Every model has a story, every story has a model
TEAMING AND INCLUSIVE MODELING
Stories are conveyed through dialogue, models, and collaborations. Collaborations are crucial for establishing trust and evaluating the compatibility of different viewpoints. Our research relies on collaborations with social scientists, scholars in the humanities, computer scientists, and other relevant experts. Moreover, we focus on creating inclusive approaches and tools that facilitate effective communication not only among academics but also among students and neurodiverse individuals.
Research Areas' Focus
1
Biometrics and AI
Studies how humans and AI systems jointly perform tasks, make decisions, and enhance team performance.
-
Designs AI systems that help in M&S.
-
Investigates trust, coordination, and shared situational awareness between humans and AI.
2
Inclusive Modeling Approaches
Builds models that integrate diverse knowledge, experiences, and viewpoints for more equitable outcomes.
-
Incorporates social, cultural, and contextual factors into modeling frameworks.
-
Ensures accessibility and representation of underrepresented groups in data and analysis.
3
Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
Examines how experts from different fields work together, bridging disciplinary gaps to solve complex problems.
-
Studies communication dynamics across disciplines.
-
Develops frameworks to align differing methodologies, assumptions, and terminologies.
Selected Publications
​​Authors: Jose J Padilla, Erika Frydenlund, Hege Wallewik, Hanne Haaland
Tags: Inclusive Modeling Approaches, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
-
Introduction: The paper describes a model co-creation process that integrates qualitative and quantitative methodologies, epistemologies, and ontologies to collaboratively develop an ethnographic simulation of the refugee situation in Lesbos, Greece.
-
Results: The collaborative modeling process helped ethnographers refine research questions, adjust modeling scope, and identify challenges in translating rich field observations into simulation models, while facilitating new lines of inquiry through variable elicitation and prototype development.
The use of artificial intelligence to detect students' sentimentsand emotions in gross anatomy reflections
​Authors: Krzysztof J Rechowicz, & Carrie A Elzie
Tags: Biometrics and AI, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
This study applies natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis to examine health professional students' reflective writings in gross anatomy, aiming to efficiently analyze the complex emotions embedded in student reflections about themselves and their anatomical donors. Analysis of 1,365 reflections revealed predominantly positive sentiments, with trust, joy, and anticipation being the most frequent emotions across various body regions; NLP allowed the detection of shared emotional patterns between self-reflections and donor reflections, offering insights into students' person-centered perspectives.
Authors: Jose J Padilla, Saikou Y Diallo, Anthony Barraco, Christopher J Lynch, Hamdi Kavak
Tags: Inclusive Modeling Approaches, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
-
The paper introduces ClouDES, a cloud-based discrete-event simulation platform designed to make simulations more accessible to both experts and non-experts by leveraging cloud computing’s scalability, broad access, and ease of use.
-
ClouDES enables non-expert users, such as middle and high school students, to engage with STEM concepts like probability and queuing using familiar technologies (e.g., mobile devices), demonstrating how cloud-based simulation can broaden participation in modeling and simulation education.
Internet-of-Things Devices in Support of the Development of Echoic Skills among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
​Authors: Krzysztof J. Rechowicz, John B. Shull, Michelle M. Hascall, Saikou Y. Diallo, Kevin J. O’Brien
Tags: Biometrics and AI, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
The paper explores the potential of digital voice assistants (DVAs), specifically an Alexa-based system called ASPECT, to support verbal and echoic skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by providing home-based therapeutic practice. In testing with nine children across 30 sessions, ASPECT’s scoring of vocalizations closely matched therapist evaluations, showing no significant difference, and demonstrating the potential for DVAs to extend therapeutic support beyond clinical environments.
Authors: Krzysztof J Rechowicz, Saikou Y Diallo, K Ball D’An, Joshua Solomon
Tags: Inclusive Modeling Approaches, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
The paper investigates how traditional graphical user interfaces in modeling and simulation (M&S) tools create accessibility barriers for non-experts and individuals with sensory differences, proposing improved user experience design to make M&S more inclusive. Through an empirical study involving artists in virtual environments, user experience surveys revealed insights that can inform the development of more accessible and engaging M&S tools, supporting broader participation and creative engagement.
Murder on the VR Express: Studying the Impact of Thought Experiments at a Distance in Virtual Reality
Authors: Andrew Kissel, Krzysztof J. Rechowicz, John B. Shull
Tags: Inclusive Modeling Approaches, Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
The paper explores the feasibility of conducting moral thought experiments, like the trolley problem, using commercially available in-home virtual reality (VR) headsets to overcome limitations of laboratory-based studies and broaden participant access. In a study with 33 participants using SideQuestVR on Oculus headsets, participants' moral choices mirrored prior lab-based VR studies, demonstrating the potential of remote VR setups for future moral psychology research and AI ethics development.
