System and method for seamless task-directed autonomy for robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nielsen, Curtis; Bruemmer, David; Few, Douglas

Systems, methods, and user interfaces are used for controlling a robot. An environment map and a robot designator are presented to a user. The user may place, move, and modify task designators on the environment map. The task designators indicate a position in the environment map and indicate a task for the robot to achieve. A control intermediary links task designators with robot instructions issued to the robot. The control intermediary analyzes a relative position between the task designators and the robot. The control intermediary uses the analysis to determine a task-oriented autonomy level for the robot and communicates targetmore » achievement information to the robot. The target achievement information may include instructions for directly guiding the robot if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates low robot initiative and may include instructions for directing the robot to determine a robot plan for achieving the task if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates high robot initiative.« less

Task Analysis - Its Relation to Content Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagne, Robert M.

Task analysis is a procedure having the purpose of identifying different kinds of performances which are outcomes of learning, in order to make possible the specification of optimal instructional conditions for each kind of outcome. Task analysis may be related to content analysis in two different ways: (1) it may be used to identify the probably…

Rehabilitation Associate Training for Employed Staff. Task Analysis (RA-2).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Michael J.; Jensen, Mary

This learning module, which is intended for use in in-service training for vocational rehabilitation counselors, deals with writing a task analysis. Step-by-step guidelines are provided for breaking down a task into small teachable steps by analyzing the task in terms of the way in which it will be performed once learned (method), the steps to be…

Linking Task Analysis with Student Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherman, Thomas M.; Wildman, Terry M.

An examination of task analysis from several perspectives in order to identify some of its purposes and advantages reveals that, as the interest in learning theory has shifted from a predominately behavioral perspective to a more cognitive orientation, the purpose of task analysis has also shifted. Formerly the purpose of task analysis was to aid…

Assessing performance of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) using Cognitive Task Analysis.

PubMed

Saitwal, Himali; Feng, Xuan; Walji, Muhammad; Patel, Vimla; Zhang, Jiajie

2010-07-01

Many Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems fail to provide user-friendly interfaces due to the lack of systematic consideration of human-centered computing issues. Such interfaces can be improved to provide easy to use, easy to learn, and error-resistant EHR systems to the users. To evaluate the usability of an EHR system and suggest areas of improvement in the user interface. The user interface of the AHLTA (Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application) was analyzed using the Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) method called GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules) and an associated technique called KLM (Keystroke Level Model). The GOMS method was used to evaluate the AHLTA user interface by classifying each step of a given task into Mental (Internal) or Physical (External) operators. This analysis was performed by two analysts independently and the inter-rater reliability was computed to verify the reliability of the GOMS method. Further evaluation was performed using KLM to estimate the execution time required to perform the given task through application of its standard set of operators. The results are based on the analysis of 14 prototypical tasks performed by AHLTA users. The results show that on average a user needs to go through 106 steps to complete a task. To perform all 14 tasks, they would spend about 22 min (independent of system response time) for data entry, of which 11 min are spent on more effortful mental operators. The inter-rater reliability analysis performed for all 14 tasks was 0.8 (kappa), indicating good reliability of the method. This paper empirically reveals and identifies the following finding related to the performance of AHLTA: (1) large number of average total steps to complete common tasks, (2) high average execution time and (3) large percentage of mental operators. The user interface can be improved by reducing (a) the total number of steps and (b) the percentage of mental effort, required for the tasks. 2010

a Task-Oriented Disaster Information Correlation Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linyao, Q.; Zhiqiang, D.; Qing, Z.

2015-07-01

With the rapid development of sensor networks and Earth observation technology, a large quantity of disaster-related data is available, such as remotely sensed data, historic data, case data, simulated data, and disaster products. However, the efficiency of current data management and service systems has become increasingly difficult due to the task variety and heterogeneous data. For emergency task-oriented applications, the data searches primarily rely on artificial experience based on simple metadata indices, the high time consumption and low accuracy of which cannot satisfy the speed and veracity requirements for disaster products. In this paper, a task-oriented correlation method is proposed for efficient disaster data management and intelligent service with the objectives of 1) putting forward disaster task ontology and data ontology to unify the different semantics of multi-source information, 2) identifying the semantic mapping from emergency tasks to multiple data sources on the basis of uniform description in 1), and 3) linking task-related data automatically and calculating the correlation between each data set and a certain task. The method goes beyond traditional static management of disaster data and establishes a basis for intelligent retrieval and active dissemination of disaster information. The case study presented in this paper illustrates the use of the method on an example flood emergency relief task.

Task Decomposition in Human Reliability Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boring, Ronald Laurids; Joe, Jeffrey Clark

2014-06-01

In the probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) used in the nuclear industry, human failure events (HFEs) are determined as a subset of hardware failures, namely those hardware failures that could be triggered by human action or inaction. This approach is top-down, starting with hardware faults and deducing human contributions to those faults. Elsewhere, more traditionally human factors driven approaches would tend to look at opportunities for human errors first in a task analysis and then identify which of those errors is risk significant. The intersection of top-down and bottom-up approaches to defining HFEs has not been carefully studied. Ideally, both approachesmore » should arrive at the same set of HFEs. This question remains central as human reliability analysis (HRA) methods are generalized to new domains like oil and gas. The HFEs used in nuclear PSAs tend to be top-down— defined as a subset of the PSA—whereas the HFEs used in petroleum quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) are more likely to be bottom-up—derived from a task analysis conducted by human factors experts. The marriage of these approaches is necessary in order to ensure that HRA methods developed for top-down HFEs are also sufficient for bottom-up applications.« less

Statistical Methods for the Analysis of Discrete Choice Experiments: A Report of the ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Good Research Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Hauber, A Brett; González, Juan Marcos; Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Catharina G M; Prior, Thomas; Marshall, Deborah A; Cunningham, Charles; IJzerman, Maarten J; Bridges, John F P

2016-06-01

Conjoint analysis is a stated-preference survey method that can be used to elicit responses that reveal preferences, priorities, and the relative importance of individual features associated with health care interventions or services. Conjoint analysis methods, particularly discrete choice experiments (DCEs), have been increasingly used to quantify preferences of patients, caregivers, physicians, and other stakeholders. Recent consensus-based guidance on good research practices, including two recent task force reports from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, has aided in improving the quality of conjoint analyses and DCEs in outcomes research. Nevertheless, uncertainty regarding good research practices for the statistical analysis of data from DCEs persists. There are multiple methods for analyzing DCE data. Understanding the characteristics and appropriate use of different analysis methods is critical to conducting a well-designed DCE study. This report will assist researchers in evaluating and selecting among alternative approaches to conducting statistical analysis of DCE data. We first present a simplistic DCE example and a simple method for using the resulting data. We then present a pedagogical example of a DCE and one of the most common approaches to analyzing data from such a question format-conditional logit. We then describe some common alternative methods for analyzing these data and the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative. We present the ESTIMATE checklist, which includes a list of questions to consider when justifying the choice of analysis method, describing the analysis, and interpreting the results. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Verification and validation of a Work Domain Analysis with turing machine task analysis.

PubMed

Rechard, J; Bignon, A; Berruet, P; Morineau, T

2015-03-01

While the use of Work Domain Analysis as a methodological framework in cognitive engineering is increasing rapidly, verification and validation of work domain models produced by this method are becoming a significant issue. In this article, we propose the use of a method based on Turing machine formalism named "Turing Machine Task Analysis" to verify and validate work domain models. The application of this method on two work domain analyses, one of car driving which is an "intentional" domain, and the other of a ship water system which is a "causal domain" showed the possibility of highlighting improvements needed by these models. More precisely, the step by step analysis of a degraded task scenario in each work domain model pointed out unsatisfactory aspects in the first modelling, like overspecification, underspecification, omission of work domain affordances, or unsuitable inclusion of objects in the work domain model. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Identification of Child Pedestrian Training Objectives: The Role of Task Analysis and Empirical Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Molen, Hugo H.

1984-01-01

Describes a study designed to demonstrate that child pedestrian training objectives may be identified systematically through various task analysis methods, making use of different types of empirical information. Early approaches to analysis of pedestrian tasks are reviewed, and an outline of the Traffic Research Centre's pedestrian task analysis…

A Review of Content and Task Analysis Methodology. Technical Report No. 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbons, Andrew S.

A review of the literature related to methods for analyzing content or tasks prior to instructional development is presented. The review classifies methods according to a two-dimensional matrix. The first dimension differentiates phases of analysis, each dealing with content and tasks of a particular scope and each generating certain…

Heuristic Task Analysis on E-Learning Course Development: A Formative Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Ji-Yeon; Reigeluth, Charles M.

2009-01-01

Utilizing heuristic task analysis (HTA), a method developed for eliciting, analyzing, and representing expertise in complex cognitive tasks, a formative research study was conducted on the task of e-learning course development to further improve the HTA process. Three instructional designers from three different post-secondary institutions in the…

Thread concept for automatic task parallelization in image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lueckenhaus, Maximilian; Eckstein, Wolfgang

1998-09-01

Parallel processing of image analysis tasks is an essential method to speed up image processing and helps to exploit the full capacity of distributed systems. However, writing parallel code is a difficult and time-consuming process and often leads to an architecture-dependent program that has to be re-implemented when changing the hardware. Therefore it is highly desirable to do the parallelization automatically. For this we have developed a special kind of thread concept for image analysis tasks. Threads derivated from one subtask may share objects and run in the same context but may process different threads of execution and work on different data in parallel. In this paper we describe the basics of our thread concept and show how it can be used as basis of an automatic task parallelization to speed up image processing. We further illustrate the design and implementation of an agent-based system that uses image analysis threads for generating and processing parallel programs by taking into account the available hardware. The tests made with our system prototype show that the thread concept combined with the agent paradigm is suitable to speed up image processing by an automatic parallelization of image analysis tasks.

Task exposures in an office environment: a comparison of methods.

PubMed

Van Eerd, Dwayne; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Mazumder, Anjali; Cole, Donald; Wells, Richard; Moore, Anne

2009-10-01

Task-related factors such as frequency and duration are associated with musculoskeletal disorders in office settings. The primary objective was to compare various task recording methods as measures of exposure in an office workplace. A total of 41 workers from different jobs were recruited from a large urban newspaper (71% female, mean age 41 years SD 9.6). Questionnaire, task diaries, direct observation and video methods were used to record tasks. A common set of task codes was used across methods. Different estimates of task duration, number of tasks and task transitions arose from the different methods. Self-report methods did not consistently result in longer task duration estimates. Methodological issues could explain some of the differences in estimates seen between methods observed. It was concluded that different task recording methods result in different estimates of exposure likely due to different exposure constructs. This work addresses issues of exposure measurement in office environments. It is of relevance to ergonomists/researchers interested in how to best assess the risk of injury among office workers. The paper discusses the trade-offs between precision, accuracy and burden in the collection of computer task-based exposure measures and different underlying constructs captures in each method.

Word Fluency: A Task Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laine, Matti

It is suggested that models of human problem solving are useful in the analysis of word fluency (WF) test performance. In problem-solving terms, WF tasks would require the subject to define and clarify the conditions of the task (task acquisition), select and employ appropriate strategies, and monitor one's performance. In modern neuropsychology,…

Using link analysis to explore the impact of the physical environment on pharmacist tasks.

PubMed

Lester, Corey A; Chui, Michelle A

2016-01-01

National community pharmacy organizations have been redesigning pharmacies to better facilitate direct patient care. However, evidence suggests that changing the physical layout of a pharmacy prior to understanding how the environment impacts pharmacists' work may not achieve the desired benefits. This study describes an objective method to understanding how the physical layout of the pharmacy may affect how pharmacists perform tasks. Link analysis is a systems engineering method used to describe the influence of the physical environment on task completion. This study used a secondary data set of field notes collected from 9 h of direct observation in one mass-merchandise community pharmacy in the U.S. State, Wisconsin. A node is an individual location in the environment. A link is the movement between two nodes. Tasks were inventoried and task themes identified. The mean, minimum, and maximum number of links needed to complete each task were then determined and used to construct a link table. A link diagram is a graphical display showing the links in conjunction with the physical layout of the pharmacy. A total of 92 unique tasks were identified resulting in 221 links. Tasks were sorted into five themes: patient care activities, insurance issues, verifying prescriptions, filling prescriptions, and other. Insurance issues required the greatest number of links with a mean of 4.75. Verifying prescriptions and performing patient care were the most commonly performed tasks with 36 and 30 unique task occurrences, respectively. Link analysis provides an objective method for identifying how a pharmacist interacts with the physical environment to complete tasks. This method provides designers with useful information to target interventions to improve the effectiveness of pharmacist work. Analysis beyond link analysis should be considered for large scale system redesign. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Two Methods Used for Ranking Task Exposure Levels Using Simulated Multi-Task Data

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-17

OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER GRADUATE COLLEGE A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS USED FOR RANKING TASK EXPOSURE LEVELS USING SIMULATED MULTI-TASK...COSTANTINO Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1999 ^ooo wx °^ A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS USED FOR RANKING TASK EXPOSURE LEVELS USING SIMULATED MULTI-TASK DATA... METHODS AND MATERIALS 9 TV. RESULTS 14 V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 28 LIST OF REFERENCES 31 APPENDICES 33 Appendix A JJ -in Appendix B Dl IV

Dynamic sequence analysis of a decision making task of multielement target tracking and its usage as a learning method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Ziho

This dissertation is divided into four parts: 1) Development of effective methods for comparing visual scanning paths (or scanpaths) for a dynamic task of multiple moving targets, 2) application of the methods to compare the scanpaths of experts and novices for a conflict detection task of multiple aircraft on radar screen, 3) a post-hoc analysis of other eye movement characteristics of experts and novices, and 4) finding out whether the scanpaths of experts can be used to teach the novices. In order to compare experts' and novices' scanpaths, two methods are developed. The first proposed method is the matrix comparisons using the Mantel test. The second proposed method is the maximum transition-based agglomerative hierarchical clustering (MTAHC) where comparisons of multi-level visual groupings are held out. The matrix comparison method was useful for a small number of targets during the preliminary experiment, but turned out to be inapplicable to a realistic case when tens of aircraft were presented on screen; however, MTAHC was effective with large number of aircraft on screen. The experiments with experts and novices on the aircraft conflict detection task showed that their scanpaths are different. The MTAHC result was able to explicitly show how experts visually grouped multiple aircraft based on similar altitudes while novices tended to group them based on convergence. Also, the MTAHC results showed that novices paid much attention to the converging aircraft groups even if they are safely separated by altitude; therefore, less attention was given to the actual conflicting pairs resulting in low correct conflict detection rates. Since the analysis showed the scanpath differences, experts' scanpaths were shown to novices in order to find out its effectiveness. The scanpath treatment group showed indications that they changed their visual movements from trajectory-based to altitude-based movements. Between the treatment and the non-treatment group, there were no

Using Cognitive Task Analysis and Eye Tracking to Understand Imagery Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

Using Cognitive Task Analysis and Eye Tracking to Understand Imagery Analysis Laura Kurland, Abigail Gertner, Tom Bartee, Michael Chisholm and...have used these to study the analysts search behavior in detail. 2 EXPERIMENT Using a Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) framework for knowledge...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Using Cognitive Task Analysis and Eye Tracking to Understand Imagery Analysis 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM

Task Analysis of Shuttle Entry and Landing Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holland, Albert W.; Vanderark, Stephen T.

1993-01-01

The Task Analysis of Shuttle Entry and Landing (E/L) Activities documents all tasks required to land the Orbiter following an STS mission. In addition to analysis of tasks performed, task conditions are described, including estimated time for completion, altitude, relative velocity, normal and lateral acceleration, location of controls operated or monitored, and level of g's experienced. This analysis precedes further investigations into potential effects of zero g on piloting capabilities for landing the Orbiter following long-duration missions. This includes, but is not limited to, researching the effects of extended duration missions on piloting capabilities. Four primary constraints of the analysis must be clarified: (1) the analysis depicts E/L in a static manner--the actual process is dynamic; (2) the task analysis was limited to a paper analysis, since it was not feasible to conduct research in the actual setting (i.e., observing or filming duration an actual E/L); (3) the tasks included are those required for E/L during nominal, daylight conditions; and (4) certain E/L tasks will vary according to the flying style of each commander.

Control system of the inspection robots group applying auctions and multi-criteria analysis for task allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panfil, Wawrzyniec; Moczulski, Wojciech

2017-10-01

In the paper presented is a control system of a mobile robots group intended for carrying out inspection missions. The main research problem was to define such a control system in order to facilitate a cooperation of the robots resulting in realization of the committed inspection tasks. Many of the well-known control systems use auctions for tasks allocation, where a subject of an auction is a task to be allocated. It seems that in the case of missions characterized by much larger number of tasks than number of robots it will be better if robots (instead of tasks) are subjects of auctions. The second identified problem concerns the one-sided robot-to-task fitness evaluation. Simultaneous assessment of the robot-to-task fitness and task attractiveness for robot should affect positively for the overall effectiveness of the multi-robot system performance. The elaborated system allows to assign tasks to robots using various methods for evaluation of fitness between robots and tasks, and using some tasks allocation methods. There is proposed the method for multi-criteria analysis, which is composed of two assessments, i.e. robot's concurrency position for task among other robots and task's attractiveness for robot among other tasks. Furthermore, there are proposed methods for tasks allocation applying the mentioned multi-criteria analysis method. The verification of both the elaborated system and the proposed tasks' allocation methods was carried out with the help of simulated experiments. The object under test was a group of inspection mobile robots being a virtual counterpart of the real mobile-robot group.

Hierarchical Task Analysis and Training Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepherd, A.

1985-01-01

Hierarchical task analysis (HTA), which requires description of a task in terms of a hierarchy of operations and plans, is reviewed and examined as a basis for making training decisions. Benefits of HTA in terms of economy of analysis and as a means of accounting for complex performance are outlined. (Author/MBR)

Task Analysis Assessment on Intrastate Bus Traffic Controllers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen Bin, Teo; Azlis-Sani, Jalil; Nur Annuar Mohd Yunos, Muhammad; Ismail, S. M. Sabri S. M.; Tajedi, Noor Aqilah Ahmad

2016-11-01

Public transportation acts as social mobility and caters the daily needs of the society for passengers to travel from one place to another. This is true for a country like Malaysia where international trade has been growing significantly over the past few decades. Task analysis assessment was conducted with the consideration of cognitive ergonomic view towards problem related to human factors. Conducting research regarding the task analysis on bus traffic controllers had allowed a better understanding regarding the nature of work and the overall monitoring activities of the bus services. This paper served to study the task analysis assessment on intrastate bus traffic controllers and the objectives of this study include to conduct task analysis assessment on the bus traffic controllers. Task analysis assessment for the bus traffic controllers was developed via Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA). There are a total of five subsidiary tasks on level one and only two were able to be further broken down in level two. Development of HTA allowed a better understanding regarding the work and this could further ease the evaluation of the tasks conducted by the bus traffic controllers. Thus, human error could be reduced for the safety of all passengers and increase the overall efficiency of the system. Besides, it could assist in improving the operation of the bus traffic controllers by modelling or synthesizing the existing tasks if necessary.

Automating a Detailed Cognitive Task Analysis for Structuring Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-01

Cognitive Task Analysis For... cognitive task analysis o3 0 chniques. A rather substantial literature has been amassed relative to _ - cutonqed knowledge acquisition but only seven...references have been found in LO V*r data base seaci of literature specifically addressing cognitive task analysis . - A variety of forms of cognitive task analysis

Automating a Detailed Cognitive Task Analysis for Structuring Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-08-01

1991-- ] Aleeo/i ISM’-19# l Title: Automating a Detailed Cognitive Task Analysis for Structuring Curriculum Activities: To date we have completed task...The Institute for Management Sciences. Although the particular application of the modified GOMS cognitive task analysis technique under development is...Laboratories 91 9 23 074 Automnating a Detailed Cognitive Task Analysis For Stucuring Curriculum Research Plan Year 1 Task 1.0 Design Task 1.1 Conduct body

Advancing the Certified in Public Health Examination: A Job Task Analysis.

PubMed

Kurz, Richard S; Yager, Christopher; Yager, James D; Foster, Allison; Breidenbach, Daniel H; Irwin, Zachary

In 2014, the National Board of Public Health Examiners performed a job task analysis (JTA) to revise the Certified in Public Health (CPH) examination. The objectives of this study were to describe the development, administration, and results of the JTA survey; to present an analysis of the survey results; and to review the implications of this first-ever public health JTA. An advisory committee of public health professionals developed a list of 200 public health job tasks categorized into 10 work domains. The list of tasks was incorporated into a web-based survey, and a snowball sample of public health professionals provided 4850 usable responses. Respondents rated job tasks as essential (4), very important (3), important (2), not very important (1), and never performed (0). The mean task importance ratings ranged from 2.61 to 3.01 (important to very important). The highest mean ratings were for tasks in the ethics domain (mean rating, 3.01). Respondents ranked 10 of the 200 tasks as the most important, with mean task rankings ranging from 2.98 to 3.39. We found subtle differences between male and female respondents and between master of public health and doctor of public health respondents in their rankings. The JTA established a set of job tasks in 10 public health work domains, and the results provided a foundation for refining the CPH examination. Additional steps are needed to further modify the content outline of the examination. An empirical assessment of public health job tasks, using methods such as principal components analysis, may provide additional insight.

Part-task vs. whole-task training on a supervisory control task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Battiste, Vernol

1987-01-01

The efficacy of a part-task training for the psychomotor portion of a supervisory control simulation was compared to that of the whole-task training, using six subjects in each group, who were asked to perform a task as quickly as possible. Part-task training was provided with the cursor-control device prior to transition to the whole-task. The analysis of both the training and experimental trials demonstrated a significant performance advantage for the part-task group: the tasks were performed better and at higher speed. Although the subjects finally achieved the same level of performance in terms of score, the part-task method was preferable for economic reasons, since simple pretraining systems are significantly less expensive than the whole-task training systems.

Analysis of Human Communication during Assembly Tasks.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

AD-A7l 43 ANALYSIS OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION DURING ASSEMBLY TASKS in1(U) CRNEGIE-MELLO UNIY PITTSBURGH PA ROBOTICS INST UNCLSSIIEDK S BARBER ET AL...ao I Dur~~~~IngAbcbyTs; 7c .S:in i lSAo .0. Analysis of Human Communication During Assembly Tasks K. Suzanne Barber and Gerald J. Agin CMU-RI-TR-86-1...TYPE or REPORT & PE-Rioo CevCZaz Analysis of Human Communication During Assembly Inlterim Tasks I . PERFORMING 00RG. REPORT NUMBER 1. £UT~oOR~e) IL

Distinguishing response conflict and task conflict in the Stroop task: evidence from ex-Gaussian distribution analysis.

PubMed

Steinhauser, Marco; Hübner, Ronald

2009-10-01

It has been suggested that performance in the Stroop task is influenced by response conflict as well as task conflict. The present study investigated the idea that both conflict types can be isolated by applying ex-Gaussian distribution analysis which decomposes response time into a Gaussian and an exponential component. Two experiments were conducted in which manual versions of a standard Stroop task (Experiment 1) and a separated Stroop task (Experiment 2) were performed under task-switching conditions. Effects of response congruency and stimulus bivalency were used to measure response conflict and task conflict, respectively. Ex-Gaussian analysis revealed that response conflict was mainly observed in the Gaussian component, whereas task conflict was stronger in the exponential component. Moreover, task conflict in the exponential component was selectively enhanced under task-switching conditions. The results suggest that ex-Gaussian analysis can be used as a tool to isolate different conflict types in the Stroop task. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Cue Representation and Situational Awareness in Task Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carl, Diana R.

2009-01-01

Task analysis in human performance technology is used to determine how human performance can be well supported with training, job aids, environmental changes, and other interventions. Early work by Miller (1953) and Gilbert (1969, 1974) addressed cue processing in task execution and recommended cue descriptions in task analysis. Modern task…

Task Analysis Strategies and Practices. Practice Application Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Bettina Lankard

Worker-oriented, job-oriented, and cognitive task analyses have all been used as tools for closing the gap between what curriculum teaches and what workers do. Although they share a commonality of purpose, the focus, cost, and practicality of task analysis techniques vary. Worker-oriented task analysis focuses on general human behaviors required…

Tool and Task Analysis Guide for Vocational Welding (150 Tasks). Performance Based Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John H. Hinds Area Vocational School, Elwood, IN.

This book contains a task inventory, a task analysis of 150 tasks from that inventory, and a tool list for performance-based welding courses in the state of Indiana. The task inventory and tool list reflect 28 job titles found in Indiana. In the first part of the guide, tasks are listed by these domains: carbon-arc, electron beam, G.M.A.W., gas…

Qualitative task analysis to enhance sports characterization: a surfing case study.

PubMed

Moreira, Miguel; Peixoto, César

2014-09-29

The aim of this study was to develop a Matrix of Analysis for Sports Tasks (MAST), regardless of the sports activity, based on practice classification and task analysis. Being this a qualitative research our main question was: in assessing sports' structure is it possible to make the characterization of any discipline through context and individuals' behaviours? The sample was within a surf discipline in a competition flowing having 5 of the top 16 Portuguese surfers training together. Based on a qualitative method, studying the surf as the main activity was an interpretative study case. The MAST was applied in four phases: taxonomy; tasks and context description; task analysis; teaching and performance strategies. Its application allowed the activities' characterization through the observation, surfer's opinions and bibliographical support. The triangulation of the data was used as an information data treatment. The elements were classified by the challenges proposed to the practitioners and the taxonomy was constituted by the sport activities, group, modality and discipline. Surf is a discipline of surfing which is a sliding sport modality, therefore, a nature sport. In the context description, we had the wave's components and constraints and the surfboards' qualities. Through task analysis we obtained a taxonomy of surf manoeuvres. The structural and functional analysis allowed finding solutions for learning of surf techniques with trampoline and skateboards because these fit in sliding sports. MAST makes possible the development of strategies that benefit teaching and performance intervention.

Qualitative Task Analysis to Enhance Sports Characterization: A Surfing Case Study

PubMed Central

Moreira, Miguel; Peixoto, César

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a Matrix of Analysis for Sports Tasks (MAST), regardless of the sports activity, based on practice classification and task analysis. Being this a qualitative research our main question was: in assessing sports’ structure is it possible to make the characterization of any discipline through context and individuals’ behaviours? The sample was within a surf discipline in a competition flowing having 5 of the top 16 Portuguese surfers training together. Based on a qualitative method, studying the surf as the main activity was an interpretative study case. The MAST was applied in four phases: taxonomy; tasks and context description; task analysis; teaching and performance strategies. Its application allowed the activities’ characterization through the observation, surfer’s opinions and bibliographical support. The triangulation of the data was used as an information data treatment. The elements were classified by the challenges proposed to the practitioners and the taxonomy was constituted by the sport activities, group, modality and discipline. Surf is a discipline of surfing which is a sliding sport modality, therefore, a nature sport. In the context description, we had the wave’s components and constraints and the surfboards’ qualities. Through task analysis we obtained a taxonomy of surf manoeuvres. The structural and functional analysis allowed finding solutions for learning of surf techniques with trampoline and skateboards because these fit in sliding sports. MAST makes possible the development of strategies that benefit teaching and performance intervention. PMID:25414757

Using cognitive task analysis to develop simulation-based training for medical tasks.

PubMed

Cannon-Bowers, Jan; Bowers, Clint; Stout, Renee; Ricci, Katrina; Hildabrand, Annette

2013-10-01

Pressures to increase the efficacy and effectiveness of medical training are causing the Department of Defense to investigate the use of simulation technologies. This article describes a comprehensive cognitive task analysis technique that can be used to simultaneously generate training requirements, performance metrics, scenario requirements, and simulator/simulation requirements for medical tasks. On the basis of a variety of existing techniques, we developed a scenario-based approach that asks experts to perform the targeted task multiple times, with each pass probing a different dimension of the training development process. In contrast to many cognitive task analysis approaches, we argue that our technique can be highly cost effective because it is designed to accomplish multiple goals. The technique was pilot tested with expert instructors from a large military medical training command. These instructors were employed to generate requirements for two selected combat casualty care tasks-cricothyroidotomy and hemorrhage control. Results indicated that the technique is feasible to use and generates usable data to inform simulation-based training system design. Reprint & Copyright © 2013 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

The use of cognitive task analysis to improve instructional descriptions of procedures.

PubMed

Clark, Richard E; Pugh, Carla M; Yates, Kenneth A; Inaba, Kenji; Green, Donald J; Sullivan, Maura E

2012-03-01

Surgical training relies heavily on the ability of expert surgeons to provide complete and accurate descriptions of a complex procedure. However, research from a variety of domains suggests that experts often omit critical information about the judgments, analysis, and decisions they make when solving a difficult problem or performing a complex task. In this study, we compared three methods for capturing surgeons' descriptions of how to perform the procedure for inserting a femoral artery shunt (unaided free-recall, unaided free-recall with simulation, and cognitive task analysis methods) to determine which method produced more accurate and complete results. Cognitive task analysis was approximately 70% more complete and accurate than free-recall and or free-recall during a simulation of the procedure. Ten expert trauma surgeons at a major urban trauma center were interviewed separately and asked to describe how to perform an emergency shunt procedure. Four surgeons provided an unaided free-recall description of the shunt procedure, five surgeons provided an unaided free-recall description of the procedure using visual aids and surgical instruments (simulation), and one (chosen randomly) was interviewed using cognitive task analysis (CTA) methods. An 11th vascular surgeon approved the final CTA protocol. The CTA interview with only one expert surgeon resulted in significantly greater accuracy and completeness of the descriptions compared with the unaided free-recall interviews with multiple expert surgeons. Surgeons in the unaided group omitted nearly 70% of necessary decision steps. In the free-recall group, heavy use of simulation improved surgeons' completeness when describing the steps of the procedure. CTA significantly increases the completeness and accuracy of surgeons' instructional descriptions of surgical procedures. In addition, simulation during unaided free-recall interviews may improve the completeness of interview data. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc

TARGET - TASK ANALYSIS REPORT GENERATION TOOL, VERSION 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortiz, C. J.

1994-01-01

The Task Analysis Report Generation Tool, TARGET, is a graphical interface tool used to capture procedural knowledge and translate that knowledge into a hierarchical report. TARGET is based on VISTA, a knowledge acquisition tool developed by the Naval Systems Training Center. TARGET assists a programmer and/or task expert organize and understand the steps involved in accomplishing a task. The user can label individual steps in the task through a dialogue-box and get immediate graphical feedback for analysis. TARGET users can decompose tasks into basic action kernels or minimal steps to provide a clear picture of all basic actions needed to accomplish a job. This method allows the user to go back and critically examine the overall flow and makeup of the process. The user can switch between graphics (box flow diagrams) and text (task hierarchy) versions to more easily study the process being documented. As the practice of decomposition continues, tasks and their subtasks can be continually modified to more accurately reflect the user's procedures and rationale. This program is designed to help a programmer document an expert's task thus allowing the programmer to build an expert system which can help others perform the task. Flexibility is a key element of the system design and of the knowledge acquisition session. If the expert is not able to find time to work on the knowledge acquisition process with the program developer, the developer and subject matter expert may work in iterative sessions. TARGET is easy to use and is tailored to accommodate users ranging from the novice to the experienced expert systems builder. TARGET is written in C-language for IBM PC series and compatible computers running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows version 3.0 or 3.1. No source code is supplied. The executable also requires 2Mb of RAM, a Microsoft compatible mouse, a VGA display and an 80286, 386 or 486 processor machine. The standard distribution medium for TARGET is one 5.25 inch 360K

Conjoint analysis applications in health--a checklist: a report of the ISPOR Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force.

PubMed

Bridges, John F P; Hauber, A Brett; Marshall, Deborah; Lloyd, Andrew; Prosser, Lisa A; Regier, Dean A; Johnson, F Reed; Mauskopf, Josephine

2011-06-01

The application of conjoint analysis (including discrete-choice experiments and other multiattribute stated-preference methods) in health has increased rapidly over the past decade. A wider acceptance of these methods is limited by an absence of consensus-based methodological standards. The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force was established to identify good research practices for conjoint-analysis applications in health. The task force met regularly to identify the important steps in a conjoint analysis, to discuss good research practices for conjoint analysis, and to develop and refine the key criteria for identifying good research practices. ISPOR members contributed to this process through an extensive consultation process. A final consensus meeting was held to revise the article using these comments, and those of a number of international reviewers. Task force findings are presented as a 10-item checklist covering: 1) research question; 2) attributes and levels; 3) construction of tasks; 4) experimental design; 5) preference elicitation; 6) instrument design; 7) data-collection plan; 8) statistical analyses; 9) results and conclusions; and 10) study presentation. A primary question relating to each of the 10 items is posed, and three sub-questions examine finer issues within items. Although the checklist should not be interpreted as endorsing any specific methodological approach to conjoint analysis, it can facilitate future training activities and discussions of good research practices for the application of conjoint-analysis methods in health care studies. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating a Computerized Aid for Conducting a Cognitive Task Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

in conducting a cognitive task analysis . The conduct of a cognitive task analysis is costly and labor intensive. As a result, a few computerized aids...evaluation of a computerized aid, specifically CAT-HCI (Cognitive Analysis Tool - Human Computer Interface), for the conduct of a detailed cognitive task analysis . A

Analysis of Tasks in Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Education Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sierpinska, Anna; Osana, Helena

2012-01-01

This paper presents some results of research aimed at contributing to the development of a professional knowledge base for teachers of elementary mathematics methods courses, called here "teacher educators." We propose that a useful unit of analysis for this knowledge could be the tasks in which teacher-educators engage pre-service…

Development and Application of a Multi-Modal Task Analysis to Support Intelligent Tutoring of Complex Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Anna; Diller, David; Kumar, Rohit; Cannon-Bowers, Jan; Smith, Roger; Tanaka, Alyssa; Julian, Danielle; Perez, Ray

2018-01-01

Background: Contemporary work in the design and development of intelligent training systems employs task analysis (TA) methods for gathering knowledge that is subsequently encoded into task models. These task models form the basis of intelligent interpretation of student performance within education and training systems. Also referred to as expert…

New Uses for Sensitivity Analysis: How Different Movement Tasks Effect Limb Model Parameter Sensitivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winters, J. M.; Stark, L.

1984-01-01

Original results for a newly developed eight-order nonlinear limb antagonistic muscle model of elbow flexion and extension are presented. A wider variety of sensitivity analysis techniques are used and a systematic protocol is established that shows how the different methods can be used efficiently to complement one another for maximum insight into model sensitivity. It is explicitly shown how the sensitivity of output behaviors to model parameters is a function of the controller input sequence, i.e., of the movement task. When the task is changed (for instance, from an input sequence that results in the usual fast movement task to a slower movement that may also involve external loading, etc.) the set of parameters with high sensitivity will in general also change. Such task-specific use of sensitivity analysis techniques identifies the set of parameters most important for a given task, and even suggests task-specific model reduction possibilities.

Task Analysis for Legal Assistant Program. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schrader, Marvin A.; Knight, John

The Legal Assistant Task Analysis Project was undertaken to provide data related to the importance of tasks and the frequency of tasks that are, or could be, assigned to an assistant. In order to accomplish this, a task survey form was constructed and distributed to a sample of attorneys in (1) private practice, (2) companies or corporations, and…

Claretian Medical Center Task Analysis. Worker Education Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.

This task analysis for positions at the Claretian Medical Center in southeast Chicago was developed to improve communication and customer service in the workplace. The task analysis was prepared through clinic tours, employee interviews, and supervisor questionnaires. It is used for the purpose of curriculum development for onsite instruction in…

Multi-task linear programming discriminant analysis for the identification of progressive MCI individuals.

PubMed

Yu, Guan; Liu, Yufeng; Thung, Kim-Han; Shen, Dinggang

2014-01-01

Accurately identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) individuals who will progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is very important for making early interventions. Many classification methods focus on integrating multiple imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). However, the main challenge for MCI classification using multiple imaging modalities is the existence of a lot of missing data in many subjects. For example, in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study, almost half of the subjects do not have PET images. In this paper, we propose a new and flexible binary classification method, namely Multi-task Linear Programming Discriminant (MLPD) analysis, for the incomplete multi-source feature learning. Specifically, we decompose the classification problem into different classification tasks, i.e., one for each combination of available data sources. To solve all different classification tasks jointly, our proposed MLPD method links them together by constraining them to achieve the similar estimated mean difference between the two classes (under classification) for those shared features. Compared with the state-of-the-art incomplete Multi-Source Feature (iMSF) learning method, instead of constraining different classification tasks to choose a common feature subset for those shared features, MLPD can flexibly and adaptively choose different feature subsets for different classification tasks. Furthermore, our proposed MLPD method can be efficiently implemented by linear programming. To validate our MLPD method, we perform experiments on the ADNI baseline dataset with the incomplete MRI and PET images from 167 progressive MCI (pMCI) subjects and 226 stable MCI (sMCI) subjects. We further compared our method with the iMSF method (using incomplete MRI and PET images) and also the single-task classification method (using only MRI or only subjects with both MRI and PET images

Multi-Task Linear Programming Discriminant Analysis for the Identification of Progressive MCI Individuals

PubMed Central

Yu, Guan; Liu, Yufeng; Thung, Kim-Han; Shen, Dinggang

2014-01-01

Accurately identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) individuals who will progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is very important for making early interventions. Many classification methods focus on integrating multiple imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). However, the main challenge for MCI classification using multiple imaging modalities is the existence of a lot of missing data in many subjects. For example, in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study, almost half of the subjects do not have PET images. In this paper, we propose a new and flexible binary classification method, namely Multi-task Linear Programming Discriminant (MLPD) analysis, for the incomplete multi-source feature learning. Specifically, we decompose the classification problem into different classification tasks, i.e., one for each combination of available data sources. To solve all different classification tasks jointly, our proposed MLPD method links them together by constraining them to achieve the similar estimated mean difference between the two classes (under classification) for those shared features. Compared with the state-of-the-art incomplete Multi-Source Feature (iMSF) learning method, instead of constraining different classification tasks to choose a common feature subset for those shared features, MLPD can flexibly and adaptively choose different feature subsets for different classification tasks. Furthermore, our proposed MLPD method can be efficiently implemented by linear programming. To validate our MLPD method, we perform experiments on the ADNI baseline dataset with the incomplete MRI and PET images from 167 progressive MCI (pMCI) subjects and 226 stable MCI (sMCI) subjects. We further compared our method with the iMSF method (using incomplete MRI and PET images) and also the single-task classification method (using only MRI or only subjects with both MRI and PET images

Robotics/Automated Systems Task Analysis and Description of Required Job Competencies Report. Task Analysis and Description of Required Job Competencies of Robotics/Automated Systems Technicians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Daniel M.; Lovett, James E.

This task analysis report for the Robotics/Automated Systems Technician (RAST) curriculum project first provides a RAST job description. It then discusses the task analysis, including the identification of tasks, the grouping of tasks according to major areas of specialty, and the comparison of the competencies to existing or new courses to…

Three Techniques for Task Analysis: Examples from the Nuclear Utilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlisle, Kenneth E.

1984-01-01

Discusses three task analysis techniques utilized at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to review training programs: analysis of (1) job positions, (2) procedures, and (3) instructional presentations. All of these include task breakdown, relationship determination, and task restructuring. (MBR)

Task Inventory Construction. Evaluation of the Marine Corps Task Analysis Program. Technical Report No. 14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kishi, Akemi

To aid in the construction of effective task analysis inventories, this technical report discusses: (1) an optimum questionnaire length that adequately covers Marine tasks without unduly fatiguing respondents; (2) procedures for the phrasing of task statements to avoid ambiguities and be understandable to as broad a range of Marines as is…

Nonlinear analysis of saccade speed fluctuations during combined action and perception tasks

PubMed Central

Stan, C.; Astefanoaei, C.; Pretegiani, E.; Optican, L.; Creanga, D.; Rufa, A.; Cristescu, C.P.

2014-01-01

Background: Saccades are rapid eye movements used to gather information about a scene which requires both action and perception. These are usually studied separately, so that how perception influences action is not well understood. In a dual task, where the subject looks at a target and reports a decision, subtle changes in the saccades might be caused by action-perception interactions. Studying saccades might provide insight into how brain pathways for action and for perception interact. New method: We applied two complementary methods, multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and Lempel-Ziv complexity index to eye peak speed recorded in two experiments, a pure action task and a combined action-perception task. Results: Multifractality strength is significantly different in the two experiments, showing smaller values for dual decision task saccades compared to simple-task saccades. The normalized Lempel-Ziv complexity index behaves similarly i.e. is significantly smaller in the decision saccade task than in the simple task. Comparison with existing methods: Compared to the usual statistical and linear approaches, these analyses emphasize the character of the dynamics involved in the fluctuations and offer a sensitive tool for quantitative evaluation of the multifractal features and of the complexity measure in the saccades peak speeds when different brain circuits are involved. Conclusion: Our results prove that the peak speed fluctuations have multifractal characteristics with lower magnitude for the multifractality strength and for the complexity index when two neural pathways are simultaneously activated, demonstrating the nonlinear interaction in the brain pathways for action and perception. PMID:24854830

Task Analysis for Health Occupations. Cluster: Nursing. Occupation: Geriatric Aide. Education for Employment Task Lists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake County Area Vocational Center, Grayslake, IL.

