 8-3 overall mark--just the third eight-win season at Tech since 1974. |
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4. SBE Accounting Candidate Seminar Wednesday |
Xiaoyan Cheng, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will present a seminar, "The Effects of Backdating on Earnings Response Coefficients," Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2-3 p.m. in Dow 642.
Cheng is a candidate for an accounting faculty position in the School of Business and Economics. |
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5. In the News |
SAE has announced that it is creating an award named for Research Professor Emeritus John Johnson (MEEM), a nationally recognized expert on diesel engines. The story appeared many places, including the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Professor David Hand's research on the International Space Station's water recovery system was published by Science Daily.
The Detroit News did a great photo story on YES! Expo.
And, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a travel story that touches on Winter Carnival.
To read all about it, click here.
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6. Memorial Union Menus |
This Week's Specials at The Grill
Monday, Nov. 17
Breakfast
Bacon Cheddar Omelet, Toast and Coffee, $3.95
Lunch
Mini Corn Dogs, $2.25 (Make it a value meal and add a small fry and 20-ounce soda for $2.50 more.)
Tuesday, Nov. 18
Breakfast
two eggs, two bacon or sausage and two pieces of toast, $3.50
Lunch
Two-Fer-Tuesday $3.95 (two cheeseburgers, a small fry and a 20-ounce soda)
Wednesday, Nov. 19
Breakfast
Breakfast Pizza $3.25
Lunch
Sourdough Bacon Cheeseburger, $2.50 (Make it a value meal and add a small fry and 20-ounce soda for $2.50 more.)
Thursday, Nov. 20
Breakfast
Breakfast Croissants, $2.50
Lunch
Monty Cristo, $2.50 (Make it a value meal and add a small fry and 20-ounce soda for $2.50 more.)
Friday, Nov. 21
Breakfast
Breakfast Calzones, $3.50
Lunch
Onions Crisps, $2.25
This Week's Special at Peppers & Pickles Deli
Get a 20-ounce fountain soda and chips for just $1.95 with the purchase of any sandwich.
This Week's Specials at Mubsterz Pizza
Monday
Pizza Slice and a 20-ounce Fountain Soda $3.99
Tuesday
Two Pizza Slices for Just $5.50
Wednesday
Pizza Slice and two Cheese Sticks $4.95
Thursday
Pizza Slice and a Small Salad $4.95
Friday
Pizza Slice, 20-ounce Fountain Soda and a Small Bowl of Salad $5.50
Union Buffet Served Daily 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Pricing
Up to one large plate and one small plate or bowl, $6.95
One large plate, $5.95
Entrees a la carte, $3.95
Salads and sides only: Small, $2; Medium, $3.50; Large, $4.95
Daily Menu Available at www.dining.mtu.edu .
Chicken Caesar Salad
Served Daily, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., $4.75 |
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7. Job Posting |
Staff job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings . For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email jobs@mtu.edu .
Faculty job descriptions can be found at www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/facpers/facvac.htm . For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.
Faculty Position
Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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