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Research Labs |
RESEARCH LABORATORIES
The
Center provides facilities to enable researchers to conduct research, to
interact fully and freely with each other as well as with other external
researchers and industrial laboratories. There are four laboratories:
The Experimental Psychology
Laboratory is the first one established for conducting scientific experiments
in the field of cognitive science and psychology at NBU. With the availability
of 3 sound proof experiment booths and specialized equipment for work with the
software programs PsyScope and E-prime, the
laboratory offers conditions for behavioral experiments in the areas of
language processing, thinking, perception and memory.
Research Projects implemented in the laboratory:
MOVEMENT
Contacts:
Penka Hristova, Ph.D. – Director
Tel.: (++359 2)
8110 401; Fax: (++359 2) 8110 421
e-mail: phristova@cogs.nbu.bg
http://hilab.nbu.bg/
The laboratory’s main goal is to act
as the crossing-point between applied and fundamental research in the area of
human-computer interaction. It is a research center that accumulates scientific
knowledge and applies research results to the software industry.
The
laboratory uses modern technical equipment, including eye-tracker (specialized
equipment for tracking of eye movements), one of its kind in
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Applied
activities: usability studies of
web sites, software products, e-learning systems, ads, user documentation,
client processes, devices.
·
Research activities: adaptation of existing scientific
methods from psychology and cognitive science to the practical needs of
usability and development of new methods.
·
HiLab regularly organizes a seminar on the development of new
methods for usability and human-computer interaction research
Services
·
Professional usability services
(consulting, testing, evaluation, training) to software producers and other
interested parties.
·
Usability testing with users
representative of the product or service.
·
Heuristic evaluation of a prototype or end product
by usability specialists and by experts from the domain to which the product is
related.
·
Usability-related consulting.
·
Creation of user profiles and personas (persons
representative of entire user classes).
·
Building of information architectures based on user
mental models.
·
Brand name analysis of products, services,
companies, product lines.
·
Eye-tracking studies of the perception of ads
·
Analysis of the effectiveness of commercials
Research Projects implemented in the laboratory:
The Laboratory has been working on
European-funded research projects:
HiLab has also conducted numerous research projects for private
companies in the software industry.
Contacts:
Maurice Grinberg, Assoc. Prof. Ph.D. –
Director of HiLab
tel.: (++359 2) 8110 403; fax: (++359 2)
8110 421
e-mail: mgrinberg@nbu.bg
web: http://hilab.nbu.bg/
The laboratory is organized for
scientific research and education of students enrolled in the Master’s and
Doctoral programs in cognitive science. It is equipped with a computerized
high-resolution multichannel (32) polyphysiographic
system (including 24 EEG channels, channels for EOG, ECG, EMG, pneumogram, skin galvanic reaction, voice channel and
channels for external stimuli and response times) for direct recording of human
biosignals and behavioral characteristics during
various cognitive paradigms. The main direction of research is discovering the
dynamical properties
of brain and body physiological processes during cognitive task performance. A
special-purpose software program based on MATLAB is being developed including
methods and algorithms from linear and nonlinear systems analysis. The
laboratory is involved in scientific collaboration with the laboratory on Motor
Control at the
The laboratory is expanded and
provided with modern transportable EEG equipment as part of the implementation
of research project EYE-to-IT
Research Projects implemented in the laboratory:
Contacts:
Evgenia Hristova, Ph.D. – Director
Tel.: (++359 2) 8110 416; Fax: (++359 2)
8110 421
e-mail: ehristova@cogs.nbu.bg
The
laboratory focuses on the implementation of cognitive science knowledge in the
area of education, working in close cooperation with a
network of NBU associated schools. It offers training seminars on active
educational methods and critical thinking designed for teachers and trainers,
it carries out trainings on teaching techniques; develops new teaching methods
based on cognitive theories and studies teaching methods’ effectiveness;
conducts pedagogical experiments.
For more information check this article.
Research Projects implemented in the laboratory:
Contacts:
Milena Mutafchieva
– Director
Tel.: (++359 2) 8110 620; Fax: (++359 2) 8110 421;
e-mail: mmutafchieva@nbu.bg