This task analysis for nursing education provides performance standards, steps to be followed, knowledge required, attitudes to be developed, safety procedures, and equipment and supplies needed for 13 tasks performed by geriatric aides in the duty area of performing diagnostic measures and for 30 tasks in the duty area of providing therapeutic…

Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class Operations Room Officer

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-03-10

Image Cover Sheet CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM NUMBER 510918 UNCLASSIFIED llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll TITLE COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS OF THE...DATES COVERED 00-00-1999 to 00-00-1999 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class Operations Room Officer 5a. CONTRACT...Ontario . ~ -- . ’ c ... - Incorporated Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class Operations Room Officer: PWGSC Contract No. W7711-7-7404/001/SV

Task Analysis for Health Occupations. Cluster: Nursing. Occupation: Home Health Aide. Education for Employment Task Lists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake County Area Vocational Center, Grayslake, IL.

This document contains a task analysis for health occupations (home health aid) in the nursing cluster. For each task listed, occupation, duty area, performance standard, steps, knowledge, attitudes, safety, equipment/supplies, source of analysis, and Illinois state goals for learning are listed. For the duty area of "providing therapeutic…

49 CFR 236.923 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... classroom, simulator, computer-based, hands-on, or other formally structured training and testing, except... for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems § 236.923 Task analysis and basic requirements...) Based on a formal task analysis, identify the installation, maintenance, repair, modification...

Using task analysis in healthcare design to improve clinical efficiency.

PubMed

Lu, Jun; Hignett, Sue

2009-01-01

To review the functionality of the proposed soiled workroom design for efficient and safe clinical activities. As part of a hospital refurbishment program, the planning team of a United Kingdom National Health Service hospital requested a review of a proposed standardized room design. A 7-day observational study was conducted in five clinical departments at three hospitals. Link analysis was used to record and analyze the movements among components, i.e., nursing staff, equipment/devices, and furniture. Fifty-four observations were recorded for 18 clinical tasks. The most frequent tasks were the disposal of urine and used urine bottles, and returning used commode chairs. Minor recommendations were made to improve the proposed design, and major revisions were suggested to address functionality problems. It was found that the proposed design did not offer the optimal layout for efficient and safe clinical activities. Link analysis was found to be effective for plotting the movements of the staff and accounting for the complexity of tasks. This ergonomic method, in combination with observational field studies, provided a simple and effective way to determine functional space requirements for clinical activities and should be used in all healthcare building design projects.

Directionality analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging during motor task using Granger causality.

PubMed

Anwar, A R; Muthalib, M; Perrey, S; Galka, A; Granert, O; Wolff, S; Deuschl, G; Raethjen, J; Heute, U; Muthuraman, M

2012-01-01

Directionality analysis of signals originating from different parts of brain during motor tasks has gained a lot of interest. Since brain activity can be recorded over time, methods of time series analysis can be applied to medical time series as well. Granger Causality is a method to find a causal relationship between time series. Such causality can be referred to as a directional connection and is not necessarily bidirectional. The aim of this study is to differentiate between different motor tasks on the basis of activation maps and also to understand the nature of connections present between different parts of the brain. In this paper, three different motor tasks (finger tapping, simple finger sequencing, and complex finger sequencing) are analyzed. Time series for each task were extracted from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, which have a very good spatial resolution and can look into the sub-cortical regions of the brain. Activation maps based on fMRI images show that, in case of complex finger sequencing, most parts of the brain are active, unlike finger tapping during which only limited regions show activity. Directionality analysis on time series extracted from contralateral motor cortex (CMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and cerebellum (CER) show bidirectional connections between these parts of the brain. In case of simple finger sequencing and complex finger sequencing, the strongest connections originate from SMA and CMC, while connections originating from CER in either direction are the weakest ones in magnitude during all paradigms.

Student Task Analysis for the Development of E-Learning Lectural System in Basic Chemistry Courses in FKIP UMMY Solok

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afrahamiryano, A.; Ariani, D.

2018-04-01

The student task analysis is one part of the define stage in development research using the 4-D development model. Analysis of this task is useful to determine the level of understanding of students on lecture materials that have been given. The results of this task analysis serve as a measuring tool to determine the level of success of learning and as a basis in the development of lecture system. Analysis of this task is done by the method of observation and documentation study of the tasks undertaken by students. The results of this analysis are then described and after that triangulation are done to draw conclusions. The results of the analysis indicate that the students' level of understanding is high for theoretical and low material for counting material. Based on the results of this task analysis, it can be concluded that e-learning lecture system developed should be able to increase students' understanding on basic chemicals that are calculated.

Effects of dual tasks and dual-task training on postural stability: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Ghai, Shashank; Ghai, Ishan; Effenberg, Alfred O

2017-01-01

The use of dual-task training paradigm to enhance postural stability in patients with balance impairments is an emerging area of interest. The differential effects of dual tasks and dual-task training on postural stability still remain unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to analyze the effects of dual task and training application on static and dynamic postural stability among various population groups. Systematic identification of published literature was performed adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, from inception until June 2016, on the online databases Scopus, PEDro, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SportDiscus. Experimental studies analyzing the effects of dual task and dual-task training on postural stability were extracted, critically appraised using PEDro scale, and then summarized according to modified PEDro level of evidence. Of 1,284 records, 42 studies involving 1,480 participants met the review’s inclusion criteria. Of the studies evaluating the effects of dual-task training on postural stability, 87.5% of the studies reported significant enhancements, whereas 30% of the studies evaluating acute effects of dual tasks on posture reported significant enhancements, 50% reported significant decrements, and 20% reported no effects. Meta-analysis of the pooled studies revealed moderate but significant enhancements of dual-task training in elderly participants (95% CI: 1.16–2.10) and in patients suffering from chronic stroke (−0.22 to 0.86). The adverse effects of complexity of dual tasks on postural stability were also revealed among patients with multiple sclerosis (−0.74 to 0.05). The review also discusses the significance of verbalization in a dual-task setting for increasing cognitive–motor interference. Clinical implications are discussed with respect to practical applications in rehabilitation settings. PMID:28356727

Effects of dual tasks and dual-task training on postural stability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ghai, Shashank; Ghai, Ishan; Effenberg, Alfred O

2017-01-01

The use of dual-task training paradigm to enhance postural stability in patients with balance impairments is an emerging area of interest. The differential effects of dual tasks and dual-task training on postural stability still remain unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to analyze the effects of dual task and training application on static and dynamic postural stability among various population groups. Systematic identification of published literature was performed adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, from inception until June 2016, on the online databases Scopus, PEDro, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SportDiscus. Experimental studies analyzing the effects of dual task and dual-task training on postural stability were extracted, critically appraised using PEDro scale, and then summarized according to modified PEDro level of evidence. Of 1,284 records, 42 studies involving 1,480 participants met the review's inclusion criteria. Of the studies evaluating the effects of dual-task training on postural stability, 87.5% of the studies reported significant enhancements, whereas 30% of the studies evaluating acute effects of dual tasks on posture reported significant enhancements, 50% reported significant decrements, and 20% reported no effects. Meta-analysis of the pooled studies revealed moderate but significant enhancements of dual-task training in elderly participants (95% CI: 1.16-2.10) and in patients suffering from chronic stroke (-0.22 to 0.86). The adverse effects of complexity of dual tasks on postural stability were also revealed among patients with multiple sclerosis (-0.74 to 0.05). The review also discusses the significance of verbalization in a dual-task setting for increasing cognitive-motor interference. Clinical implications are discussed with respect to practical applications in rehabilitation settings.

The Health Services Mobility Study Method of Task Analysis and Curriculum Design. Research Report No. 11. Volume 3: Using the Computer to Develop Job Ladders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilpatrick, Eleanor

This document is volume 3 of a four-volume report which describes the components of the Health Services Mobility Study (HSMS) method of task analysis, job ladder design, and curriculum development. Divided into four chapters, volume 3 is a manual for using HSMS computer based statistical procedures to design job structures and job ladders. Chapter…

Task Analysis for Health Occupations. Cluster: Nursing. Occupation: Professional Nurse (Associate Degree). Education for Employment Task Lists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake County Area Vocational Center, Grayslake, IL.

This document contains a task analysis for health occupations (professional nurse) in the nursing cluster. For each task listed, occupation, duty area, performance standard, steps, knowledge, attitudes, safety, equipment/supplies, source of analysis, and Illinois state goals for learning are listed. For the duty area of "providing therapeutic…

Across-Task Priming Revisited: Response and Task Conflicts Disentangled Using Ex-Gaussian Distribution Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moutsopoulou, Karolina; Waszak, Florian

2012-01-01

The differential effects of task and response conflict in priming paradigms where associations are strengthened between a stimulus, a task, and a response have been demonstrated in recent years with neuroimaging methods. However, such effects are not easily disentangled with only measurements of behavior, such as reaction times (RTs). Here, we…

Task Analysis Inventories. Series II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesson, Carl E.

This second in a series of task analysis inventories contains checklists of work performed in twenty-two occupations. Each inventory is a comprehensive list of work activities, responsibilities, educational courses, machines, tools, equipment, and work aids used and the products produced or services rendered in a designated occupational area. The…

TBDQ: A Pragmatic Task-Based Method to Data Quality Assessment and Improvement

PubMed Central

Vaziri, Reza; Mohsenzadeh, Mehran; Habibi, Jafar

2016-01-01

Organizations are increasingly accepting data quality (DQ) as a major key to their success. In order to assess and improve DQ, methods have been devised. Many of these methods attempt to raise DQ by directly manipulating low quality data. Such methods operate reactively and are suitable for organizations with highly developed integrated systems. However, there is a lack of a proactive DQ method for businesses with weak IT infrastructure where data quality is largely affected by tasks that are performed by human agents. This study aims to develop and evaluate a new method for structured data, which is simple and practical so that it can easily be applied to real world situations. The new method detects the potentially risky tasks within a process, and adds new improving tasks to counter them. To achieve continuous improvement, an award system is also developed to help with the better selection of the proposed improving tasks. The task-based DQ method (TBDQ) is most appropriate for small and medium organizations, and simplicity in implementation is one of its most prominent features. TBDQ is case studied in an international trade company. The case study shows that TBDQ is effective in selecting optimal activities for DQ improvement in terms of cost and improvement. PMID:27192547

Inter-subject phase synchronization for exploratory analysis of task-fMRI.

PubMed

Bolt, Taylor; Nomi, Jason S; Vij, Shruti G; Chang, Catie; Uddin, Lucina Q

2018-08-01

Analysis of task-based fMRI data is conventionally carried out using a hypothesis-driven approach, where blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) time courses are correlated with a hypothesized temporal structure. In some experimental designs, this temporal structure can be difficult to define. In other cases, experimenters may wish to take a more exploratory, data-driven approach to detecting task-driven BOLD activity. In this study, we demonstrate the efficiency and power of an inter-subject synchronization approach for exploratory analysis of task-based fMRI data. Combining the tools of instantaneous phase synchronization and independent component analysis, we characterize whole-brain task-driven responses in terms of group-wise similarity in temporal signal dynamics of brain networks. We applied this framework to fMRI data collected during performance of a simple motor task and a social cognitive task. Analyses using an inter-subject phase synchronization approach revealed a large number of brain networks that dynamically synchronized to various features of the task, often not predicted by the hypothesized temporal structure of the task. We suggest that this methodological framework, along with readily available tools in the fMRI community, provides a powerful exploratory, data-driven approach for analysis of task-driven BOLD activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Task Analysis of Selected Nuclear Technician Occupations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braden, Paul V.; Paul, Krishan K.

A task analysis of nuclear technician occupations in selected organizations in the Southern Interstate Nuclear Board Region was conducted as part of a research and development project leading to a nuclear technician manpower information system for these 17 states. In order to answer 11 questions focusing on task performance frequency and…

A Framework for the Analysis of Cognitive Tasks

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

positions to one another. 16 Crawshaw , Healey, Hockey and Lambert (1993) used HTA as one of the sources of information to analyse the task of a...Studies, 37, 721-750. Crawshaw , C.M., Healey, A., Hockey, G.R.J. & Lambert, J.A.I. (1993). Task analysis and critical incidents. Proceedings (pp. 1-11

Assessment of the nursing skill mix in Mozambique using a task analysis methodology

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The density of the nursing and maternal child health nursing workforce in Mozambique (0.32/1000) is well below the WHO minimum standard of 1 nurse per 1000. Two levels of education were being offered for both nurses and maternal child health nurses, in programmes ranging from 18 to 30 months in length. The health care workforce in Mozambique also includes Medical Technicians and Medical Agents, who are also educated at either basic or mid-level. The Ministry of Health determined the need to document the tasks that each of the six cadres was performing within various health facilities to identify gaps, and duplications, in order to identify strategies for streamlining workforce production, while retaining highest educational and competency standards. The methodology of task analysis (TA) was used to achieve this objective. This article provides information about the TA methodology, and selected outcomes of the very broad study. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive task analysis survey was conducted over a 15 month period (2008–2009). A stratified sample of 1295 individuals was recruited from every type of health facility in all of Mozambique’s 10 provinces and in Maputo City. Respondents indicated how frequently they performed any of 233 patient care tasks. Data analysis focused on identifying areas where identical tasks were performed by the various cadres. Analyses addressed frequency of performance, grouped by level of educational preparation, within various types of health facilities. Results Task sharing ranged from 74% to 88% between basic and general nurse cadres and from 54% to 88% between maternal and child health nurse cadres, within various health facility types. Conversely, there was distinction between scope of practice for nursing and maternal/child health nursing cadres. Conclusion The educational pathways to general nursing and maternal/child health nursing careers were consolidated into one 24 month programme for each career. The

Cognitive task analysis and innovation of training: the case of structured troubleshooting.

PubMed

Schaafstal, A; Schraagen, J M; van Berlo, M

2000-01-01

Troubleshooting is often a time-consuming and difficult activity. The question of how the training of novice technicians can be improved was the starting point of the research described in this article. A cognitive task analysis was carried out consisting of two preliminary observational studies on troubleshooting in naturalistic settings, combined with an interpretation of the data obtained in the context of the existing literature. On the basis of this cognitive task analysis, a new method for the training of troubleshooting was developed (structured troubleshooting), which combines a domain-independent strategy for troubleshooting with a context-dependent, multiple-level, functional decomposition of systems. This method has been systematically evaluated for its use in training. The results show that technicians trained in structured troubleshooting solve twice as many malfunctions, in less time, than those trained in the traditional way. Moreover, structured troubleshooting can be taught in less time than can traditional troubleshooting. Finally, technicians learn to troubleshoot in an explicit and uniform way. These advantages of structured troubleshooting ultimately lead to a reduction in training and troubleshooting costs.

Dual Frequency Head Maps: A New Method for Indexing Mental Workload Continuously during Execution of Cognitive Tasks

PubMed Central

Radüntz, Thea

2017-01-01

One goal of advanced information and communication technology is to simplify work. However, there is growing consensus regarding the negative consequences of inappropriate workload on employee's health and the safety of persons. In order to develop a method for continuous mental workload monitoring, we implemented a task battery consisting of cognitive tasks with diverse levels of complexity and difficulty. We conducted experiments and registered the electroencephalogram (EEG), performance data, and the NASA-TLX questionnaire from 54 people. Analysis of the EEG spectra demonstrates an increase of the frontal theta band power and a decrease of the parietal alpha band power, both under increasing task difficulty level. Based on these findings we implemented a new method for monitoring mental workload, the so-called Dual Frequency Head Maps (DFHM) that are classified by support vectors machines (SVMs) in three different workload levels. The results are in accordance with the expected difficulty levels arising from the requirements of the tasks on the executive functions. Furthermore, this article includes an empirical validation of the new method on a secondary subset with new subjects and one additional new task without any adjustment of the classifiers. Hence, the main advantage of the proposed method compared with the existing solutions is that it provides an automatic, continuous classification of the mental workload state without any need for retraining the classifier—neither for new subjects nor for new tasks. The continuous workload monitoring can help ensure good working conditions, maintain a good level of performance, and simultaneously preserve a good state of health. PMID:29276490

ARBAN-A new method for analysis of ergonomic effort.

PubMed

Holzmann, P

1982-06-01

ARBAN is a method for the ergonomic analysis of work, including work situations which involve widely differing body postures and loads. The idea of the method is thal all phases of the analysis process that imply specific knowledge on ergonomics are teken over by filming equipment and a computer routine. All tasks that must be carried out by the investigator in the process of analysis are so designed that they appear as evident by the use of systematic common sense. The ARBAN analysis method contains four steps: 1. Recording of the workplace situation on video or film. 2. Coding the posture and load situation at a number of closely spaced 'frozen' situations. 3. Computerisation. 4. Evaluation of the results. The computer calculates figures for the total ergonomic stress on the whole body as well as on different parts of the body separately. They are presented as 'Ergonomic stress/ time curves', where the heavy load situations occur as peaks of the curve. The work cycle may also be divided into different tasks, where the stress and duration patterns can be compared. The integral of the curves are calculated for single-figure comparison of different tasks as well as different work situations.

Development of a task analysis tool to facilitate user interface design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scholtz, Jean C.

1992-01-01

A good user interface is one that facilitates the user in carrying out his task. Such interfaces are difficult and costly to produce. The most important aspect in producing a good interface is the ability to communicate to the software designers what the user's task is. The Task Analysis Tool is a system for cooperative task analysis and specification of the user interface requirements. This tool is intended to serve as a guide to development of initial prototypes for user feedback.

Methods and principles for determining task dependent interface content

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalin, Valerie L.; Geddes, Norman D.; Mikesell, Brian G.

1992-01-01

Computer generated information displays provide a promising technology for offsetting the increasing complexity of the National Airspace System. To realize this promise, however, we must extend and adapt the domain-dependent knowledge that informally guides the design of traditional dedicated displays. In our view, the successful exploitation of computer generated displays revolves around the idea of information management, that is, the identification, organization, and presentation of relevant and timely information in a complex task environment. The program of research that is described leads to methods and principles for information management in the domain of commercial aviation. The multi-year objective of the proposed program of research is to develop methods and principles for determining task dependent interface content.

49 CFR 236.1043 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1043 Task analysis and basic requirements. (a) Training structure and... installation, maintenance, repair, modification, inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be...

49 CFR 236.1043 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1043 Task analysis and basic requirements. (a) Training structure and... installation, maintenance, repair, modification, inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be...

49 CFR 236.1043 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1043 Task analysis and basic requirements. (a) Training structure and... installation, maintenance, repair, modification, inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be...

49 CFR 236.1043 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1043 Task analysis and basic requirements. (a) Training structure and... installation, maintenance, repair, modification, inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be...

49 CFR 236.1043 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1043 Task analysis and basic requirements. (a) Training structure and... installation, maintenance, repair, modification, inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be...

Task analysis of autonomous on-road driving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbera, Anthony J.; Horst, John A.; Schlenoff, Craig I.; Aha, David W.

2004-12-01

The Real-time Control System (RCS) Methodology has evolved over a number of years as a technique to capture task knowledge and organize it into a framework conducive to implementation in computer control systems. The fundamental premise of this methodology is that the present state of the task activities sets the context that identifies the requirements for all of the support processing. In particular, the task context at any time determines what is to be sensed in the world, what world model states are to be evaluated, which situations are to be analyzed, what plans should be invoked, and which behavior generation knowledge is to be accessed. This methodology concentrates on the task behaviors explored through scenario examples to define a task decomposition tree that clearly represents the branching of tasks into layers of simpler and simpler subtask activities. There is a named branching condition/situation identified for every fork of this task tree. These become the input conditions of the if-then rules of the knowledge set that define how the task is to respond to input state changes. Detailed analysis of each branching condition/situation is used to identify antecedent world states and these, in turn, are further analyzed to identify all of the entities, objects, and attributes that have to be sensed to determine if any of these world states exist. This paper explores the use of this 4D/RCS methodology in some detail for the particular task of autonomous on-road driving, which work was funded under the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Mobile Autonomous Robot Software (MARS) effort (Doug Gage, Program Manager).

Analyzing railroad dispatchers' strategies : a cognitive task analysis of a distributed planning task

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-10-11

This paper describes a preliminary cognitive task analysis (CTA) that is being conducted to examine how experienced train dispatchers manage and schedule trains. The CTA uses ethnographic field observations and structured interview techniques. The ob...

Quantitative analysis of task selection for brain-computer interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llera, Alberto; Gómez, Vicenç; Kappen, Hilbert J.

2014-10-01

Objective. To assess quantitatively the impact of task selection in the performance of brain-computer interfaces (BCI). Approach. We consider the task-pairs derived from multi-class BCI imagery movement tasks in three different datasets. We analyze for the first time the benefits of task selection on a large-scale basis (109 users) and evaluate the possibility of transferring task-pair information across days for a given subject. Main results. Selecting the subject-dependent optimal task-pair among three different imagery movement tasks results in approximately 20% potential increase in the number of users that can be expected to control a binary BCI. The improvement is observed with respect to the best task-pair fixed across subjects. The best task-pair selected for each subject individually during a first day of recordings is generally a good task-pair in subsequent days. In general, task learning from the user side has a positive influence in the generalization of the optimal task-pair, but special attention should be given to inexperienced subjects. Significance. These results add significant evidence to existing literature that advocates task selection as a necessary step towards usable BCIs. This contribution motivates further research focused on deriving adaptive methods for task selection on larger sets of mental tasks in practical online scenarios.

Initial Development of an E-cigarette Purchase Task: A Mixed Methods Study

PubMed Central

Cassidy, Rachel N.; Tidey, Jennifer W.; Colby, Suzanne M.; Long, Victoria; Higgins, Stephen T.

2017-01-01

Objectives Behavioral economic purchase tasks, which estimate demand for drugs, have been successfully developed for cigarettes and are widely used. However, a validated purchase task does not yet exist for e-cigarettes. The aim of this project was to identify the relevant units for an e-cigarette purchase task (E-CPT). Methods Focus groups (N=28 participants in 7 groups, 2-7 participants per group) consisting of current e-cigarette users were conducted. Participants discussed their daily use patterns, completed a preliminary E-CPT which asked how many puffs of their e-cigarette they would consume per day at escalating prices, and discussed the extent to which the task accurately reflected their real-world behavior. Groups were recorded and transcribed; analysis focused on statements related to daily consumption and the E-CPT. Results Participants were unlikely to quantify their daily use in terms of puffs, and perceptions about the appropriate unit for an E-CPT varied across device type. Users of first-generation devices (eg, cigalikes) reported that the relevant unit was the individual device/cartridge; however, participants who purchased nicotine liquid for their device emphasized that e-liquid volume in milliliters would better reflect their use. Conclusions Multiple versions of the E-CPT may be necessary to provide valid measures of e-cigarette demand. PMID:28824938

Agricultural Production: Task Analysis for Livestock Production. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

This task analysis guide is intended to help teachers and administrators develop instructional materials and implement competency-based education in the agricultural production program. Section 1 contains a validated task inventory for the livestock production portion of agricultural production IV and V. Tasks are divided into six duty areas:…

Task-Related Edge Density (TED)-A New Method for Revealing Dynamic Network Formation in fMRI Data of the Human Brain.

PubMed

Lohmann, Gabriele; Stelzer, Johannes; Zuber, Verena; Buschmann, Tilo; Margulies, Daniel; Bartels, Andreas; Scheffler, Klaus

2016-01-01

The formation of transient networks in response to external stimuli or as a reflection of internal cognitive processes is a hallmark of human brain function. However, its identification in fMRI data of the human brain is notoriously difficult. Here we propose a new method of fMRI data analysis that tackles this problem by considering large-scale, task-related synchronisation networks. Networks consist of nodes and edges connecting them, where nodes correspond to voxels in fMRI data, and the weight of an edge is determined via task-related changes in dynamic synchronisation between their respective times series. Based on these definitions, we developed a new data analysis algorithm that identifies edges that show differing levels of synchrony between two distinct task conditions and that occur in dense packs with similar characteristics. Hence, we call this approach "Task-related Edge Density" (TED). TED proved to be a very strong marker for dynamic network formation that easily lends itself to statistical analysis using large scale statistical inference. A major advantage of TED compared to other methods is that it does not depend on any specific hemodynamic response model, and it also does not require a presegmentation of the data for dimensionality reduction as it can handle large networks consisting of tens of thousands of voxels. We applied TED to fMRI data of a fingertapping and an emotion processing task provided by the Human Connectome Project. TED revealed network-based involvement of a large number of brain areas that evaded detection using traditional GLM-based analysis. We show that our proposed method provides an entirely new window into the immense complexity of human brain function.

Distinguishing Response Conflict and Task Conflict in the Stroop Task: Evidence from Ex-Gaussian Distribution Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinhauser, Marco; Hubner, Ronald

2009-01-01

It has been suggested that performance in the Stroop task is influenced by response conflict as well as task conflict. The present study investigated the idea that both conflict types can be isolated by applying ex-Gaussian distribution analysis which decomposes response time into a Gaussian and an exponential component. Two experiments were…

Designing Preclinical Instruction for Psychomotor Skills (II)--Instructional Engineering: Task Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, G. William; And Others

1994-01-01

The first step in engineering the instruction of dental psychomotor skills, task analysis, is explained. A chart details the procedural, cognitive, desired-criteria, and desired-performance analysis of a single task, occlusal preparation for amalgam restoration with carious lesion. (MSE)

Variable Lifting Index (VLI): A New Method for Evaluating Variable Lifting Tasks.

PubMed

Waters, Thomas; Occhipinti, Enrico; Colombini, Daniela; Alvarez-Casado, Enrique; Fox, Robert

2016-08-01

We seek to develop a new approach for analyzing the physical demands of highly variable lifting tasks through an adaptation of the Revised NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) Lifting Equation (RNLE) into a Variable Lifting Index (VLI). There are many jobs that contain individual lifts that vary from lift to lift due to the task requirements. The NIOSH Lifting Equation is not suitable in its present form to analyze variable lifting tasks. In extending the prior work on the VLI, two procedures are presented to allow users to analyze variable lifting tasks. One approach involves the sampling of lifting tasks performed by a worker over a shift and the calculation of the Frequency Independent Lift Index (FILI) for each sampled lift and the aggregation of the FILI values into six categories. The Composite Lift Index (CLI) equation is used with lifting index (LI) category frequency data to calculate the VLI. The second approach employs a detailed systematic collection of lifting task data from production and/or organizational sources. The data are organized into simplified task parameter categories and further aggregated into six FILI categories, which also use the CLI equation to calculate the VLI. The two procedures will allow practitioners to systematically employ the VLI method to a variety of work situations where highly variable lifting tasks are performed. The scientific basis for the VLI procedure is similar to that for the CLI originally presented by NIOSH; however, the VLI method remains to be validated. The VLI method allows an analyst to assess highly variable manual lifting jobs in which the task characteristics vary from lift to lift during a shift. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

49 CFR 236.923 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Standards for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems § 236.923 Task analysis and basic requirements..., inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be performed on a railroad's products. This includes the...

49 CFR 236.923 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Standards for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems § 236.923 Task analysis and basic requirements..., inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be performed on a railroad's products. This includes the...

49 CFR 236.923 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Standards for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems § 236.923 Task analysis and basic requirements..., inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be performed on a railroad's products. This includes the...

49 CFR 236.923 - Task analysis and basic requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Standards for Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems § 236.923 Task analysis and basic requirements..., inspection, testing, and operating tasks that must be performed on a railroad's products. This includes the...

One Size Does Not Fit All: Human Failure Event Decomposition and Task Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronald Laurids Boring, PhD

2014-09-01

In the probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) used in the nuclear industry, human failure events (HFEs) are determined as a subset of hardware failures, namely those hardware failures that could be triggered or exacerbated by human action or inaction. This approach is top-down, starting with hardware faults and deducing human contributions to those faults. Elsewhere, more traditionally human factors driven approaches would tend to look at opportunities for human errors first in a task analysis and then identify which of those errors is risk significant. The intersection of top-down and bottom-up approaches to defining HFEs has not been carefully studied. Ideally,more » both approaches should arrive at the same set of HFEs. This question remains central as human reliability analysis (HRA) methods are generalized to new domains like oil and gas. The HFEs used in nuclear PSAs tend to be top-down—defined as a subset of the PSA—whereas the HFEs used in petroleum quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) are more likely to be bottom-up—derived from a task analysis conducted by human factors experts. The marriage of these approaches is necessary in order to ensure that HRA methods developed for top-down HFEs are also sufficient for bottom-up applications. In this paper, I first review top-down and bottom-up approaches for defining HFEs and then present a seven-step guideline to ensure a task analysis completed as part of human error identification decomposes to a level suitable for use as HFEs. This guideline illustrates an effective way to bridge the bottom-up approach with top-down requirements.« less

Task-evoked brain functional magnetic susceptibility mapping by independent component analysis (χICA).

PubMed

Chen, Zikuan; Calhoun, Vince D

2016-03-01

Conventionally, independent component analysis (ICA) is performed on an fMRI magnitude dataset to analyze brain functional mapping (AICA). By solving the inverse problem of fMRI, we can reconstruct the brain magnetic susceptibility (χ) functional states. Upon the reconstructed χ dataspace, we propose an ICA-based brain functional χ mapping method (χICA) to extract task-evoked brain functional map. A complex division algorithm is applied to a timeseries of fMRI phase images to extract temporal phase changes (relative to an OFF-state snapshot). A computed inverse MRI (CIMRI) model is used to reconstruct a 4D brain χ response dataset. χICA is implemented by applying a spatial InfoMax ICA algorithm to the reconstructed 4D χ dataspace. With finger-tapping experiments on a 7T system, the χICA-extracted χ-depicted functional map is similar to the SPM-inferred functional χ map by a spatial correlation of 0.67 ± 0.05. In comparison, the AICA-extracted magnitude-depicted map is correlated with the SPM magnitude map by 0.81 ± 0.05. The understanding of the inferiority of χICA to AICA for task-evoked functional map is an ongoing research topic. For task-evoked brain functional mapping, we compare the data-driven ICA method with the task-correlated SPM method. In particular, we compare χICA with AICA for extracting task-correlated timecourses and functional maps. χICA can extract a χ-depicted task-evoked brain functional map from a reconstructed χ dataspace without the knowledge about brain hemodynamic responses. The χICA-extracted brain functional χ map reveals a bidirectional BOLD response pattern that is unavailable (or different) from AICA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Toward a Cognitive Task Analysis for Biomedical Query Mediation

PubMed Central

Hruby, Gregory W.; Cimino, James J.; Patel, Vimla; Weng, Chunhua

2014-01-01

In many institutions, data analysts use a Biomedical Query Mediation (BQM) process to facilitate data access for medical researchers. However, understanding of the BQM process is limited in the literature. To bridge this gap, we performed the initial steps of a cognitive task analysis using 31 BQM instances conducted between one analyst and 22 researchers in one academic department. We identified five top-level tasks, i.e., clarify research statement, explain clinical process, identify related data elements, locate EHR data element, and end BQM with either a database query or unmet, infeasible information needs, and 10 sub-tasks. We evaluated the BQM task model with seven data analysts from different clinical research institutions. Evaluators found all the tasks completely or semi-valid. This study contributes initial knowledge towards the development of a generalizable cognitive task representation for BQM. PMID:25954589

Toward a cognitive task analysis for biomedical query mediation.

PubMed

Hruby, Gregory W; Cimino, James J; Patel, Vimla; Weng, Chunhua

2014-01-01

In many institutions, data analysts use a Biomedical Query Mediation (BQM) process to facilitate data access for medical researchers. However, understanding of the BQM process is limited in the literature. To bridge this gap, we performed the initial steps of a cognitive task analysis using 31 BQM instances conducted between one analyst and 22 researchers in one academic department. We identified five top-level tasks, i.e., clarify research statement, explain clinical process, identify related data elements, locate EHR data element, and end BQM with either a database query or unmet, infeasible information needs, and 10 sub-tasks. We evaluated the BQM task model with seven data analysts from different clinical research institutions. Evaluators found all the tasks completely or semi-valid. This study contributes initial knowledge towards the development of a generalizable cognitive task representation for BQM.

Cognitive Task Analysis, Interface Design, and Technical Troubleshooting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinberg, Linda S.; Gitomer, Drew H.

A model of the interface design process is proposed that makes use of two interdependent levels of cognitive analysis: the study of the criterion task through an analysis of expert/novice differences and the evaluation of the working user interface design through the application of a practical interface analysis methodology (GOMS model). This dual…

The Use of Rapid Review Methods for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

PubMed

Patnode, Carrie D; Eder, Michelle L; Walsh, Emily S; Viswanathan, Meera; Lin, Jennifer S

2018-01-01

Rapid review products are intended to synthesize available evidence in a timely fashion while still meeting the needs of healthcare decision makers. Various methods and products have been applied for rapid evidence syntheses, but no single approach has been uniformly adopted. Methods to gain efficiency and compress the review time period include focusing on a narrow clinical topic and key questions; limiting the literature search; performing single (versus dual) screening of abstracts and full-text articles for relevance; and limiting the analysis and synthesis. In order to maintain the scientific integrity, including transparency, of rapid evidence syntheses, it is imperative that procedures used to streamline standard systematic review methods are prespecified, based on sound review principles and empiric evidence when possible, and provide the end user with an accurate and comprehensive synthesis. The collection of clinical preventive service recommendations maintained by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, along with its commitment to rigorous methods development, provide a unique opportunity to refine, implement, and evaluate rapid evidence synthesis methods and add to an emerging evidence base on rapid review methods. This paper summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's use of rapid review methodology, its criteria for selecting topics for rapid evidence syntheses, and proposed methods to streamline the review process. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

A competency framework for colonoscopy training derived from cognitive task analysis techniques and expert review.

PubMed

Zupanc, Christine M; Burgess-Limerick, Robin; Hill, Andrew; Riek, Stephan; Wallis, Guy M; Plooy, Annaliese M; Horswill, Mark S; Watson, Marcus O; Hewett, David G

2015-12-01

Colonoscopy is a difficult cognitive-perceptual-motor task. Designing an appropriate instructional program for such a task requires an understanding of the knowledge, skills and attitudes underpinning the competency required to perform the task. Cognitive task analysis techniques provide an empirical means of deriving this information. Video recording and a think-aloud protocol were conducted while 20 experienced endoscopists performed colonoscopy procedures. "Cued-recall" interviews were also carried out post-procedure with nine of the endoscopists. Analysis of the resulting transcripts employed the constant comparative coding method within a grounded theory framework. The resulting draft competency framework was modified after review during semi-structured interviews conducted with six expert endoscopists. The proposed colonoscopy competency framework consists of twenty-seven skill, knowledge and attitude components, grouped into six categories (clinical knowledge; colonoscope handling; situation awareness; heuristics and strategies; clinical reasoning; and intra- and inter-personal). The colonoscopy competency framework provides a principled basis for the design of a training program, and for the design of formative assessment to gauge progress towards attaining the knowledge, skills and attitudes underpinning the achievement of colonoscopy competence.

Investigating task inhibition in children versus adults: A diffusion model analysis.

PubMed

Schuch, Stefanie; Konrad, Kerstin

2017-04-01

One can take n-2 task repetition costs as a measure of inhibition on the level of task sets. When switching back to a Task A after only one intermediate trial (ABA task sequence), Task A is thought to still be inhibited, leading to performance costs relative to task sequences where switching back to Task A is preceded by at least two intermediary trials (CBA). The current study investigated differences in inhibitory ability between children and adults by comparing n-2 task repetition costs in children (9-11years of age, N=32) and young adults (21-30years of age, N=32). The mean reaction times and error rate differences between ABA and CBA sequences did not differ between the two age groups. However, diffusion model analysis revealed that different cognitive processes contribute to the inhibition effect in the two age groups: The adults, but not the children, showed a smaller drift rate in ABA than in CBA, suggesting that persisting task inhibition is associated with slower response selection in adults. In children, non-decision time was longer in ABA than in CBA, possibly reflecting longer task preparation in ABA than in CBA. In addition, Ex-Gaussian functions were fitted to the distributions of correct reaction times. In adults, the ABA-CBA difference was reflected in the exponential parameter of the distribution; in children, the ABA-CBA difference was found in the Gaussian mu parameter. Hence, Ex-Gaussian analysis, although noisier, was generally in line with diffusion model analysis. Taken together, the data suggest that the task inhibition effect found in mean performance is mediated by different cognitive processes in children versus adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain-computer interface analysis of a dynamic visuo-motor task.

PubMed

Logar, Vito; Belič, Aleš

2011-01-01

The area of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) represents one of the more interesting fields in neurophysiological research, since it investigates the development of the machines that perform different transformations of the brain's "thoughts" to certain pre-defined actions. Experimental studies have reported some successful implementations of BCIs; however, much of the field still remains unexplored. According to some recent reports the phase coding of informational content is an important mechanism in the brain's function and cognition, and has the potential to explain various mechanisms of the brain's data transfer, but it has yet to be scrutinized in the context of brain-computer interface. Therefore, if the mechanism of phase coding is plausible, one should be able to extract the phase-coded content, carried by brain signals, using appropriate signal-processing methods. In our previous studies we have shown that by using a phase-demodulation-based signal-processing approach it is possible to decode some relevant information on the current motor action in the brain from electroencephalographic (EEG) data. In this paper the authors would like to present a continuation of their previous work on the brain-information-decoding analysis of visuo-motor (VM) tasks. The present study shows that EEG data measured during more complex, dynamic visuo-motor (dVM) tasks carries enough information about the currently performed motor action to be successfully extracted by using the appropriate signal-processing and identification methods. The aim of this paper is therefore to present a mathematical model, which by means of the EEG measurements as its inputs predicts the course of the wrist movements as applied by each subject during the task in simulated or real time (BCI analysis). However, several modifications to the existing methodology are needed to achieve optimal decoding results and a real-time, data-processing ability. The information extracted from the EEG could

Method and Apparatus for Performance Optimization Through Physical Perturbation of Task Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III (Inventor); Pope, Alan T. (Inventor); Palsson, Olafur S. (Inventor); Turner, Marsha J. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

The invention is an apparatus and method of biofeedback training for attaining a physiological state optimally consistent with the successful performance of a task, wherein the probability of successfully completing the task is made is inversely proportional to a physiological difference value, computed as the absolute value of the difference between at least one physiological signal optimally consistent with the successful performance of the task and at least one corresponding measured physiological signal of a trainee performing the task. The probability of successfully completing the task is made inversely proportional to the physiological difference value by making one or more measurable physical attributes of the environment in which the task is performed, and upon which completion of the task depends, vary in inverse proportion to the physiological difference value.

Task-Related Edge Density (TED)—A New Method for Revealing Dynamic Network Formation in fMRI Data of the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Lohmann, Gabriele; Stelzer, Johannes; Zuber, Verena; Buschmann, Tilo; Margulies, Daniel; Bartels, Andreas; Scheffler, Klaus

2016-01-01

The formation of transient networks in response to external stimuli or as a reflection of internal cognitive processes is a hallmark of human brain function. However, its identification in fMRI data of the human brain is notoriously difficult. Here we propose a new method of fMRI data analysis that tackles this problem by considering large-scale, task-related synchronisation networks. Networks consist of nodes and edges connecting them, where nodes correspond to voxels in fMRI data, and the weight of an edge is determined via task-related changes in dynamic synchronisation between their respective times series. Based on these definitions, we developed a new data analysis algorithm that identifies edges that show differing levels of synchrony between two distinct task conditions and that occur in dense packs with similar characteristics. Hence, we call this approach “Task-related Edge Density” (TED). TED proved to be a very strong marker for dynamic network formation that easily lends itself to statistical analysis using large scale statistical inference. A major advantage of TED compared to other methods is that it does not depend on any specific hemodynamic response model, and it also does not require a presegmentation of the data for dimensionality reduction as it can handle large networks consisting of tens of thousands of voxels. We applied TED to fMRI data of a fingertapping and an emotion processing task provided by the Human Connectome Project. TED revealed network-based involvement of a large number of brain areas that evaded detection using traditional GLM-based analysis. We show that our proposed method provides an entirely new window into the immense complexity of human brain function. PMID:27341204

Memory Indexing: A Novel Method for Tracing Memory Processes in Complex Cognitive Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renkewitz, Frank; Jahn, Georg

2012-01-01

We validate an eye-tracking method applicable for studying memory processes in complex cognitive tasks. The method is tested with a task on probabilistic inferences from memory. It provides valuable data on the time course of processing, thus clarifying previous results on heuristic probabilistic inference. Participants learned cue values of…

Aligning Event Logs to Task-Time Matrix Clinical Pathways in BPMN for Variance Analysis.

