This research is being conducted through the Svoboda Diaries Project (SDP), a digital humanities effort within the University of Washington based on the diaries of a British steamship worker during 19th-century Ottoman Iraq. This study aims to assess how students from varying academic backgrounds think and learn on a conceptual level and analyze how this influences their interactions with a digital humanities resource. We are conducting this research in hopes of improving the SDP website and contributing to generalizable knowledge regarding facilitated learning with digital tools. We are performing an interview study that employs two main methods used in usability testing: concept mapping and the think-aloud protocol. Concept maps are defined as graphical representations of one’s conceptual understanding of a topic, and the information falling within that topic. The think-aloud protocol is a research method involving participant’s verbalizing their thought process concurrently with the tasks being performed. During the interview, participants will create their own concept maps of their area of study, followed by a usability test on the image gallery feature of the SDP website, and lastly a second concept map activity where participants will map out the image gallery itself. The interviews will be analyzed using qualitative data analysis methods, and concept maps will be scored both qualitatively and quantitatively. By examining students from diverse academic backgrounds, we can analyze how they interact differently with our digital humanities resource, apply it to their field, and characterize how they think conceptually about topics. This research will contribute to the Svoboda Diaries Project by enabling us to make quality improvements to our website and gain insights to enhance our efforts within the digital humanities domain. Findings from the study may also be valuable when thinking critically about how students think about and interact with digital humanities resources as a whole.

Wildfire smoke exposure is measured using the surrogate for all pollution by the concentration of particulate matter 2.5 microns wide (PM2.5). According to the CDC, short term exposure to wildfire smoke can result in negative health outcomes. It is highly recommended to stay indoors if your area is experiencing a wildfire smoke event. However, it is inevitable that outdoor air will leak indoors through any holes in the building, open doors, or windows. Occupants can also worsen indoor air quality through the activities they perform in their daily lives. This research is part of an indoor air quality pilot using PurpleAir sensors. We used the statistical methods within R to identify important building and occupant factors that influence IAQ. Participants tracked their IAQ using color changing PA-I monitors and a spike event log noting the time of the event, the color change exhibited, most probable cause, and the action taken to remedy the air quality. Data were analyzed using the tidyverse, caTools, simDesign, and lubridate packages in R. After grouping events across houses by cause, we saw a significant association between cooking and high levels of PM2.5 compared to other short-lived spike causes. The findings of this study will serve to set best occupant practices for indoor air quality within a household both during a wildfire smoke event and under normal atmospheric conditions. While economic barriers may exist when protecting oneself against unhealthy air, it is crucial to be aware of low-cost alternatives to minimize the health threat posed by poor indoor air quality.