EAGER: Assessment of Barriers to Trusting Computer-Based Home Assistance

生活环境的计算机仪器有望延长我们老龄化人口的独立寿命。除非人们愿意将自己的生命托付给这样的支持系统，作为人类支持的替代品，否则这种技术潜力将无法实现。人们对如何以及为什么做出这些重要决定知之甚少。这项拟议的研究将使用一种广泛采用的、依赖计算机的救生设备--植入式心脏装置(ICD)来研究这一问题。这项研究将为理解人们如何以及为什么同意将自己的生命置于他们无法完全理解或控制的计算机化设备的手中提供基础。这项研究将设计和验证收集关于这一决定的数据的工具。这项研究将使用深入的访谈和调查方法，并将收集接受或拒绝植入式除颤器的人的数据。第一阶段，将是一项访谈研究，通过心脏病专家来接触他们的患者。第二阶段将开发一种可扩展的基于网络的调查，可以很容易地适应其他患者群体和其他技术。研究生和本科生都将参与研究计划。此外，还有一些更广泛的影响。首先，这项研究将加深我们对决定将一位S的生命委托给一台工作原理未知的复杂计算机的关键因素的理解。它还将增加收集这类数据的工具的数量。其次，关于接受植入物的决定所获得的信息将是新的，可以作为患者信息材料设计的指南。第三，这些信息将指导普适计算家庭环境中患者信息的设计。因此，在科学家和工程师考虑任何拟议设计的最有用的功能时，它将对他们有用。

Computer instrumentation of living environments promises to extend the independent life span of our aging populations. This technological potential will not be realized unless people are willing to trust their lives to such support systems, as a replacement for human support. Very little is known about how and why people make these important decisions. The proposed research will study this issue using a widely adopted, computer-dependent life-saving device, the Implantable Cardiac Device (ICD). This research will provide a foundation for understanding how and why people agree to place their life in the hands of computerized equipment that they cannot fully understand or control. The study will design and validate instruments for gathering data on this decision. The study will use in-depth interviews, and survey methods, and will gather data from persons who have accepted or refused implantable defibrillators. Phase I, will be an interview study, working through cardiologists, to reach their patients. Phase II will develop, an extensible Web-based survey that can be readily adapted to other patient populations and other technologies. Both graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in the research plan. In addition, there are a number of broader impacts. First, this research will enhance our understanding of the key factors in the decision to entrust one?s life to a complex computer whose workings are not understood. It will also add to the meager collection of instruments for collecting this kind of data. Second, the information gained about the decision to accept implant will be new, and can serve as a guide in the design of patient information material. Third, the information will guide the design of patient information for ?pervasive computing home environments? and will therefore be useful to scientists and engineers as they consider what will be the most useful features of any proposed design.