PubMed

Yan, Hui; Van Gorp, Pieter; Kaymak, Uzay; Lu, Xudong; Ji, Lei; Chiau, Choo Chiap; Korsten, Hendrikus H M; Duan, Huilong

2018-03-01

Clinical pathways (CPs) are popular healthcare management tools to standardize care and ensure quality. Analyzing CP compliance levels and variances is known to be useful for training and CP redesign purposes. Flexible semantics of the business process model and notation (BPMN) language has been shown to be useful for the modeling and analysis of complex protocols. However, in practical cases one may want to exploit that CPs often have the form of task-time matrices. This paper presents a new method parsing complex BPMN models and aligning traces to the models heuristically. A case study on variance analysis is undertaken, where a CP from the practice and two large sets of patients data from an electronic medical record (EMR) database are used. The results demonstrate that automated variance analysis between BPMN task-time models and real-life EMR data are feasible, whereas that was not the case for the existing analysis techniques. We also provide meaningful insights for further improvement.

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

PubMed Central

Huq, M. Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A.; Dunscombe, Peter B.; Gibbons, John P.; Mundt, Arno J.; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R.; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R.; Williamson, Jeffrey F.; Yorke, Ellen D.

2016-01-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management.

PubMed

Huq, M Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A; Dunscombe, Peter B; Gibbons, John P; Ibbott, Geoffrey S; Mundt, Arno J; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R; Williamson, Jeffrey F; Yorke, Ellen D

2016-07-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for "intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)" as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation therapy

The use of a cognitive task analysis-based multimedia program to teach surgical decision making in flexor tendon repair.

PubMed

Luker, Kali R; Sullivan, Maura E; Peyre, Sarah E; Sherman, Randy; Grunwald, Tiffany

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the surgical knowledge of residents before and after receiving a cognitive task analysis-based multimedia teaching module. Ten plastic surgery residents were evaluated performing flexor tendon repair on 3 occasions. Traditional learning occurred between the first and second trial and served as the control. A teaching module was introduced as an intervention between the second and third trial using cognitive task analysis to illustrate decision-making skills. All residents showed improvement in their decision-making ability when performing flexor tendon repair after each surgical procedure. The group improved through traditional methods as well as exposure to our talk-aloud protocol (P > .01). After being trained using the cognitive task analysis curriculum the group displayed a statistically significant knowledge expansion (P < .01). Residents receiving cognitive task analysis-based multimedia surgical curriculum instruction achieved greater command of problem solving and are better equipped to make correct decisions in flexor tendon repair.

Robust gene selection methods using weighting schemes for microarray data analysis.

PubMed

Kang, Suyeon; Song, Jongwoo

2017-09-02

A common task in microarray data analysis is to identify informative genes that are differentially expressed between two different states. Owing to the high-dimensional nature of microarray data, identification of significant genes has been essential in analyzing the data. However, the performances of many gene selection techniques are highly dependent on the experimental conditions, such as the presence of measurement error or a limited number of sample replicates. We have proposed new filter-based gene selection techniques, by applying a simple modification to significance analysis of microarrays (SAM). To prove the effectiveness of the proposed method, we considered a series of synthetic datasets with different noise levels and sample sizes along with two real datasets. The following findings were made. First, our proposed methods outperform conventional methods for all simulation set-ups. In particular, our methods are much better when the given data are noisy and sample size is small. They showed relatively robust performance regardless of noise level and sample size, whereas the performance of SAM became significantly worse as the noise level became high or sample size decreased. When sufficient sample replicates were available, SAM and our methods showed similar performance. Finally, our proposed methods are competitive with traditional methods in classification tasks for microarrays. The results of simulation study and real data analysis have demonstrated that our proposed methods are effective for detecting significant genes and classification tasks, especially when the given data are noisy or have few sample replicates. By employing weighting schemes, we can obtain robust and reliable results for microarray data analysis.

A Task-Content Analysis of an Introductory Entomology Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandenburg, R.

Described is an analysis of the content, tasks, and strategies needed by students to enable them to identify insects to order by sight and to family by use of a standard dichotomous taxonomic key. Tasks and strategies are broken down and arranged progressively in the approximate order in which students should progress. Included are listings of…

Application of Cognitive Task Analysis in User Requirements and Prototype Design Presentation/Briefing

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-01

AFRL-HE-WP-TP-2005-0030 AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY Application of Cognitive Task Analysis in User Requirements and Prototype Design Presentation...TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-04-C-6406 Application of Cognitive Task Analysis in User Requirements 5b.GRANTNUMBER and Prototype...maintainer experience 21 21 Questions & Answers Application of Cognitive Task Analysis in User Requirements Definition and Prototype Design Christopher Curtis

Scalable Kernel Methods and Algorithms for General Sequence Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuksa, Pavel

2011-01-01

Analysis of large-scale sequential data has become an important task in machine learning and pattern recognition, inspired in part by numerous scientific and technological applications such as the document and text classification or the analysis of biological sequences. However, current computational methods for sequence comparison still lack…

Three-dimensional vision enhances task performance independently of the surgical method.

PubMed

Wagner, O J; Hagen, M; Kurmann, A; Horgan, S; Candinas, D; Vorburger, S A

2012-10-01

Within the next few years, the medical industry will launch increasingly affordable three-dimensional (3D) vision systems for the operating room (OR). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D visualization on surgical skills and task performance. In this study, 34 individuals with varying laparoscopic experience (18 inexperienced individuals) performed three tasks to test spatial relationships, grasping and positioning, dexterity, precision, and hand-eye and hand-hand coordination. Each task was performed in 3D using binocular vision for open performance, the Viking 3Di Vision System for laparoscopic performance, and the DaVinci robotic system. The same tasks were repeated in 2D using an eye patch for monocular vision, conventional laparoscopy, and the DaVinci robotic system. Loss of 3D vision significantly increased the perceived difficulty of a task and the time required to perform it, independently of the approach (P < 0.0001-0.02). Simple tasks took 25 % to 30 % longer to complete and more complex tasks took 75 % longer with 2D than with 3D vision. Only the difficult task was performed faster with the robot than with laparoscopy (P = 0.005). In every case, 3D robotic performance was superior to conventional laparoscopy (2D) (P < 0.001-0.015). The more complex the task, the more 3D vision accelerates task completion compared with 2D vision. The gain in task performance is independent of the surgical method.

Bayesian network analysis revealed the connectivity difference of the default mode network from the resting-state to task-state

PubMed Central

Wu, Xia; Yu, Xinyu; Yao, Li; Li, Rui

2014-01-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have converged to reveal the default mode network (DMN), a constellation of regions that display co-activation during resting-state but co-deactivation during attention-demanding tasks in the brain. Here, we employed a Bayesian network (BN) analysis method to construct a directed effective connectivity model of the DMN and compared the organizational architecture and interregional directed connections under both resting-state and task-state. The analysis results indicated that the DMN was consistently organized into two closely interacting subsystems in both resting-state and task-state. The directed connections between DMN regions, however, changed significantly from the resting-state to task-state condition. The results suggest that the DMN intrinsically maintains a relatively stable structure whether at rest or performing tasks but has different information processing mechanisms under varied states. PMID:25309414

A Verification Method of Inter-Task Cooperation in Embedded Real-time Systems and its Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Toshio

In software development process of embedded real-time systems, the design of the task cooperation process is very important. The cooperating process of such tasks is specified by task cooperation patterns. Adoption of unsuitable task cooperation patterns has fatal influence on system performance, quality, and extendibility. In order to prevent repetitive work caused by the shortage of task cooperation performance, it is necessary to verify task cooperation patterns in an early software development stage. However, it is very difficult to verify task cooperation patterns in an early software developing stage where task program codes are not completed yet. Therefore, we propose a verification method using task skeleton program codes and a real-time kernel that has a function of recording all events during software execution such as system calls issued by task program codes, external interrupts, and timer interrupt. In order to evaluate the proposed verification method, we applied it to the software development process of a mechatronics control system.

Advanced stress analysis methods applicable to turbine engine structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pian, Theodore H. H.

1991-01-01

The following tasks on the study of advanced stress analysis methods applicable to turbine engine structures are described: (1) constructions of special elements which contain traction-free circular boundaries; (2) formulation of new version of mixed variational principles and new version of hybrid stress elements; (3) establishment of methods for suppression of kinematic deformation modes; (4) construction of semiLoof plate and shell elements by assumed stress hybrid method; and (5) elastic-plastic analysis by viscoplasticity theory using the mechanical subelement model.

Upper-Extremity Dual-Task Function: An Innovative Method to Assess Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Toosizadeh, Nima; Najafi, Bijan; Reiman, Eric M.; Mager, Reine M.; Veldhuizen, Jaimeson K.; O’Connor, Kathy; Zamrini, Edward; Mohler, Jane

2016-01-01

Background: Difficulties in orchestrating simultaneous tasks (i.e., dual-tasking) have been associated with cognitive impairments in older adults. Gait tests have been commonly used as the motor task component for dual-task assessments; however, many older adults have mobility impairments or there is a lack of space in busy clinical settings. We assessed an upper-extremity function (UEF) test as an alternative motor task to study the dual-task motor performance in older adults. Methods: Older adults (≥65 years) were recruited, and cognitive ability was measured using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Participants performed repetitive elbow flexion with their maximum pace, once single-task, and once while counting backward by one (dual-task). Single- and dual-task gait tests were also performed with normal speed. Three-dimensional kinematics was measured both from upper-extremity and lower-extremity using wearable sensors to determine UEF and gait parameters. Parameters were compared between the cognitively impaired and healthy groups using analysis of variance tests, while controlling for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Correlations between UEF and gait parameters for dual-task and dual-task cost were assessed using linear regression models. Results: Sixty-seven older adults were recruited (age = 83 ± 10 years). Based on MoCA, 10 (15%) were cognitively impaired. While no significant differences were observed in the single-task condition, within the dual-task condition, the cognitively impaired group showed significantly less arm flexion speed (62%, d = 1.51, p = 0.02) and range of motion (27%, d = 0.93, p = 0.04), and higher speed variability (88%, d = 1.82, p < 0.0001) compared to the cognitively intact group, when adjusted with age, gender, and BMI. Significant correlations were observed between UEF speed parameters and gait stride velocity for dual-task condition (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001) and dual-task cost (r = 0.28, p = 0.03). Conclusion: We

The Use of Cognitive Task Analysis to Capture Expertise for Tracheal Extubation Training in Anesthesiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Embrey, Karen K.

2012-01-01

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is a knowledge elicitation technique employed for acquiring expertise from domain specialists to support the effective instruction of novices. CTA guided instruction has proven effective in improving surgical skills training for medical students and surgical residents. The standard, current method of teaching clinical…

JSpOC Cognitive Task Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleva, D.; McCracken, J.

This paper will overview a Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) of the tasks accomplished by space operators in the Combat Operations Division (COD) of the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC). The methodology used to collect data will be presented. The work was performed in support of the AFRL Space Situation Awareness Fusion Intelligent Research Environment (SAFIRE) effort. SAFIRE is a multi-directorate program led by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RV) and supporting Future Long Term Challenge 2.6.5. It is designed to address research areas identified from completion of a Core Process 3 effort for Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC). The report is intended to be a resource for those developing capability in support of SAFIRE, the Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) Space Integrated Prototype (JSIP) User-Defined Operating Picture (UDOP), and other related projects. The report is under distribution restriction; our purpose here is to expose its existence to a wider audience so that qualified individuals may access it. The report contains descriptions of the organization, its most salient products, tools, and cognitive tasks. Tasks reported are derived from the data collected and presented at multiple levels of abstraction. Recommendations for leveraging the findings of the report are presented. The report contains a number of appendices that amplify the methodology, provide background or context support, and includes references in support of cognitive task methodology. In a broad sense, the CTA is intended to be the foundation for relevant, usable capability in support of space warfighters. It presents, at an unclassified level, introductory material to familiarize inquirers with the work of the COD; this is embedded in a description of the broader context of the other divisions of the JSpOC. It does NOT provide guidance for the development of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TT&Ps) in the development of JSpOC processes

Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class Operations Room Officer: Data Sheets. Annexes

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-03-10

Image Cover Sheet CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM NUMBER 510920 UNCLASSIFIED 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111 TITLE ANNEXES TO: COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS OF...1999 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-1999 to 00-00-1999 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Annexes to: Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class...by ANSI Std Z39-18 Guelph, Ontario .H U. M A N S X S T E M S Incorporated Annexes to: Cognitive Task Analysis of the HALIFAX-Class Operations

Network analysis of exploratory behaviors of mice in a spatial learning and memory task

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Yusuke

2017-01-01

The Barnes maze is one of the main behavioral tasks used to study spatial learning and memory. The Barnes maze is a task conducted on “dry land” in which animals try to escape from a brightly lit exposed circular open arena to a small dark escape box located under one of several holes at the periphery of the arena. In comparison with another classical spatial learning and memory task, the Morris water maze, the negative reinforcements that motivate animals in the Barnes maze are less severe and less stressful. Furthermore, the Barnes maze is more compatible with recently developed cutting-edge techniques in neural circuit research, such as the miniature brain endoscope or optogenetics. For this study, we developed a lift-type task start system and equipped the Barnes maze with it. The subject mouse is raised up by the lift and released into the maze automatically so that it can start navigating the maze smoothly from exactly the same start position across repeated trials. We believe that a Barnes maze test with a lift-type task start system may be useful for behavioral experiments when combined with head-mounted or wire-connected devices for online imaging and intervention in neural circuits. Furthermore, we introduced a network analysis method for the analysis of the Barnes maze data. Each animal’s exploratory behavior in the maze was visualized as a network of nodes and their links, and spatial learning in the maze is described by systematic changes in network structures of search behavior. Network analysis was capable of visualizing and quantitatively analyzing subtle but significant differences in an animal’s exploratory behavior in the maze. PMID:28700627

Using task analysis to understand the Data System Operations Team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holder, Barbara E.

1994-01-01

The Data Systems Operations Team (DSOT) currently monitors the Multimission Ground Data System (MGDS) at JPL. The MGDS currently supports five spacecraft and within the next five years, it will support ten spacecraft simultaneously. The ground processing element of the MGDS consists of a distributed UNIX-based system of over 40 nodes and 100 processes. The MGDS system provides operators with little or no information about the system's end-to-end processing status or end-to-end configuration. The lack of system visibility has become a critical issue in the daily operation of the MGDS. A task analysis was conducted to determine what kinds of tools were needed to provide DSOT with useful status information and to prioritize the tool development. The analysis provided the formality and structure needed to get the right information exchange between development and operations. How even a small task analysis can improve developer-operator communications is described, and the challenges associated with conducting a task analysis in a real-time mission operations environment are examined.

Dashboard Task Monitor for Managing ATLAS User Analysis on the Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sargsyan, L.; Andreeva, J.; Jha, M.; Karavakis, E.; Kokoszkiewicz, L.; Saiz, P.; Schovancova, J.; Tuckett, D.; Atlas Collaboration

2014-06-01

The organization of the distributed user analysis on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure is one of the most challenging tasks among the computing activities at the Large Hadron Collider. The Experiment Dashboard offers a solution that not only monitors but also manages (kill, resubmit) user tasks and jobs via a web interface. The ATLAS Dashboard Task Monitor provides analysis users with a tool that is independent of the operating system and Grid environment. This contribution describes the functionality of the application and its implementation details, in particular authentication, authorization and audit of the management operations.

Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Function and task analysis. Volume 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaye, R.D.; Henriksen, K.; Jones, R.

1995-07-01

As a treatment methodology, teletherapy selectively destroys cancerous and other tissue by exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. Sources of radiation are either a radioactive isotope, typically Cobalt-60 (Co-60), or a linear accelerator. Records maintained by the NRC have identified instances of teletherapy misadministration where the delivered radiation dose has differed from the radiation prescription (e.g., instances where fractions were delivered to the wrong patient, to the wrong body part, or were too great or too little with respect to the defined treatment volume). Both human error and machine malfunction have led to misadministrations. Effective and safe treatmentmore » requires a concern for precision and consistency of human-human and human-machine interactions throughout the course of therapy. The present study is the first part of a series of human factors evaluations for identifying the root causes that lead to human error in the teletherapy environment. The human factors evaluations included: (1) a function and task analysis of teletherapy activities, (2) an evaluation of the human-system interfaces, (3) an evaluation of procedures used by teletherapy staff, (4) an evaluation of the training and qualifications of treatment staff (excluding the oncologists), (5) an evaluation of organizational practices and policies, and (6) an identification of problems and alternative approaches for NRC and industry attention. The present report addresses the function and task analysis of teletherapy activities and provides the foundation for the conduct of the subsequent evaluations. The report includes sections on background, methodology, a description of the function and task analysis, and use of the task analysis findings for the subsequent tasks. The function and task analysis data base also is included.« less

Using task analysis to generate evidence for strengthening midwifery education, practice, and regulation in Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Yigzaw, Tegbar; Carr, Catherine; Stekelenburg, Jelle; van Roosmalen, Jos; Gibson, Hannah; Gelagay, Mintwab; Admassu, Azeb

2016-01-01

Purpose Realizing aspirations for meeting the global reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health goals depends not only on increasing the numbers but also on improving the capability of midwifery workforce. We conducted a task analysis study to identify the needs for strengthening the midwifery workforce in Ethiopia. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of recently qualified midwives in Ethiopia. Purposively selected participants from representative geographic and practice settings completed a self-administered questionnaire, making judgments about the frequency of performance, criticality, competence, and location of training for a list of validated midwifery tasks. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 20, we computed the percentages and averages to describe participant and practice characteristics. We identified priority preservice education gaps by considering the tasks least frequently learned in preservice, most frequently mentioned for not being trained, and had the highest not capable response. Identification of top priorities for in-service training considered tasks with highest “not capable” and “never” done responses. We determined the licensing exam blueprint by weighing the composite mean scores for frequency and criticality variables and expert rating across practice categories. Results One hundred and thirty-eight midwives participated in the study. The majority of respondents recognized the importance of midwifery tasks (89%), felt they were capable (91.8%), reported doing them frequently (63.9%), and learned them during preservice education (56.3%). We identified competence gaps in tasks related to obstetric complications, gynecology, public health, professional duties, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Moreover, our study helped to determine composition of the licensing exam for university graduates. Conclusion The task analysis indicates that midwives provide critical reproductive

REACH. Teacher's Guide, Volume III. Task Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, James Lee; And Others

Designed for use with individualized instructional units (CE 026 345-347, CE 026 349-351) in the electromechanical cluster, this third volume of the postsecondary teacher's guide presents the task analysis which was used in the development of the REACH (Refrigeration, Electro-Mechanical, Air Conditioning, Heating) curriculum. The major blocks of…

Validity of the alcohol purchase task: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kiselica, Andrew M; Webber, Troy A; Bornovalova, Marina A

2016-05-01

Behavioral economists assess alcohol consumption as a function of unit price. This method allows construction of demand curves and demand indices, which are thought to provide precise numerical estimates of risk for alcohol problems. One of the more commonly used behavioral economic measures is the Alcohol Purchase Task (APT). Although the APT has shown promise as a measure of risk for alcohol problems, the construct validity and incremental utility of the APT remain unclear. This paper presents a meta-analysis of the APT literature. Sixteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. Studies were gathered via searches of the PsycInfo, PubMed, Web of Science and EconLit research databases. Random-effects meta-analyses with inverse variance weighting were used to calculate summary effect sizes for each demand index-drinking outcome relationship. Moderation of these effects by drinking status (regular versus heavy drinkers) was examined. Additionally, tests of the incremental utility of the APT indices in predicting drinking problems above and beyond measuring alcohol consumption were performed. The APT indices were correlated in the expected directions with drinking outcomes, although many effects were small in size. These effects were typically not moderated by the drinking status of the samples. Additionally, the intensity metric demonstrated incremental utility in predicting alcohol use disorder symptoms beyond measuring drinking. The Alcohol Purchase Task appears to have good construct validity, but limited incremental utility in estimating risk for alcohol problems. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Decision paths in complex tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galanter, Eugene

1991-01-01

Complex real world action and its prediction and control has escaped analysis by the classical methods of psychological research. The reason is that psychologists have no procedures to parse complex tasks into their constituents. Where such a division can be made, based say on expert judgment, there is no natural scale to measure the positive or negative values of the components. Even if we could assign numbers to task parts, we lack rules i.e., a theory, to combine them into a total task representation. We compare here two plausible theories for the amalgamation of the value of task components. Both of these theories require a numerical representation of motivation, for motivation is the primary variable that guides choice and action in well-learned tasks. We address this problem of motivational quantification and performance prediction by developing psychophysical scales of the desireability or aversiveness of task components based on utility scaling methods (Galanter 1990). We modify methods used originally to scale sensory magnitudes (Stevens and Galanter 1957), and that have been applied recently to the measure of task 'workload' by Gopher and Braune (1984). Our modification uses utility comparison scaling techniques which avoid the unnecessary assumptions made by Gopher and Braune. Formula for the utility of complex tasks based on the theoretical models are used to predict decision and choice of alternate paths to the same goal.

Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers: Using Task Design and Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hea-Jin; Özgün-Koca, S. Asli

2016-01-01

This study is based on a Task Design and Analysis activity from a year-long professional development program. The activity was designed to increase teacher growth in several areas, including knowledge of mathematics, understanding of students' cognitive activity, knowledge of good questions, and ability to develop and improve high quality tasks.…

A Validated Task Analysis of the Single Pilot Operations Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolter, Cynthia A.; Gore, Brian F.

2015-01-01

The current day flight deck operational environment consists of a two-person Captain/First Officer crew. A concept of operations (ConOps) to reduce the commercial cockpit to a single pilot from the current two pilot crew is termed Single Pilot Operations (SPO). This concept has been under study by researchers in the Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory (FDDRL) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames (Johnson, Comerford, Lachter, Battiste, Feary, and Mogford, 2012) and researchers from Langley Research Centers (Schutte et al., 2007). Transitioning from a two pilot crew to a single pilot crew will undoubtedly require changes in operational procedures, crew coordination, use of automation, and in how the roles and responsibilities of the flight deck and ATC are conceptualized in order to maintain the high levels of safety expected of the US National Airspace System. These modifications will affect the roles and the subsequent tasks that are required of the various operators in the NextGen environment. The current report outlines the process taken to identify and document the tasks required by the crew according to a number of operational scenarios studied by the FDDRL between the years 2012-2014. A baseline task decomposition has been refined to represent the tasks consistent with a new set of entities, tasks, roles, and responsibilities being explored by the FDDRL as the move is made towards SPO. Information from Subject Matter Expert interviews, participation in FDDRL experimental design meetings, and study observation was used to populate and refine task sets that were developed as part of the SPO task analyses. The task analysis is based upon the proposed ConOps for the third FDDRL SPO study. This experiment possessed nine different entities operating in six scenarios using a variety of SPO-related automation and procedural activities required to guide safe and efficient aircraft operations. The task analysis presents the roles and

Task Analysis for the Jobs of Freight Train Conductor and Brakeman

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-05-31

This document describes the results of a research effort undertaken to detail the tasks of freight train conductors and brakemen. Included with text are detailed operational sequence diagrams for both conductor and brakeman. This task : analysis is s...

Learning to think like a user: using cognitive task analysis to meet today's health care design challenges.

PubMed

Militello, L G

1998-01-01

The growing role of information technology in our society has changed the very nature of many of the tasks that workers are called on to perform. Technology has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of proceduralized, rote tasks that workers must face. The impact of technology on many tasks and functions has been to greatly increase demands on the cognitive skills of workers. More procedural or predictable tasks are now handled by smart machines, while workers are responsible for tasks that require inference, diagnosis, judgment, and decision making. The increase in the cognitive demands placed on workers and the redistribution of tasks have created a need for a better understanding of the cognitive components of many tasks. This need has been recognized by many in the health care domain, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recent FDA regulations encourage the use of human factors in the development of medical devices, instruments, and systems. One promising set of methods for filling this need is cognitive task analysis.

Recurrence quantification analysis of electroencephalograph signals during standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford group scale of hypnotic susceptibility.

PubMed

Yargholi, Elahe'; Nasrabadi, Ali Motie

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to apply RQA (recurrence quantification analysis) on hypnotic electroencephalograph (EEG) signals recorded after hypnotic induction while subjects were doing standard tasks of the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) of hypnotic susceptibility. Then recurrence quantifiers were used to analyse the influence of hypnotic depth on EEGs. By the application of this method, the capability of tasks to distinguish subjects of different hypnotizability levels was determined. Besides, medium hypnotizable subjects showed the highest disposition to be inducted by hypnotizer. Similarities between brain governing dynamics during tasks of the same type were also observed. The present study demonstrated two remarkable innovations; investigating the EEGs of the hypnotized as doing mental tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) and applying RQA on hypnotic EEGs.

Task modulated brain connectivity of the amygdala: a meta-analysis of psychophysiological interactions.

PubMed

Di, Xin; Huang, Jia; Biswal, Bharat B

2017-01-01

Understanding functional connectivity of the amygdala with other brain regions, especially task modulated connectivity, is a critical step toward understanding the role of the amygdala in emotional processes and the interactions between emotion and cognition. The present study performed coordinate-based meta-analysis on studies of task modulated connectivity of the amygdala which used psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. We first analyzed 49 PPI studies on different types of tasks using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. Widespread cortical and subcortical regions showed consistent task modulated connectivity with the amygdala, including the medial frontal cortex, bilateral insula, anterior cingulate, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, thalamus, and basal ganglia. These regions were in general overlapped with those showed coactivations with the amygdala, suggesting that these regions and amygdala are not only activated together, but also show different levels of interactions during tasks. Further analyses with subsets of PPI studies revealed task specific functional connectivities with the amygdala that were modulated by fear processing, face processing, and emotion regulation. These results suggest a dynamic modulation of connectivity upon task demands, and provide new insights on the functions of the amygdala in different affective and cognitive processes. The meta-analytic approach on PPI studies may offer a framework toward systematical examinations of task modulated connectivity.

Cognitive Task Analysis: Implications for the Theory and Practice of Instructional Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dehoney, Joanne

Cognitive task analysis grew out of efforts by cognitive psychologists to understand problem-solving in a lab setting. It has proved a useful tool for describing expert performance in complex problem solving domains. This review considers two general models of cognitive task analysis and examines the procedures and results of analyses in three…

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huq, M. Saiful, E-mail: HUQS@UPMC.EDU

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact ofmore » possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make

A Cognitive Task Analysis for Dental Hygiene.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Cheryl A.; Beemsterboer, Phyllis L.; Johnson, Lynn A.; Mislevy, Robert J.; Steinberg, Linda S.; Breyer, F. Jay

2000-01-01

As part of the development of a scoring algorithm for a simulation-based dental hygiene initial licensure examination, this effort conducted a task analysis of the dental hygiene domain. Broad classes of behaviors that distinguish along the dental hygiene expert-novice continuum were identified and applied to the design of nine paper-based cases…

Defining the "D" in ISD. Part 1: Task-General Instructional Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Ruth Colvin

1986-01-01

The first of two articles designed to provide guidelines for the instructional development phase of instructional systems development focuses on general instructional methods supporting all instructional tasks. Teaching methods that support selective attention, processing in working memory, and connecting in long-term memory are described and…

Self-narrative reconstruction in emotion-focused therapy: A preliminary task analysis.

PubMed

Cunha, Carla; Mendes, Inês; Ribeiro, António P; Angus, Lynne; Greenberg, Leslie S; Gonçalves, Miguel M

2017-11-01

This research explored the consolidation phase of emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for depression and studies-through a task-analysis method-how client-therapist dyads evolved from the exploration of the problem to self-narrative reconstruction. Innovative moments (IMs) were used to situate the process of self-narrative reconstruction within sessions, particularly through reconceptualization and performing change IMs. We contrasted the observation of these occurrences with a rational model of self-narrative reconstruction, previously built. This study presents the rational model and the revised rational-empirical model of the self-narrative reconstruction task in three EFT dyads, suggesting nine steps necessary for task resolution: (1) Explicit recognition of differences in the present and steps in the path of change; (2) Development of a meta-perspective contrast between present self and past self; (3) Amplification of contrast in the self; (4) A positive appreciation of changes is conveyed; (5) Occurrence of feelings of empowerment, competence, and mastery; (6) Reference to difficulties still present; (7) Emphasis on the loss of centrality of the problem; (8) Perception of change as a gradual, developing process; and (9) Reference to projects, experiences of change, or elaboration of new plans. Central aspects of therapist activity in facilitating the client's progression along these nine steps are also elaborated.

Driver Education Task Analysis. Volume I: Task Descriptions. Final Report (August 1969-July 1970).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, A. James; Adams, Bert B.

This resource guide is the first of a 4-volume report dealing with the development of driver education objectives through an analysis of the driver's task. Included are a detailed description of the behaviors required of passenger car drivers, rated criticalities of these behaviors, and items of supporting information relating to driver…

Exploring Task- and Student-Related Factors in the Method of Propositional Manipulation (MPM)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leppink, Jimmie; Broers, Nick J.; Imbos, Tjaart; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.; Berger, Martijn P. F.

2011-01-01

The method of propositional manipulation (MPM) aims to help students develop conceptual understanding of statistics by guiding them into self-explaining propositions. To explore task- and student-related factors influencing students' ability to learn from MPM, twenty undergraduate students performed six learning tasks while thinking aloud. The…

Teamwork in Task Analysis. Training Manual V. Evaluation of the Marine Corps Task Analysis Program. Technical Report No. 9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuriloff, Arthur H.; Yoder, Dale

This training manual provides guidelines for effective teamwork and work-team maintenance and development. It was designed for use in the Marine Corps Task Analysis program, in which staff members are organized to form a work-team whose continuing performance as an effective team is crucial for success of the project. Chapter 1, the major portion…

Adapting Cognitive Task Analysis to Investigate Clinical Decision Making and Medication Safety Incidents.

PubMed

Russ, Alissa L; Militello, Laura G; Glassman, Peter A; Arthur, Karen J; Zillich, Alan J; Weiner, Michael

2017-05-03

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) can yield valuable insights into healthcare professionals' cognition and inform system design to promote safe, quality care. Our objective was to adapt CTA-the critical decision method, specifically-to investigate patient safety incidents, overcome barriers to implementing this method, and facilitate more widespread use of cognitive task analysis in healthcare. We adapted CTA to facilitate recruitment of healthcare professionals and developed a data collection tool to capture incidents as they occurred. We also leveraged the electronic health record (EHR) to expand data capture and used EHR-stimulated recall to aid reconstruction of safety incidents. We investigated 3 categories of medication-related incidents: adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug-disease interactions. Healthcare professionals submitted incidents, and a subset of incidents was selected for CTA. We analyzed several outcomes to characterize incident capture and completed CTA interviews. We captured 101 incidents. Eighty incidents (79%) met eligibility criteria. We completed 60 CTA interviews, 20 for each incident category. Capturing incidents before interviews allowed us to shorten the interview duration and reduced reliance on healthcare professionals' recall. Incorporating the EHR into CTA enriched data collection. The adapted CTA technique was successful in capturing specific categories of safety incidents. Our approach may be especially useful for investigating safety incidents that healthcare professionals "fix and forget." Our innovations to CTA are expected to expand the application of this method in healthcare and inform a wide range of studies on clinical decision making and patient safety.

A method to classify schizophrenia using inter-task spatial correlations of functional brain images.

PubMed

Michael, Andrew M; Calhoun, Vince D; Andreasen, Nancy C; Baum, Stefi A

2008-01-01

The clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia (scz) and the overlap of self reported and observed symptoms with other mental disorders makes its diagnosis a difficult task. At present no laboratory-based or image-based diagnostic tool for scz exists and such tools are desired to support existing methods for more precise diagnosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is currently employed to identify and correlate cognitive processes related to scz and its symptoms. Fusion of multiple fMRI tasks that probe different cognitive processes may help to better understand hidden networks of this complex disorder. In this paper we utilize three different fMRI tasks and introduce an approach to classify subjects based on inter-task spatial correlations of brain activation. The technique was applied to groups of patients and controls and its validity was checked with the leave-one-out method. We show that the classification rate increases when information from multiple tasks are combined.

Memory systems, processes, and tasks: taxonomic clarification via factor analysis.

PubMed

Bruss, Peter J; Mitchell, David B

2009-01-01

The nature of various memory systems was examined using factor analysis. We reanalyzed data from 11 memory tasks previously reported in Mitchell and Bruss (2003). Four well-defined factors emerged, closely resembling episodic and semantic memory and conceptual and perceptual implicit memory, in line with both memory systems and transfer-appropriate processing accounts. To explore taxonomic issues, we ran separate analyses on the implicit tasks. Using a cross-format manipulation (pictures vs. words), we identified 3 prototypical tasks. Word fragment completion and picture fragment identification tasks were "factor pure," tapping perceptual processes uniquely. Category exemplar generation revealed its conceptual nature, yielding both cross-format priming and a picture superiority effect. In contrast, word stem completion and picture naming were more complex, revealing attributes of both processes.

Using task analysis to improve the requirements elicitation in health information system.

PubMed

Teixeira, Leonor; Ferreira, Carlos; Santos, Beatriz Sousa

2007-01-01

This paper describes the application of task analysis within the design process of a Web-based information system for managing clinical information in hemophilia care, in order to improve the requirements elicitation and, consequently, to validate the domain model obtained in a previous phase of the design process (system analysis). The use of task analysis in this case proved to be a practical and efficient way to improve the requirements engineering process by involving users in the design process.

SRM Internal Flow Test and Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis. Volume 1; Major Task Summaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitesides, R. Harold; Dill, Richard A.; Purinton, David C.

1995-01-01

During the four year period of performance for NASA contract, NASB-39095, ERC has performed a wide variety of tasks to support the design and continued development of new and existing solid rocket motors and the resolution of operational problems associated with existing solid rocket motor's at NASA MSFC. This report summarizes the support provided to NASA MSFC during the contractual period of performance. The report is divided into three main sections. The first section presents summaries for the major tasks performed. These tasks are grouped into three major categories: full scale motor analysis, subscale motor analysis and cold flow analysis. The second section includes summaries describing the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tasks performed. The third section, the appendices of the report, presents detailed descriptions of the analysis efforts as well as published papers, memoranda and final reports associated with specific tasks. These appendices are referenced in the summaries. The subsection numbers for the three sections correspond to the same topics for direct cross referencing.

Combating omission errors through task analysis and good reminders.

PubMed

Reason, J

2002-03-01

Leaving out necessary task steps is the single most common human error type. Certain task steps possess characteristics that are more likely to provoke omissions than others, and can be identified in advance. The paper reports two studies. The first, involving a simple photocopier, established that failing to remove the last page of the original is the commonest omission. This step possesses four distinct error-provoking features that combine their effects in an additive fashion. The second study examined the degree to which everyday memory aids satisfy five features of a good reminder: conspicuity, contiguity, content, context, and countability. A close correspondence was found between the percentage use of strategies and the degree to which they satisfied these five criteria. A three stage omission management programme was outlined: task analysis (identifying discrete task steps) of some safety critical activity; assessing the omission likelihood of each step; and the choice and application of a suitable reminder. Such a programme is applicable to a variety of healthcare procedures.

An analysis of relational complexity in an air traffic control conflict detection task.

PubMed

Boag, Christine; Neal, Andrew; Loft, Shayne; Halford, Graeme S

2006-11-15

Theoretical analyses of air traffic complexity were carried out using the Method for the Analysis of Relational Complexity. Twenty-two air traffic controllers examined static air traffic displays and were required to detect and resolve conflicts. Objective measures of performance included conflict detection time and accuracy. Subjective perceptions of mental workload were assessed by a complexity-sorting task and subjective ratings of the difficulty of different aspects of the task. A metric quantifying the complexity of pair-wise relations among aircraft was able to account for a substantial portion of the variance in the perceived complexity and difficulty of conflict detection problems, as well as reaction time. Other variables that influenced performance included the mean minimum separation between aircraft pairs and the amount of time that aircraft spent in conflict.

A Rational Analysis of the Selection Task as Optimal Data Selection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oaksford, Mike; Chater, Nick

1994-01-01

Experimental data on human reasoning in hypothesis-testing tasks is reassessed in light of a Bayesian model of optimal data selection in inductive hypothesis testing. The rational analysis provided by the model suggests that reasoning in such tasks may be rational rather than subject to systematic bias. (SLD)

A cognitive task analysis of information management strategies in a computerized provider order entry environment.

PubMed

Weir, Charlene R; Nebeker, Jonathan J R; Hicken, Bret L; Campo, Rebecca; Drews, Frank; Lebar, Beth

2007-01-01

Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) with electronic documentation, and computerized decision support dramatically changes the information environment of the practicing clinician. Prior work patterns based on paper, verbal exchange, and manual methods are replaced with automated, computerized, and potentially less flexible systems. The objective of this study is to explore the information management strategies that clinicians use in the process of adapting to a CPOE system using cognitive task analysis techniques. Observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 88 primary-care clinicians at 10 Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Interviews were taped, transcribed, and extensively analyzed to identify key information management goals, strategies, and tasks. Tasks were aggregated into groups, common components across tasks were clarified, and underlying goals and strategies identified. Nearly half of the identified tasks were not fully supported by the available technology. Six core components of tasks were identified. Four meta-cognitive information management goals emerged: 1) Relevance Screening; 2) Ensuring Accuracy; 3) Minimizing memory load; and 4) Negotiating Responsibility. Strategies used to support these goals are presented. Users develop a wide array of information management strategies that allow them to successfully adapt to new technology. Supporting the ability of users to develop adaptive strategies to support meta-cognitive goals is a key component of a successful system.

Initiating an ergonomic analysis. A process for jobs with highly variable tasks.

PubMed

Conrad, K M; Lavender, S A; Reichelt, P A; Meyer, F T

2000-09-01

Occupational health nurses play a vital role in addressing ergonomic problems in the workplace. Describing and documenting exposure to ergonomic risk factors is a relatively straightforward process in jobs in which the work is repetitive. In other types of work, the analysis becomes much more challenging because tasks may be repeated infrequently, or at irregular time intervals, or under different environmental and temporal conditions, thereby making it difficult to observe a "representative" sample of the work performed. This article describes a process used to identify highly variable job tasks for ergonomic analyses. The identification of tasks for ergonomic analysis was a two step process involving interviews and a survey of firefighters and paramedics from a consortium of 14 suburban fire departments. The interviews were used to generate a list of frequently performed, physically strenuous job tasks and to capture clear descriptions of those tasks and associated roles. The goals of the survey were to confirm the interview findings across the entire target population and to quantify the frequency and degree of strenuousness of each task. In turn, the quantitative results from the survey were used to prioritize job tasks for simulation. Although this process was used to study firefighters and paramedics, the approach is likely to be suitable for many other types of occupations in which the tasks are highly variable in content and irregular in frequency.

Closed-loop, pilot/vehicle analysis of the approach and landing task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, M. R.; Schmidt, D. K.

1986-01-01

In the case of approach and landing, it is universally accepted that the pilot uses more than one vehicle response, or output, to close his control loops. Therefore, to model this task, a multi-loop analysis technique is required. The analysis problem has been in obtaining reasonable analytic estimates of the describing functions representing the pilot's loop compensation. Once these pilot describing functions are obtained, appropriate performance and workload metrics must then be developed for the landing task. The optimal control approach provides a powerful technique for obtaining the necessary describing functions, once the appropriate task objective is defined in terms of a quadratic objective function. An approach is presented through the use of a simple, reasonable objective function and model-based metrics to evaluate loop performance and pilot workload. The results of an analysis of the LAHOS (Landing and Approach of Higher Order Systems) study performed by R.E. Smith is also presented.

Using Heuristic Task Analysis to Create Web-Based Instructional Design Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fiester, Herbert R.

2010-01-01

The first purpose of this study was to identify procedural and heuristic knowledge used when creating web-based instruction. The second purpose of this study was to develop suggestions for improving the Heuristic Task Analysis process, a technique for eliciting, analyzing, and representing expertise in cognitively complex tasks. Three expert…

Analysis of Skeletal Muscle Metrics as Predictors of Functional Task Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryder, Jeffrey W.; Buxton, Roxanne E.; Redd, Elizabeth; Scott-Pandorf, Melissa; Hackney, Kyle J.; Fiedler, James; Ploutz-Snyder, Robert J.; Bloomberg, Jacob J.; Ploutz-Snyder, Lori L.

2010-01-01

PURPOSE: The ability to predict task performance using physiological performance metrics is vital to ensure that astronauts can execute their jobs safely and effectively. This investigation used a weighted suit to evaluate task performance at various ratios of strength, power, and endurance to body weight. METHODS: Twenty subjects completed muscle performance tests and functional tasks representative of those that would be required of astronauts during planetary exploration (see table for specific tests/tasks). Subjects performed functional tasks while wearing a weighted suit with additional loads ranging from 0-120% of initial body weight. Performance metrics were time to completion for all tasks except hatch opening, which consisted of total work. Task performance metrics were plotted against muscle metrics normalized to "body weight" (subject weight + external load; BW) for each trial. Fractional polynomial regression was used to model the relationship between muscle and task performance. CONCLUSION: LPMIF/BW is the best predictor of performance for predominantly lower-body tasks that are ambulatory and of short duration. LPMIF/BW is a very practical predictor of occupational task performance as it is quick and relatively safe to perform. Accordingly, bench press work best predicts hatch-opening work performance.

