There are several research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. The ETHOS faculty encourage formal and informal research by students, including capstone projects, independent study courses and dissertations. Projects may include more than one student. If you are looking for a project, also check out our Current Projects page, as sometimes there are needs there as well.
Possible projects include:
- Physical Activity: the ETHOS lab has several hardware devices for measuring physical activity levels, including Intel’s Mobile Sensing Platform and Nokia’s N95 smartphone, with a physical activity monitor embedded in the phone. A more technical student may compare the accuracy of these devices. A more design-oriented student may explore how to use these devices in a persuasive, mobile game. Contact: Kay Connelly
- Technology and Macro-Social Concerns : The acceptance and use of new technologies is dependent not only on its design and efficiency, but many macro-social and cultural factors. These may include law, attitudes towards aging, market forces, and many others. We’re interested in understanding how these may influence or shape the use and acceptance of home-based computing by the elderly. This would be a good project for a social science-oriented student. Contact: Kalpana Shankar or Lesa Huber-Lorenzen
- Visualizing Data: How does seeing “data” influence the way people interact with technologies that collect/store/disseminate data about them? Students with interest in understanding and creating visualizations of personal data and exploring the implications of visualizing such data for technology use, acceptance, and evaluation needed! Contact: Kalpana Shankar