Nomad Trial 1

Nomad Trials

The trial is designed to shed light on how people will use wireless devices in the near future. The project trial, using advanced wireless technology to improve communication between students and their union officers at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), commenced on 9th February 2004. The aim is to uncover the secrets of creating successful wireless solutions by carrying out research that brings together the expertise of psychologists, technologists and designers from he Nomad group, a unique research consortium, comprising the Software Technology Research Centre (SToRC) at Dundalk Institute of Technology, who created software that has been specifically designed to support the activities of the student union, the Telecommunications Software Systems Group (TSSG), based at Waterford Institute of Technology, who delivered the wireless network and system platform, and Dun Laoghaire IADT

Technology

The system has been carefully designed to support the activities of the student union. A customized set of software services, delivered through a web-based portal, that allow participants to share information through online newsletters and discussion forums have been developed. Agendas and minutes of meetings will also be instantly available along with contact and profile information for fellow participants. The real power of the system, however, lies in its ability to allow individuals and groups to communicate effectively at a distance to co-ordinate student union activity. This is achieved through Instant Messaging and SMS technology. PDA (personal digital assistant) devices, supplied to 20 of the participants, will connect with the system from anywhere on campus via the wireless network. Currently, researchers from the Software Technology Research Centre (SToRC) are investigating the reliability of software running on the wireless network.

Research Objectives

The Nomad Research team are optimistic that carefully designed technology can help establish allegiances between individuals and groups with the ultimate aim to develop systems to enhance social capital; a term used to describe the sense of belonging that individuals have within a group. "We are not purely interested in technological gadgets or short term novelty value", says Dr. John Greaney, Lecturer in Psychology, "but in designing successful technology that can enhance people's quality of life by fulfilling their needs." Greaney, co-founder of Dun Laoghaire's Centre for Creative Technologies and Applications with Dr. Mark Riordan, Head of Technology, saw the need to combine expertise in the study of human behaviour with technological excellence in order to create innovate software that people will be motivated to use. To that end, Dun Laoghaire IADT linked up with SToRC who have expertise in software development and software project management and TSSG whose experience in telecommunications software and associated platforms made them natural partners for such a project.

The Findings

The greater ability to communicate has been seized upon by the students according to Mark McNally, final year student on the BSc. Psychology Applied to IT. McNally explains that students "are availing of such functions as the forums and SMS services to discuss relevant issues. The online forums are also enabling much greater levels of communication between different students, thanks to the fact that they do not require students to be in the one venue or even on-line at the one time." The flashing blue lights of PDAs have become a common sight as students communicate with one another as well as access relevant information from any location on campus such as recreational spaces and even corridors. As such, students are no longer dependent on access to library and computer lab facilities to retrieve information.

A psychology student project is investigating how. the experimental group (20 participants who received a PDA(with access to the community network, voting facility, and discussion forum) compares to a control group of 20 participants who did not. If. social capital is raised; participants in the experimental group will have greater levels of information sharing, active participation, voting rates and trust.