Human factors evaluation of remote afterloading brachytherapy. Volume 2, Function and task analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Callan, J.R.; Gwynne, J.W. III; Kelly, T.T.

1995-05-01

A human factors project on the use of nuclear by-product material to treat cancer using remotely operated afterloaders was undertaken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The purpose of the project was to identify factors that contribute to human error in the system for remote afterloading brachytherapy (RAB). This report documents the findings from the first phase of the project, which involved an extensive function and task analysis of RAB. This analysis identified the functions and tasks in RAB, made preliminary estimates of the likelihood of human error in each task, and determined the skills needed to perform each RAB task.more » The findings of the function and task analysis served as the foundation for the remainder of the project, which evaluated four major aspects of the RAB system linked to human error: human-system interfaces; procedures and practices; training and qualifications of RAB staff; and organizational practices and policies. At its completion, the project identified and prioritized areas for recommended NRC and industry attention based on all of the evaluations and analyses.« less

Affordance Analysis--Matching Learning Tasks with Learning Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Matt

2008-01-01

This article presents a design methodology for matching learning tasks with learning technologies. First a working definition of "affordances" is provided based on the need to describe the action potentials of the technologies (utility). Categories of affordances are then proposed to provide a framework for analysis. Following this, a…

Can Distributed Volunteers Accomplish Massive Data Analysis Tasks?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kanefsky, B.; Barlow, N. G.; Gulick, V. C.

2001-01-01

We argue that many image analysis tasks can be performed by distributed amateurs. Our pilot study, with crater surveying and classification, has produced encouraging results in terms of both quantity (100,000 crater entries in 2 months) and quality. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Signal detection theory and methods for evaluating human performance in decision tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obrien, Kevin; Feldman, Evan M.

1993-01-01

Signal Detection Theory (SDT) can be used to assess decision making performance in tasks that are not commonly thought of as perceptual. SDT takes into account both the sensitivity and biases in responding when explaining the detection of external events. In the standard SDT tasks, stimuli are selected in order to reveal the sensory capabilities of the observer. SDT can also be used to describe performance when decisions must be made as to the classification of easily and reliably sensed stimuli. Numbers are stimuli that are minimally affected by sensory processing and can belong to meaningful categories that overlap. Multiple studies have shown that the task of categorizing numbers from overlapping normal distributions produces performance predictable by SDT. These findings are particularly interesting in view of the similarity between the task of the categorizing numbers and that of determining the status of a mechanical system based on numerical values that represent sensor readings. Examples of the use of SDT to evaluate performance in decision tasks are reviewed. The methods and assumptions of SDT are shown to be effective in the measurement, evaluation, and prediction of human performance in such tasks.

Comparison of Seven Methods for Boolean Factor Analysis and Their Evaluation by Information Gain.

PubMed

Frolov, Alexander A; Húsek, Dušan; Polyakov, Pavel Yu

2016-03-01

An usual task in large data set analysis is searching for an appropriate data representation in a space of fewer dimensions. One of the most efficient methods to solve this task is factor analysis. In this paper, we compare seven methods for Boolean factor analysis (BFA) in solving the so-called bars problem (BP), which is a BFA benchmark. The performance of the methods is evaluated by means of information gain. Study of the results obtained in solving BP of different levels of complexity has allowed us to reveal strengths and weaknesses of these methods. It is shown that the Likelihood maximization Attractor Neural Network with Increasing Activity (LANNIA) is the most efficient BFA method in solving BP in many cases. Efficacy of the LANNIA method is also shown, when applied to the real data from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, which contains full genome sequencing for 1368 organisms, and to text data set R52 (from Reuters 21578) typically used for label categorization.

Working with horses: an OWAS work task analysis.

PubMed

Löfqvist, L; Pinzke, S

2011-01-01

Most work in horse stables is performed manually in much the same way as a century ago. It is the least mechanized sector dealing with large animals. People working with horses are exposed to several types of risk for developing musculoskeletal problems, but the work tasks and workload have not been investigated in detail. The aim of this study was to estimate the postural load of the work tasks performed around horses to find those that were harmful and required measures to be taken to reduce physical strain. Altogether, 20 subjects (stable attendants and riding instructors) were video recorded while carrying out their work in the stable, and preparing and conducting riding lessons. The work was analyzed with the Ovako Working posture Analysis System (OWAS) to determine the postural load and to categorize the potential harmfulness of the work postures. Three work tasks involved about 50% of the work positions in the three OWAS categories (AC2 to AC4) where measures for improvement are needed: "mucking out" (50%), "bedding preparation" (48%), and "sweeping" (48%). These work tasks involved over 60% work postures where the back was bent, twisted, or both bent and twisted. Therefore, it is important to find preventive measures to reduce the workload, which could include improved tools, equipment, and work technique.

Do tasks make a difference? Accounting for heterogeneity of performance of children with reading difficulties on tasks of executive function: findings from a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Booth, Josephine N; Boyle, James M E; Kelly, Steve W

2010-03-01

Research studies have implicated executive functions in reading difficulties (RD). But while some studies have found children with RD to be impaired on tasks of executive function other studies report unimpaired performance. A meta-analysis was carried out to determine whether these discrepant findings can be accounted for by differences in the tasks of executive function that are utilized. A total of 48 studies comparing the performance on tasks of executive function of children with RD with their typically developing peers were included in the meta-analysis, yielding 180 effect sizes. An overall effect size of 0.57 (SE .03) was obtained, indicating that children with RD have impairments on tasks of executive function. However, effect sizes varied considerably suggesting that the impairment is not uniform. Moderator analysis revealed that task modality and IQ-achievement discrepancy definitions of RD influenced the magnitude of effect; however, the age and gender of participants and the nature of the RD did not have an influence. While the children's RD were associated with executive function impairments, variation in effect size is a product of the assessment task employed, underlying task demands, and definitional criteria.

Cognitive task analysis for teaching technical skills in an inanimate surgical skills laboratory.

PubMed

Velmahos, George C; Toutouzas, Konstantinos G; Sillin, Lelan F; Chan, Linda; Clark, Richard E; Theodorou, Demetrios; Maupin, Fredric

2004-01-01

The teaching of surgical skills is based mostly on the traditional "see one, do one, teach one" resident-to-resident method. Surgical skills laboratories provide a new environment for teaching skills but their effectiveness has not been adequately tested. Cognitive task analysis is an innovative method to teach skills, used successfully in nonmedical fields. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 3-hour surgical skills laboratory course on central venous catheterization (CVC), taught by the principles of cognitive task analysis to surgical interns. Upon arrival to the Department of Surgery, 26 new interns were randomized to either receive a surgical skills laboratory course on CVC ("course" group, n = 12) or not ("traditional" group, n = 14). The course consisted mostly of hands-on training on inanimate CVC models. All interns took a 15-item multiple-choice question test on CVC at the beginning of the study. Within two and a half months all interns performed CVC on critically ill patients. The outcome measures were cognitive knowledge and technical-skill competence on CVC. These outcomes were assessed by a 14-item checklist evaluating the interns while performing CVC on a patient and by the 15-item multiple-choice-question test, which was repeated at that time. There were no differences between the two groups in the background characteristics of the interns or the patients having CVC. The scores at the initial multiple-choice test were similar (course: 7.33 +/- 1.07, traditional: 8 +/- 2.15, P = 0.944). However, the course interns scored significantly higher in the repeat test compared with the traditional interns (11 +/- 1.86 versus 8.64 +/- 1.82, P = 0.03). Also, the course interns achieved a higher score on the 14-item checklist (12.6 +/- 1.1 versus 7.5 +/- 2.2, P <0.001). They required fewer attempts to find the vein (3.3 +/- 2.2 versus 6.4 +/- 4.2, P = 0.046) and showed a trend toward less time to complete the procedure (15.4 +/- 9

Task analysis of Air Force pharmacy practice.

PubMed

Bartholomew, A; Sawyer, W T; Coats, L

1995-01-15

The frequency with which United States Air Force pharmacists perform specific professional tasks and the pharmacists' views as to the importance of those tasks were studied. A questionnaire was prepared that asked recipients to rate each of 36 tasks selected as representing the spectrum of practice activities. There were four categories of tasks: managerial tasks, dispensing tasks, drug information tasks, and patient care tasks. Recipients rated the tasks with respect to frequency of performance and importance on separate 6-point scales. The questionnaire was mailed in May 1991 to the 225 pharmacists then serving in the Air Force worldwide. Of the 225 questionnaires, 150 usable questionnaires were returned (response rate, 67%). All the tasks in the survey were performed by at least one Air Force pharmacy officer, although the frequency of task performance varied. In particular, the frequency of many patient care tasks was low. All the tasks were perceived to have some importance, but drug information tasks were rated as being significantly more important than tasks in the other categories; patient care tasks were rated lowest in importance. The results varied with the respondents' demographic characteristics. Pharmacy officers with more years of service, more senior positions, higher rank, or an advanced degree in a field other than pharmacy tended to give responses that diverged from those of the population. A 1991 survey showed an awareness among Air Force pharmacists of the need to orient practice around patient care; however, they were not spending substantial time on patient care and tended to view it as less important than more traditional pharmacy tasks.

An analysis of functional shoulder movements during task performance using Dartfish movement analysis software.

PubMed

Khadilkar, Leenesh; MacDermid, Joy C; Sinden, Kathryn E; Jenkyn, Thomas R; Birmingham, Trevor B; Athwal, George S

2014-01-01

Video-based movement analysis software (Dartfish) has potential for clinical applications for understanding shoulder motion if functional measures can be reliably obtained. The primary purpose of this study was to describe the functional range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder used to perform a subset of functional tasks. A second purpose was to assess the reliability of functional ROM measurements obtained by different raters using Dartfish software. Ten healthy participants, mean age 29 ± 5 years, were videotaped while performing five tasks selected from the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH). Video cameras and markers were used to obtain video images suitable for analysis in Dartfish software. Three repetitions of each task were performed. Shoulder movements from all three repetitions were analyzed using Dartfish software. The tracking tool of the Dartfish software was used to obtain shoulder joint angles and arcs of motion. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the measurements were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Maximum (coronal plane) abduction (118° ± 16°) and (sagittal plane) flexion (111° ± 15°) was observed during 'washing one's hair;' maximum extension (-68° ± 9°) was identified during 'washing one's own back.' Minimum shoulder ROM was observed during 'opening a tight jar' (33° ± 13° abduction and 13° ± 19° flexion). Test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.45 to 0.94) suggests high inter-individual task variability, and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.68 to 1.00) showed moderate to excellent agreement. KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE: 1) functional shoulder ROM identified in this study compared to similar studies; 2) healthy individuals require less than full ROM when performing five common ADL tasks 3) high participant variability was observed during performance of the five ADL tasks; and 4) Dartfish software provides a clinically relevant tool to analyze shoulder function.

A Cognitive Task Analysis of Information Management Strategies in a Computerized Provider Order Entry Environment

PubMed Central

Weir, Charlene R.; Nebeker, Jonathan J.R.; Hicken, Bret L.; Campo, Rebecca; Drews, Frank; LeBar, Beth

2007-01-01

Objective Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) with electronic documentation, and computerized decision support dramatically changes the information environment of the practicing clinician. Prior work patterns based on paper, verbal exchange, and manual methods are replaced with automated, computerized, and potentially less flexible systems. The objective of this study is to explore the information management strategies that clinicians use in the process of adapting to a CPOE system using cognitive task analysis techniques. Design Observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 88 primary-care clinicians at 10 Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Measurements Interviews were taped, transcribed, and extensively analyzed to identify key information management goals, strategies, and tasks. Tasks were aggregated into groups, common components across tasks were clarified, and underlying goals and strategies identified. Results Nearly half of the identified tasks were not fully supported by the available technology. Six core components of tasks were identified. Four meta-cognitive information management goals emerged: 1) Relevance Screening; 2) Ensuring Accuracy; 3) Minimizing memory load; and 4) Negotiating Responsibility. Strategies used to support these goals are presented. Conclusion Users develop a wide array of information management strategies that allow them to successfully adapt to new technology. Supporting the ability of users to develop adaptive strategies to support meta-cognitive goals is a key component of a successful system. PMID:17068345

Bringing Reading-to-Write and Writing-Only Assessment Tasks Together: A Generalizability Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gebril, Atta

2010-01-01

Integrated tasks are currently employed in a number of L2 exams since they are perceived as an addition to the writing-only task type. Given this trend, the current study investigates composite score generalizability of both reading-to-write and writing-only tasks. For this purpose, a multivariate generalizability analysis is used to investigate…

Design of Computer-aided Instruction for Radiology Interpretation: The Role of Cognitive Task Analysis

PubMed Central

Pusic, Martin V.; LeBlanc, Vicki; Patel, Vimla L.

2001-01-01

Traditional task analysis for instructional design has emphasized the importance of precisely defining behavioral educational objectives and working back to select objective-appropriate instructional strategies. However, this approach may miss effective strategies. Cognitive task analysis, on the other hand, breaks a process down into its component knowledge representations. Selection of instructional strategies based on all such representations in a domain is likely to lead to optimal instructional design. In this demonstration, using the interpretation of cervical spine x-rays as an educational example, we show how a detailed cognitive task analysis can guide the development of computer-aided instruction.

Truck and bus driver task analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-05-01

This report describes the tasks involved in driving large trucks and buses. The task descriptions are an extension of the task description developed by Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) for passenger car drivers and deal with those uniqu...

Task analysis exemplified: the process of resolving unfinished business.

PubMed

Greenberg, L S; Foerster, F S

1996-06-01

The steps of a task-analytic research program designed to identify the in-session performances involved in resolving lingering bad feelings toward a significant other are described. A rational-empirical methodology of repeatedly cycling between rational conjecture and empirical observations is demonstrated as a method of developing an intervention manual and the components of client processes of resolution. A refined model of the change process developed by these procedures is validated by comparing 11 successful and 11 unsuccessful performances. Four performance components-intense expression of feeling, expression of need, shift in representation of other, and self-validation or understanding of the other-were found to discriminate between resolution and nonresolution performances. These components were measured on 4 process measures: the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, the Experiencing Scale, the Client's Emotional Arousal Scale, and a need scale.

Task Design for Students' Work with Basic Theory in Analysis: The Cases of Multidimensional Differentiability and Curve Integrals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gravesen, Katrine Frovin; Grønbaek, Niels; Winsløw, Carl

2017-01-01

We investigate the challenges students face in the transition from calculus courses, focusing on methods related to the analysis of real valued functions given in closed form, to more advanced courses on analysis where focus is on theoretical structure, including proof. We do so based on task design aiming for a number of generic potentials for…

Reverse control for humanoid robot task recognition.

PubMed

Hak, Sovannara; Mansard, Nicolas; Stasse, Olivier; Laumond, Jean Paul

2012-12-01

Efficient methods to perform motion recognition have been developed using statistical tools. Those methods rely on primitive learning in a suitable space, for example, the latent space of the joint angle and/or adequate task spaces. Learned primitives are often sequential: A motion is segmented according to the time axis. When working with a humanoid robot, a motion can be decomposed into parallel subtasks. For example, in a waiter scenario, the robot has to keep some plates horizontal with one of its arms while placing a plate on the table with its free hand. Recognition can thus not be limited to one task per consecutive segment of time. The method presented in this paper takes advantage of the knowledge of what tasks the robot is able to do and how the motion is generated from this set of known controllers, to perform a reverse engineering of an observed motion. This analysis is intended to recognize parallel tasks that have been used to generate a motion. The method relies on the task-function formalism and the projection operation into the null space of a task to decouple the controllers. The approach is successfully applied on a real robot to disambiguate motion in different scenarios where two motions look similar but have different purposes.

Single-Family Energy Auditor Job Task Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Head, Heather R.; Kurnik, Charles W.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is contracted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to develop and maintain the resources under the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals (GHEP) project. As part of the GHEP strategy to increase the quality of work conducted for single-family, residential energy-efficiency retrofits, the Home Energy Professionals Job Task Analysis are used as the foundation for quality training programs and trainers.

Behavioral Task Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

and related tech- nologies . Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Neisser , U . (1967) . Cognitive psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts...behavior (see Neisser [1967] for a review of the early stages of information processing). The result is a characterization of human tasks as involving

Classes in the Balance: Latent Class Analysis and the Balance Scale Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boom, Jan; ter Laak, Jan

2007-01-01

Latent class analysis (LCA) has been successfully applied to tasks measuring higher cognitive functioning, suggesting the existence of distinct strategies used in such tasks. With LCA it became possible to classify post hoc. This important step forward in modeling and analyzing cognitive strategies is relevant to the overlapping waves model for…

Task Inhibition and Response Inhibition in Older vs. Younger Adults: A Diffusion Model Analysis

PubMed Central

Schuch, Stefanie

2016-01-01

Differences in inhibitory ability between older (64–79 years, N = 24) and younger adults (18–26 years, N = 24) were investigated using a diffusion model analysis. Participants performed a task-switching paradigm that allows assessing n−2 task repetition costs, reflecting inhibitory control on the level of tasks, as well as n−1 response-repetition costs, reflecting inhibitory control on the level of responses. N−2 task repetition costs were of similar size in both age groups. Diffusion model analysis revealed that for both younger and older adults, drift rate parameters were smaller in the inhibition condition relative to the control condition, consistent with the idea that persisting task inhibition slows down response selection. Moreover, there was preliminary evidence for task inhibition effects in threshold separation and non-decision time in the older, but not the younger adults, suggesting that older adults might apply different strategies when dealing with persisting task inhibition. N−1 response-repetition costs in mean RT were larger in older than younger adults, but in mean error rates tended to be larger in younger than older adults. Diffusion-model analysis revealed longer non-decision times in response repetitions than response switches in both age groups, consistent with the idea that motor processes take longer in response repetitions than response switches due to persisting response inhibition of a previously executed response. The data also revealed age-related differences in overall performance: Older adults responded more slowly and more accurately than young adults, which was reflected by a higher threshold separation parameter in diffusion model analysis. Moreover, older adults showed larger non-decision times and higher variability in non-decision time than young adults, possibly reflecting slower and more variable motor processes. In contrast, overall drift rate did not differ between older and younger adults. Taken together

A Novel Method for Assessing Task Complexity in Outpatient Clinical-Performance Measures.

PubMed

Hysong, Sylvia J; Amspoker, Amber B; Petersen, Laura A

2016-04-01

Clinical-performance measurement has helped improve the quality of health-care; yet success in attaining high levels of quality across multiple domains simultaneously still varies considerably. Although many sources of variability in care quality have been studied, the difficulty required to complete the clinical work itself has received little attention. We present a task-based methodology for evaluating the difficulty of clinical-performance measures (CPMs) by assessing the complexity of their component requisite tasks. Using Functional Job Analysis (FJA), subject-matter experts (SMEs) generated task lists for 17 CPMs; task lists were rated on ten dimensions of complexity, and then aggregated into difficulty composites. Eleven outpatient work SMEs; 133 VA Medical Centers nationwide. Clinical Performance: 17 outpatient CPMs (2000-2008) at 133 VA Medical Centers nationwide. Measure Difficulty: for each CPM, the number of component requisite tasks and the average rating across ten FJA complexity scales for the set of tasks comprising the measure. Measures varied considerably in the number of component tasks (M = 10.56, SD = 6.25, min = 5, max = 25). Measures of chronic care following acute myocardial infarction exhibited significantly higher measure difficulty ratings compared to diabetes or screening measures, but not to immunization measures ([Formula: see text] = 0.45, -0.04, -0.05, and -0.06 respectively; F (3, 186) = 3.57, p = 0.015). Measure difficulty ratings were not significantly correlated with the number of component tasks (r = -0.30, p = 0.23). Evaluating the difficulty of achieving recommended CPM performance levels requires more than simply counting the tasks involved; using FJA to assess the complexity of CPMs' component tasks presents an alternate means of assessing the difficulty of primary-care CPMs and accounting for performance variation among measures and performers. This in turn could be used in designing

Tool development in threat assessment: syntax regularization and correlative analysis. Final report Task I and Task II, November 21, 1977-May 21, 1978. [Linguistic analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miron, M.S.; Christopher, C.; Hirshfield, S.

1978-05-01

Psycholinguistics provides crisis managers in nuclear threat incidents with a quantitative methodology which can aid in the determination of threat credibility, authorship identification and perpetrator apprehension. The objective of this contract is to improve and enhance present psycholinguistic software systems by means of newly-developed, computer-automated techniques which significantly extend the technology of automated content and stylistic analysis of nuclear threat. In accordance with this overall objective, the first two contract Tasks have been completed and are reported on in this document. The first Task specifies the development of software support for the purpose of syntax regularization of vocabulary to rootmore » form. The second calls for the exploration and development of alternative approaches to correlative analysis of vocabulary usage.« less

Pilot-model analysis and simulation study of effect of control task desired control response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, J. J.; Gera, J.; Jaudon, J. B.

1978-01-01

A pilot model analysis was performed that relates pilot control compensation, pilot aircraft system response, and aircraft response characteristics for longitudinal control. The results show that a higher aircraft short period frequency is required to achieve superior pilot aircraft system response in an altitude control task than is required in an attitude control task. These results were confirmed by a simulation study of target tracking. It was concluded that the pilot model analysis provides a theoretical basis for determining the effect of control task on pilot opinions.

Modeling Cognitive Strategies during Complex Task Performing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazman, Sacide Guzin; Altun, Arif

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine individuals' computer based complex task performing processes and strategies in order to determine the reasons of failure by cognitive task analysis method and cued retrospective think aloud with eye movement data. Study group was five senior students from Computer Education and Instructional Technologies…

The approach to engineering tasks composition on knowledge portals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novogrudska, Rina; Globa, Larysa; Schill, Alexsander; Romaniuk, Ryszard; Wójcik, Waldemar; Karnakova, Gaini; Kalizhanova, Aliya

2017-08-01

The paper presents an approach to engineering tasks composition on engineering knowledge portals. The specific features of engineering tasks are highlighted, their analysis makes the basis for partial engineering tasks integration. The formal algebraic system for engineering tasks composition is proposed, allowing to set the context-independent formal structures for engineering tasks elements' description. The method of engineering tasks composition is developed that allows to integrate partial calculation tasks into general calculation tasks on engineering portals, performed on user request demand. The real world scenario «Calculation of the strength for the power components of magnetic systems» is represented, approving the applicability and efficiency of proposed approach.

The Use Of Computational Human Performance Modeling As Task Analysis Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacuqes Hugo; David Gertman

2012-07-01

During a review of the Advanced Test Reactor safety basis at the Idaho National Laboratory, human factors engineers identified ergonomic and human reliability risks involving the inadvertent exposure of a fuel element to the air during manual fuel movement and inspection in the canal. There were clear indications that these risks increased the probability of human error and possible severe physical outcomes to the operator. In response to this concern, a detailed study was conducted to determine the probability of the inadvertent exposure of a fuel element. Due to practical and safety constraints, the task network analysis technique was employedmore » to study the work procedures at the canal. Discrete-event simulation software was used to model the entire procedure as well as the salient physical attributes of the task environment, such as distances walked, the effect of dropped tools, the effect of hazardous body postures, and physical exertion due to strenuous tool handling. The model also allowed analysis of the effect of cognitive processes such as visual perception demands, auditory information and verbal communication. The model made it possible to obtain reliable predictions of operator performance and workload estimates. It was also found that operator workload as well as the probability of human error in the fuel inspection and transfer task were influenced by the concurrent nature of certain phases of the task and the associated demand on cognitive and physical resources. More importantly, it was possible to determine with reasonable accuracy the stages as well as physical locations in the fuel handling task where operators would be most at risk of losing their balance and falling into the canal. The model also provided sufficient information for a human reliability analysis that indicated that the postulated fuel exposure accident was less than credible.« less

[Information value of "additional tasks" method to evaluate pilot's work load].

PubMed

Gorbunov, V V

2005-01-01

"Additional task" method was used to evaluate pilot's work load in prolonged flight. Calculated through durations of latent periods of motor responses, quantitative criterion of work load is more informative for objective evaluation of pilot's involvement in his piloting functions rather than of other registered parameters.

Job Task Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clemson Univ., SC.

This publication consists of job task analyses for jobs in textile manufacturing. Information provided for each job in the greige and finishing plants includes job title, job purpose, and job duties with related educational objectives, curriculum, assessment, and outcome. These job titles are included: yarn manufacturing head overhauler, yarn…

Visual Task Demands and the Auditory Mismatch Negativity: An Empirical Study and a Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Wiens, Stefan; Szychowska, Malina; Nilsson, Mats E.

2016-01-01

Because the auditory system is particularly useful in monitoring the environment, previous research has examined whether task-irrelevant, auditory distracters are processed even if subjects focus their attention on visual stimuli. This research suggests that attentionally demanding visual tasks decrease the auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) to simultaneously presented auditory distractors. Because a recent behavioral study found that high visual perceptual load decreased detection sensitivity of simultaneous tones, we used a similar task (n = 28) to determine if high visual perceptual load would reduce the auditory MMN. Results suggested that perceptual load did not decrease the MMN. At face value, these nonsignificant findings may suggest that effects of perceptual load on the MMN are smaller than those of other demanding visual tasks. If so, effect sizes should differ systematically between the present and previous studies. We conducted a selective meta-analysis of published studies in which the MMN was derived from the EEG, the visual task demands were continuous and varied between high and low within the same task, and the task-irrelevant tones were presented in a typical oddball paradigm simultaneously with the visual stimuli. Because the meta-analysis suggested that the present (null) findings did not differ systematically from previous findings, the available evidence was combined. Results of this meta-analysis confirmed that demanding visual tasks reduce the MMN to auditory distracters. However, because the meta-analysis was based on small studies and because of the risk for publication biases, future studies should be preregistered with large samples (n > 150) to provide confirmatory evidence for the results of the present meta-analysis. These future studies should also use control conditions that reduce confounding effects of neural adaptation, and use load manipulations that are defined independently from their effects on the MMN. PMID:26741815

Complete 3D kinematics of upper extremity functional tasks.

PubMed

van Andel, Carolien J; Wolterbeek, Nienke; Doorenbosch, Caroline A M; Veeger, DirkJan H E J; Harlaar, Jaap

2008-01-01

Upper extremity (UX) movement analysis by means of 3D kinematics has the potential to become an important clinical evaluation method. However, no standardized protocol for clinical application has yet been developed, that includes the whole upper limb. Standardization problems include the lack of a single representative function, the wide range of motion of joints and the complexity of the anatomical structures. A useful protocol would focus on the functional status of the arm and particularly the orientation of the hand. The aim of this work was to develop a standardized measurement method for unconstrained movement analysis of the UX that includes hand orientation, for a set of functional tasks for the UX and obtain normative values. Ten healthy subjects performed four representative activities of daily living (ADL). In addition, six standard active range of motion (ROM) tasks were executed. Joint angles of the wrist, elbow, shoulder and scapula were analyzed throughout each ADL task and minimum/maximum angles were determined from the ROM tasks. Characteristic trajectories were found for the ADL tasks, standard deviations were generally small and ROM results were consistent with the literature. The results of this study could form the normative basis for the development of a 'UX analysis report' equivalent to the 'gait analysis report' and would allow for future comparisons with pediatric and/or pathologic movement patterns.

Critical care physician cognitive task analysis: an exploratory study

PubMed Central

Fackler, James C; Watts, Charles; Grome, Anna; Miller, Thomas; Crandall, Beth; Pronovost, Peter

2009-01-01

Introduction For better or worse, the imposition of work-hour limitations on house-staff has imperiled continuity and/or improved decision-making. Regardless, the workflow of every physician team in every academic medical centre has been irrevocably altered. We explored the use of cognitive task analysis (CTA) techniques, most commonly used in other high-stress and time-sensitive environments, to analyse key cognitive activities in critical care medicine. The study objective was to assess the usefulness of CTA as an analytical tool in order that physician cognitive tasks may be understood and redistributed within the work-hour limited medical decision-making teams. Methods After approval from each Institutional Review Board, two intensive care units (ICUs) within major university teaching hospitals served as data collection sites for CTA observations and interviews of critical care providers. Results Five broad categories of cognitive activities were identified: pattern recognition; uncertainty management; strategic vs. tactical thinking; team coordination and maintenance of common ground; and creation and transfer of meaning through stories. Conclusions CTA within the framework of Naturalistic Decision Making is a useful tool to understand the critical care process of decision-making and communication. The separation of strategic and tactical thinking has implications for workflow redesign. Given the global push for work-hour limitations, such workflow redesign is occurring. Further work with CTA techniques will provide important insights toward rational, rather than random, workflow changes. PMID:19265517

Diverse task scheduling for individualized requirements in cloud manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Longfei; Zhang, Lin; Zhao, Chun; Laili, Yuanjun; Xu, Lida

2018-03-01

Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) has emerged as a new manufacturing paradigm that provides ubiquitous, on-demand manufacturing services to customers through network and CMfg platforms. In CMfg system, task scheduling as an important means of finding suitable services for specific manufacturing tasks plays a key role in enhancing the system performance. Customers' requirements in CMfg are highly individualized, which leads to diverse manufacturing tasks in terms of execution flows and users' preferences. We focus on diverse manufacturing tasks and aim to address their scheduling issue in CMfg. First of all, a mathematical model of task scheduling is built based on analysis of the scheduling process in CMfg. To solve this scheduling problem, we propose a scheduling method aiming for diverse tasks, which enables each service demander to obtain desired manufacturing services. The candidate service sets are generated according to subtask directed graphs. An improved genetic algorithm is applied to searching for optimal task scheduling solutions. The effectiveness of the scheduling method proposed is verified by a case study with individualized customers' requirements. The results indicate that the proposed task scheduling method is able to achieve better performance than some usual algorithms such as simulated annealing and pattern search.

Machine Learning Methods for Production Cases Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokrova, Nataliya V.; Mokrov, Alexander M.; Safonova, Alexandra V.; Vishnyakov, Igor V.

2018-03-01

Approach to analysis of events occurring during the production process were proposed. Described machine learning system is able to solve classification tasks related to production control and hazard identification at an early stage. Descriptors of the internal production network data were used for training and testing of applied models. k-Nearest Neighbors and Random forest methods were used to illustrate and analyze proposed solution. The quality of the developed classifiers was estimated using standard statistical metrics, such as precision, recall and accuracy.

Partial Derivative Games in Thermodynamics: A Cognitive Task Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kustusch, Mary Bridget; Roundy, David; Dray, Tevian; Manogue, Corinne A.

2014-01-01

Several studies in recent years have demonstrated that upper-division students struggle with the mathematics of thermodynamics. This paper presents a task analysis based on several expert attempts to solve a challenging mathematics problem in thermodynamics. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we highlight the importance of cognitive task…

Task Analysis in Instructional Design: Some Cases from Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Resnick, Lauren B.

Task analysis as a tool in the design of instruction is the subject of this paper. Some of the major historical approaches (associationist/behaviorist, gestalt, and Piagetian) are described using examples from mathematics. The usefulness of these approaches to instructional design is evaluated on the basis of four criteria: instructional…

Comprehensive evaluation of liver resection procedures: surgical mind development through cognitive task analysis

PubMed Central

Wakabayashi, Go; Yeh, Chi-Chuan; Hu, Rey-Heng; Sakaguchi, Takanori; Hasegawa, Yasushi; Takahara, Takeshi; Nitta, Hiroyuki; Sasaki, Akira; Lee, Po-Huang

2018-01-01

Background Liver resection is a complex procedure for trainee surgeons. Cognitive task analysis (CTA) facilitates understanding and decomposing tasks that require a great proportion of mental activity from experts. Methods Using CTA and video-based coaching to compare liver resection by open and laparoscopic approaches, we decomposed the task of liver resection into exposure (visual field building), adequate tension made at the working plane (which may change three-dimensionally during the resection process), and target processing (intervention strategy) that can bridge the gap from the basic surgical principle. Results The key steps of highly-specialized techniques, including hanging maneuvers and looping of extra-hepatic hepatic veins, were shown on video by open and laparoscopic approaches. Conclusions Familiarization with laparoscopic anatomical orientation may help surgeons already skilled at open liver resection transit to perform laparoscopic liver resection smoothly. Facilities at hand (such as patient tolerability, advanced instruments, and trained teams of personnel) can influence surgical decision making. Application of the rationale and realizing the interplay between the surgical principles and the other paramedical factors may help surgeons in training to understand the mental abstractions of experienced surgeons, to choose the most appropriate surgical strategy effectively at will, and to minimize the gap. PMID:29445607

Dual ant colony operational modal analysis parameter estimation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitarz, Piotr; Powałka, Bartosz

2018-01-01

Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) is a common technique used to examine the dynamic properties of a system. Contrary to experimental modal analysis, the input signal is generated in object ambient environment. Operational modal analysis mainly aims at determining the number of pole pairs and at estimating modal parameters. Many methods are used for parameter identification. Some methods operate in time while others in frequency domain. The former use correlation functions, the latter - spectral density functions. However, while some methods require the user to select poles from a stabilisation diagram, others try to automate the selection process. Dual ant colony operational modal analysis parameter estimation method (DAC-OMA) presents a new approach to the problem, avoiding issues involved in the stabilisation diagram. The presented algorithm is fully automated. It uses deterministic methods to define the interval of estimated parameters, thus reducing the problem to optimisation task which is conducted with dedicated software based on ant colony optimisation algorithm. The combination of deterministic methods restricting parameter intervals and artificial intelligence yields very good results, also for closely spaced modes and significantly varied mode shapes within one measurement point.

Real-time design with peer tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goforth, Andre; Howes, Norman R.; Wood, Jonathan D.; Barnes, Michael J.

1995-01-01

We introduce a real-time design methodology for large scale, distributed, parallel architecture, real-time systems (LDPARTS), as an alternative to those methods using rate or dead-line monotonic analysis. In our method the fundamental units of prioritization, work items, are domain specific objects with timing requirements (deadlines) found in user's specification. A work item consists of a collection of tasks of equal priority. Current scheduling theories are applied with artifact deadlines introduced by the designer whereas our method schedules work items to meet user's specification deadlines (sometimes called end-to-end deadlines). Our method supports these scheduling properties. Work item scheduling is based on domain specific importance instead of task level urgency and still meets as many user specification deadlines as can be met by scheduling tasks with respect to urgency. Second, the minimum (closest) on-line deadline that can be guaranteed for a work item of highest importance, scheduled at run time, is approximately the inverse of the throughput, measured in work items per second. Third, throughput is not degraded during overload and instead of resorting to task shedding during overload, the designer can specify which work items to shed. We prove these properties in a mathematical model.

Task analysis of information technology-mediated medication management in outpatient care.

PubMed

van Stiphout, F; Zwart-van Rijkom, J E F; Maggio, L A; Aarts, J E C M; Bates, D W; van Gelder, T; Jansen, P A F; Schraagen, J M C; Egberts, A C G; ter Braak, E W M T

2015-09-01

Educating physicians in the procedural as well as cognitive skills of information technology (IT)-mediated medication management could be one of the missing links for the improvement of patient safety. We aimed to compose a framework of tasks that need to be addressed to optimize medication management in outpatient care. Formal task analysis: decomposition of a complex task into a set of subtasks. First, we obtained a general description of the medication management process from exploratory interviews. Secondly, we interviewed experts in-depth to further define tasks and subtasks. Outpatient care in different fields of medicine in six teaching and academic medical centres in the Netherlands and the United States. 20 experts. Tasks were divided up into procedural, cognitive and macrocognitive tasks and categorized into the three components of dynamic decision making. The medication management process consists of three components: (i) reviewing the medication situation; (ii) composing a treatment plan; and (iii) accomplishing and communicating a treatment and surveillance plan. Subtasks include multiple cognitive tasks such as composing a list of current medications and evaluating the reliability of sources, and procedural tasks such as documenting current medication. The identified macrocognitive tasks were: planning, integration of IT in workflow, managing uncertainties and responsibilities, and problem detection. All identified procedural, cognitive and macrocognitive skills should be included when designing education for IT-mediated medication management. The resulting framework supports the design of educational interventions to improve IT-mediated medication management in outpatient care. © 2015 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Pharmacological Society.

Technology implications of a cognitive task analysis for locomotive engineers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

This report documents the results of a cognitive task analysis (CTA) that examined the cognitive demands and activities of locomotive engineers in todays environment and the changes in cognitive demands and activities that are likely to arise with...

Constructing experimental designs for discrete-choice experiments: report of the ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Experimental Design Good Research Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Reed Johnson, F; Lancsar, Emily; Marshall, Deborah; Kilambi, Vikram; Mühlbacher, Axel; Regier, Dean A; Bresnahan, Brian W; Kanninen, Barbara; Bridges, John F P

2013-01-01

Stated-preference methods are a class of evaluation techniques for studying the preferences of patients and other stakeholders. While these methods span a variety of techniques, conjoint-analysis methods-and particularly discrete-choice experiments (DCEs)-have become the most frequently applied approach in health care in recent years. Experimental design is an important stage in the development of such methods, but establishing a consensus on standards is hampered by lack of understanding of available techniques and software. This report builds on the previous ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Task Force Report: Conjoint Analysis Applications in Health-A Checklist: A Report of the ISPOR Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force. This report aims to assist researchers specifically in evaluating alternative approaches to experimental design, a difficult and important element of successful DCEs. While this report does not endorse any specific approach, it does provide a guide for choosing an approach that is appropriate for a particular study. In particular, it provides an overview of the role of experimental designs for the successful implementation of the DCE approach in health care studies, and it provides researchers with an introduction to constructing experimental designs on the basis of study objectives and the statistical model researchers have selected for the study. The report outlines the theoretical requirements for designs that identify choice-model preference parameters and summarizes and compares a number of available approaches for constructing experimental designs. The task-force leadership group met via bimonthly teleconferences and in person at ISPOR meetings in the United States and Europe. An international group of experimental-design experts was consulted during this process to discuss existing approaches for experimental design and to review the task force's draft reports. In addition, ISPOR members contributed to developing a consensus

Financial Mathematical Tasks in a Middle School Mathematics Textbook Series: A Content Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamburg, Maryanna P.

2009-01-01

This content analysis examined the distribution of financial mathematical tasks (FMTs), mathematical tasks that contain financial terminology and require financially related solutions, across the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education categories (JumpStart Coalition, 2007), the thinking skills as identified by "A Taxonomy for…

Cognitive Task Analysis of Prioritization in Air Traffic Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redding, Richard E.; And Others

A cognitive task analysis was performed to analyze the key cognitive components of the en route air traffic controllers' jobs. The goals were to ascertain expert mental models and decision-making strategies and to identify important differences in controller knowledge, skills, and mental models as a function of expertise. Four groups of…

Unique Systems Analysis Task 7, Advanced Subsonic Technologies Evaluation Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisenberg, Joseph D. (Technical Monitor); Bettner, J. L.; Stratton, S.

2004-01-01

To retain a preeminent U.S. position in the aircraft industry, aircraft passenger mile costs must be reduced while at the same time, meeting anticipated more stringent environmental regulations. A significant portion of these improvements will come from the propulsion system. A technology evaluation and system analysis was accomplished under this task, including areas such as aerodynamics and materials and improved methods for obtaining low noise and emissions. Previous subsonic evaluation analyses have identified key technologies in selected components for propulsion systems for year 2015 and beyond. Based on the current economic and competitive environment, it is clear that studies with nearer turn focus that have a direct impact on the propulsion industry s next generation product are required. This study will emphasize the year 2005 entry into service time period. The objective of this study was to determine which technologies and materials offer the greatest opportunities for improving propulsion systems. The goals are twofold. The first goal is to determine an acceptable compromise between the thermodynamic operating conditions for A) best performance, and B) acceptable noise and chemical emissions. The second goal is the evaluation of performance, weight and cost of advanced materials and concepts on the direct operating cost of an advanced regional transport of comparable technology level.

Cognitive Task Analysis for Instructional Design: Applications in Distance Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redding, Richard E.

