rakirk

 I am a Human Factors researcher at Iowa State University where I get to use my skills in an immediate and applied setting through the Office of Curricular and Student Assessment (OCSA) within the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine (ISUCVM). I am working on a developmental dissertation in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) under the advisement of Dr. Jared Danielson. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a field that is interested in meeting with the user where they are in the context of a technology; HCI strives to make technology more usable by everybody and, thereby, enhancing the human experience with technology. As a part of the ISU HCI graduate program, I feel fortunate to participate in the cutting-edge research with world-class technological resources such as the VRAC.

I know how to provide integrated, data-based solutions for business that take into account the complex and fluid nature of social systems. I do this through a combination of techniques from my areas of experience: Human-Factors Engineering (Human-Computer Interaction Design), User Experience Design (UX Design), Social Psychology, Marketing Research, Data Analysis and Information Visualization.

I got here following a career at Drake University where I graduated from Cum Laude in 2009 with a B.S. in Psychology, minor Marketing, minor Business Administration.

Currently, I'm interested in continuing my scholarship in the learning sciences and technology fields. I've been building a cognitive tool intended to help people make curricular decisions. My goal is to continue to study and to improve learning systems more as I pursue my research interests in these areas. 

Wanna hear more? Check out my e-portfolio/homepage.

B.S. Psychology Drake University May, 2009

Kirk, R.A., Danielson, J.A. (2011). Designing a learning approach to community-based decision-making: Using analytical statistics and decision trees to optimize a data structure. Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. 

Danielson, J.A., Wu, T.-F., Kirk, R.A., Preast, V.A. and Fales-Williams, J.A. (2011) Predictors of Employer Satisfaction: Technical and Non-technical Skills. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education . 

Kirk, R.A. & Danielson, J.A. (2010) Executive decision support system for use in complex environments. World Conference on Innovative Virtual Reality (WinVR). Iowa State University. 

Kirk, R.A. & Prisacari, A. (2011). Reducing uncertainty in human-centered design approach: Using Actor-Network Theory analysis to establish fluid design guidelines. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 175. pp. 38-42. 

Kirk, R.A. (2011). Extracts Cognitive Artifacts from Text through Combining Human and Machine Learning in an Iterative Fashion. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 175. pp. 293-7. 

Kirk, R.A. & Danielson, J.A. (2010) Information visualization for decision makers: A case study. Community of Educational Technology Support (ComETS). Iowa State University. 

Fales-Williams, A., Whitley, E., Wu, T.-F., Gustafson, M., Kirk, R.A., Danielson, J.A. (2011). Association between a case-based writing exercise and North American Veterinary License Exam Scores. International Association of Medical Science Educators. 

Graduate and Professional Student Senate

 Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery, American Marketing Association, American Psychological Association