Initial validation of the trust of automated systems test (TOAST).

Trust is a key determinant of whether people rely on automated systems in the military and the public. However, there is currently no standard for measuring trust in automated systems. In the present studies, we propose a scale to measure trust in automated systems that is grounded in current research and theory on trust formation, which we refer to as the Trust in Automated Systems Test (TOAST).

3D Analysis of Ordered Porous Polymeric Particles using Complementary Electron Microscopy Methods.

Highly porous particles with internal triply periodic minimal surfaces were investigated for sorption of proteins. The visualization of the complex ordered morphology requires complementary advanced methods of electron microscopy for 3D imaging, instead of a simple 2D projection: transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tomography, slice-and-view focused ion beam (FIB) and serial block face (SBF) scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The capability of each method of 3D image reconstruction was demonstrated and their potential of application to other synthetic polymeric systems was discussed.

Advice Taking from Humans and Machines: An fMRI and Effective Connectivity Study.

With new technological advances, advice can come from different sources such as machines or humans, but how individuals respond to such advice and the neural correlates involved need to be better understood. We combined functional MRI and multivariate Granger causality analysis with an X-ray luggage-screening task to investigate the neural basis and corresponding effective connectivity involved with advice utilization from agents framed as experts. Participants were asked to accept or reject good or bad advice from a human or machine agent with low reliability (high false alarm rate).

An fMRI and effective connectivity study investigating miss errors during advice utilization from human and machine agents.

As society becomes more reliant on machines and automation, understanding how people utilize advice is a necessary endeavor. Our objective was to reveal the underlying neural associations during advice utilization from expert human and machine agents with fMRI and multivariate Granger causality analysis. During an X-ray luggage-screening task, participants accepted or rejected good or bad advice from either the human or machine agent framed as experts with manipulated reliability (high miss rate).

The Role of Trust as a Mediator Between System Characteristics and Response Behaviors.

Objective: The purpose of the current work was to clarify how subjective trust determines response behavior when interacting with a signaling system.

Background: In multiple theoretical frameworks, trust is acknowledged as a prime mediator between system error characteristics and automation dependence. Some researchers have operationally defined trust as the behavior exhibited.

Silver-enhanced block copolymer membranes with biocidal activity.

Silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface and pore walls of block copolymer membranes with highly ordered pore structure. Pyridine blocks constitute the pore surfaces, complexing silver ions and promoting a homogeneous distribution. Nanoparticles were then formed by reduction with sodium borohydride.

Block copolymer hollow fiber membranes with catalytic activity and pH-response.

We fabricated block copolymer hollow fiber membranes with self-assembled, shell-side, uniform pore structures. The fibers in these membranes combined pores able to respond to pH and acting as chemical gates that opened above pH 4, and catalytic activity, achieved by the incorporation of gold nanoparticles. We used a dry/wet spinning process to produce the asymmetric hollow fibers and determined the conditions under which the hollow fibers were optimized to create the desired pore morphology and the necessary mechanical stability.

Complexation-tailored morphology of asymmetric block copolymer membranes.

Hydrogen-bond formation between polystyrene-b-poly (4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer (BCP) and -OH/-COOH functionalized organic molecules was used to tune morphology of asymmetric nanoporous membranes prepared by simultaneous self-assembly and nonsolvent induced phase separation. The morphologies were characterized by field emmision scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hydrogen bonds were confirmed by infrared (IR), and the results were correlated to rheology characterization.

Effects of information source, pedigree, and reliability on operator interaction with decision support systems.

Objective: Two experiments are described that examined operators' perceptions of decision aids.

Background: Research has suggested certain biases against automation that influence human interaction with automation. We differentiated preconceived biases from post hoc biases and examined their effects on advice acceptance.

Automation failures on tasks easily performed by operators undermine trust in automated aids.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that automation errors on tasks easily performed by humans undermine trust in automation.

Background: Research has revealed that the reliability of imperfect automation is frequently misperceived. We examined the manner in which the easiness and type of imperfect automation errors affect trust and dependence.

Cognitive anchoring on self-generated decisions reduces operator reliance on automated diagnostic aids.

Automation users often disagree with diagnostic aids that are imperfectly reliable. The extent to which users' agreements with an aid are anchored to their personal, self-generated diagnoses was explored. Participants (N = 75) performed 200 trials in which they diagnosed pump failures using an imperfectly reliable automated aid.