1995-01-01

Provides an overview of cognitive task analysis-based instructional design (CTA-BID) and its applications in the design of instructional and testing materials for distance education. Reviews developments in education, psychology, and instructional design that complement CTA-BID. (Author/AEF)

Children's Task Oriented Patterns in Early Childhood: A Latent Transition Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Feihong; Algina, James; Snyder, Patricia; Cox, Martha; Vernon-Feagans, Lynne; Cox, Martha; Blair, Clancy; Burchinal, Margaret; Burton, Linda; Crnic, Keith; Crouter, Ann; Garrett-Peters, Patricia; Greenberg, Mark; Lanza, Stephanie; Mills-Koonce, Roger; Werner, Emily; Willoughby, Michael

2017-01-01

We examined individual differences and predictions of children's patterns in behavioral, emotional and attentional efforts toward challenging puzzle tasks at 24 and 35 months using data from a large longitudinal rural representative sample. Using latent transition analysis, we found four distinct task-oriented patterns in problem-solving tasks…

Children's Task Engagement during Challenging Puzzle Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Feihong; Algina, James; Snyder, Patricia; Cox, Martha

2017-01-01

We examined children's task engagement during a challenging puzzle task in the presence of their primary caregivers by using a representative sample of rural children from six high-poverty counties across two states. Weighted longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to identify a task engagement factor…

The Relative Efficiency of Two Strategies for Conducting Cognitive Task Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, Catherine L.

2012-01-01

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) has evolved over the past half century to capture the mental decisions and analysis that experts have learned to implement when solving complex problems. Since expertise is largely automated and nonconscious, a variety of observation and interview strategies have been developed to identify the most critical cognitive…

Task Analysis: Applying Composition Theory in an Industrial Forum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soderston, Candace

Technical writers involved in an institutional writing project need some way of viewing the raw material globally before writing. In this way they can build a framework which can be used for different types of information. This is accomplished through a task analysis meeting that highlights the following preparatory steps prior to writing: (1)…

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Weingart, Laurie R

2003-08-01

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated.

The Relationship between Task Difficulty and Second Language Fluency in French: A Mixed Methods Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Préfontaine, Yvonne; Kormos, Judit

2015-01-01

While there exists a considerable body of literature on task-based difficulty and second language (L2) fluency in English as a second language (ESL), there has been little investigation with French learners. This mixed methods study examines learner appraisals of task difficulty and their relationship to automated utterance fluency measures in…

Combined analysis of job and task benzene air exposures among workers at four US refinery operations

PubMed Central

Shin, Jennifer (Mi); Unice, Ken M; Gaffney, Shannon H; Kreider, Marisa L; Gelatt, Richard H; Panko, Julie M

2016-01-01

Workplace air samples analyzed for benzene at four US refineries from 1976 to 2007 were pooled into a single dataset to characterize similarities and differences between job titles, tasks and refineries, and to provide a robust dataset for exposure reconstruction. Approximately 12,000 non-task (>180 min) personal samples associated with 50 job titles and 4000 task (<180 min) samples characterizing 24 tasks were evaluated. Personal air sample data from four individual refineries were pooled based on a number of factors including (1) the consistent sampling approach used by refinery industrial hygienists over time, (2) the use of similar exposure controls, (3) the comparability of benzene content of process streams and end products, (4) the ability to assign uniform job titles and task codes across all four refineries, and (5) our analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the distribution of benzene air concentrations for select jobs/tasks across all four refineries. The jobs and tasks most frequently sampled included those with highest potential contact with refinery product streams containing benzene, which reflected the targeted sampling approach utilized by the facility industrial hygienists. Task and non-task data were analyzed to identify and account for significant differences within job-area, task-job, and task-area categories. This analysis demonstrated that in general, areas with benzene containing process streams were associated with greater benzene air concentrations compared to areas with process streams containing little to no benzene. For several job titles and tasks analyzed, there was a statistically significant decrease in benzene air concentration after 1990. This study provides a job and task-focused analysis of occupational exposure to benzene during refinery operations, and it should be useful for reconstructing refinery workers’ exposures to benzene over the past 30 years. PMID:26862134

Combined analysis of job and task benzene air exposures among workers at four US refinery operations.

PubMed

Burns, Amanda; Shin, Jennifer Mi; Unice, Ken M; Gaffney, Shannon H; Kreider, Marisa L; Gelatt, Richard H; Panko, Julie M

2017-03-01

Workplace air samples analyzed for benzene at four US refineries from 1976 to 2007 were pooled into a single dataset to characterize similarities and differences between job titles, tasks and refineries, and to provide a robust dataset for exposure reconstruction. Approximately 12,000 non-task (>180 min) personal samples associated with 50 job titles and 4000 task (<180 min) samples characterizing 24 tasks were evaluated. Personal air sample data from four individual refineries were pooled based on a number of factors including (1) the consistent sampling approach used by refinery industrial hygienists over time, (2) the use of similar exposure controls, (3) the comparability of benzene content of process streams and end products, (4) the ability to assign uniform job titles and task codes across all four refineries, and (5) our analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the distribution of benzene air concentrations for select jobs/tasks across all four refineries. The jobs and tasks most frequently sampled included those with highest potential contact with refinery product streams containing benzene, which reflected the targeted sampling approach utilized by the facility industrial hygienists. Task and non-task data were analyzed to identify and account for significant differences within job-area, task-job, and task-area categories. This analysis demonstrated that in general, areas with benzene containing process streams were associated with greater benzene air concentrations compared to areas with process streams containing little to no benzene. For several job titles and tasks analyzed, there was a statistically significant decrease in benzene air concentration after 1990. This study provides a job and task-focused analysis of occupational exposure to benzene during refinery operations, and it should be useful for reconstructing refinery workers' exposures to benzene over the past 30 years.

Cognitive simulation as a tool for cognitive task analysis.

PubMed

Roth, E M; Woods, D D; Pople, H E

1992-10-01

Cognitive simulations are runnable computer programs that represent models of human cognitive activities. We show how one cognitive simulation built as a model of some of the cognitive processes involved in dynamic fault management can be used in conjunction with small-scale empirical data on human performance to uncover the cognitive demands of a task, to identify where intention errors are likely to occur, and to point to improvements in the person-machine system. The simulation, called Cognitive Environment Simulation or CES, has been exercised on several nuclear power plant accident scenarios. Here we report one case to illustrate how a cognitive simulation tool such as CES can be used to clarify the cognitive demands of a problem-solving situation as part of a cognitive task analysis.

Single-Family Quality Control Inspector Job Task Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Head, Heather R; Kurnik, Charles W

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is contracted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to develop and maintain the resources under the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals (GHEP) project. As part of the GHEP strategy to increase the quality of work conducted for single-family, residential energy-efficiency retrofits, the Home Energy Professionals Job Task Analysis are used as the foundation for quality training programs and trainers.

Overview of the ID, EPI and REL tasks of BioNLP Shared Task 2011.

PubMed

Pyysalo, Sampo; Ohta, Tomoko; Rak, Rafal; Sullivan, Dan; Mao, Chunhong; Wang, Chunxia; Sobral, Bruno; Tsujii, Jun'ichi; Ananiadou, Sophia

2012-06-26

We present the preparation, resources, results and analysis of three tasks of the BioNLP Shared Task 2011: the main tasks on Infectious Diseases (ID) and Epigenetics and Post-translational Modifications (EPI), and the supporting task on Entity Relations (REL). The two main tasks represent extensions of the event extraction model introduced in the BioNLP Shared Task 2009 (ST'09) to two new areas of biomedical scientific literature, each motivated by the needs of specific biocuration tasks. The ID task concerns the molecular mechanisms of infection, virulence and resistance, focusing in particular on the functions of a class of signaling systems that are ubiquitous in bacteria. The EPI task is dedicated to the extraction of statements regarding chemical modifications of DNA and proteins, with particular emphasis on changes relating to the epigenetic control of gene expression. By contrast to these two application-oriented main tasks, the REL task seeks to support extraction in general by separating challenges relating to part-of relations into a subproblem that can be addressed by independent systems. Seven groups participated in each of the two main tasks and four groups in the supporting task. The participating systems indicated advances in the capability of event extraction methods and demonstrated generalization in many aspects: from abstracts to full texts, from previously considered subdomains to new ones, and from the ST'09 extraction targets to other entities and events. The highest performance achieved in the supporting task REL, 58% F-score, is broadly comparable with levels reported for other relation extraction tasks. For the ID task, the highest-performing system achieved 56% F-score, comparable to the state-of-the-art performance at the established ST'09 task. In the EPI task, the best result was 53% F-score for the full set of extraction targets and 69% F-score for a reduced set of core extraction targets, approaching a level of performance sufficient

Overview of the ID, EPI and REL tasks of BioNLP Shared Task 2011

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

We present the preparation, resources, results and analysis of three tasks of the BioNLP Shared Task 2011: the main tasks on Infectious Diseases (ID) and Epigenetics and Post-translational Modifications (EPI), and the supporting task on Entity Relations (REL). The two main tasks represent extensions of the event extraction model introduced in the BioNLP Shared Task 2009 (ST'09) to two new areas of biomedical scientific literature, each motivated by the needs of specific biocuration tasks. The ID task concerns the molecular mechanisms of infection, virulence and resistance, focusing in particular on the functions of a class of signaling systems that are ubiquitous in bacteria. The EPI task is dedicated to the extraction of statements regarding chemical modifications of DNA and proteins, with particular emphasis on changes relating to the epigenetic control of gene expression. By contrast to these two application-oriented main tasks, the REL task seeks to support extraction in general by separating challenges relating to part-of relations into a subproblem that can be addressed by independent systems. Seven groups participated in each of the two main tasks and four groups in the supporting task. The participating systems indicated advances in the capability of event extraction methods and demonstrated generalization in many aspects: from abstracts to full texts, from previously considered subdomains to new ones, and from the ST'09 extraction targets to other entities and events. The highest performance achieved in the supporting task REL, 58% F-score, is broadly comparable with levels reported for other relation extraction tasks. For the ID task, the highest-performing system achieved 56% F-score, comparable to the state-of-the-art performance at the established ST'09 task. In the EPI task, the best result was 53% F-score for the full set of extraction targets and 69% F-score for a reduced set of core extraction targets, approaching a level of performance sufficient

The Effects of Describing Antecedent Stimuli and Performance Criteria in Task Analysis Instruction for Graphing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyner, Bryan C.; Fienup, Daniel M.

2016-01-01

Task analyses are ubiquitous to applied behavior analysis interventions, yet little is known about the factors that make them effective. Numerous task analyses have been published in behavior analytic journals for constructing single-subject design graphs; however, learner outcomes using these task analyses may fall short of what could be…

A Novel Eye-Tracking Method to Assess Attention Allocation in Individuals with and without Aphasia Using a Dual-Task Paradigm

PubMed Central

Heuer, Sabine; Hallowell, Brooke

2015-01-01

Numerous authors report that people with aphasia have greater difficulty allocating attention than people without neurological disorders. Studying how attention deficits contribute to language deficits is important. However, existing methods for indexing attention allocation in people with aphasia pose serious methodological challenges. Eye-tracking methods have great potential to address such challenges. We developed and assessed the validity of a new dual-task method incorporating eye tracking to assess attention allocation. Twenty-six adults with aphasia and 33 control participants completed auditory sentence comprehension and visual search tasks. To test whether the new method validly indexes well-documented patterns in attention allocation, demands were manipulated by varying task complexity in single- and dual-task conditions. Differences in attention allocation were indexed via eye-tracking measures. For all participants significant increases in attention allocation demands were observed from single- to dual-task conditions and from simple to complex stimuli. Individuals with aphasia had greater difficulty allocating attention with greater task demands. Relationships between eye-tracking indices of comprehension during single and dual tasks and standardized testing were examined. Results support the validity of the novel eye-tracking method for assessing attention allocation in people with and without aphasia. Clinical and research implications are discussed. PMID:25913549

An Analysis of Students' Mistakes on Routine Slope Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Peter; Nagle, Courtney

2017-01-01

This study extends past research on students' understanding of slope by analyzing college students' mistakes on routine tasks involving slope. We conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of students' mistakes to extract information regarding slope conceptualizations described in prior research. Results delineate procedural proficiencies and…

Analysis of tasks for dynamic man/machine load balancing in advanced helicopters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jorgensen, C.C.

1987-10-01

This report considers task allocation requirements imposed by advanced helicopter designs incorporating mixes of human pilots and intelligent machines. Specifically, it develops an analogy between load balancing using distributed non-homogeneous multiprocessors and human team functions. A taxonomy is presented which can be used to identify task combinations likely to cause overload for dynamic scheduling and process allocation mechanisms. Designer criteria are given for function decomposition, separation of control from data, and communication handling for dynamic tasks. Possible effects of n-p complete scheduling problems are noted and a class of combinatorial optimization methods are examined.

Involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex in time-based prospective memory task monitoring: An EEG analysis of brain sources using Independent Component and Measure Projection Analysis

PubMed Central

Burgos, Pablo; Kilborn, Kerry; Evans, Jonathan J.

2017-01-01

Objective Time-based prospective memory (PM), remembering to do something at a particular moment in the future, is considered to depend upon self-initiated strategic monitoring, involving a retrieval mode (sustained maintenance of the intention) plus target checking (intermittent time checks). The present experiment was designed to explore what brain regions and brain activity are associated with these components of strategic monitoring in time-based PM tasks. Method 24 participants were asked to reset a clock every four minutes, while performing a foreground ongoing word categorisation task. EEG activity was recorded and data were decomposed into source-resolved activity using Independent Component Analysis. Common brain regions across participants, associated with retrieval mode and target checking, were found using Measure Projection Analysis. Results Participants decreased their performance on the ongoing task when concurrently performed with the time-based PM task, reflecting an active retrieval mode that relied on withdrawal of limited resources from the ongoing task. Brain activity, with its source in or near the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), showed changes associated with an active retrieval mode including greater negative ERP deflections, decreased theta synchronization, and increased alpha suppression for events locked to the ongoing task while maintaining a time-based intention. Activity in the ACC was also associated with time-checks and found consistently across participants; however, we did not find an association with time perception processing per se. Conclusion The involvement of the ACC in both aspects of time-based PM monitoring may be related to different functions that have been attributed to it: strategic control of attention during the retrieval mode (distributing attentional resources between the ongoing task and the time-based task) and anticipatory/decision making processing associated with clock-checks. PMID:28863146

Preliminary Tests For Development Of A Non-Pertechnetate Analysis Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diprete, D.; McCabe, D.

2016-09-28

The objective of this task was to develop a non-pertechnetate analysis method that 222-S lab could easily implement. The initial scope involved working with 222-S laboratory personnel to adapt the existing Tc analytical method to fractionate the non-pertechnetate and pertechnetate. SRNL then developed and tested a method using commercial sorbents containing Aliquat ® 336 to extract the pertechnetate (thereby separating it from non-pertechnetate), followed by oxidation, extraction, and stripping steps, and finally analysis by beta counting and Mass Spectroscopy. Several additional items were partially investigated, including impacts of a 137Cs removal step. The method was initially tested on SRS tankmore » waste samples to determine its viability. Although SRS tank waste does not contain non-pertechnetate, testing with it was useful to investigate the compatibility, separation efficiency, interference removal efficacy, and method sensitivity.« less

Orbital stability analysis in biomechanics: a systematic review of a nonlinear technique to detect instability of motor tasks.

PubMed

Riva, F; Bisi, M C; Stagni, R

2013-01-01

Falls represent a heavy economic and clinical burden on society. The identification of individual chronic characteristics associated with falling is of fundamental importance for the clinicians; in particular, the stability of daily motor tasks is one of the main factors that the clinicians look for during assessment procedures. Various methods for the assessment of stability in human movement are present in literature, and methods coming from stability analysis of nonlinear dynamic systems applied to biomechanics recently showed promise. One of these techniques is orbital stability analysis via Floquet multipliers. This method allows to measure orbital stability of periodic nonlinear dynamic systems and it seems a promising approach for the definition of a reliable motor stability index, taking into account for the whole task cycle dynamics. Despite the premises, its use in the assessment of fall risk has been deemed controversial. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to provide a critical evaluation of the literature on the topic of applications of orbital stability analysis in biomechanics, with particular focus to methodologic aspects. Four electronic databases have been searched for articles relative to the topic; 23 articles were selected for review. Quality of the studies present in literature has been assessed with a customised quality assessment tool. Overall quality of the literature in the field was found to be high. The most critical aspect was found to be the lack of uniformity in the implementation of the analysis to biomechanical time series, particularly in the choice of state space and number of cycles to include in the analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An informal analysis of flight control tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andersen, George J.

1991-01-01

Issues important in rotorcraft flight control are discussed. A perceptual description is suggested of what is believed to be the major issues in flight control. When the task is considered of a pilot controlling a helicopter in flight, the task is decomposed in several subtasks. These subtasks include: (1) the control of altitude, (2) the control of speed, (3) the control of heading, (4) the control of orientation, (5) the control of flight over obstacles, and (6) the control of flight to specified positions in the world. The first four subtasks can be considered to be primary control tasks as they are not dependent on any other subtasks. However, the latter two subtasks can be considered hierarchical tasks as they are dependent on other subtasks. For example, the task of flight control over obstacles can be decomposed as a task requiring the control of speed, altitude, and heading. Thus, incorrect control of altitude should result in poor control of flight over an obstacle.

Contingent Needs Analysis for Task Implementation: An Activity Systems Analysis of Group Writing Conferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mochizuki, Naoko

2017-01-01

Needs analysis (NA) plays a significant role in developing tasks that create opportunities for natural language use in classrooms. Preemptive NA, however, does not necessarily predict the contingently emerging interpersonal and social variables which influence learners and teachers' behaviours. These unpredictable variables often lead to a gap…

A Multi-Site Cognitive Task Analysis for Biomedical Query Mediation

PubMed Central

Hruby, Gregory W.; Rasmussen, Luke V.; Hanauer, David; Patel, Vimla; Cimino, James J.; Weng, Chunhua

2016-01-01

Objective To apply cognitive task analyses of the Biomedical query mediation (BQM) processes for EHR data retrieval at multiple sites towards the development of a generic BQM process model. Materials and Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with eleven data analysts from five academic institutions and one government agency, and performed cognitive task analyses on their BQM processes. A coding schema was developed through iterative refinement and used to annotate the interview transcripts. The annotated dataset was used to reconstruct and verify each BQM process and to develop a harmonized BQM process model. A survey was conducted to evaluate the face and content validity of this harmonized model. Results The harmonized process model is hierarchical, encompassing tasks, activities, and steps. The face validity evaluation concluded the model to be representative of the BQM process. In the content validity evaluation, out of the 27 tasks for BQM, 19 meet the threshold for semi-valid, including 3 fully valid: “Identify potential index phenotype,” “If needed, request EHR database access rights,” and “Perform query and present output to medical researcher”, and 8 are invalid. Discussion We aligned the goals of the tasks within the BQM model with the five components of the reference interview. The similarity between the process of BQM and the reference interview is promising and suggests the BQM tasks are powerful for eliciting implicit information needs. Conclusions We contribute a BQM process model based on a multi-site study. This model promises to inform the standardization of the BQM process towards improved communication efficiency and accuracy. PMID:27435950

Transferring cognitive tasks between brain imaging modalities: implications for task design and results interpretation in FMRI studies.

PubMed

Warbrick, Tracy; Reske, Martina; Shah, N Jon

2014-09-22

As cognitive neuroscience methods develop, established experimental tasks are used with emerging brain imaging modalities. Here transferring a paradigm (the visual oddball task) with a long history of behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) experiments to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment is considered. The aims of this paper are to briefly describe fMRI and when its use is appropriate in cognitive neuroscience; illustrate how task design can influence the results of an fMRI experiment, particularly when that task is borrowed from another imaging modality; explain the practical aspects of performing an fMRI experiment. It is demonstrated that manipulating the task demands in the visual oddball task results in different patterns of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation. The nature of the fMRI BOLD measure means that many brain regions are found to be active in a particular task. Determining the functions of these areas of activation is very much dependent on task design and analysis. The complex nature of many fMRI tasks means that the details of the task and its requirements need careful consideration when interpreting data. The data show that this is particularly important in those tasks relying on a motor response as well as cognitive elements and that covert and overt responses should be considered where possible. Furthermore, the data show that transferring an EEG paradigm to an fMRI experiment needs careful consideration and it cannot be assumed that the same paradigm will work equally well across imaging modalities. It is therefore recommended that the design of an fMRI study is pilot tested behaviorally to establish the effects of interest and then pilot tested in the fMRI environment to ensure appropriate design, implementation and analysis for the effects of interest.

Analysis of Time-on-Task, Behavior Experiences, and Performance in Two Online Courses with Different Authentic Learning Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Sanghoon

2017-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a comparative analysis of online learner behavioral interactions, time-on-task, attendance, and performance at different points throughout a semester (beginning, during, and end) based on two online courses: one course offering authentic discussion-based learning activities and the other course offering authentic…

A multi-phase network situational awareness cognitive task analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Erbacher, Robert; Frincke, Deborah A.; Wong, Pak C.

Abstract The goal of our project is to create a set of next-generation cyber situational-awareness capabilities with applications to other domains in the long term. The objective is to improve the decision-making process to enable decision makers to choose better actions. To this end, we put extensive effort into making certain that we had feedback from network analysts and managers and understand what their genuine needs are. This article discusses the cognitive task-analysis methodology that we followed to acquire feedback from the analysts. This article also provides the details we acquired from the analysts on their processes, goals, concerns, themore » data and metadata that they analyze. Finally, we describe the generation of a novel task-flow diagram representing the activities of the target user base.« less

Assessing the teaching of procedural skills: can cognitive task analysis add to our traditional teaching methods?

PubMed

Sullivan, Maura E; Ortega, Adrian; Wasserberg, Nir; Kaufman, Howard; Nyquist, Julie; Clark, Richard

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if a cognitive task analysis (CTA) could capture steps and decision points that were not articulated during traditional teaching of a colonoscopy. Three expert colorectal surgeons were videotaped performing a colonoscopy. After the videotapes were transcribed, the experts participated in a CTA. A 26-step procedural checklist and a 16-step cognitive demands table was created by using information obtained in the CTA. The videotape transcriptions were transposed onto the procedural checklist and cognitive demands table to identify steps and decision points that were omitted during traditional teaching. Surgeon A described 50% of "how-to" steps and 43% of decision points. Surgeon B described 30% of steps and 25% of decisions. Surgeon C described 26% of steps and 38% of cognitive decisions. By using CTA, we were able to identify relevant steps and decision points that were omitted during traditional teaching by all 3 experts.

Brain activity across the development of automatic categorization: A comparison of categorization tasks using multi-voxel pattern analysis

PubMed Central

Soto, Fabian A.; Waldschmidt, Jennifer G.; Helie, Sebastien; Ashby, F. Gregory

2013-01-01

Previous evidence suggests that relatively separate neural networks underlie initial learning of rule-based and information-integration categorization tasks. With the development of automaticity, categorization behavior in both tasks becomes increasingly similar and exclusively related to activity in cortical regions. The present study uses multi-voxel pattern analysis to directly compare the development of automaticity in different categorization tasks. Each of three groups of participants received extensive training in a different categorization task: either an information-integration task, or one of two rule-based tasks. Four training sessions were performed inside an MRI scanner. Three different analyses were performed on the imaging data from a number of regions of interest (ROIs). The common patterns analysis had the goal of revealing ROIs with similar patterns of activation across tasks. The unique patterns analysis had the goal of revealing ROIs with dissimilar patterns of activation across tasks. The representational similarity analysis aimed at exploring (1) the similarity of category representations across ROIs and (2) how those patterns of similarities compared across tasks. The results showed that common patterns of activation were present in motor areas and basal ganglia early in training, but only in the former later on. Unique patterns were found in a variety of cortical and subcortical areas early in training, but they were dramatically reduced with training. Finally, patterns of representational similarity between brain regions became increasingly similar across tasks with the development of automaticity. PMID:23333700

Test-retest stability of the Task and Ego Orientation Questionnaire.

PubMed

Lane, Andrew M; Nevill, Alan M; Bowes, Neal; Fox, Kenneth R

2005-09-01

Establishing stability, defined as observing minimal measurement error in a test-retest assessment, is vital to validating psychometric tools. Correlational methods, such as Pearson product-moment, intraclass, and kappa are tests of association or consistency, whereas stability or reproducibility (regarded here as synonymous) assesses the agreement between test-retest scores. Indexes of reproducibility using the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ; Duda & Nicholls, 1992) were investigated using correlational (Pearson product-moment, intraclass, and kappa) methods, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance, and calculating the proportion of agreement within a referent value of +/-1 as suggested by Nevill, Lane, Kilgour, Bowes, and Whyte (2001). Two hundred thirteen soccer players completed the TEOSQ on two occasions, 1 week apart. Correlation analyses indicated a stronger test-retest correlation for the Ego subscale than the Task subscale. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated stability for ego items but with significant increases in four task items. The proportion of test-retest agreement scores indicated that all ego items reported relatively poor stability statistics with test-retest scores within a range of +/-1, ranging from 82.7-86.9%. By contrast, all task items showed test-retest difference scores ranging from 92.5-99%, although further analysis indicated that four task subscale items increased significantly. Findings illustrated that correlational methods (Pearson product-moment, intraclass, and kappa) are influenced by the range in scores, and calculating the proportion of agreement of test-retest differences with a referent value of +/-1 could provide additional insight into the stability of the questionnaire. It is suggested that the item-by-item proportion of agreement method proposed by Nevill et al. (2001) should be used to supplement existing methods and could be especially helpful in identifying rogue items in the

Differential recruitment of theory of mind brain network across three tasks: An independent component analysis.

PubMed

Thye, Melissa D; Ammons, Carla J; Murdaugh, Donna L; Kana, Rajesh K

2018-07-16

Social neuroscience research has focused on an identified network of brain regions primarily associated with processing Theory of Mind (ToM). However, ToM is a broad cognitive process, which encompasses several sub-processes, such as mental state detection and intentional attribution, and the connectivity of brain regions underlying the broader ToM network in response to paradigms assessing these sub-processes requires further characterization. Standard fMRI analyses which focus only on brain activity cannot capture information about ToM processing at a network level. An alternative method, independent component analysis (ICA), is a data-driven technique used to isolate intrinsic connectivity networks, and this approach provides insight into network-level regional recruitment. In this fMRI study, three complementary, but distinct ToM tasks assessing mental state detection (e.g. RMIE: Reading the Mind in the Eyes; RMIV: Reading the Mind in the Voice) and intentional attribution (Causality task) were each analyzed using ICA in order to separately characterize the recruitment and functional connectivity of core nodes in the ToM network in response to the sub-processes of ToM. Based on visual comparison of the derived networks for each task, the spatiotemporal network patterns were similar between the RMIE and RMIV tasks, which elicited mentalizing about the mental states of others, and these networks differed from the network derived for the Causality task, which elicited mentalizing about goal-directed actions. The medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and right inferior frontal gyrus were seen in the components with the highest correlation with the task condition for each of the tasks highlighting the role of these regions in general ToM processing. Using a data-driven approach, the current study captured the differences in task-related brain response to ToM in three distinct ToM paradigms. The findings of this study further elucidate the neural mechanisms associated

Effects of Selected Task Performance Criteria at Initiating Adaptive Task Real locations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, Demaris A.

2001-01-01

In the current report various performance assessment methods used to initiate mode transfers between manual control and automation for adaptive task reallocation were tested. Participants monitored two secondary tasks for critical events while actively controlling a process in a fictional system. One of the secondary monitoring tasks could be automated whenever operators' performance was below acceptable levels. Automation of the secondary task and transfer of the secondary task back to manual control were either human- or machine-initiated. Human-initiated transfers were based on the operator's assessment of the current task demands while machine-initiated transfers were based on the operators' performance. Different performance assessment methods were tested in two separate experiments.

Principles of Training in Marine Corps Task Analysis. Training Manual I. Evaluation of the Marine Corps Task Analysis Program. Technical Report No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuriloff, Arthur H.

This is the first in a series of five training manuals developed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps Office of Manpower Utilization (OMU) in its Task Analysis (TA) program. It is designed for trainers of OMU staff members assigned to the TA program, a research effort requiring interpersonal and research competence. Objectives of the manual are: (1)…

Nonparametric EROC analysis for observer performance evaluation on joint detection and estimation tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunderlich, Adam; Goossens, Bart

2014-03-01

The majority of the literature on task-based image quality assessment has focused on lesion detection tasks, using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, or related variants, to measure performance. However, since many clinical image evaluation tasks involve both detection and estimation (e.g., estimation of kidney stone composition, estimation of tumor size), there is a growing interest in performance evaluation for joint detection and estimation tasks. To evaluate observer performance on such tasks, Clarkson introduced the estimation ROC (EROC) curve, and the area under the EROC curve as a summary figure of merit. In the present work, we propose nonparametric estimators for practical EROC analysis from experimental data, including estimators for the area under the EROC curve and its variance. The estimators are illustrated with a practical example comparing MRI images reconstructed from different k-space sampling trajectories.

Task-Driven Comparison of Topic Models.

PubMed

Alexander, Eric; Gleicher, Michael

2016-01-01

Topic modeling, a method of statistically extracting thematic content from a large collection of texts, is used for a wide variety of tasks within text analysis. Though there are a growing number of tools and techniques for exploring single models, comparisons between models are generally reduced to a small set of numerical metrics. These metrics may or may not reflect a model's performance on the analyst's intended task, and can therefore be insufficient to diagnose what causes differences between models. In this paper, we explore task-centric topic model comparison, considering how we can both provide detail for a more nuanced understanding of differences and address the wealth of tasks for which topic models are used. We derive comparison tasks from single-model uses of topic models, which predominantly fall into the categories of understanding topics, understanding similarity, and understanding change. Finally, we provide several visualization techniques that facilitate these tasks, including buddy plots, which combine color and position encodings to allow analysts to readily view changes in document similarity.

Identifying optimum performance trade-offs using a cognitively bounded rational analysis model of discretionary task interleaving.

PubMed

Janssen, Christian P; Brumby, Duncan P; Dowell, John; Chater, Nick; Howes, Andrew

2011-01-01

We report the results of a dual-task study in which participants performed a tracking and typing task under various experimental conditions. An objective payoff function was used to provide explicit feedback on how participants should trade off performance between the tasks. Results show that participants' dual-task interleaving strategy was sensitive to changes in the difficulty of the tracking task and resulted in differences in overall task performance. To test the hypothesis that people select strategies that maximize payoff, a Cognitively Bounded Rational Analysis model was developed. This analysis evaluated a variety of dual-task interleaving strategies to identify the optimal strategy for maximizing payoff in each condition. The model predicts that the region of optimum performance is different between experimental conditions. The correspondence between human data and the prediction of the optimal strategy is found to be remarkably high across a number of performance measures. This suggests that participants were honing their behavior to maximize payoff. Limitations are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Analysis of Cigarette Purchase Task Instrument Data with a Left-Censored Mixed Effects Model

PubMed Central

Liao, Wenjie; Luo, Xianghua; Le, Chap; Chu, Haitao; Epstein, Leonard H.; Yu, Jihnhee; Ahluwalia, Jasjit S.; Thomas, Janet L.

2015-01-01

The drug purchase task is a frequently used instrument for measuring the relative reinforcing efficacy (RRE) of a substance, a central concept in psychopharmacological research. While a purchase task instrument, such as the cigarette purchase task (CPT), provides a comprehensive and inexpensive way to assess various aspects of a drug’s RRE, the application of conventional statistical methods to data generated from such an instrument may not be adequate by simply ignoring or replacing the extra zeros or missing values in the data with arbitrary small consumption values, e.g. 0.001. We applied the left-censored mixed effects model to CPT data from a smoking cessation study of college students and demonstrated its superiority over the existing methods with simulation studies. Theoretical implications of the findings, limitations of the proposed method and future directions of research are also discussed. PMID:23356731

Analysis of cigarette purchase task instrument data with a left-censored mixed effects model.

PubMed

Liao, Wenjie; Luo, Xianghua; Le, Chap T; Chu, Haitao; Epstein, Leonard H; Yu, Jihnhee; Ahluwalia, Jasjit S; Thomas, Janet L

2013-04-01

The drug purchase task is a frequently used instrument for measuring the relative reinforcing efficacy (RRE) of a substance, a central concept in psychopharmacological research. Although a purchase task instrument, such as the cigarette purchase task (CPT), provides a comprehensive and inexpensive way to assess various aspects of a drug's RRE, the application of conventional statistical methods to data generated from such an instrument may not be adequate by simply ignoring or replacing the extra zeros or missing values in the data with arbitrary small consumption values, for example, 0.001. We applied the left-censored mixed effects model to CPT data from a smoking cessation study of college students and demonstrated its superiority over the existing methods with simulation studies. Theoretical implications of the findings, limitations of the proposed method, and future directions of research are also discussed.

Task complexity, student perceptions of vocabulary learning in EFL, and task performance.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaoli; Lowyck, Joost; Sercu, Lies; Elen, Jan

2013-03-01

The study deepened our understanding of how students' self-efficacy beliefs contribute to the context of teaching English as a foreign language in the framework of cognitive mediational paradigm at a fine-tuned task-specific level. The aim was to examine the relationship among task complexity, self-efficacy beliefs, domain-related prior knowledge, learning strategy use, and task performance as they were applied to English vocabulary learning from reading tasks. Participants were 120 second-year university students (mean age 21) from a Chinese university. This experiment had two conditions (simple/complex). A vocabulary level test was first conducted to measure participants' prior knowledge of English vocabulary. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of the learning tasks. Participants were administered task booklets together with the self-efficacy scales, measures of learning strategy use, and post-tests. Data obtained were submitted to multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and path analysis. Results from the MANOVA model showed a significant effect of vocabulary level on self-efficacy beliefs, learning strategy use, and task performance. Task complexity showed no significant effect; however, an interaction effect between vocabulary level and task complexity emerged. Results from the path analysis showed self-efficacy beliefs had an indirect effect on performance. Our results highlighted the mediating role of self-efficacy beliefs and learning strategy use. Our findings indicate that students' prior knowledge plays a crucial role on both self-efficacy beliefs and task performance, and the predictive power of self-efficacy on task performance may lie in its association with learning strategy use. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

An Analysis of Tasks Performed in the Ornamental Horticulture Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkey, Arthur L.; Drake, William E.

This publication is the result of a detailed task analysis study of the ornamental horticulture industry in New York State. Nine types of horticulture businesses identified were: (1) retail florists, (2) farm and garden supply store, (3) landscape services, (4) greenhouse production, (5) nursery production, (6) turf production, (7) arborist…

The Use of Cognitive Task Analysis and Simulators for After Action Review of Medical Events in Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

research attempts to improve medical AAR with a novel combination of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) conducted while interviewees moulage simulators...combination of medical Cognitive Task Analysis combined with the moulage of instruments and depictions of the femoral artery will more accurately

Storyboarding: A Method for Bootstrapping the Design of Computer-Based Educational Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Ian

2008-01-01

There has been a recent call for the use of more systematic thought experiments when investigating learning. This paper presents a storyboarding method for capturing and sharing initial ideas and their evolution in the design of a mathematics learning task. The storyboards produced can be considered as "virtual data" created by thought experiments…

Upper-Extremity Dual-Task Function: An Innovative Method to Assess Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults.

PubMed

Toosizadeh, Nima; Najafi, Bijan; Reiman, Eric M; Mager, Reine M; Veldhuizen, Jaimeson K; O'Connor, Kathy; Zamrini, Edward; Mohler, Jane

2016-01-01

Difficulties in orchestrating simultaneous tasks (i.e., dual-tasking) have been associated with cognitive impairments in older adults. Gait tests have been commonly used as the motor task component for dual-task assessments; however, many older adults have mobility impairments or there is a lack of space in busy clinical settings. We assessed an upper-extremity function (UEF) test as an alternative motor task to study the dual-task motor performance in older adults. Older adults (≥65 years) were recruited, and cognitive ability was measured using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Participants performed repetitive elbow flexion with their maximum pace, once single-task, and once while counting backward by one (dual-task). Single- and dual-task gait tests were also performed with normal speed. Three-dimensional kinematics was measured both from upper-extremity and lower-extremity using wearable sensors to determine UEF and gait parameters. Parameters were compared between the cognitively impaired and healthy groups using analysis of variance tests, while controlling for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Correlations between UEF and gait parameters for dual-task and dual-task cost were assessed using linear regression models. Sixty-seven older adults were recruited (age = 83 ± 10 years). Based on MoCA, 10 (15%) were cognitively impaired. While no significant differences were observed in the single-task condition, within the dual-task condition, the cognitively impaired group showed significantly less arm flexion speed (62%, d = 1.51, p = 0.02) and range of motion (27%, d = 0.93, p = 0.04), and higher speed variability (88%, d = 1.82, p < 0.0001) compared to the cognitively intact group, when adjusted with age, gender, and BMI. Significant correlations were observed between UEF speed parameters and gait stride velocity for dual-task condition (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001) and dual-task cost (r = 0.28, p = 0.03). We introduced a novel test for assessing dual-task

The Use of Cognitive Task Analysis and Simulators for After Action Review of Medical Events in Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

research attempts to improve medical AAR with a novel combination of Cognitive Task Analysis conducted while interviewees moulage simulators (Clark and...hypothesized that our protocol which employed a novel combination of medical Cognitive Task Analysis combined with the moulage of instruments and depictions

Lessons from a pilot project in cognitive task analysis: the potential role of intermediates in preclinical teaching in dental education.

PubMed

Walker, Judith; von Bergmann, HsingChi

2015-03-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of cognitive task analysis to inform the teaching of psychomotor skills and cognitive strategies in clinical tasks in dental education. Methods used were observing and videotaping an expert at one dental school thinking aloud while performing a specific preclinical task (in a simulated environment), interviewing the expert to probe deeper into his thinking processes, and applying the same procedures to analyze the performance of three second-year dental students who had recently learned the analyzed task and who represented a spectrum of their cohort's ability to undertake the procedure. The investigators sought to understand how experts (clinical educators) and intermediates (trained students) overlapped and differed at points in the procedure that represented the highest cognitive load, known as "critical incidents." Findings from this study and previous research identified possible limitations of current clinical teaching as a result of expert blind spots. These findings coupled with the growing evidence of the effectiveness of peer teaching suggest the potential role of intermediates in helping novices learn preclinical dentistry tasks.

Physical and cognitive task analysis in interventional radiology.

PubMed

Johnson, S; Healey, A; Evans, J; Murphy, M; Crawshaw, M; Gould, D

2006-01-01

To identify, describe and detail the cognitive thought processes, decision-making, and physical actions involved in the preparation and successful performance of core interventional radiology procedures. Five commonly performed core interventional radiology procedures were selected for cognitive task analysis. Several examples of each procedure being performed by consultant interventional radiologists were videoed. The videos of those procedures, and the steps required for successful outcome, were analysed by a psychologist and an interventional radiologist. Once a skeleton algorithm of the procedures was defined, further refinement was achieved using individual interview techniques with consultant interventional radiologists. Additionally a critique of each iteration of the established algorithm was sought from non-participating independent consultant interventional radiologists. Detailed task descriptions and decision protocols were developed for five interventional radiology procedures (arterial puncture, nephrostomy, venous access, biopsy-using both ultrasound and computed tomography, and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram). Identical tasks performed within these procedures were identified and standardized within the protocols. Complex procedures were broken down and their constituent processes identified. This might be suitable for use as a training protocol to provide a universally acceptable safe practice at the most fundamental level. It is envisaged that data collected in this way can be used as an educational resource for trainees and could provide the basis for a training curriculum in interventional radiology. It will direct trainees towards safe practice of the highest standard. It will also provide performance objectives of a simulator model.

Cognitive Task Analysis and Work-Centered Support System Recommendations for a Deployed Network Operations Support Center (NOSC-D)

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-08-01

This report presents the results of a preliminary Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) of the deployed Network Operations Support Center (NOSC-D), and the...conducted Cognitive Task Analysis interviews with four (4) NOSC-D personnel. Because of the preliminary nature of the finding, the analysis is

Characterizing Task-Based OpenMP Programs

PubMed Central

Muddukrishna, Ananya; Jonsson, Peter A.; Brorsson, Mats

2015-01-01

Programmers struggle to understand performance of task-based OpenMP programs since profiling tools only report thread-based performance. Performance tuning also requires task-based performance in order to balance per-task memory hierarchy utilization against exposed task parallelism. We provide a cost-effective method to extract detailed task-based performance information from OpenMP programs. We demonstrate the utility of our method by quickly diagnosing performance problems and characterizing exposed task parallelism and per-task instruction profiles of benchmarks in the widely-used Barcelona OpenMP Tasks Suite. Programmers can tune performance faster and understand performance tradeoffs more effectively than existing tools by using our method to characterize task-based performance. PMID:25860023

IVHS Countermeasures for Rear-End Collision, Task 1 Vol. V: 1985 NASS Case Analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-02-15

The Task 1 Interim Report consists of six volumes. This Volume, Volume V, 1985 NASS Analysis, presents the results of the analysis of the 1985 NASS crash data. Data from 1985 was selected for analysis because it provided more insight into roadway var...

Increasing Pizza Box Assembly Using Task Analysis and a Least-to-Most Prompting Hierarchy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stabnow, Erin F.

