Research Projects

City projects focused on citizens and life quality.

Talking about the countless complexities of contemporary cities is a recurrent practice in academic works and congresses, especially in the area of Urbanism, an activity entirely focused on the theme. However, it is precisely because of its complexity that its questions do not end, on the contrary, the Urban Space increasingly demands new knowledge from other disciplines that contribute to its development. Faced with this interdisciplinary scenario, Environmental Design stands as a tool capable of promoting organization, dialogue and planning among the parties involved. The purpose of the work is, therefore, to clarify its possible methodological contribution in the planning and management of Urban Projects. It is also important to highlight that experiencing built environments is an activity and that it will be fully addressed from the perspective of Ergonomics.

Do intelligent learning and assessment processes think about people? A HCD approach to EdTech

Researchers and corporations are studying, developing, and even releasing "intelligent" systems that allow cognitive data measurement and recording, predicting future learning performances, autonomous correction of exercises, and generation of examples without human participation, among other functions. When approaching this scenario from the Human-Centered Design (HCD) perspective, this research seeks to discuss the positive and negative effects on students, teachers, and other stakeholders affected by these tools. Measuring, analyzing, and recording students' cognitive performance and emotional behavior would enable personalized and up-to-date learning, tailored to students' potential and intelligence. AI assistants would also be able to give teachers more time to prepare their classes. What could be the side effects in this scenario? Could continuous ultra-customization diminish an individual's adaptability and resilience? Could it lead to a culture of exacerbated individualism? Which pedagogical structures and options should follow and guide these processes? Who would be the real assistants: the teachers or the systems?

Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Ergodesign

Accessibility issues - digital and physical - have been part of Ergonomics and Design discussions since the 1960s. Since 2005 the researcher has been involved in studies about people with disabilities and investigating the contribution and the role of Human Factors/ Ergonomics and Design. The current research consists of investigating issues of inclusion of disabled people, considering the diversity of profiles and their relations with the built environment, the information systems (including textual accessibility), the digital interfaces, the adaptation of products, and collaborative processes and projects, including these users to promote better and fair inclusion of this user's population into our society.

Ergodesign and traffic safety: risk perception and information comprehensibility

Traffic Safety campaigns are part of governments' communication and information about how to behave safely in the traffic environment. It is expensive and demands society's involvement. The main aspect of this investigation is the information design about traffic safety, from Brazilian Federal Government. This research aims to analyze the information comprehensibility considering traffic safety campings, considering aspects of Plain Language. It is expected to develop guidelines for the design of this information, validating within the citizens.

Horizontal usability in m-commerces from UX perspective

During the pandemic, e-commerce was an alternative for buying goods and was a business with a higher number of new customers. In this context, m-commerces are available in multiple channels, but they need visual consistency among platforms. Understand the software developers' decisions when facing good practices that prioritize efficiency, efficacy and allow the maintenance of the system usability is crucial to an improvement of the use and consumption of these m-commerce interfaces. This research aims to investigate the UX linked to the horizontal usability among m-commerce platforms and their consumers. It is believed that development practices can improve both UX and the efficiency of these systems.

Information and training of new drivers

As part of Brazilian Government health communication, there are campaigns of traffic safety, mainly during the Traffic National Week. In this context, traffic accidents are a health problem. WHO considered traffic accidents as one of the major impacts in countries economy and in 2011 defined 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Action for Traffic Safety. Brazil is one of the countries engaged in this WHO movement committed .to reduce traffic accidents and deaths. This research aims to analyze the comprehensibility of digital artifacts as information during the training of new drivers, mainly the youngest, 18 y.old.

Plain Language/ Citizen language and Information Design

The texts must be easy to read and understand for the entire population to access the information and act accordingly. It is then understood that one of the responsibilities of the public sector is to inform citizens about the rights, duties, services, and transactions that concern them. In Brazil, the discussion and application of plain language are still limited. The understanding that Plain language should be mainly in the government's communications with citizens configures its nomenclature Citizen Language. Accompanying the advances in this area and the importance of scientific research for the citizen to be better served by the government, especially in the area of health, the present study is proposed which integrates Ergonomics, Information Design, and Plain Language. The main objective of the research is to analyze the comprehensibility of graphic and digital pieces aimed at disseminating health advice by the government in the light of Citizen Language.

STARS Project

Our PUC-Rio team joined the University of Southampton leadership and researchers from Bangladesh University Of Engineering & Technology, National University Of Civil Engineering (Vietnam), Strathmore University (Kenya), Tsinghua University (CHINA), Universidad De Las Americas (Ecuador). Funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research with Overseas Development Assistance money, the project has approached road safety as a complex public health issue that impacts upon all of our lives. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road traffic collisions kill around 1.35 million people every year, with the majority of those fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), despite those settings having significantly lower motorization rates. Despite the greater need for LMICs, the majority of road safety research is still undertaken in high-income countries. It is also characterized by traditional approaches to understanding the problem, with collision analysis typically having a strong focus on the end-users and their immediate environment. The STARS (SocioTechnical Approach to Road Safety) project has looked beyond these immediate factors, applying systems thinking and methods to understanding the higher factors that shape road safety outcomes. (This is part of the full text of STARS project booklet, contact us for a free copy).

The impact on business metrics and customer satisfaction of applying an experience design methodology approach to an online course.

Many companies needed to accelerate their digital transformation due to the covid-19 pandemic that started in Brazil in March 2020. It was no different with the supply of courses, which began to be offered online on the most diverse platforms and formats. In the case of content focused on UX (User eXperience) or IxD (Interaction Design), it is noticeable that there is also an ample supply. Many companies now need UX professionals on their staff, putting the role of UX Designer in evidence and increasing the demand for people interested in the subject. What are the impact on business metrics and customer satisfaction of applying a methodological approach based on experience design in an online course? Using an experience design methodological approach in an online system is believed to positively impact business metrics and customer satisfaction.

User experience evaluation, in AVA: Prisma- WEB do UNISIGNORELLI, a post-Covid-19 pandemic case study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed tricky problems generated due to climate and economic changes that the world has been going through for decades. At a given moment, it is necessary to have one's awareness and an understanding of the urgency that each individual must be encouraged to transform their habits. As a source of inspiration and vast human research material, I aim at the academic environment, where an investigation will be carried out to understand the tricky problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated. In this context, it is proposed to examine in this dissertation the theme: of the use of human-centered design to find out a virtual learning environment, considering its modifications and user experience, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. Based on the above context, a descriptive case study is proposed to research the changes and user experience on the UNISIGNORELLI Prisma-WEB platform. The research location, Centro Universitário Internacional Signorelli – UNISIGNORELLI, was chosen on time since the author is part of the Institution's staff. Therefore, it has sufficient means to carry out the proposed investigation and apply the necessary methods and techniques in the research since it has easy access to all information about the Institution.

Working at home during pandemic: a challenge for blind workers

Social isolation has changed the lives of all of us and in all sectors of our lives. We find work and leisure in the same place. But how was the adaptation of the visually impaired at that time? According to the Ministry of Labor, in 2016, around 418,500 people with disabilities were employed in Brazil, but this number corresponded to only 0.9% of the total number of formal contracts. This situation was further aggravated at the beginning of social isolation, where 23,069 people with disabilities lost their jobs (MENDES, 2020). Based on these data and on the reality of social isolation, this master's thesis aims to understand the working environment of the visually impaired at this time, understanding the physical and psychological impacts on users. This research also points to a future where the home office will be present, even if not fully. Thus, it is necessary to have a critical and attentive look at the experience gained in the last year, focusing on the physical and mental well-being of workers with visual impairments.