2015-01-01

This study was designed to use a task analysis and a least-to-most prompting hierarchy to teach students with cognitive disabilities pizza box assembly skills. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a least-to-most prompting hierarchy was effective in teaching students with cognitive disabilities to increase the number of task-analyzed…

Flood risk assessment in France: comparison of extreme flood estimation methods (EXTRAFLO project, Task 7)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garavaglia, F.; Paquet, E.; Lang, M.; Renard, B.; Arnaud, P.; Aubert, Y.; Carre, J.

2013-12-01

In flood risk assessment the methods can be divided in two families: deterministic methods and probabilistic methods. In the French hydrologic community the probabilistic methods are historically preferred to the deterministic ones. Presently a French research project named EXTRAFLO (RiskNat Program of the French National Research Agency, https://extraflo.cemagref.fr) deals with the design values for extreme rainfall and floods. The object of this project is to carry out a comparison of the main methods used in France for estimating extreme values of rainfall and floods, to obtain a better grasp of their respective fields of application. In this framework we present the results of Task 7 of EXTRAFLO project. Focusing on French watersheds, we compare the main extreme flood estimation methods used in French background: (i) standard flood frequency analysis (Gumbel and GEV distribution), (ii) regional flood frequency analysis (regional Gumbel and GEV distribution), (iii) local and regional flood frequency analysis improved by historical information (Naulet et al., 2005), (iv) simplify probabilistic method based on rainfall information (i.e. Gradex method (CFGB, 1994), Agregee method (Margoum, 1992) and Speed method (Cayla, 1995)), (v) flood frequency analysis by continuous simulation approach and based on rainfall information (i.e. Schadex method (Paquet et al., 2013, Garavaglia et al., 2010), Shyreg method (Lavabre et al., 2003)) and (vi) multifractal approach. The main result of this comparative study is that probabilistic methods based on additional information (i.e. regional, historical and rainfall information) provide better estimations than the standard flood frequency analysis. Another interesting result is that, the differences between the various extreme flood quantile estimations of compared methods increase with return period, staying relatively moderate up to 100-years return levels. Results and discussions are here illustrated throughout with the example

The Technologist Function in Fields Related to Radiology: Tasks in Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Ultrasound. Research Report No. 9; Relating Technologist Tasks in Diagnostic Radiology, Ultrasound and Radiation Therapy. Research Report No. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilpatrick, Eleanor

The two research reports included in this document describe the application of the Health Services Mobility Study (HSMS) task analysis method to two technologist functions and examine the interrelationships of these tasks with those in diagnostic radiology. (The HSMS method includes processes for using the data for designing job ladders, for…

Toward an ecological analysis of Bayesian inferences: how task characteristics influence responses

PubMed Central

Hafenbrädl, Sebastian; Hoffrage, Ulrich

2015-01-01

In research on Bayesian inferences, the specific tasks, with their narratives and characteristics, are typically seen as exchangeable vehicles that merely transport the structure of the problem to research participants. In the present paper, we explore whether, and possibly how, task characteristics that are usually ignored influence participants’ responses in these tasks. We focus on both quantitative dimensions of the tasks, such as their base rates, hit rates, and false-alarm rates, as well as qualitative characteristics, such as whether the task involves a norm violation or not, whether the stakes are high or low, and whether the focus is on the individual case or on the numbers. Using a data set of 19 different tasks presented to 500 different participants who provided a total of 1,773 responses, we analyze these responses in two ways: first, on the level of the numerical estimates themselves, and second, on the level of various response strategies, Bayesian and non-Bayesian, that might have produced the estimates. We identified various contingencies, and most of the task characteristics had an influence on participants’ responses. Typically, this influence has been stronger when the numerical information in the tasks was presented in terms of probabilities or percentages, compared to natural frequencies – and this effect cannot be fully explained by a higher proportion of Bayesian responses when natural frequencies were used. One characteristic that did not seem to influence participants’ response strategy was the numerical value of the Bayesian solution itself. Our exploratory study is a first step toward an ecological analysis of Bayesian inferences, and highlights new avenues for future research. PMID:26300791

"Photographing money" task pricing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Zhongxiang

2018-05-01

"Photographing money" [1]is a self-service model under the mobile Internet. The task pricing is reasonable, related to the success of the commodity inspection. First of all, we analyzed the position of the mission and the membership, and introduced the factor of membership density, considering the influence of the number of members around the mission on the pricing. Multivariate regression of task location and membership density using MATLAB to establish the mathematical model of task pricing. At the same time, we can see from the life experience that membership reputation and the intensity of the task will also affect the pricing, and the data of the task success point is more reliable. Therefore, the successful point of the task is selected, and its reputation, task density, membership density and Multiple regression of task positions, according to which a nhew task pricing program. Finally, an objective evaluation is given of the advantages and disadvantages of the established model and solution method, and the improved method is pointed out.

Using task analysis to generate evidence for strengthening midwifery education, practice, and regulation in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Yigzaw, Tegbar; Carr, Catherine; Stekelenburg, Jelle; van Roosmalen, Jos; Gibson, Hannah; Gelagay, Mintwab; Admassu, Azeb

2016-01-01

Realizing aspirations for meeting the global reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health goals depends not only on increasing the numbers but also on improving the capability of midwifery workforce. We conducted a task analysis study to identify the needs for strengthening the midwifery workforce in Ethiopia. We conducted a cross-sectional study of recently qualified midwives in Ethiopia. Purposively selected participants from representative geographic and practice settings completed a self-administered questionnaire, making judgments about the frequency of performance, criticality, competence, and location of training for a list of validated midwifery tasks. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 20, we computed the percentages and averages to describe participant and practice characteristics. We identified priority preservice education gaps by considering the tasks least frequently learned in preservice, most frequently mentioned for not being trained, and had the highest not capable response. Identification of top priorities for in-service training considered tasks with highest "not capable" and "never" done responses. We determined the licensing exam blueprint by weighing the composite mean scores for frequency and criticality variables and expert rating across practice categories. One hundred and thirty-eight midwives participated in the study. The majority of respondents recognized the importance of midwifery tasks (89%), felt they were capable (91.8%), reported doing them frequently (63.9%), and learned them during preservice education (56.3%). We identified competence gaps in tasks related to obstetric complications, gynecology, public health, professional duties, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Moreover, our study helped to determine composition of the licensing exam for university graduates. The task analysis indicates that midwives provide critical reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health care

Dexterity: A MATLAB-based analysis software suite for processing and visualizing data from tasks that measure arm or forelimb function.

PubMed

Butensky, Samuel D; Sloan, Andrew P; Meyers, Eric; Carmel, Jason B

2017-07-15

Hand function is critical for independence, and neurological injury often impairs dexterity. To measure hand function in people or forelimb function in animals, sensors are employed to quantify manipulation. These sensors make assessment easier and more quantitative and allow automation of these tasks. While automated tasks improve objectivity and throughput, they also produce large amounts of data that can be burdensome to analyze. We created software called Dexterity that simplifies data analysis of automated reaching tasks. Dexterity is MATLAB software that enables quick analysis of data from forelimb tasks. Through a graphical user interface, files are loaded and data are identified and analyzed. These data can be annotated or graphed directly. Analysis is saved, and the graph and corresponding data can be exported. For additional analysis, Dexterity provides access to custom scripts created by other users. To determine the utility of Dexterity, we performed a study to evaluate the effects of task difficulty on the degree of impairment after injury. Dexterity analyzed two months of data and allowed new users to annotate the experiment, visualize results, and save and export data easily. Previous analysis of tasks was performed with custom data analysis, requiring expertise with analysis software. Dexterity made the tools required to analyze, visualize and annotate data easy to use by investigators without data science experience. Dexterity increases accessibility to automated tasks that measure dexterity by making analysis of large data intuitive, robust, and efficient. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Underground Test Area Subproject Phase I Data Analysis Task. Volume VIII - Risk Assessment Documentation Package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Volume VIII of the documentation for the Phase I Data Analysis Task performed in support of the current Regional Flow Model, Transport Model, and Risk Assessment for the Nevada Test Site Underground Test Area Subproject contains the risk assessment documentation. Because of the size and complexity of the model area, a considerable quantity of data was collected and analyzed in support of the modeling efforts. The data analysis task was consequently broken into eight subtasks, and descriptions of each subtask's activities are contained in one of the eight volumes that comprise the Phase I Data Analysis Documentation.

Summary Findings from the AVT-191 Project to Assess Sensitivity Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification Methods for Military Vehicle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benek, John A.; Luckring, James M.

2017-01-01

A NATO symposium held in Greece in 2008 identified many promising sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification technologies, but the maturity and suitability of these methods for realistic applications was not clear. The NATO Science and Technology Organization, Task Group AVT-191 was established to evaluate the maturity and suitability of various sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification methods for application to realistic vehicle development problems. The program ran from 2011 to 2015, and the work was organized into four discipline-centric teams: external aerodynamics, internal aerodynamics, aeroelasticity, and hydrodynamics. This paper summarizes findings and lessons learned from the task group.

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis for Health Care Decision Making--An Introduction: Report 1 of the ISPOR MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Thokala, Praveen; Devlin, Nancy; Marsh, Kevin; Baltussen, Rob; Boysen, Meindert; Kalo, Zoltan; Longrenn, Thomas; Mussen, Filip; Peacock, Stuart; Watkins, John; Ijzerman, Maarten

2016-01-01

Health care decisions are complex and involve confronting trade-offs between multiple, often conflicting, objectives. Using structured, explicit approaches to decisions involving multiple criteria can improve the quality of decision making and a set of techniques, known under the collective heading multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), are useful for this purpose. MCDA methods are widely used in other sectors, and recently there has been an increase in health care applications. In 2014, ISPOR established an MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force. It was charged with establishing a common definition for MCDA in health care decision making and developing good practice guidelines for conducting MCDA to aid health care decision making. This initial ISPOR MCDA task force report provides an introduction to MCDA - it defines MCDA; provides examples of its use in different kinds of decision making in health care (including benefit risk analysis, health technology assessment, resource allocation, portfolio decision analysis, shared patient clinician decision making and prioritizing patients' access to services); provides an overview of the principal methods of MCDA; and describes the key steps involved. Upon reviewing this report, readers should have a solid overview of MCDA methods and their potential for supporting health care decision making. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Task-based image quality evaluation of iterative reconstruction methods for low dose CT using computer simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jingyan; Fuld, Matthew K.; Fung, George S. K.; Tsui, Benjamin M. W.

2015-04-01

Iterative reconstruction (IR) methods for x-ray CT is a promising approach to improve image quality or reduce radiation dose to patients. The goal of this work was to use task based image quality measures and the channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) to evaluate both analytic and IR methods for clinical x-ray CT applications. We performed realistic computer simulations at five radiation dose levels, from a clinical reference low dose D0 to 25% D0. A fixed size and contrast lesion was inserted at different locations into the liver of the XCAT phantom to simulate a weak signal. The simulated data were reconstructed on a commercial CT scanner (SOMATOM Definition Flash; Siemens, Forchheim, Germany) using the vendor-provided analytic (WFBP) and IR (SAFIRE) methods. The reconstructed images were analyzed by CHOs with both rotationally symmetric (RS) and rotationally oriented (RO) channels, and with different numbers of lesion locations (5, 10, and 20) in a signal known exactly (SKE), background known exactly but variable (BKEV) detection task. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used as a summary measure to compare the IR and analytic methods; the AUC was also used as the equal performance criterion to derive the potential dose reduction factor of IR. In general, there was a good agreement in the relative AUC values of different reconstruction methods using CHOs with RS and RO channels, although the CHO with RO channels achieved higher AUCs than RS channels. The improvement of IR over analytic methods depends on the dose level. The reference dose level D0 was based on a clinical low dose protocol, lower than the standard dose due to the use of IR methods. At 75% D0, the performance improvement was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The potential dose reduction factor also depended on the detection task. For the SKE/BKEV task involving 10 lesion locations, a dose reduction of at least 25% from D0 was achieved.

Walking Stroop carpet: an innovative dual-task concept for detecting cognitive impairment

PubMed Central

Perrochon, A; Kemoun, G; Watelain, E; Berthoz, A

2013-01-01

Background Several studies have reported the potential value of the dual-task concept during locomotion in clinical evaluation because cognitive decline is strongly associated with gait abnormalities. However, current dual-task tests appear to be insufficient for early diagnosis of cognitive impairment. Methods Forty-nine subjects (young, old, with or without mild cognitive impairment) underwent cognitive evaluation (Mini-Mental State Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery, five-word test, Stroop, clock-drawing) and single-task locomotor evaluation on an electronic walkway. They were then dual-task-tested on the Walking Stroop carpet, which is an adaptation of the Stroop color–word task for locomotion. A cluster analysis, followed by an analysis of variance, was performed to assess gait parameters. Results Cluster analysis of gait parameters on the Walking Stroop carpet revealed an interaction between cognitive and functional abilities because it made it possible to distinguish dysexecutive cognitive fragility or decline with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 94%. Locomotor abilities differed according to the group and dual-task conditions. Healthy subjects performed less well on dual-tasking under reading conditions than when they were asked to distinguish colors, whereas dysexecutive subjects had worse motor performances when they were required to dual task. Conclusion The Walking Stroop carpet is a dual-task test that enables early detection of cognitive fragility that has not been revealed by traditional neuropsychological tests or single-task walking analysis. PMID:23682211

Spatially Regularized Machine Learning for Task and Resting-state fMRI

PubMed Central

Song, Xiaomu; Panych, Lawrence P.; Chen, Nan-kuei

2015-01-01

Background Reliable mapping of brain function across sessions and/or subjects in task- and resting-state has been a critical challenge for quantitative fMRI studies although it has been intensively addressed in the past decades. New Method A spatially regularized support vector machine (SVM) technique was developed for the reliable brain mapping in task- and resting-state. Unlike most existing SVM-based brain mapping techniques, which implement supervised classifications of specific brain functional states or disorders, the proposed method performs a semi-supervised classification for the general brain function mapping where spatial correlation of fMRI is integrated into the SVM learning. The method can adapt to intra- and inter-subject variations induced by fMRI nonstationarity, and identify a true boundary between active and inactive voxels, or between functionally connected and unconnected voxels in a feature space. Results The method was evaluated using synthetic and experimental data at the individual and group level. Multiple features were evaluated in terms of their contributions to the spatially regularized SVM learning. Reliable mapping results in both task- and resting-state were obtained from individual subjects and at the group level. Comparison with Existing Methods A comparison study was performed with independent component analysis, general linear model, and correlation analysis methods. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can provide a better or comparable mapping performance at the individual and group level. Conclusions The proposed method can provide accurate and reliable mapping of brain function in task- and resting-state, and is applicable to a variety of quantitative fMRI studies. PMID:26470627

Discriminating autism spectrum disorders from schizophrenia by investigation of mental state attribution on an on-line mentalizing task: A review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Bliksted, Vibeke; Ubukata, Shiho; Koelkebeck, Katja

2016-03-01

In recent years, theories of how humans form a "theory of mind" of others ("mentalizing") have increasingly been called upon to explain impairments in social interaction in mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia. However, it remains unclear whether tasks that assess impairments in mentalizing can also contribute to determining differential deficits across disorders, which may be important for early identification and treatment. Paradigms that challenge mentalizing abilities in an on-line, real-life fashion have been considered helpful in detecting disease-specific deficits. In this review, we are therefore summarizing results of studies that assess the attribution of mental states using an animated triangles task. Behavioral as well as brain imaging studies in ASD and schizophrenia have been taken into account. While for neuroimaging methods, data are sparse and investigation methods inconsistent, we performed a meta-analysis of behavioral data to directly investigate performance deficits across disorders. Here, more impaired abilities in the appropriate description of interactions were found in ASD patients than in patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, an analysis of first-episode (FES) versus longer lasting (LLS) schizophrenia showed that usage of mental state terms was reduced in the LLS group. In our review and meta-analysis, we identified performance differences between ASD and schizophrenia that seem helpful in targeting differential deficits, taking into account different stages of schizophrenia. However, to tackle the deficits in more detail, studies are needed that directly compare patients with ASD and schizophrenia using behavioral or neuroimaging methods with more standardized task versions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Benchmarking Foot Trajectory Estimation Methods for Mobile Gait Analysis

PubMed Central

Ollenschläger, Malte; Roth, Nils; Klucken, Jochen

2017-01-01

Mobile gait analysis systems based on inertial sensing on the shoe are applied in a wide range of applications. Especially for medical applications, they can give new insights into motor impairment in, e.g., neurodegenerative disease and help objectify patient assessment. One key component in these systems is the reconstruction of the foot trajectories from inertial data. In literature, various methods for this task have been proposed. However, performance is evaluated on a variety of datasets due to the lack of large, generally accepted benchmark datasets. This hinders a fair comparison of methods. In this work, we implement three orientation estimation and three double integration schemes for use in a foot trajectory estimation pipeline. All methods are drawn from literature and evaluated against a marker-based motion capture reference. We provide a fair comparison on the same dataset consisting of 735 strides from 16 healthy subjects. As a result, the implemented methods are ranked and we identify the most suitable processing pipeline for foot trajectory estimation in the context of mobile gait analysis. PMID:28832511

Task-Based Information Searching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vakkari, Pertti

2003-01-01

Reviews studies on the relationship between task performance and information searching by end-users, focusing on information searching in electronic environments and information retrieval systems. Topics include task analysis; task characteristics; search goals; modeling information searching; modeling search goals; information seeking behavior;…

Developing Bayesian adaptive methods for estimating sensitivity thresholds (d′) in Yes-No and forced-choice tasks

PubMed Central

Lesmes, Luis A.; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Baek, Jongsoo; Tran, Nina; Dosher, Barbara A.; Albright, Thomas D.

2015-01-01

Motivated by Signal Detection Theory (SDT), we developed a family of novel adaptive methods that estimate the sensitivity threshold—the signal intensity corresponding to a pre-defined sensitivity level (d′ = 1)—in Yes-No (YN) and Forced-Choice (FC) detection tasks. Rather than focus stimulus sampling to estimate a single level of %Yes or %Correct, the current methods sample psychometric functions more broadly, to concurrently estimate sensitivity and decision factors, and thereby estimate thresholds that are independent of decision confounds. Developed for four tasks—(1) simple YN detection, (2) cued YN detection, which cues the observer's response state before each trial, (3) rated YN detection, which incorporates a Not Sure response, and (4) FC detection—the qYN and qFC methods yield sensitivity thresholds that are independent of the task's decision structure (YN or FC) and/or the observer's subjective response state. Results from simulation and psychophysics suggest that 25 trials (and sometimes less) are sufficient to estimate YN thresholds with reasonable precision (s.d. = 0.10–0.15 decimal log units), but more trials are needed for FC thresholds. When the same subjects were tested across tasks of simple, cued, rated, and FC detection, adaptive threshold estimates exhibited excellent agreement with the method of constant stimuli (MCS), and with each other. These YN adaptive methods deliver criterion-free thresholds that have previously been exclusive to FC methods. PMID:26300798

Analysis of methods of processing of expert information by optimization of administrative decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Churakov, D. Y.; Tsarkova, E. G.; Marchenko, N. D.; Grechishnikov, E. V.

2018-03-01

In the real operation the measure definition methodology in case of expert estimation of quality and reliability of application-oriented software products is offered. In operation methods of aggregation of expert estimates on the example of a collective choice of an instrumental control projects in case of software development of a special purpose for needs of institutions are described. Results of operation of dialogue decision making support system are given an algorithm of the decision of the task of a choice on the basis of a method of the analysis of hierarchies and also. The developed algorithm can be applied by development of expert systems to the solution of a wide class of the tasks anyway connected to a multicriteria choice.

EMG normalization method based on grade 3 of manual muscle testing: Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks and application to gait analysis.

PubMed

Tabard-Fougère, Anne; Rose-Dulcina, Kevin; Pittet, Vincent; Dayer, Romain; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Armand, Stéphane

2018-02-01

Electromyography (EMG) is an important parameter in Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA), and is generally interpreted with timing of activation. EMG amplitude comparisons between individuals, muscles or days need normalization. There is no consensus on existing methods. The gold standard, maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), is not adapted to pathological populations because patients are often unable to perform an MVIC. The normalization method inspired by the isometric grade 3 of manual muscle testing (isoMMT3), which is the ability of a muscle to maintain a position against gravity, could be an interesting alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the within- and between-day reliability of the isoMMT3 EMG normalizing method during gait compared with the conventional MVIC method. Lower limb muscles EMG (gluteus medius, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, semitendinosus) were recorded bilaterally in nine healthy participants (five males, aged 29.7±6.2years, BMI 22.7±3.3kgm -2 ) giving a total of 18 independent legs. Three repeated measurements of the isoMMT3 and MVIC exercises were performed with an EMG recording. EMG amplitude of the muscles during gait was normalized by these two methods. This protocol was repeated one week later. Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks were similar for isoMMT3 and MVIC methods. Within- and between-day reliability of gait EMG normalized by isoMMT3 was higher than with MVIC normalization. These results indicate that EMG normalization using isoMMT3 is a reliable method with no special equipment needed and will support CGA interpretation. The next step will be to evaluate this method in pathological populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design study of wind turbines 50 kW to 3000 kW for electric utility applications. Volume 3: Supplementary design and analysis tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Additional design and analysis data are provided to supplement the results of the two parallel design study efforts. The key results of the three supplemental tasks investigated are: (1) The velocity duration profile has a significant effect in determining the optimum wind turbine design parameters and the energy generation cost. (2) Modest increases in capacity factor can be achieved with small increases in energy generation costs and capital costs. (3) Reinforced concrete towers that are esthetically attractive can be designed and built at a cost comparable to those for steel truss towers. The approach used, method of analysis, assumptions made, design requirements, and the results for each task are discussed in detail.

Knowledge Mapping: A Multipurpose Task Analysis Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esque, Timm J.

1988-01-01

Describes knowledge mapping, a tool developed to increase the objectivity and accuracy of task difficulty ratings for job design. Application in a semiconductor manufacturing environment is discussed, including identifying prerequisite knowledge for a given task; establishing training development priorities; defining knowledge levels; identifying…

Latent human error analysis and efficient improvement strategies by fuzzy TOPSIS in aviation maintenance tasks.

PubMed

Chiu, Ming-Chuan; Hsieh, Min-Chih

2016-05-01

The purposes of this study were to develop a latent human error analysis process, to explore the factors of latent human error in aviation maintenance tasks, and to provide an efficient improvement strategy for addressing those errors. First, we used HFACS and RCA to define the error factors related to aviation maintenance tasks. Fuzzy TOPSIS with four criteria was applied to evaluate the error factors. Results show that 1) adverse physiological states, 2) physical/mental limitations, and 3) coordination, communication, and planning are the factors related to airline maintenance tasks that could be addressed easily and efficiently. This research establishes a new analytic process for investigating latent human error and provides a strategy for analyzing human error using fuzzy TOPSIS. Our analysis process complements shortages in existing methodologies by incorporating improvement efficiency, and it enhances the depth and broadness of human error analysis methodology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

An event-related visual occlusion method for examining anticipatory skill in natural interceptive tasks.

PubMed

Mann, David L; Abernethy, Bruce; Farrow, Damian; Davis, Mark; Spratford, Wayne

2010-05-01

This article describes a new automated method for the controlled occlusion of vision during natural tasks. The method permits the time course of the presence or absence of visual information to be linked to identifiable events within the task of interest. An example application is presented in which the method is used to examine the ability of cricket batsmen to pick up useful information from the prerelease movement patterns of the opposing bowler. Two key events, separated by a consistent within-action time lag, were identified in the cricket bowling action sequence-namely, the penultimate foot strike prior to ball release (Event 1), and the subsequent moment of ball release (Event 2). Force-plate registration of Event 1 was then used as a trigger to facilitate automated occlusion of vision using liquid crystal occlusion goggles at time points relative to Event 2. Validation demonstrated that, compared with existing approaches that are based on manual triggering, this method of occlusion permitted considerable gains in temporal precision and a reduction in the number of unusable trials. A more efficient and accurate protocol to examine anticipation is produced, while preserving the important natural coupling between perception and action.

Analysis of components of variance in multiple-reader studies of computer-aided diagnosis with different tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beiden, Sergey V.; Wagner, Robert F.; Campbell, Gregory; Metz, Charles E.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Nishikawa, Robert M.; Schnall, Mitchell D.; Jiang, Yulei

2001-06-01

In recent years, the multiple-reader, multiple-case (MRMC) study paradigm has become widespread for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) assessment of systems for diagnostic imaging and computer-aided diagnosis. We review how MRMC data can be analyzed in terms of the multiple components of the variance (case, reader, interactions) observed in those studies. Such information is useful for the design of pivotal studies from results of a pilot study and also for studying the effects of reader training. Recently, several of the present authors have demonstrated methods to generalize the analysis of multiple variance components to the case where unaided readers of diagnostic images are compared with readers who receive the benefit of a computer assist (CAD). For this case it is necessary to model the possibility that several of the components of variance might be reduced when readers incorporate the computer assist, compared to the unaided reading condition. We review results of this kind of analysis on three previously published MRMC studies, two of which were applications of CAD to diagnostic mammography and one was an application of CAD to screening mammography. The results for the three cases are seen to differ, depending on the reader population sampled and the task of interest. Thus, it is not possible to generalize a particular analysis of variance components beyond the tasks and populations actually investigated.

Cognitive task analysis of network analysts and managers for network situational awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erbacher, Robert F.; Frincke, Deborah A.; Wong, Pak Chung; Moody, Sarah; Fink, Glenn

2010-01-01

The goal of our project is to create a set of next-generation cyber situational-awareness capabilities with applications to other domains in the long term. The situational-awareness capabilities being developed focus on novel visualization techniques as well as data analysis techniques designed to improve the comprehensibility of the visualizations. The objective is to improve the decision-making process to enable decision makers to choose better actions. To this end, we put extensive effort into ensuring we had feedback from network analysts and managers and understanding what their needs truly are. This paper discusses the cognitive task analysis methodology we followed to acquire feedback from the analysts. This paper also provides the details we acquired from the analysts on their processes, goals, concerns, etc. A final result we describe is the generation of a task-flow diagram.

Cognitive Task Complexity Effects on L2 Writing Performance: An Application of Mixed-Methods Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdi Tabari, Mahmoud; Ivey, Toni A.

2015-01-01

This paper provides a methodological review of previous research on cognitive task complexity, since the term emerged in 1995, and investigates why much research was more quantitative rather than qualitative. Moreover, it sheds light onto the studies which used the mixed-methods approach and determines which version of the mixed-methods designs…

Use of Human Modeling Simulation Software in the Task Analysis of the Environmental Control and Life Support System Component Installation Procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Samantha; Parker, Nelson C. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Virtual reality and simulation applications are becoming widespread in human task analysis. These programs have many benefits for the Human Factors Engineering field. Not only do creating and using virtual environments for human engineering analyses save money and time, this approach also promotes user experimentation and provides increased quality of analyses. This paper explains the human engineering task analysis performed on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) space station rack and its Distillation Assembly (DA) subsystem using EAI's human modeling simulation software, Jack. When installed on the International Space Station (ISS), ECLSS will provide the life and environment support needed to adequately sustain crew life. The DA is an Orbital Replaceable Unit (ORU) that provides means of wastewater (primarily urine from flight crew and experimental animals) reclamation. Jack was used to create a model of the weightless environment of the ISS Node 3, where the ECLSS is housed. Computer aided drawings of the ECLSS rack and DA system were also brought into the environment. Anthropometric models of a 95th percentile male and 5th percentile female were used to examine the human interfaces encountered during various ECLSS and DA tasks. The results of the task analyses were used in suggesting modifications to hardware and crew task procedures to improve accessibility, conserve crew time, and add convenience for the crew. This paper will address some of those suggested modifications and the method of presenting final analyses for requirements verification.

Accuracy Maximization Analysis for Sensory-Perceptual Tasks: Computational Improvements, Filter Robustness, and Coding Advantages for Scaled Additive Noise

PubMed Central

Burge, Johannes

2017-01-01

Accuracy Maximization Analysis (AMA) is a recently developed Bayesian ideal observer method for task-specific dimensionality reduction. Given a training set of proximal stimuli (e.g. retinal images), a response noise model, and a cost function, AMA returns the filters (i.e. receptive fields) that extract the most useful stimulus features for estimating a user-specified latent variable from those stimuli. Here, we first contribute two technical advances that significantly reduce AMA’s compute time: we derive gradients of cost functions for which two popular estimators are appropriate, and we implement a stochastic gradient descent (AMA-SGD) routine for filter learning. Next, we show how the method can be used to simultaneously probe the impact on neural encoding of natural stimulus variability, the prior over the latent variable, noise power, and the choice of cost function. Then, we examine the geometry of AMA’s unique combination of properties that distinguish it from better-known statistical methods. Using binocular disparity estimation as a concrete test case, we develop insights that have general implications for understanding neural encoding and decoding in a broad class of fundamental sensory-perceptual tasks connected to the energy model. Specifically, we find that non-orthogonal (partially redundant) filters with scaled additive noise tend to outperform orthogonal filters with constant additive noise; non-orthogonal filters and scaled additive noise can interact to sculpt noise-induced stimulus encoding uncertainty to match task-irrelevant stimulus variability. Thus, we show that some properties of neural response thought to be biophysical nuisances can confer coding advantages to neural systems. Finally, we speculate that, if repurposed for the problem of neural systems identification, AMA may be able to overcome a fundamental limitation of standard subunit model estimation. As natural stimuli become more widely used in the study of psychophysical and

Engaging Students in Analyzing and Interpreting Data to Construct Mathematical Models: An Analysis of Students' Reasoning in a Method of Initial Rates Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Nicole M.; Rupp, Charlie A.; Brandriet, Alexandra

2017-01-01

Models related to the topic of chemical kinetics are critical for predicting and explaining chemical reactivity. Here we present a qualitative study of 15 general chemistry students' reasoning about a method of initial rates task. We asked students to discuss their understanding of the terms rate law and initial rate, and then analyze rate and…

Overview of the Cancer Genetics and Pathway Curation tasks of BioNLP Shared Task 2013

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Since their introduction in 2009, the BioNLP Shared Task events have been instrumental in advancing the development of methods and resources for the automatic extraction of information from the biomedical literature. In this paper, we present the Cancer Genetics (CG) and Pathway Curation (PC) tasks, two event extraction tasks introduced in the BioNLP Shared Task 2013. The CG task focuses on cancer, emphasizing the extraction of physiological and pathological processes at various levels of biological organization, and the PC task targets reactions relevant to the development of biomolecular pathway models, defining its extraction targets on the basis of established pathway representations and ontologies. Results Six groups participated in the CG task and two groups in the PC task, together applying a wide range of extraction approaches including both established state-of-the-art systems and newly introduced extraction methods. The best-performing systems achieved F-scores of 55% on the CG task and 53% on the PC task, demonstrating a level of performance comparable to the best results achieved in similar previously proposed tasks. Conclusions The results indicate that existing event extraction technology can generalize to meet the novel challenges represented by the CG and PC task settings, suggesting that extraction methods are capable of supporting the construction of knowledge bases on the molecular mechanisms of cancer and the curation of biomolecular pathway models. The CG and PC tasks continue as open challenges for all interested parties, with data, tools and resources available from the shared task homepage. PMID:26202570

A Task Analysis for Teaching the Organization of an Informative Speech.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parks, Arlie Muller

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a task analysis of the objectives needed to organize an effective information-giving speech. A hierarchical structure of the behaviors needed to deliver a well-organized extemporaneous information-giving speech is presented, with some behaviors as subtasks for the unit objective and the others as…

Analysis of the Structure of Surgical Activity for a Suturing and Knot-Tying Task

PubMed Central

Vedula, S. Swaroop; Malpani, Anand O.; Tao, Lingling; Chen, George; Gao, Yixin; Poddar, Piyush; Ahmidi, Narges; Paxton, Christopher; Vidal, Rene; Khudanpur, Sanjeev; Hager, Gregory D.; Chen, Chi Chiung Grace

2016-01-01

Background Surgical tasks are performed in a sequence of steps, and technical skill evaluation includes assessing task flow efficiency. Our objective was to describe differences in task flow for expert and novice surgeons for a basic surgical task. Methods We used a hierarchical semantic vocabulary to decompose and annotate maneuvers and gestures for 135 instances of a surgeon’s knot performed by 18 surgeons. We compared counts of maneuvers and gestures, and analyzed task flow by skill level. Results Experts used fewer gestures to perform the task (26.29; 95% CI = 25.21 to 27.38 for experts vs. 31.30; 95% CI = 29.05 to 33.55 for novices) and made fewer errors in gestures than novices (1.00; 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.39 vs. 2.84; 95% CI = 2.3 to 3.37). Transitions among maneuvers, and among gestures within each maneuver for expert trials were more predictable than novice trials. Conclusions Activity segments and state flow transitions within a basic surgical task differ by surgical skill level, and can be used to provide targeted feedback to surgical trainees. PMID:26950551

A Cross-Sectional Behavioral Genetic Analysis of Task Persistence in the Transition to Middle Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Petrill, Stephen A.; Thompson, Lee A.; DeThorne, Laura S.

2005-01-01

Task persistence, measured by a composite score of independent teacher, tester and observer reports, was examined using behavioral genetic analysis. Participants included 92 monozygotic and 137 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs in Kindergarten or 1st grade (4.3 to 7.9 years old). Task persistence was widely distributed, higher among older children,…

Gait disorders in the elderly and dual task gait analysis: a new approach for identifying motor phenotypes.

PubMed

Auvinet, Bernard; Touzard, Claude; Montestruc, François; Delafond, Arnaud; Goeb, Vincent

2017-01-31

Gait disorders and gait analysis under single and dual-task conditions are topics of great interest, but very few studies have looked for the relevance of gait analysis under dual-task conditions in elderly people on the basis of a clinical approach. An observational study including 103 patients (mean age 76.3 ± 7.2, women 56%) suffering from gait disorders or memory impairment was conducted. Gait analysis under dual-task conditions was carried out for all patients. Brain MRI was performed in the absence of contra-indications. Three main gait variables were measured: walking speed, stride frequency, and stride regularity. For each gait variable, the dual task cost was computed and a quartile analysis was obtained. Nonparametric tests were used for all the comparisons (Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, Fisher or Chi 2 tests). Four clinical subgroups were identified: gait instability (45%), recurrent falls (29%), memory impairment (18%), and cautious gait (8%). The biomechanical severity of these subgroups was ordered according to walking speed and stride regularity under both conditions, from least to most serious as follows: memory impairment, gait instability, recurrent falls, cautious gait (p < 0.01 for walking speed, p = 0.05 for stride regularity). According to the established diagnoses of gait disorders, 5 main pathological subgroups were identified (musculoskeletal diseases (n = 11), vestibular diseases (n = 6), mild cognitive impairment (n = 24), central nervous system pathologies, (n = 51), and without diagnosis (n = 8)). The dual task cost for walking speed, stride frequency and stride regularity were different among these subgroups (p < 0.01). The subgroups mild cognitive impairment and central nervous system pathologies both showed together a higher dual task cost for each variable compared to the other subgroups combined (p = 0.01). The quartile analysis of dual task cost for stride frequency and stride regularity

Analysis of optimisation method for a two-stroke piston ring using the Finite Element Method and the Simulated Annealing Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaliszewski, M.; Mazuro, P.

2016-09-01

Simulated Annealing Method of optimisation for the sealing piston ring geometry is tested. The aim of optimisation is to develop ring geometry which would exert demanded pressure on a cylinder just while being bended to fit the cylinder. Method of FEM analysis of an arbitrary piston ring geometry is applied in an ANSYS software. The demanded pressure function (basing on formulae presented by A. Iskra) as well as objective function are introduced. Geometry definition constructed by polynomials in radial coordinate system is delivered and discussed. Possible application of Simulated Annealing Method in a piston ring optimisation task is proposed and visualised. Difficulties leading to possible lack of convergence of optimisation are presented. An example of an unsuccessful optimisation performed in APDL is discussed. Possible line of further optimisation improvement is proposed.

Risk assessment of maintenance operations: the analysis of performing task and accident mechanism.

PubMed

Carrillo-Castrillo, Jesús A; Rubio-Romero, Juan Carlos; Guadix, Jose; Onieva, Luis

2015-01-01

Maintenance operations cover a great number of occupations. Most small and medium-sized enterprises lack the appropriate information to conduct risk assessments of maintenance operations. The objective of this research is to provide a method based on the concepts of task and accident mechanisms for an initial risk assessment by taking into consideration the prevalence and severity of the maintenance accidents reported. Data were gathered from 11,190 reported accidents in maintenance operations in the manufacturing sector of Andalusia from 2003 to 2012. By using a semi-quantitative methodology, likelihood and severity were evaluated based on the actual distribution of accident mechanisms in each of the tasks. Accident mechanisms and tasks were identified by using those variables included in the European Statistics of Accidents at Work methodology. As main results, the estimated risk of the most frequent accident mechanisms identified for each of the analysed tasks is low and the only accident mechanisms with medium risk are accidents when lifting or pushing with physical stress on the musculoskeletal system in tasks involving carrying, and impacts against objects after slipping or stumbling for tasks involving movements. The prioritisation of public preventive actions for the accident mechanisms with a higher estimated risk is highly recommended.

A Degradation Analysis Methodology for Maintenance Tasks

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-05-12

Support Maintenance Company ......... ................... ...... 115 ................. .................. ,.... - ’ vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1-I...Versus Individual Effectiveness ..................... 115 5-4. Effectiveiess Results for Threat One ..................... 117 5-5. Effectiveness...model does not differenti - ate between a task which requires a high degree of fine finger dexteri- ty from another task involving only gross body

An efficient approach to understanding and predicting the effects of multiple task characteristics on performance.

PubMed

Richardson, Miles

2017-04-01

In ergonomics there is often a need to identify and predict the separate effects of multiple factors on performance. A cost-effective fractional factorial approach to understanding the relationship between task characteristics and task performance is presented. The method has been shown to provide sufficient independent variability to reveal and predict the effects of task characteristics on performance in two domains. The five steps outlined are: selection of performance measure, task characteristic identification, task design for user trials, data collection, regression model development and task characteristic analysis. The approach can be used for furthering knowledge of task performance, theoretical understanding, experimental control and prediction of task performance. Practitioner Summary: A cost-effective method to identify and predict the separate effects of multiple factors on performance is presented. The five steps allow a better understanding of task factors during the design process.

Analysis of brain activity and response to colour stimuli during learning tasks: an EEG study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folgieri, Raffaella; Lucchiari, Claudio; Marini, Daniele

2013-02-01

The research project intends to demonstrate how EEG detection through BCI device can improve the analysis and the interpretation of colours-driven cognitive processes through the combined approach of cognitive science and information technology methods. To this end, firstly it was decided to design an experiment based on comparing the results of the traditional (qualitative and quantitative) cognitive analysis approach with the EEG signal analysis of the evoked potentials. In our case, the sensorial stimulus is represented by the colours, while the cognitive task consists in remembering the words appearing on the screen, with different combination of foreground (words) and background colours. In this work we analysed data collected from a sample of students involved in a learning process during which they received visual stimuli based on colour variation. The stimuli concerned both the background of the text to learn and the colour of the characters. The experiment indicated some interesting results concerning the use of primary (RGB) and complementary (CMY) colours.

Participatory Design Methods for C2 Systems (Proceedings/Presentation)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES Janet E. Miller...systems to support cognitive work such as is accomplished in a network-centric -environment. Cognitive task analysis (CTA) methods are used to...of cognitive task analysis methodologies exist (Schraagen et al., 2000). However, many of these methods are skeptically viewed by a domain’s

What Makes Patient Navigation Most Effective: Defining Useful Tasks and Networks.

PubMed

Gunn, Christine; Battaglia, Tracy A; Parker, Victoria A; Clark, Jack A; Paskett, Electra D; Calhoun, Elizabeth; Snyder, Frederick R; Bergling, Emily; Freund, Karen M

2017-01-01

Given the momentum in adopting patient navigation into cancer care, there is a need to understand the contribution of specific navigator activities to improved clinical outcomes. A mixed-methods study combined direct observations of patient navigators within the Patient Navigation Research Program and outcome data from the trial. We correlated the frequency of navigator tasks with the outcome of rate of diagnostic resolution within 365 days among patients who received the intervention relative to controls. A focused content analysis examined those tasks with the strongest correlations between navigator tasks and patient outcomes. Navigating directly with specific patients (r = 0.679), working with clinical providers to facilitate patient care (r = 0.643), and performing tasks not directly related to their diagnostic evaluation for patients were positively associated with more timely diagnosis (r = 0.714). Using medical records for non-navigation tasks had a negative association (r = -0.643). Content analysis revealed service provision directed at specific patients improved care while systems-focused activities did not.

Recalling academic tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Draper, Franklin Gno

This study was focused on what students remembered about five middle school science tasks when they were juniors and seniors in high school. Descriptions of the five tasks were reconstructed from available artifacts and teachers' records, notes and recollections. Three of the five tasks were "authentic" in the sense that students were asked to duplicate the decisions practitioners make in the adult world. The other two tasks were more typical school tasks involving note taking and preparation for a quiz. All five tasks, however, involved use of computers. Students were interviewed to examine what and how well they recalled the tasks and what forms or patterns of recall existed. Analysis of their responses indicated that different kinds of tasks produced different levels of recall. Authentically situated tasks were remembered much better than routine school tasks. Further, authentic tasks centered on design elements were recalled better than those for which design was not as pivotal. Patterns of recall indicated that participants most often recalled the decisions they made, the scenarios of the authentically situated tasks, the consequences of their tasks and the social contexts of the classroom. Task events, in other words, appeared to form a framework upon which students constructed stories of the tasks. The more salient the events, the richer the story, the deeper and more detailed the recall of the task. Thus, authentic tasks appeared to lend themselves to creating stories better than regular school tasks and therefore such tasks were recalled better. Implications of these patterns of recall are discussed with respect to issues of school learning and assessment.

Underground Test Area Subproject Phase I Data Analysis Task. Volume VII - Tritium Transport Model Documentation Package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Volume VII of the documentation for the Phase I Data Analysis Task performed in support of the current Regional Flow Model, Transport Model, and Risk Assessment for the Nevada Test Site Underground Test Area Subproject contains the tritium transport model documentation. Because of the size and complexity of the model area, a considerable quantity of data was collected and analyzed in support of the modeling efforts. The data analysis task was consequently broken into eight subtasks, and descriptions of each subtask's activities are contained in one of the eight volumes that comprise the Phase I Data Analysis Documentation.

ALE Meta-Analysis of Schizophrenics Performing the N-Back Task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrell, Zachary

2010-10-01

MRI/fMRI has already proven itself as a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of many illnesses of the brain, including cognitive problems. By exploiting the differences in magnetic susceptibility between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin, fMRI can measure blood flow in various regions of interest within the brain. This can determine the level of brain activity in relation to motor or cognitive functions and provide a metric for tissue damage or illness symptoms. Structural imaging techniques have shown lesions or deficiencies in tissue volumes in schizophrenics corresponding to areas primarily in the frontal and temporal lobes. These areas are currently known to be involved in working memory and attention, which many schizophrenics have trouble with. The ALE (Activation Likelihood Estimation) Meta-Analysis is able to statistically determine the significance of brain area activations based on the post-hoc combination of multiple studies. This process is useful for giving a general model of brain function in relation to a particular task designed to engage the affected areas (such as working memory for the n-back task). The advantages of the ALE Meta-Analysis include elimination of single subject anomalies, elimination of false/extremely weak activations, and verification of function/location hypotheses.

Validation of auditory detection response task method for assessing the attentional effects of cognitive load.

PubMed

Stojmenova, Kristina; Sodnik, Jaka

2018-07-04

There are 3 standardized versions of the Detection Response Task (DRT), 2 using visual stimuli (remote DRT and head-mounted DRT) and one using tactile stimuli. In this article, we present a study that proposes and validates a type of auditory signal to be used as DRT stimulus and evaluate the proposed auditory version of this method by comparing it with the standardized visual and tactile version. This was a within-subject design study performed in a driving simulator with 24 participants. Each participant performed 8 2-min-long driving sessions in which they had to perform 3 different tasks: driving, answering to DRT stimuli, and performing a cognitive task (n-back task). Presence of additional cognitive load and type of DRT stimuli were defined as independent variables. DRT response times and hit rates, n-back task performance, and pupil size were observed as dependent variables. Significant changes in pupil size for trials with a cognitive task compared to trials without showed that cognitive load was induced properly. Each DRT version showed a significant increase in response times and a decrease in hit rates for trials with a secondary cognitive task compared to trials without. Similar and significantly better results in differences in response times and hit rates were obtained for the auditory and tactile version compared to the visual version. There were no significant differences in performance rate between the trials without DRT stimuli compared to trials with and among the trials with different DRT stimuli modalities. The results from this study show that the auditory DRT version, using the signal implementation suggested in this article, is sensitive to the effects of cognitive load on driver's attention and is significantly better than the remote visual and tactile version for auditory-vocal cognitive (n-back) secondary tasks.

Monitoring supports performance in a dual-task paradigm involving a risky decision-making task and a working memory task

PubMed Central

Gathmann, Bettina; Schiebener, Johannes; Wolf, Oliver T.; Brand, Matthias

2015-01-01

Performing two cognitively demanding tasks at the same time is known to decrease performance. The current study investigates the underlying executive functions of a dual-tasking situation involving the simultaneous performance of decision making under explicit risk and a working memory task. It is suggested that making a decision and performing a working memory task at the same time should particularly require monitoring—an executive control process supervising behavior and the state of processing on two tasks. To test the role of a supervisory/monitoring function in such a dual-tasking situation we investigated 122 participants with the Game of Dice Task plus 2-back task (GDT plus 2-back task). This dual task requires participants to make decisions under risk and to perform a 2-back working memory task at the same time. Furthermore, a task measuring a set of several executive functions gathered in the term concept formation (Modified Card Sorting Test, MCST) and the newly developed Balanced Switching Task (BST), measuring monitoring in particular, were used. The results demonstrate that concept formation and monitoring are involved in the simultaneous performance of decision making under risk and a working memory task. In particular, the mediation analysis revealed that BST performance partially mediates the influence of MCST performance on the GDT plus 2-back task. These findings suggest that monitoring is one important subfunction for superior performance in a dual-tasking situation including decision making under risk and a working memory task. PMID:25741308

Plausibility assessment of a 2-state self-paced mental task-based BCI using the no-control performance analysis.

PubMed

Faradji, Farhad; Ward, Rabab K; Birch, Gary E

2009-06-15

The feasibility of having a self-paced brain-computer interface (BCI) based on mental tasks is investigated. The EEG signals of four subjects performing five mental tasks each are used in the design of a 2-state self-paced BCI. The output of the BCI should only be activated when the subject performs a specific mental task and should remain inactive otherwise. For each subject and each task, the feature coefficient and the classifier that yield the best performance are selected, using the autoregressive coefficients as the features. The classifier with a zero false positive rate and the highest true positive rate is selected as the best classifier. The classifiers tested include: linear discriminant analysis, quadratic discriminant analysis, Mahalanobis discriminant analysis, support vector machine, and radial basis function neural network. The results show that: (1) some classifiers obtained the desired zero false positive rate; (2) the linear discriminant analysis classifier does not yield acceptable performance; (3) the quadratic discriminant analysis classifier outperforms the Mahalanobis discriminant analysis classifier and performs almost as well as the radial basis function neural network; and (4) the support vector machine classifier has the highest true positive rates but unfortunately has nonzero false positive rates in most cases.

Application of the EVEX resource to event extraction and network construction: Shared Task entry and result analysis

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Modern methods for mining biomolecular interactions from literature typically make predictions based solely on the immediate textual context, in effect a single sentence. No prior work has been published on extending this context to the information automatically gathered from the whole biomedical literature. Thus, our motivation for this study is to explore whether mutually supporting evidence, aggregated across several documents can be utilized to improve the performance of the state-of-the-art event extraction systems. In this paper, we describe our participation in the latest BioNLP Shared Task using the large-scale text mining resource EVEX. We participated in the Genia Event Extraction (GE) and Gene Regulation Network (GRN) tasks with two separate systems. In the GE task, we implemented a re-ranking approach to improve the precision of an existing event extraction system, incorporating features from the EVEX resource. In the GRN task, our system relied solely on the EVEX resource and utilized a rule-based conversion algorithm between the EVEX and GRN formats. Results In the GE task, our re-ranking approach led to a modest performance increase and resulted in the first rank of the official Shared Task results with 50.97% F-score. Additionally, in this paper we explore and evaluate the usage of distributed vector representations for this challenge. In the GRN task, we ranked fifth in the official results with a strict/relaxed SER score of 0.92/0.81 respectively. To try and improve upon these results, we have implemented a novel machine learning based conversion system and benchmarked its performance against the original rule-based system. Conclusions For the GRN task, we were able to produce a gene regulatory network from the EVEX data, warranting the use of such generic large-scale text mining data in network biology settings. A detailed performance and error analysis provides more insight into the relatively low recall rates. In the GE task we

[Spatiotemporal pattern analysis of event-related potentials elicited by emotional Stroop task].

PubMed

Liu, Qi; Liu, Ling; He, Hui; Zhou, Shu

2007-05-01

To investigate the spatiotemporal pattern of event-related potentials (ERPs) induced by emotional Stroop task. The ERPs of 19 channels were recorded from 13 healthy subjects while performing emotional Stroop task by pressing the buttons representing the colors in which the words denoting different emotions were displayed. A repeated-measures factorial design was adopted with three levels (word valence: positive, neutral and negative). The result of ERP analysis was presented in the form of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) of F value. No significant difference was found in either reaction time or accuracy. The SPM of ERPs suggested significant emotional valence effects in the occipital region (200-220 ms), the left and central frontal regions (270-300 ms), and the bilateral temporal and parietal cortex (560-580 and 620-630 ms, respectively). Processing of task-irrelevant emotional valence information involves the dynamic operation of extensive brain regions. The ERPs are more sensitive than the behavioral indices in emotional evaluation.

A cognitive task analysis of a visual analytic workflow: Exploring molecular interaction networks in systems biology.

PubMed

Mirel, Barbara; Eichinger, Felix; Keller, Benjamin J; Kretzler, Matthias

2011-03-21

Bioinformatics visualization tools are often not robust enough to support biomedical specialists’ complex exploratory analyses. Tools need to accommodate the workflows that scientists actually perform for specific translational research questions. To understand and model one of these workflows, we conducted a case-based, cognitive task analysis of a biomedical specialist’s exploratory workflow for the question: What functional interactions among gene products of high throughput expression data suggest previously unknown mechanisms of a disease? From our cognitive task analysis four complementary representations of the targeted workflow were developed. They include: usage scenarios, flow diagrams, a cognitive task taxonomy, and a mapping between cognitive tasks and user-centered visualization requirements. The representations capture the flows of cognitive tasks that led a biomedical specialist to inferences critical to hypothesizing. We created representations at levels of detail that could strategically guide visualization development, and we confirmed this by making a trial prototype based on user requirements for a small portion of the workflow. Our results imply that visualizations should make available to scientific users “bundles of features” consonant with the compositional cognitive tasks purposefully enacted at specific points in the workflow. We also highlight certain aspects of visualizations that: (a) need more built-in flexibility; (b) are critical for negotiating meaning; and (c) are necessary for essential metacognitive support.

Safety analysis of patient transfers and handling tasks.

PubMed

Vieira, Er; Kumar, S

2009-10-01

Low-back disorders are related to biomechanical demands, and nurses are among the professionals with the highest rates. Quantification of risk factors is important for safety assessment and reduction of low-back disorders. This study aimed to quantify physical demands of frequent nursing tasks and provide evidence-based recommendations to increase low-back safety. Thirty-six volunteer female nurses participated in a cross-sectional study of nine nursing tasks. Lumbar range of motion (ROM) and motion during nursing tasks were measured. Compression and shear forces at L5/S1, ligament strain and percentage of population without sufficient torso strength to perform 14 phases of nine nursing tasks were estimated. Peak flexions during trolley-to-bed, bed-to-chair and chair-to-bed transfers reached the maximum flexion ROM of the nurses. Average lumbar flexion during trolley-to-bed transfers was >50% of flexion ROM, being higher than during all other tasks. Mean (SD) compression at L5/S1 (4754 N (437 N)) and population without sufficient torso strength (37% (9%)) were highest during the pushing phase of bed-to-trolley transfers. Shear force (487 N (40 N)) and ligament strain (14% (5%)) were highest during the pulling phase of trolley-to-bed transfers. Nursing tasks impose high biomechanical demands on the lumbar spine. Excessive lumbar flexion and forces are critical aspects of manual transfers requiring most of the nurses' capabilities. Evidence-based recommendations to improve low-back safety in common nursing tasks were provided. Fitness to work, job modifications and training programs can now be designed and assessed based on the results.

Task-based statistical image reconstruction for high-quality cone-beam CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Hao; Webster Stayman, J.; Xu, Jennifer; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Sisniega, Alejandro; Mow, Michael; Wang, Xiaohui; Foos, David H.; Aygun, Nafi; Koliatsos, Vassilis E.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

2017-11-01

Task-based analysis of medical imaging performance underlies many ongoing efforts in the development of new imaging systems. In statistical image reconstruction, regularization is often formulated in terms to encourage smoothness and/or sharpness (e.g. a linear, quadratic, or Huber penalty) but without explicit formulation of the task. We propose an alternative regularization approach in which a spatially varying penalty is determined that maximizes task-based imaging performance at every location in a 3D image. We apply the method to model-based image reconstruction (MBIR—viz., penalized weighted least-squares, PWLS) in cone-beam CT (CBCT) of the head, focusing on the task of detecting a small, low-contrast intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and we test the performance of the algorithm in the context of a recently developed CBCT prototype for point-of-care imaging of brain injury. Theoretical predictions of local spatial resolution and noise are computed via an optimization by which regularization (specifically, the quadratic penalty strength) is allowed to vary throughout the image to maximize local task-based detectability index ({{d}\\prime} ). Simulation studies and test-bench experiments were performed using an anthropomorphic head phantom. Three PWLS implementations were tested: conventional (constant) penalty; a certainty-based penalty derived to enforce constant point-spread function, PSF; and the task-based penalty derived to maximize local detectability at each location. Conventional (constant) regularization exhibited a fairly strong degree of spatial variation in {{d}\\prime} , and the certainty-based method achieved uniform PSF, but each exhibited a reduction in detectability compared to the task-based method, which improved detectability up to ~15%. The improvement was strongest in areas of high attenuation (skull base), where the conventional and certainty-based methods tended to over-smooth the data. The task-driven reconstruction method presents a

Resting-State Seed-Based Analysis: An Alternative to Task-Based Language fMRI and Its Laterality Index.

PubMed

Smitha, K A; Arun, K M; Rajesh, P G; Thomas, B; Kesavadas, C

2017-06-01

Language is a cardinal function that makes human unique. Preservation of language function poses a great challenge for surgeons during resection. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of resting-state fMRI in the lateralization of language function in healthy subjects to permit its further testing in patients who are unable to perform task-based fMRI. Eighteen healthy right-handed volunteers were prospectively evaluated with resting-state fMRI and task-based fMRI to assess language networks. The laterality indices of Broca and Wernicke areas were calculated by using task-based fMRI via a voxel-value approach. We adopted seed-based resting-state fMRI connectivity analysis together with parameters such as amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF). Resting-state fMRI connectivity maps for language networks were obtained from Broca and Wernicke areas in both hemispheres. We performed correlation analysis between the laterality index and the z scores of functional connectivity, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, and fALFF. Pearson correlation analysis between signals obtained from the z score of fALFF and the laterality index yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.849 ( P < .05). Regression analysis of the fALFF with the laterality index yielded an R 2 value of 0.721, indicating that 72.1% of the variance in the laterality index of task-based fMRI could be predicted from the fALFF of resting-state fMRI. The present study demonstrates that fALFF can be used as an alternative to task-based fMRI for assessing language laterality. There was a strong positive correlation between the fALFF of the Broca area of resting-state fMRI with the laterality index of task-based fMRI. Furthermore, we demonstrated the efficacy of fALFF for predicting the laterality of task-based fMRI. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Building surgical capacity in low-resource countries: a qualitative analysis of task shifting from surgeon volunteers' perspectives.

PubMed

Aliu, Oluseyi; Corlew, Scott D; Heisler, Michele E; Pannucci, Christopher J; Chung, Kevin C

2014-01-01

Surgical volunteer organizations (SVOs) focus considerable resources on addressing the backlog of cases in low-resource countries. This model of service may perpetuate dependency. Efforts should focus on models that establish independence in providing surgical care. Independence could be achieved through surgical capacity building. However, there has been scant discussion in literature on SVO involvement in surgical capacity building. Using qualitative methods, we evaluated the perspectives of surgeons with extensive volunteer experience in low-resource countries. We collected data through in-depth interviews that centered on SVOs using task shifting as a tool for surgical capacity building. Some of the key themes from our analysis include the ethical ramifications of task shifting, the challenges of addressing technical and clinical education in capacity building for low-resource settings, and the allocation of limited volunteer resources toward surgical capacity building. These themes will be the foundation of subsequent studies that will focus on other stakeholders in surgical capacity building including host communities and SVO administrators.

Application of GIS Technology for Town Planning Tasks Solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiyashko, G. A.

2017-11-01

For developing territories, one of the most actual town-planning tasks is to find out the suitable sites for building projects. The geographic information system (GIS) allows one to model complex spatial processes and can provide necessary effective tools to solve these tasks. We propose several GIS analysis models which can define suitable settlement allocations and select appropriate parcels for construction objects. We implement our models in the ArcGIS Desktop package and verify by application to the existing objects in Primorsky Region (Primorye Territory). These suitability models use several variations of the analysis method combinations and include various ways to resolve the suitability task using vector data and a raster data set. The suitability models created in this study can be combined, and one model can be integrated into another as its part. Our models can be updated by other suitability models for further detailed planning.

Heavy vehicle driver workload assessment. Task 3, task analysis data collection

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

This technical report consists of a collection of task analytic data to support heavy vehicle driver workload assessment and protocol development. Data were collected from professional drivers to provide insights into the following issues: the meanin...

Eye Movement Analysis and Cognitive Assessment. The Use of Comparative Visual Search Tasks in a Non-immersive VR Application.

PubMed

Rosa, Pedro J; Gamito, Pedro; Oliveira, Jorge; Morais, Diogo; Pavlovic, Matthew; Smyth, Olivia; Maia, Inês; Gomes, Tiago

2017-03-23

An adequate behavioral response depends on attentional and mnesic processes. When these basic cognitive functions are impaired, the use of non-immersive Virtual Reality Applications (VRAs) can be a reliable technique for assessing the level of impairment. However, most non-immersive VRAs use indirect measures to make inferences about visual attention and mnesic processes (e.g., time to task completion, error rate). To examine whether the eye movement analysis through eye tracking (ET) can be a reliable method to probe more effectively where and how attention is deployed and how it is linked with visual working memory during comparative visual search tasks (CVSTs) in non-immersive VRAs. The eye movements of 50 healthy participants were continuously recorded while CVSTs, selected from a set of cognitive tasks in the Systemic Lisbon Battery (SLB). Then a VRA designed to assess of cognitive impairments were randomly presented. The total fixation duration, the number of visits in the areas of interest and in the interstimulus space, along with the total execution time was significantly different as a function of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. The present study demonstrates that CVSTs in SLB, when combined with ET, can be a reliable and unobtrusive method for assessing cognitive abilities in healthy individuals, opening it to potential use in clinical samples.

PROOF OF CONCEPT FOR A HUMAN RELIABILITY ANALYSIS METHOD FOR HEURISTIC USABILITY EVALUATION OF SOFTWARE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronald L. Boring; David I. Gertman; Jeffrey C. Joe

2005-09-01

An ongoing issue within human-computer interaction (HCI) is the need for simplified or “discount” methods. The current economic slowdown has necessitated innovative methods that are results driven and cost effective. The myriad methods of design and usability are currently being cost-justified, and new techniques are actively being explored that meet current budgets and needs. Recent efforts in human reliability analysis (HRA) are highlighted by the ten-year development of the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk HRA (SPAR-H) method. The SPAR-H method has been used primarily for determining humancentered risk at nuclear power plants. The SPAR-H method, however, shares task analysis underpinnings withmore » HCI. Despite this methodological overlap, there is currently no HRA approach deployed in heuristic usability evaluation. This paper presents an extension of the existing SPAR-H method to be used as part of heuristic usability evaluation in HCI.« less

New paradigm for task switching strategies while performing multiple tasks: entropy and symbolic dynamics analysis of voluntary patterns.

PubMed

Guastello, Stephen J; Gorin, Hillary; Huschen, Samuel; Peters, Natalie E; Fabisch, Megan; Poston, Kirsten

2012-10-01

It has become well established in laboratory experiments that switching tasks, perhaps due to interruptions at work, incur costs in response time to complete the next task. Conditions are also known that exaggerate or lessen the switching costs. Although switching costs can contribute to fatigue, task switching can also be an adaptive response to fatigue. The present study introduces a new research paradigm for studying the emergence of voluntary task switching regimes, self-organizing processes therein, and the possibly conflicting roles of switching costs and minimum entropy. Fifty-four undergraduates performed 7 different computer-based cognitive tasks producing sets of 49 responses under instructional conditions requiring task quotas or no quotas. The sequences of task choices were analyzed using orbital decomposition to extract pattern types and lengths, which were then classified and compared with regard to Shannon entropy, topological entropy, number of task switches involved, and overall performance. Results indicated that similar but different patterns were generated under the two instructional conditions, and better performance was associated with lower topological entropy. Both entropy metrics were associated with the amount of voluntary task switching. Future research should explore conditions affecting the trade-off between switching costs and entropy, levels of automaticity between task elements, and the role of voluntary switching regimes on fatigue.

A brain-region-based meta-analysis method utilizing the Apriori algorithm.

PubMed

Niu, Zhendong; Nie, Yaoxin; Zhou, Qian; Zhu, Linlin; Wei, Jieyao

2016-05-18

Brain network connectivity modeling is a crucial method for studying the brain's cognitive functions. Meta-analyses can unearth reliable results from individual studies. Meta-analytic connectivity modeling is a connectivity analysis method based on regions of interest (ROIs) which showed that meta-analyses could be used to discover brain network connectivity. In this paper, we propose a new meta-analysis method that can be used to find network connectivity models based on the Apriori algorithm, which has the potential to derive brain network connectivity models from activation information in the literature, without requiring ROIs. This method first extracts activation information from experimental studies that use cognitive tasks of the same category, and then maps the activation information to corresponding brain areas by using the automatic anatomical label atlas, after which the activation rate of these brain areas is calculated. Finally, using these brain areas, a potential brain network connectivity model is calculated based on the Apriori algorithm. The present study used this method to conduct a mining analysis on the citations in a language review article by Price (Neuroimage 62(2):816-847, 2012). The results showed that the obtained network connectivity model was consistent with that reported by Price. The proposed method is helpful to find brain network connectivity by mining the co-activation relationships among brain regions. Furthermore, results of the co-activation relationship analysis can be used as a priori knowledge for the corresponding dynamic causal modeling analysis, possibly achieving a significant dimension-reducing effect, thus increasing the efficiency of the dynamic causal modeling analysis.

Effects of anxiety on task switching: evidence from the mixed antisaccade task.

PubMed

Ansari, Tahereh L; Derakshan, Nazanin; Richards, Anne

2008-09-01

According to the attentional control theory of anxiety (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007), anxiety impairs performance on cognitive tasks that involve the shifting function of working memory. This hypothesis was tested using a mixed antisaccade paradigm, in which participants performed single-task and mixed-task versions of the paradigm. The single task involved the completion of separate blocks of anti- and prosaccade trials, whereas in the mixed task, participants completed anti- and prosaccade trials in a random order within blocks. Analysis of switch costs showed that high-anxious individuals did not exhibit the commonly reported paradoxical improvement in saccade latency, whereas low-anxious individuals did. The findings are discussed within the framework of attentional control theory.

Cognitive Task Analysis for Instruction in Single-Injection Ultrasound Guided-Regional Anesthesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gucev, Gligor V.

2012-01-01

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is methodology for eliciting knowledge from subject matter experts. CTA has been used to capture the cognitive processes, decision-making, and judgments that underlie expert behaviors. A review of the literature revealed that CTA has not yet been used to capture the knowledge required to perform ultrasound guided…

What does the dot-probe task measure? A reverse correlation analysis of electrocortical activity.

PubMed

Thigpen, Nina N; Gruss, L Forest; Garcia, Steven; Herring, David R; Keil, Andreas

2018-06-01

The dot-probe task is considered a gold standard for assessing the intrinsic attentive selection of one of two lateralized visual cues, measured by the response time to a subsequent, lateralized response probe. However, this task has recently been associated with poor reliability and conflicting results. To resolve these discrepancies, we tested the underlying assumption of the dot-probe task-that fast probe responses index heightened cue selection-using an electrophysiological measure of selective attention. Specifically, we used a reverse correlation approach in combination with frequency-tagged steady-state visual potentials (ssVEPs). Twenty-one participants completed a modified dot-probe task in which each member of a pair of lateralized face cues, varying in emotional expression (angry-angry, neutral-angry, neutral-neutral), flickered at one of two frequencies (15 or 20 Hz), to evoke ssVEPs. One cue was then replaced by a response probe, and participants indicated the probe orientation (0° or 90°). We analyzed the ssVEP evoked by the cues as a function of response speed to the subsequent probe (i.e., a reverse correlation analysis). Electrophysiological measures of cue processing varied with probe hemifield location: Faster responses to left probes were associated with weak amplification of the preceding left cue, apparent only in a median split analysis. By contrast, faster responses to right probes were systematically and parametrically predicted by diminished visuocortical selection of the preceding right cue. Together, these findings highlight the poor validity of the dot-probe task, in terms of quantifying intrinsic, nondirected attentive selection irrespective of probe/cue location. © 2018 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Task Analysis in Optical & Contact Lens Dispensing. Dispensing Opticians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hrushowy, Eugene; Stanley, Dale

A task force of opticians and educators in British Columbia was assembled to determine the knowledge and skills required of dispensing opticians and contact lens specialists. The ideas generated by the task force were analyzed and distilled into the standardized tasks listed in this document, using Krathwohl's taxonomy. The document contains 36…

NSI security task: Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tencati, Ron

1991-01-01

An overview is presented of the NASA Science Internet (NSI) security task. The task includes the following: policies and security documentation; risk analysis and management; computer emergency response team; incident handling; toolkit development; user consulting; and working groups, conferences, and committees.

Bayesian multi-task learning for decoding multi-subject neuroimaging data.

PubMed

Marquand, Andre F; Brammer, Michael; Williams, Steven C R; Doyle, Orla M

2014-05-15

Decoding models based on pattern recognition (PR) are becoming increasingly important tools for neuroimaging data analysis. In contrast to alternative (mass-univariate) encoding approaches that use hierarchical models to capture inter-subject variability, inter-subject differences are not typically handled efficiently in PR. In this work, we propose to overcome this problem by recasting the decoding problem in a multi-task learning (MTL) framework. In MTL, a single PR model is used to learn different but related "tasks" simultaneously. The primary advantage of MTL is that it makes more efficient use of the data available and leads to more accurate models by making use of the relationships between tasks. In this work, we construct MTL models where each subject is modelled by a separate task. We use a flexible covariance structure to model the relationships between tasks and induce coupling between them using Gaussian process priors. We present an MTL method for classification problems and demonstrate a novel mapping method suitable for PR models. We apply these MTL approaches to classifying many different contrasts in a publicly available fMRI dataset and show that the proposed MTL methods produce higher decoding accuracy and more consistent discriminative activity patterns than currently used techniques. Our results demonstrate that MTL provides a promising method for multi-subject decoding studies by focusing on the commonalities between a group of subjects rather than the idiosyncratic properties of different subjects. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Space station data system analysis/architecture study. Task 2: Options development, DR-5. Volume 3: Programmatic options

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Task 2 in the Space Station Data System (SSDS) Analysis/Architecture Study is the development of an information base that will support the conduct of trade studies and provide sufficient data to make design/programmatic decisions. This volume identifies the preferred options in the programmatic category and characterizes these options with respect to performance attributes, constraints, costs, and risks. The programmatic category includes methods used to administrate/manage the development, operation and maintenance of the SSDS. The specific areas discussed include standardization/commonality; systems management; and systems development, including hardware procurement, software development and system integration, test and verification.

A cognitive task analysis for dental hygiene.

PubMed

Cameron, C A; Beemsterboer, P L; Johnson, L A; Mislevy, R J; Steinberg, L S; Breyer, F J

2000-05-01

To be an effective assessment tool, a simulation-based examination must be able to evoke and interpret observable evidence about targeted knowledge, strategies, and skills in a manner that is logical and defensible. Dental Interactive Simulations Corporation's first assessment effort is the development of a scoring algorithm for a simulation-based dental hygiene initial licensure examination. The first phase in developing a scoring system is the completion of a cognitive task analysis (CTA) of the dental hygiene domain. In the first step of the CTA, a specifications map was generated to provide a framework of the tasks and knowledge that are important to the practice of dental hygiene. Using this framework, broad classes of behaviors that would tend to distinguish along the dental hygiene expert-novice continuum were identified. Nine paper-based cases were then designed with the expectation that the solutions of expert, competent, and novice dental hygienists would differ. Interviews were conducted with thirty-one dental hygiene students/practitioners to capture solutions to the paper-based cases. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed to identify performance features that distinguish among the interviewees on the basis of their expertise. These features were more detailed and empirically grounded than the originating broad classes and better serve to ground the design of a scoring system. The resulting performance features were collapsed into nine major categories: 1) gathering and using information, 2) formulating problems and investigating hypotheses, 3) communication and language, 4) scripting behavior, 5) ethics, 6) patient assessment, 7) treatment planning, 8) treatment, and 9) evaluation. The results of the CTA provide critical information for defining the necessary elements of a simulation-based dental hygiene examination.

Measuring novices' field mapping abilities using an in-class exercise based on expert task analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caulkins, J. L.

2010-12-01

We are interested in developing a model of expert-like behavior for improving the teaching methods of undergraduate field geology. Our aim is to assist students in mastering the process of field mapping more efficiently and effectively and to improve their ability to think creatively in the field. To examine expert-mapping behavior, a cognitive task analysis was conducted with expert geologic mappers in an attempt to define the process of geologic mapping (i.e. to understand how experts carry out geological mapping). The task analysis indicates that expert mappers have a wealth of geologic scenarios at their disposal that they compare against examples seen in the field, experiences that most undergraduate mappers will not have had. While presenting students with many geological examples in class may increase their understanding of geologic processes, novices still struggle when presented with a novel field situation. Based on the task analysis, a short (45-minute) paper-map-based exercise was designed and tested with 14 pairs of 3rd year geology students. The exercise asks students to generate probable geologic models based on a series of four (4) data sets. Each data set represents a day’s worth of data; after the first “day,” new sheets simply include current and previously collected data (e.g. “Day 2” data set includes data from “Day 1” plus the new “Day 2” data). As the geologic complexity increases, students must adapt, reject or generate new geologic models in order to fit the growing data set. Preliminary results of the exercise indicate that students who produced more probable geologic models, and produced higher ratios of probable to improbable models, tended to go on to do better on the mapping exercises at the 3rd year field school. These results suggest that those students with more cognitively available geologic models may be more able to use these models in field settings than those who are unable to draw on these models for whatever

Space station data system analysis/architecture study. Task 3: Trade studies, DR-5, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Results of a Space Station Data System Analysis/Architecture Study for the Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. This study, which emphasized a system engineering design for a complete, end-to-end data system, was divided into six tasks: (1); Functional requirements definition; (2) Options development; (3) Trade studies; (4) System definitions; (5) Program plan; and (6) Study maintenance. The Task inter-relationship and documentation flow are described. Information in volume 2 is devoted to Task 3: trade Studies. Trade Studies have been carried out in the following areas: (1) software development test and integration capability; (2) fault tolerant computing; (3) space qualified computers; (4) distributed data base management system; (5) system integration test and verification; (6) crew workstations; (7) mass storage; (8) command and resource management; and (9) space communications. Results are presented for each task.

Understanding how train dispatchers manage and control trains : results of a cognitive task analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-01

This report documents the results ofaCognitive Task Analysis that examined how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and : schedule trains in today's environment. The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatchers ...

Cosmetology: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Trade and Industrial Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the cosmetology program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for the secondary…

Masonry: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Trade and Industrial Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the masonry program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for the secondary…

Identification of Swallowing Tasks from a Modified Barium Swallow Study That Optimize the Detection of Physiological Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazelwood, R. Jordan; Armeson, Kent E.; Hill, Elizabeth G.; Bonilha, Heather Shaw; Martin-Harris, Bonnie

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify which swallowing task(s) yielded the worst performance during a standardized modified barium swallow study (MBSS) in order to optimize the detection of swallowing impairment. Method: This secondary data analysis of adult MBSSs estimated the probability of each swallowing task yielding the derived…

An Objective Screening Method for Major Depressive Disorder Using Logistic Regression Analysis of Heart Rate Variability Data Obtained in a Mental Task Paradigm.

PubMed

Sun, Guanghao; Shinba, Toshikazu; Kirimoto, Tetsuo; Matsui, Takemi

2016-01-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) has been intensively studied as a promising biological marker of major depressive disorder (MDD). Our previous study confirmed that autonomic activity and reactivity in depression revealed by HRV during rest and mental task (MT) conditions can be used as diagnostic measures and in clinical evaluation. In this study, logistic regression analysis (LRA) was utilized for the classification and prediction of MDD based on HRV data obtained in an MT paradigm. Power spectral analysis of HRV on R-R intervals before, during, and after an MT (random number generation) was performed in 44 drug-naïve patients with MDD and 47 healthy control subjects at Department of Psychiatry in Shizuoka Saiseikai General Hospital. Logit scores of LRA determined by HRV indices and heart rates discriminated patients with MDD from healthy subjects. The high frequency (HF) component of HRV and the ratio of the low frequency (LF) component to the HF component (LF/HF) correspond to parasympathetic and sympathovagal balance, respectively. The LRA achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 80.0 and 79.0%, respectively, at an optimum cutoff logit score (0.28). Misclassifications occurred only when the logit score was close to the cutoff score. Logit scores also correlated significantly with subjective self-rating depression scale scores ( p  < 0.05). HRV indices recorded during a MT may be an objective tool for screening patients with MDD in psychiatric practice. The proposed method appears promising for not only objective and rapid MDD screening but also evaluation of its severity.

Fully Automatic Speech-Based Analysis of the Semantic Verbal Fluency Task.

PubMed

König, Alexandra; Linz, Nicklas; Tröger, Johannes; Wolters, Maria; Alexandersson, Jan; Robert, Phillipe

2018-06-08

Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) tests are routinely used in screening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In this task, participants name as many items as possible of a semantic category under a time constraint. Clinicians measure task performance manually by summing the number of correct words and errors. More fine-grained variables add valuable information to clinical assessment, but are time-consuming. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether automatic analysis of the SVF could provide these as accurate as manual and thus, support qualitative screening of neurocognitive impairment. SVF data were collected from 95 older people with MCI (n = 47), Alzheimer's or related dementias (ADRD; n = 24), and healthy controls (HC; n = 24). All data were annotated manually and automatically with clusters and switches. The obtained metrics were validated using a classifier to distinguish HC, MCI, and ADRD. Automatically extracted clusters and switches were highly correlated (r = 0.9) with manually established values, and performed as well on the classification task separating HC from persons with ADRD (area under curve [AUC] = 0.939) and MCI (AUC = 0.758). The results show that it is possible to automate fine-grained analyses of SVF data for the assessment of cognitive decline. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Low-dose cone-beam CT via raw counts domain low-signal correction schemes: Performance assessment and task-based parameter optimization (Part II. Task-based parameter optimization).

PubMed

Gomez-Cardona, Daniel; Hayes, John W; Zhang, Ran; Li, Ke; Cruz-Bastida, Juan Pablo; Chen, Guang-Hong

2018-05-01

Different low-signal correction (LSC) methods have been shown to efficiently reduce noise streaks and noise level in CT to provide acceptable images at low-radiation dose levels. These methods usually result in CT images with highly shift-variant and anisotropic spatial resolution and noise, which makes the parameter optimization process highly nontrivial. The purpose of this work was to develop a local task-based parameter optimization framework for LSC methods. Two well-known LSC methods, the adaptive trimmed mean (ATM) filter and the anisotropic diffusion (AD) filter, were used as examples to demonstrate how to use the task-based framework to optimize filter parameter selection. Two parameters, denoted by the set P, for each LSC method were included in the optimization problem. For the ATM filter, these parameters are the low- and high-signal threshold levels p l and p h ; for the AD filter, the parameters are the exponents δ and γ in the brightness gradient function. The detectability index d' under the non-prewhitening (NPW) mathematical observer model was selected as the metric for parameter optimization. The optimization problem was formulated as an unconstrained optimization problem that consisted of maximizing an objective function d'(P), where i and j correspond to the i-th imaging task and j-th spatial location, respectively. Since there is no explicit mathematical function to describe the dependence of d' on the set of parameters P for each LSC method, the optimization problem was solved via an experimentally measured d' map over a densely sampled parameter space. In this work, three high-contrast-high-frequency discrimination imaging tasks were defined to explore the parameter space of each of the LSC methods: a vertical bar pattern (task I), a horizontal bar pattern (task II), and a multidirectional feature (task III). Two spatial locations were considered for the analysis, a posterior region-of-interest (ROI) located within the noise streaks region

Task-technology fit of video telehealth for nurses in an outpatient clinic setting.

PubMed

Cady, Rhonda G; Finkelstein, Stanley M

2014-07-01

Incorporating telehealth into outpatient care delivery supports management of consumer health between clinic visits. Task-technology fit is a framework for understanding how technology helps and/or hinders a person during work processes. Evaluating the task-technology fit of video telehealth for personnel working in a pediatric outpatient clinic and providing care between clinic visits ensures the information provided matches the information needed to support work processes. The workflow of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) care coordination provided via telephone and video telehealth was described and measured using a mixed-methods workflow analysis protocol that incorporated cognitive ethnography and time-motion study. Qualitative and quantitative results were merged and analyzed within the task-technology fit framework to determine the workflow fit of video telehealth for APRN care coordination. Incorporating video telehealth into APRN care coordination workflow provided visual information unavailable during telephone interactions. Despite additional tasks and interactions needed to obtain the visual information, APRN workflow efficiency, as measured by time, was not significantly changed. Analyzed within the task-technology fit framework, the increased visual information afforded by video telehealth supported the assessment and diagnostic information needs of the APRN. Telehealth must provide the right information to the right clinician at the right time. Evaluating task-technology fit using a mixed-methods protocol ensured rigorous analysis of fit within work processes and identified workflows that benefit most from the technology.

Classroom-Based Functional Analysis and Intervention for Disruptive and Off-Task Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shumate, Emily D.; Wills, Howard P.

2010-01-01

Although there is a growing body of literature on the use of functional analysis in schools, there is a need for more demonstrations of this technology being used during the course of typical instruction. In this study, we conducted functional analyses of disruptive and off-task behavior in a reading classroom setting for 3 participants of typical…

Understanding how train dispatchers manage and control trains : results of a cognitive task analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-01

This report documents the results of a Cognitive Task Analysis that examined how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and : schedule trains in todays environment. The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatch...

Understanding how train dispatchers manage and control trains : results of a cognitive task analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-01

This report documents the results of a Cognitive Task Analysis that examined how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and schedule trains in todays environment. The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatcher...

Co-Constructional Task Analysis: Moving beyond Adult-Based Models to Assess Young Children's Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Scott Weng Fai

2013-01-01

The assessment of young children's thinking competence in task performances has typically followed the novice-to-expert regimen involving models of strategies that adults use when engaged in cognitive tasks such as problem-solving and decision-making. Socio-constructivists argue for a balanced pedagogical approach between the adult and child that…

The GeoViz Toolkit: Using component-oriented coordination methods for geographic visualization and analysis

PubMed Central

Hardisty, Frank; Robinson, Anthony C.

2010-01-01

In this paper we present the GeoViz Toolkit, an open-source, internet-delivered program for geographic visualization and analysis that features a diverse set of software components which can be flexibly combined by users who do not have programming expertise. The design and architecture of the GeoViz Toolkit allows us to address three key research challenges in geovisualization: allowing end users to create their own geovisualization and analysis component set on-the-fly, integrating geovisualization methods with spatial analysis methods, and making geovisualization applications sharable between users. Each of these tasks necessitates a robust yet flexible approach to inter-tool coordination. The coordination strategy we developed for the GeoViz Toolkit, called Introspective Observer Coordination, leverages and combines key advances in software engineering from the last decade: automatic introspection of objects, software design patterns, and reflective invocation of methods. PMID:21731423

Task analysis in curriculum design: a hierarchically sequenced introductory mathematics curriculum1

PubMed Central

Resnick, Lauren B.; Wang, Margaret C.; Kaplan, Jerome

1973-01-01

A method of systematic task analysis is applied to the problem of designing a sequence of learning objectives that will provide an optimal match for the child's natural sequence of acquisition of mathematical skills and concepts. The authors begin by proposing an operational definition of the number concept in the form of a set of behaviors which, taken together, permit the inference that the child has an abstract concept of “number”. These are the “objectives” of the curriculum. Each behavior in the defining set is then subjected to an analysis that identifies hypothesized components of skilled performance and prerequisites for learning these components. On the basis of these analyses, specific sequences of learning objectives are proposed. The proposed sequences are hypothesized to be those that will best facilitate learning, by maximizing transfer from earlier to later objectives. Relevant literature on early learning and cognitive development is considered in conjunction with the analyses and the resulting sequences. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the curriculum can be implemented and studied in schools. Examples of data on individual children are presented, and the use of such data for improving the curriculum itself, as well as for examining the effects of other treatment variables, is considered. PMID:16795452

A Simplified Mesh Deformation Method Using Commercial Structural Analysis Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsu, Su-Yuen; Chang, Chau-Lyan; Samareh, Jamshid

2004-01-01

Mesh deformation in response to redefined or moving aerodynamic surface geometries is a frequently encountered task in many applications. Most existing methods are either mathematically too complex or computationally too expensive for usage in practical design and optimization. We propose a simplified mesh deformation method based on linear elastic finite element analyses that can be easily implemented by using commercially available structural analysis software. Using a prescribed displacement at the mesh boundaries, a simple structural analysis is constructed based on a spatially varying Young s modulus to move the entire mesh in accordance with the surface geometry redefinitions. A variety of surface movements, such as translation, rotation, or incremental surface reshaping that often takes place in an optimization procedure, may be handled by the present method. We describe the numerical formulation and implementation using the NASTRAN software in this paper. The use of commercial software bypasses tedious reimplementation and takes advantage of the computational efficiency offered by the vendor. A two-dimensional airfoil mesh and a three-dimensional aircraft mesh were used as test cases to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Euler and Navier-Stokes calculations were performed for the deformed two-dimensional meshes.

Dependency of human target detection performance on clutter and quality of supporting image analysis algorithms in a video surveillance task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Samuel; Dunau, Patrick; Wellig, Peter; Stein, Karin

2017-10-01

Background: In target detection, the success rates depend strongly on human observer performances. Two prior studies tested the contributions of target detection algorithms and prior training sessions. The aim of this Swiss-German cooperation study was to evaluate the dependency of human observer performance on the quality of supporting image analysis algorithms. Methods: The participants were presented 15 different video sequences. Their task was to detect all targets in the shortest possible time. Each video sequence showed a heavily cluttered simulated public area from a different viewing angle. In each video sequence, the number of avatars in the area was altered to 100, 150 and 200 subjects. The number of targets appearing was kept at 10%. The number of marked targets varied from 0, 5, 10, 20 up to 40 marked subjects while keeping the positive predictive value of the detection algorithm at 20%. During the task, workload level was assessed by applying an acoustic secondary task. Detection rates and detection times for the targets were analyzed using inferential statistics. Results: The study found Target Detection Time to increase and Target Detection Rates to decrease with increasing numbers of avatars. The same is true for the Secondary Task Reaction Time while there was no effect on Secondary Task Hit Rate. Furthermore, we found a trend for a u-shaped correlation between the numbers of markings and RTST indicating increased workload. Conclusion: The trial results may indicate useful criteria for the design of training and support of observers in observational tasks.

Validation of time to task performance assessment method in simulation: A comparative design study.

PubMed

Shinnick, Mary Ann; Woo, Mary A

2018-05-01

There is a lack of objective and valid measures for assessing nursing clinical competence which could adversely impact patient safety. Therefore, we evaluated an objective assessment of clinical competence, Time to Task (ability to perform specific, critical nursing care activities within 5 min), and compared it to two subjective measures, (Lasater Clinical Judgement Rubric [LCJR] and common "pass/fail" assessment). Using a prospective, "Known Groups" (Expert vs. Novice nurses) comparative design, Expert nurses (ICU nurses with >5 years of ICU experience) and Novice nurses (senior prelicensure nursing students) participated individually in a simulation of a patient in decompensated heart failure. Fourteen nursing instructors or preceptors, blinded to group assignment, reviewed 28 simulation videos (15 Expert and 13 Novice) and scored them using the LCJR and pass/fail assessments. Time to Task assessment was scored based on time thresholds for specific nursing actions prospectively set by an expert clinical panel. Statistical analysis consisted of Medians Test and sensitivity and specificity analyses. The LCJR total score was significantly different between Experts and Novices (p < 0.01) and revealed adequate sensitivity (ability to correctly identify "Expert" nurses; 0.72) but had a low specificity (ability to correctly identify "Novice" nurses; 0.40). For the subjective measure 'pass/fail', sensitivity was high (0.90) but specificity was low (0.47). The Time to Task measure had statistical significance between Expert and Novice groups (p < 0.01) and sensitivity (0.80) and specificity (0.85) were good. Commonly used subjective measures of clinical nursing competence have difficulties with achieving acceptable specificity. However, an objective measure, Time to Task, had good sensitivity and specificity in differentiating between groups. While more than one assessment instrument should be used to determine nurse competency, an objective measure, such as

Task Training Emphasis for Determining Training Priority.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

the relative time spent on tasks performed in their current jobs. Supervisors also rated the tasks on several different task factors, including a new... different task factors, including Task Difficulty, Probable Consequences of Inadequate Performance, Task Delay Tolerance, and Recommended Training Emphasis...3 11. APPROACH. .. ..... ..... ...... ..... ..... ...... ...... 4 III. METHOD

Understanding how train dispatchers manage and control trains : results of a cognitive task analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-03-01

This report documents the results of a preliminary Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) that examined how experienced train dispatchers manage and : schedule trains in today's environment The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on train...

Motor expertise and performance in spatial tasks: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Voyer, Daniel; Jansen, Petra

2017-08-01

The present study aimed to provide a summary of findings relevant to the influence of motor expertise on performance in spatial tasks and to examine potential moderators of this effect. Studies of relevance were those in which individuals involved in activities presumed to require motor expertise were compared to non-experts in such activities. A final set of 62 effect sizes from 33 samples was included in a multilevel meta-analysis. The results showed an overall advantage in favor of motor experts in spatial tasks (d=0.38). However, the magnitude of that effect was moderated by expert type (athlete, open skills/ball sports, runner/cyclist, gymnast/dancers, musicians), stimulus type (2D, blocks, bodies, others), test category (mental rotation, spatial perception, spatial visualization), specific test (Mental Rotations Test, generic mental rotation, disembedding, rod-and-frame test, other), and publication status. These findings are discussed in the context of embodied cognition and the potential role of activities requiring motor expertise in promoting good spatial performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparing methods for measuring peak look duration: Are individual differences observed on screen-based tasks also found in more ecologically valid contexts?

PubMed Central

Wass, Sam V.

2014-01-01

Convergent research points to the importance of studying the ontogenesis of sustained attention during the early years of life, but little research hitherto has compared and contrasted different techniques available for measuring sustained attention. Here, we compare methods that have been used to assess one parameter of sustained attention, namely infants’ peak look duration to novel stimuli. Our focus was to assess whether individual differences in peak look duration are stable across different measurement techniques. In a single cohort of 42 typically developing 11-month-old infants we assessed peak look duration using six different measurement paradigms (four screen-based, two naturalistic). Zero-order correlations suggested that individual differences in peak look duration were stable across all four screen-based paradigms, but no correlations were found between peak look durations observed on the screen-based and the naturalistic paradigms. A factor analysis conducted on the dependent variable of peak look duration identified two factors. All four screen-based tasks loaded onto the first factor, but the two naturalistic tasks did not relate, and mapped onto a different factor. Our results question how individual differences observed on screen-based tasks manifest in more ecologically valid contexts. PMID:24905901

Protocol Analysis as a Tool in Function and Task Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-10-01

Autocontingency The use of log-linear and logistic regression methods to analyse sequential data seems appealing , and is strongly advocated by...collection and analysis of observational data. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 23(3), 415-429. Patrick, J. D. (1991). Snob : A

Construction of mammographic examination process ontology using bottom-up hierarchical task analysis.

PubMed

Yagahara, Ayako; Yokooka, Yuki; Jiang, Guoqian; Tsuji, Shintarou; Fukuda, Akihisa; Nishimoto, Naoki; Kurowarabi, Kunio; Ogasawara, Katsuhiko

2018-03-01

Describing complex mammography examination processes is important for improving the quality of mammograms. It is often difficult for experienced radiologic technologists to explain the process because their techniques depend on their experience and intuition. In our previous study, we analyzed the process using a new bottom-up hierarchical task analysis and identified key components of the process. Leveraging the results of the previous study, the purpose of this study was to construct a mammographic examination process ontology to formally describe the relationships between the process and image evaluation criteria to improve the quality of mammograms. First, we identified and created root classes: task, plan, and clinical image evaluation (CIE). Second, we described an "is-a" relation referring to the result of the previous study and the structure of the CIE. Third, the procedural steps in the ontology were described using the new properties: "isPerformedBefore," "isPerformedAfter," and "isPerformedAfterIfNecessary." Finally, the relationships between tasks and CIEs were described using the "isAffectedBy" property to represent the influence of the process on image quality. In total, there were 219 classes in the ontology. By introducing new properties related to the process flow, a sophisticated mammography examination process could be visualized. In relationships between tasks and CIEs, it became clear that the tasks affecting the evaluation criteria related to positioning were greater in number than those for image quality. We developed a mammographic examination process ontology that makes knowledge explicit for a comprehensive mammography process. Our research will support education and help promote knowledge sharing about mammography examination expertise.

Analysis of Ethanolamines: Validation of Semi-Volatile Analysis by HPLC-MS/MS by EPA Method MS888

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Owens, J; Vu, A; Koester, C

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 5 Chicago Regional Laboratory (CRL) developed a method titled 'Analysis of Diethanolamine, Triethanolamine, n-Methyldiethanolamine, and n-Ethyldiethanolamine in Water by Single Reaction Monitoring Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS): EPA Method MS888'. This draft standard operating procedure (SOP) was distributed to multiple EPA laboratories and to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which was tasked to serve as a reference laboratory for EPA's Environmental Reference Laboratory Network (ERLN) and to develop and validate analytical procedures. The primary objective of this study was to validate and verify the analytical procedures described in 'EPA Method MS888' for analysis of themore » listed ethanolamines in aqueous samples. The gathered data from this validation study will be used to: (1) demonstrate analytical method performance; (2) generate quality control acceptance criteria; and (3) revise the SOP to provide a validated method that would be available for use during a homeland security event. The data contained in this report will be compiled, by EPA CRL, with data generated by other EPA Regional laboratories so that performance metrics of 'EPA Method MS888' can be determined.« less

Task Analysis and the Ability Requirements of Tasks: Collected Papers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

Skill. In F. A . Bilodeau (ed.) Acquisition of Skill, New York: Academic Pr.sS, 1066, 147-167. Kennedy, R. S., Bittner, A. C., Jr. & Harbeson, M. M...o.-iL cili * ii It~ ti(-t Iat :iiiss, iil- aind whose tasks ite menitt into- Cilirnori1 risk eLect- ielt ’. T: i s iLu,’ ie r t, r-io-.’I i-i viii d

The Relationship between Rating Scales Used to Evaluate Tasks from Task Inventories for Licensure and Certification Examinations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadle, Adrienne Woodley

2012-01-01

The first step in developing or updating a licensure or certification examination is to conduct a job or task analysis. Following completion of the job analysis, a survey validation study is performed to validate the results of the job analysis and to obtain task ratings so that an examination blueprint may be created. Psychometricians and job…

A Longitudinal Behavioral Genetic Analysis of Task Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Petrill, Stephen A.; Thompson, Lee A.; DeThorne, Laura S.

2006-01-01

Change in task persistence was assessed in two annual assessments using teachers', testers', and observers' ratings. Participants included 79 monozygotic and 116 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs who were in Kindergarten or 1st grade (4.3 to 7.9 years old) at the initial assessment. Task persistence was widely distributed and higher among older…

The use of cognitive task analysis to reveal the instructional limitations of experts in the teaching of procedural skills.

PubMed

Sullivan, Maura E; Yates, Kenneth A; Inaba, Kenji; Lam, Lydia; Clark, Richard E

2014-05-01

Because of the automated nature of knowledge, experts tend to omit information when describing a task. A potential solution is cognitive task analysis (CTA). The authors investigated the percentage of knowledge experts omitted when teaching a cricothyrotomy to determine the percentage of additional knowledge gained during a CTA interview. Three experts were videotaped teaching a cricothyrotomy in 2010 at the University of Southern California. After transcription, they participated in CTA interviews for the same procedure. Three additional surgeons were recruited to perform a CTA for the procedure, and a "gold standard" task list was created. Transcriptions from the teaching sessions were compared with the task list to identify omitted steps (both "what" and "how" to do). Transcripts from the CTA interviews were compared against the task list to determine the percentage of knowledge articulated by each expert during the initial "free recall" (unprompted) phase of the CTA interview versus the amount of knowledge gained by using CTA elicitation techniques (prompted). Experts omitted an average of 71% (10/14) of clinical knowledge steps, 51% (14/27) of action steps, and 73% (3.6/5) of decision steps. For action steps, experts described "how to do it" only 13% (3.6/27) of the time. The average number of steps that were described increased from 44% (20/46) when unprompted to 66% (31/46) when prompted. This study supports previous research that experts unintentionally omit knowledge when describing a procedure. CTA is a useful method to extract automated knowledge and augment expert knowledge recall during teaching.

Correlating behavioral responses to FMRI signals from human prefrontal cortex: examining cognitive processes using task analysis.

PubMed

DeSouza, Joseph F X; Ovaysikia, Shima; Pynn, Laura

2012-06-20

The aim of this methods paper is to describe how to implement a neuroimaging technique to examine complementary brain processes engaged by two similar tasks. Participants' behavior during task performance in an fMRI scanner can then be correlated to the brain activity using the blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal. We measure behavior to be able to sort correct trials, where the subject performed the task correctly and then be able to examine the brain signals related to correct performance. Conversely, if subjects do not perform the task correctly, and these trials are included in the same analysis with the correct trials we would introduce trials that were not only for correct performance. Thus, in many cases these errors can be used themselves to then correlate brain activity to them. We describe two complementary tasks that are used in our lab to examine the brain during suppression of an automatic responses: the stroop(1) and anti-saccade tasks. The emotional stroop paradigm instructs participants to either report the superimposed emotional 'word' across the affective faces or the facial 'expressions' of the face stimuli(1,2). When the word and the facial expression refer to different emotions, a conflict between what must be said and what is automatically read occurs. The participant has to resolve the conflict between two simultaneously competing processes of word reading and facial expression. Our urge to read out a word leads to strong 'stimulus-response (SR)' associations; hence inhibiting these strong SR's is difficult and participants are prone to making errors. Overcoming this conflict and directing attention away from the face or the word requires the subject to inhibit bottom up processes which typically directs attention to the more salient stimulus. Similarly, in the anti-saccade task(3,4,5,6), where an instruction cue is used to direct only attention to a peripheral stimulus location but then the eye movement is made to the mirror opposite position

Ergonomic assessment for the task of repairing computers in a manufacturing company: A case study.

PubMed

Maldonado-Macías, Aidé; Realyvásquez, Arturo; Hernández, Juan Luis; García-Alcaraz, Jorge

2015-01-01

Manufacturing industry workers who repair computers may be exposed to ergonomic risk factors. This project analyzes the tasks involved in the computer repair process to (1) find the risk level for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and (2) propose ergonomic interventions to address any ergonomic issues. Work procedures and main body postures were video recorded and analyzed using task analysis, the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) postural method, and biomechanical analysis. High risk for MSDs was found on every subtask using REBA. Although biomechanical analysis found an acceptable mass center displacement during tasks, a hazardous level of compression on the lower back during computer's transportation was detected. This assessment found ergonomic risks mainly in the trunk, arm/forearm, and legs; the neck and hand/wrist were also compromised. Opportunities for ergonomic analyses and interventions in the design and execution of computer repair tasks are discussed.

Effect of Spatial Titration on Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glowacki, Lawrence

1976-01-01

A reinforcement schedule and spatial titration method were used to determine task-reinforcement area separation most preferred and effective in two third-grade boys. Errors in task performance decreased task-reinforcement area separation, while correct responses in task performance increased task-reinforcement area separation. (Author)

Exploring General Versus Task-Specific Assessments of Metacognition in University Chemistry Students: A Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chia-Yu

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to use multiple assessments to investigate the general versus task-specific characteristics of metacognition in dissimilar chemistry topics. This mixed-method approach investigated the nature of undergraduate general chemistry students' metacognition using four assessments: a self-report questionnaire, assessment of concurrent metacognitive skills, confidence judgment, and calibration accuracy. Data were analyzed using a multitrait-multimethod correlation matrix, supplemented with regression analyses, and qualitative interpretation. Significant correlations among task performance, calibration accuracy, and concurrent metacognition within a task suggest a converging relationship. Confidence judgment, however, was not associated with task performance or the other metacognitive measurements. The results partially support hypotheses of both general and task-specific metacognition. However, general and task-specific properties of metacognition were detected using different assessments. Case studies were constructed for two participants to illustrate how concurrent metacognition varied within different task demands. Considerations of how each assessment may appropriate different metacognitive constructs and the importance of the alignment of analytical constructs when using multiple assessments are discussed. These results may help lead to improvements in metacognition assessment and may provide insights into designs of effective metacognitive instruction.

Multi-attribute subjective evaluations of manual tracking tasks vs. objective performance of the human operator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siapkaras, A.

1977-01-01

A computational method to deal with the multidimensional nature of tracking and/or monitoring tasks is developed. Operator centered variables, including the operator's perception of the task, are considered. Matrix ratings are defined based on multidimensional scaling techniques and multivariate analysis. The method consists of two distinct steps: (1) to determine the mathematical space of subjective judgements of a certain individual (or group of evaluators) for a given set of tasks and experimental conditionings; and (2) to relate this space with respect to both the task variables and the objective performance criteria used. Results for a variety of second-order trackings with smoothed noise-driven inputs indicate that: (1) many of the internally perceived task variables form a nonorthogonal set; and (2) the structure of the subjective space varies among groups of individuals according to the degree of familiarity they have with such tasks.

Efficacy of ACL injury risk screening methods in identifying high-risk landing patterns during a sport-specific task.

PubMed

Fox, A S; Bonacci, J; McLean, S G; Saunders, N

2017-05-01

Screening methods sensitive to movement strategies that increase anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loads are likely to be effective in identifying athletes at-risk of ACL injury. Current ACL injury risk screening methods are yet to be evaluated for their ability to identify athletes' who exhibit high-risk lower limb mechanics during sport-specific maneuvers associated with ACL injury occurrences. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of two ACL injury risk screening methods in identifying high-risk lower limb mechanics during a sport-specific landing task. Thirty-two female athletes were screened using the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) and Tuck Jump Assessment. Participants' also completed a sport-specific landing task, during which three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were collected. One-dimensional statistical parametric mapping was used to examine the relationships between screening method scores, and the three-dimensional hip and knee joint rotation and moment data from the sport-specific landing. Higher LESS scores were associated with reduced knee flexion from 30 to 57 ms after initial contact (P = 0.003) during the sport-specific landing; however, no additional relationships were found. These findings suggest the LESS and Tuck Jump Assessment may have minimal applicability in identifying athletes' who exhibit high-risk landing postures in the sport-specific task examined. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dedicated tool to assess the impact of a rhetorical task on human body temperature.

PubMed

Koprowski, Robert; Wilczyński, Sławomir; Martowska, Katarzyna; Gołuch, Dominik; Wrocławska-Warchala, Emilia

2017-10-01

Functional infrared thermal imaging is a method widely used in medicine, including analysis of the mechanisms related to the effect of emotions on physiological processes. The article shows how the body temperature may change during stress associated with performing a rhetorical task and proposes new parameters useful for dynamic thermal imaging measurements MATERIALS AND METHODS: 29 healthy male subjects were examined. They were given a rhetorical task that induced stress. Analysis and processing of collected body temperature data in a spatial resolution of 256×512pixels and a temperature resolution of 0.1°C enabled to show the dynamics of temperature changes. This analysis was preceded by dedicated image analysis and processing methods RESULTS: The presented dedicated algorithm for image analysis and processing allows for fully automated, reproducible and quantitative assessment of temperature changes and time constants in a sequence of thermal images of the patient. When performing the rhetorical task, the temperature rose by 0.47±0.19°C in 72.41% of the subjects, including 20.69% in whom the temperature decreased by 0.49±0.14°C after 237±141s. For 20.69% of the subjects only a drop in temperature was registered. For the remaining 6.89% of the cases, no temperature changes were registered CONCLUSIONS: The performance of the rhetorical task by the subjects causes body temperature changes. The ambiguous temperature response to the given stress factor indicates the complex mechanisms responsible for regulating stressful situations. Stress associated with the examination itself induces body temperature changes. These changes should always be taken into account in the analysis of infrared data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Manual-control Analysis Applied to the Money-supply Control Task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wingrove, R. C.

1984-01-01

The recent procedure implemented by the Federal Reserve Board to control the money supply is formulated in the form of a tracking model as used in the study of manual-control tasks. Using this model, an analysis is made to determine the effect of monetary control on the fluctuations in economic output. The results indicate that monetary control can reduce the amplitude of fluctuations at frequencies near the region of historic business cycles. However, with significant time lags in the control loop, monetary control tends to increase the amplitude of the fluctuations at the higher frequencies. How the investigator or student can use the tools developed in the field of manual-control analysis to study the nature of economic fluctuations and to examine different strategies for stabilization is examined.

Increased cognitive control after task conflict? Investigating the N-3 effect in task switching.

PubMed

Schuch, Stefanie; Grange, James A

2018-05-25

Task inhibition is considered to facilitate switching to a new task and is assumed to decay slowly over time. Hence, more persisting inhibition needs to be overcome when returning to a task after one intermediary trial (ABA task sequence) than when returning after two or more intermediary trials (CBA task sequence). Schuch and Grange (J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 41:760-767, 2015) put forward the hypothesis that there is higher task conflict in ABA than CBA sequences, leading to increased cognitive control in the subsequent trial. They provided evidence that performance is better in trials following ABA than following CBA task sequences. Here, this effect of the previous task sequence ("N-3 effect") is further investigated by varying the cue-stimulus interval (CSI), allowing for short (100 ms) or long (900 ms) preparation time for the upcoming task. If increased cognitive control after ABA involves a better preparation for the upcoming task, the N-3 effect should be larger with long than short CSI. The results clearly show that this is not the case. In Experiment 1, the N-3 effect was smaller with long than short CSI; in Experiment 2, the N-3 effect was not affected by CSI. Diffusion model analysis confirmed previous results in the literature (regarding the effect of CSI and of the ABA-CBA difference); however, the N-3 effect was not unequivocally associated with any of the diffusion model parameters. In exploratory analysis, we also tested the alternative hypothesis that the N-3 effect involves more effective task shielding, which would be reflected in reduced congruency effects in trials following ABA, relative to trials following CBA; congruency effects did not differ between these conditions. Taken together, we can rule out two potential explanations of the N-3 effect: Neither is this effect due to enhanced task preparation, nor to more effective task shielding.

Performance comparison of heuristic algorithms for task scheduling in IaaS cloud computing environment.

PubMed

Madni, Syed Hamid Hussain; Abd Latiff, Muhammad Shafie; Abdullahi, Mohammed; Abdulhamid, Shafi'i Muhammad; Usman, Mohammed Joda

2017-01-01

Cloud computing infrastructure is suitable for meeting computational needs of large task sizes. Optimal scheduling of tasks in cloud computing environment has been proved to be an NP-complete problem, hence the need for the application of heuristic methods. Several heuristic algorithms have been developed and used in addressing this problem, but choosing the appropriate algorithm for solving task assignment problem of a particular nature is difficult since the methods are developed under different assumptions. Therefore, six rule based heuristic algorithms are implemented and used to schedule autonomous tasks in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments with the aim of comparing their performance in terms of cost, degree of imbalance, makespan and throughput. First Come First Serve (FCFS), Minimum Completion Time (MCT), Minimum Execution Time (MET), Max-min, Min-min and Sufferage are the heuristic algorithms considered for the performance comparison and analysis of task scheduling in cloud computing.

Performance comparison of heuristic algorithms for task scheduling in IaaS cloud computing environment

PubMed Central

Madni, Syed Hamid Hussain; Abd Latiff, Muhammad Shafie; Abdullahi, Mohammed; Usman, Mohammed Joda

2017-01-01

Cloud computing infrastructure is suitable for meeting computational needs of large task sizes. Optimal scheduling of tasks in cloud computing environment has been proved to be an NP-complete problem, hence the need for the application of heuristic methods. Several heuristic algorithms have been developed and used in addressing this problem, but choosing the appropriate algorithm for solving task assignment problem of a particular nature is difficult since the methods are developed under different assumptions. Therefore, six rule based heuristic algorithms are implemented and used to schedule autonomous tasks in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments with the aim of comparing their performance in terms of cost, degree of imbalance, makespan and throughput. First Come First Serve (FCFS), Minimum Completion Time (MCT), Minimum Execution Time (MET), Max-min, Min-min and Sufferage are the heuristic algorithms considered for the performance comparison and analysis of task scheduling in cloud computing. PMID:28467505

Materials and Methods for Streamlined Laboratory Analysis of Environmental Samples, FY 2016 Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Addleman, Raymond S.; Naes, Benjamin E.; McNamara, Bruce K.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) relies upon laboratory analysis of environmental samples (typically referred to as “swipes”) collected during on-site inspections of safeguarded facilities to support the detection and deterrence of undeclared activities. Unfortunately, chemical processing and assay of the samples is slow and expensive. A rapid, effective, and simple extraction process and analysis method is needed to provide certified results with improved timeliness at reduced costs (principally in the form of reduced labor), while maintaining or improving sensitivity and efficacy. To address these safeguard needs the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) explored and demonstrated improved methods for environmentalmore » sample (ES) analysis. Improvements for both bulk and particle analysis were explored. To facilitate continuity and adoption, the new sampling materials and processing methods will be compatible with existing IAEA protocols for ES analysis. PNNL collaborated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which performed independent validation of the new bulk analysis methods and compared performance to traditional IAEA’s Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) protocol. ORNL efforts are reported separately. This report describes PNNL’s FY 2016 progress, which was focused on analytical application supporting environmental monitoring of uranium enrichment plants and nuclear fuel processing. In the future the technology could be applied to other safeguard applications and analytes related to fuel manufacturing, reprocessing, etc. PNNL’s FY 2016 efforts were broken into two tasks and a summary of progress, accomplishments and highlights are provided below. Principal progress and accomplishments on Task 1, Optimize Materials and Methods for ICP-MS Environmental Sample Analysis, are listed below. • Completed initial procedure for rapid uranium extraction from ES swipes based upon carbonate-peroxide chemistry (delivered to

Automatic motor task selection via a bandit algorithm for a brain-controlled button

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fruitet, Joan; Carpentier, Alexandra; Munos, Rémi; Clerc, Maureen

2013-02-01

Objective. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on sensorimotor rhythms use a variety of motor tasks, such as imagining moving the right or left hand, the feet or the tongue. Finding the tasks that yield best performance, specifically to each user, is a time-consuming preliminary phase to a BCI experiment. This study presents a new adaptive procedure to automatically select (online) the most promising motor task for an asynchronous brain-controlled button. Approach. We develop for this purpose an adaptive algorithm UCB-classif based on the stochastic bandit theory and design an EEG experiment to test our method. We compare (offline) the adaptive algorithm to a naïve selection strategy which uses uniformly distributed samples from each task. We also run the adaptive algorithm online to fully validate the approach. Main results. By not wasting time on inefficient tasks, and focusing on the most promising ones, this algorithm results in a faster task selection and a more efficient use of the BCI training session. More precisely, the offline analysis reveals that the use of this algorithm can reduce the time needed to select the most appropriate task by almost half without loss in precision, or alternatively, allow us to investigate twice the number of tasks within a similar time span. Online tests confirm that the method leads to an optimal task selection. Significance. This study is the first one to optimize the task selection phase by an adaptive procedure. By increasing the number of tasks that can be tested in a given time span, the proposed method could contribute to reducing ‘BCI illiteracy’.

Relationships between Contextual and Task Performance and Interrater Agreement: Are There Any?

PubMed

Díaz-Vilela, Luis F; Delgado Rodríguez, Naira; Isla-Díaz, Rosa; Díaz-Cabrera, Dolores; Hernández-Fernaud, Estefanía; Rosales-Sánchez, Christian

2015-01-01

Work performance is one of the most important dependent variables in Work and Organizational Psychology. The main objective of this paper was to explore the relationships between citizenship performance and task performance measures obtained from different appraisers and their consistency through a seldom-used methodology, intraclass correlation coefficients. Participants were 135 public employees, the total staff in a local government department. Jobs were clustered into job families through a work analysis based on standard questionnaires. A task description technique was used to develop a performance appraisal questionnaire for each job family, with three versions: self-, supervisor-, and peer-evaluation, in addition to a measure of citizenship performance. Only when the self-appraisal bias is controlled, significant correlations appeared between task performance rates. However, intraclass correlations analyses show that only self- (contextual and task) performance measures are consistent, while interrater agreement disappears. These results provide some interesting clues about the procedure of appraisal instrument development, the role of appraisers, and the importance of choosing adequate consistency analysis methods.

Task conflict effect in task switching.

PubMed

Braverman, Ami; Meiran, Nachshon

2010-11-01

A part of action preparation is deciding what the relevant task is. This task-decision process is conceptually separate from response selection. To show this, the authors manipulated task conflict in a spatial task-switching paradigm, using conflict stimuli that appeared during trials with univalent targets (affording 1 task). The conflict stimuli afforded task identity because they were used as task cues with bivalent targets (affording 2 tasks) that were intermixed with the univalent targets. Thus, for univalent targets, irrelevant stimuli either caused low task conflict or high task conflict. In three experiments, the authors found poorer performance in high task conflict trials than in low task conflict trials. Task conflict was introduced during target appearance (Experiment 1) or task preparation (Experiments 2 and 3). In the latter case, the task conflict effect decreased with increasing task preparation time showing that task preparation involves task decision.

Toward a Practical Model of Cognitive/Information Task Analysis and Schema Acquisition for Complex Problem-Solving Situations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braune, Rolf; Foshay, Wellesley R.

1983-01-01

The proposed three-step strategy for research on human information processing--concept hierarchy analysis, analysis of example sets to teach relations among concepts, and analysis of problem sets to build a progressively larger schema for the problem space--may lead to practical procedures for instructional design and task analysis. Sixty-four…

Analysis of Thiodiglycol: Validation of Semi-Volatile Analysis by HPLC-MS/MS by EPA Method MS777

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Owens, J; Koester, C

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 5 Chicago Regional Laboratory (CRL) developed a method for the analysis of thiodiglycol, the breakdown product of the sulfur mustard HD, in water by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), titled Method EPA MS777 (hereafter referred to as EPA CRL SOP MS777). This draft standard operating procedure (SOP) was distributed to multiple EPA laboratories and to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which was tasked to serve as a reference laboratory for EPA's Environmental Reference Laboratory Network (ERLN) and to develop and validate analytical procedures. The primary objective of this study was to verifymore » the analytical procedures described in MS777 for analysis of thiodiglycol in aqueous samples. The gathered data from this study will be used to: (1) demonstrate analytical method performance; (2) generate quality control acceptance criteria; and (3) revise the SOP to provide a validated method that would be available for use during a homeland security event. The data contained in this report will be compiled, by EPA CRL, with data generated by other EPA Regional laboratories so that performance metrics of Method EPA MS777 can be determined.« less

Scaffolding Interaction in Parent-Child Dyads: Multimodal Analysis of Parental Scaffolding with Task and Non-Task Oriented Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salonen, Pekka; Lepola, Janne; Vauras, Marja

2007-01-01

In this exploratory study we conceptualized and explored socio-cognitive, emotional and motivational regulatory processes displayed in scaffolding interaction between parents and their non-task and task-oriented children. Based on the dynamic systems view and findings from developmental research, we assumed that parents with non-task oriented and…

Comparison of continuously acquired resting state and extracted analogues from active tasks.

PubMed

Ganger, Sebastian; Hahn, Andreas; Küblböck, Martin; Kranz, Georg S; Spies, Marie; Vanicek, Thomas; Seiger, René; Sladky, Ronald; Windischberger, Christian; Kasper, Siegfried; Lanzenberger, Rupert

2015-10-01

Functional connectivity analysis of brain networks has become an important tool for investigation of human brain function. Although functional connectivity computations are usually based on resting-state data, the application to task-specific fMRI has received growing attention. Three major methods for extraction of resting-state data from task-related signal have been proposed (1) usage of unmanipulated task data for functional connectivity; (2) regression against task effects, subsequently using the residuals; and (3) concatenation of baseline blocks located in-between task blocks. Despite widespread application in current research, consensus on which method best resembles resting-state seems to be missing. We, therefore, evaluated these techniques in a sample of 26 healthy controls measured at 7 Tesla. In addition to continuous resting-state, two different task paradigms were assessed (emotion discrimination and right finger-tapping) and five well-described networks were analyzed (default mode, thalamus, cuneus, sensorimotor, and auditory). Investigating the similarity to continuous resting-state (Dice, Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), R(2) ) showed that regression against task effects yields functional connectivity networks most alike to resting-state. However, all methods exhibited significant differences when compared to continuous resting-state and similarity metrics were lower than test-retest of two resting-state scans. Omitting global signal regression did not change these findings. Visually, the networks are highly similar, but through further investigation marked differences can be found. Therefore, our data does not support referring to resting-state when extracting signals from task designs, although functional connectivity computed from task-specific data may indeed yield interesting information. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multivariate information-theoretic measures reveal directed information structure and task relevant changes in fMRI connectivity.

PubMed

Lizier, Joseph T; Heinzle, Jakob; Horstmann, Annette; Haynes, John-Dylan; Prokopenko, Mikhail

2011-02-01

The human brain undertakes highly sophisticated information processing facilitated by the interaction between its sub-regions. We present a novel method for interregional connectivity analysis, using multivariate extensions to the mutual information and transfer entropy. The method allows us to identify the underlying directed information structure between brain regions, and how that structure changes according to behavioral conditions. This method is distinguished in using asymmetric, multivariate, information-theoretical analysis, which captures not only directional and non-linear relationships, but also collective interactions. Importantly, the method is able to estimate multivariate information measures with only relatively little data. We demonstrate the method to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging time series to establish the directed information structure between brain regions involved in a visuo-motor tracking task. Importantly, this results in a tiered structure, with known movement planning regions driving visual and motor control regions. Also, we examine the changes in this structure as the difficulty of the tracking task is increased. We find that task difficulty modulates the coupling strength between regions of a cortical network involved in movement planning and between motor cortex and the cerebellum which is involved in the fine-tuning of motor control. It is likely these methods will find utility in identifying interregional structure (and experimentally induced changes in this structure) in other cognitive tasks and data modalities.

Author response to letter. Ref: Madsen et al. "Unnecessary work tasks and mental health: a prospective analysis of Danish human service workers".

PubMed

Madsen, Ida Eh; Rugulies, Reiner

2015-03-01

We read with interest the letter from Drs Durand-Moreau, Loddé, and Dewitte (1) regarding our article on unnecessary work tasks and mental health (2). The authors argue that: (i) the article is flawed by an imprecise one-item exposure measurement, (ii) the results may be affected by reverse causality, and (iii) ultimately the elimination of unnecessary work tasks may increase "psychic suffering". We would like to take this opportunity to address their concerns. We acknowledge, as we did in the article itself, that measuring unnecessary work tasks using only one item is less than ideal and could have increased measurement error in our analyses. The item we used to measure unnecessary work tasks assesses the employee's overall evaluation regarding the extent to which they must conduct work tasks that they, for whatever reason, deem unnecessary. We are unconvinced by the claim by Drs Durand-Moreau, Loddé, and Dewitte that this phenomenon is somehow unrelated to Semmer's definition of unnecessary tasks (3, 4), regardless of the sense-making processes underlying an individual employee's evaluation of a particular work task as unnecessary. Regarding the issue of reverse causality, the analyses were longitudinal and the effect estimates were adjusted for the baseline mental health level of the participants. Consequently, we examined changes in mental health over time, and our results cannot be explained by poorer mental health making workers think "that what they're doing is useless" as claimed in the commentary. Although causal inference is always a delicate issue when applying observational research methods, the adjustment for baseline mental health should account for reverse causality at least. Drs Durand-Moreau, Loddé, and Dewitte question that our findings suggest that the elimination of unnecessary work tasks may be beneficial to employee mental health. Instead they propose that unnecessary work tasks may be conducive to mental health because "some tasks may seem

Respiratory-phase domain analysis of heart rate variability can accurately estimate cardiac vagal activity during a mental arithmetic task.

PubMed

Kotani, Kiyoshi; Takamasu, Kiyoshi; Tachibana, Makoto

2007-01-01

The objectives of this paper were to present a method to extract the amplitude of RSA in the respiratory-phase domain, to compare that with subjective or objective indices of the MWL (mental workload), and to compare that with a conventional frequency analysis in terms of its accuracy during a mental arithmetic task. HRV (heart rate variability), ILV (instantaneous lung volume), and motion of the throat were measured under a mental arithmetic experiment and subjective and objective indices were also obtained. The amplitude of RSA was extracted in the respiratory-phase domain, and its correlation with the load level was compared with the results of the frequency domain analysis, which is the standard analysis of the HRV. The subjective and objective indices decreased as the load level increased, showing that the experimental protocol was appropriate. Then, the amplitude of RSA in the respiratory-phase domain also decreased with the increase in the load level. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the respiratory-phase domain analysis has higher negative correlations, -0.84 and -0.82, with the load level as determined by simple correlation and rank correlation, respectively, than does frequency analysis, for which the correlations were found to be -0.54 and -0.63, respectively. In addition, it was demonstrated that the proposed method could be applied to the short-term extraction of RSA amplitude. We proposed a simple and effective method to extract the amplitude of the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in the respiratory-phase domain and the results show that this method can estimate cardiac vagal activity more accurately than frequency analysis.

A Workbench for Discovering Task-Specific Theories of Learning

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-03

mind (the cognitive architecture) will not be of much use to educators who wish to perform a cognitive task analysis of their subject matter before...analysis packages that can be added to a cognitive architecture, thus creating a ’workbench’ for performing cognitive task analysis . Such tools becomes...learning theories have been. Keywords: Cognitive task analysis , Instructional design, Cognitive modelling, Learning.

Generalized Minimum-Time Follow-up Approaches Applied to Tasking Electro-Optical Sensor Tasking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, T. S.; Holzinger, M. J.

This work proposes a methodology for tasking of sensors to search an area of state space for a particular object, group of objects, or class of objects. This work creates a general unified mathematical framework for analyzing reacquisition, search, scheduling, and custody operations. In particular, this work looks at searching for unknown space object(s) with prior knowledge in the form of a set, which can be defined via an uncorrelated track, region of state space, or a variety of other methods. The follow-up tasking can occur from a variable location and time, which often requires searching a large region of the sky. This work analyzes the area of a search region over time to inform a time optimal search method. Simulation work looks at analyzing search regions relative to a particular sensor, and testing a tasking algorithm to search through the region. The tasking algorithm is also validated on a reacquisition problem with a telescope system at Georgia Tech.

Task 2 Report: Algorithm Development and Performance Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-07-01

separated peaks ............................................. 39 7-16 Example ILGC data for schedule 3 phosphites showing an analysis method which integrates...more closely follows the baseline ................. 40 7-18 Example R.GC data for schedule 3 phosphites showing an analysis method resulting in unwanted...much of the ambiguity that can arise in GC/MS with trace environmental samples, for example. Correlated chromatography, on the other hand, separates the

Task Analysis for Health Occupations. Cluster: Medical Assisting. Occupation: Medical Assistant. Education for Employment Task Lists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lathrop, Janice

Task analyses are provided for two duty areas for the occupation of medical assistant in the medical assisting cluster. Five tasks for the duty area "providing therapeutic measures" are as follows: assist with dressing change, apply clean dressing, apply elastic bandage, assist physician in therapeutic procedure, and apply topical…

Highly comparative time-series analysis: the empirical structure of time series and their methods.

PubMed

Fulcher, Ben D; Little, Max A; Jones, Nick S

2013-06-06

The process of collecting and organizing sets of observations represents a common theme throughout the history of science. However, despite the ubiquity of scientists measuring, recording and analysing the dynamics of different processes, an extensive organization of scientific time-series data and analysis methods has never been performed. Addressing this, annotated collections of over 35 000 real-world and model-generated time series, and over 9000 time-series analysis algorithms are analysed in this work. We introduce reduced representations of both time series, in terms of their properties measured by diverse scientific methods, and of time-series analysis methods, in terms of their behaviour on empirical time series, and use them to organize these interdisciplinary resources. This new approach to comparing across diverse scientific data and methods allows us to organize time-series datasets automatically according to their properties, retrieve alternatives to particular analysis methods developed in other scientific disciplines and automate the selection of useful methods for time-series classification and regression tasks. The broad scientific utility of these tools is demonstrated on datasets of electroencephalograms, self-affine time series, heartbeat intervals, speech signals and others, in each case contributing novel analysis techniques to the existing literature. Highly comparative techniques that compare across an interdisciplinary literature can thus be used to guide more focused research in time-series analysis for applications across the scientific disciplines.