The Default Mode Network and the Working Memory Network Are Not Anti-Correlated during All Phases of a Working Memory Task

PubMed Central

Piccoli, Tommaso; Valente, Giancarlo; Linden, David E. J.; Re, Marta; Esposito, Fabrizio; Sack, Alexander T.; Salle, Francesco Di

2015-01-01

Introduction The default mode network and the working memory network are known to be anti-correlated during sustained cognitive processing, in a load-dependent manner. We hypothesized that functional connectivity among nodes of the two networks could be dynamically modulated by task phases across time. Methods To address the dynamic links between default mode network and the working memory network, we used a delayed visuo-spatial working memory paradigm, which allowed us to separate three different phases of working memory (encoding, maintenance, and retrieval), and analyzed the functional connectivity during each phase within and between the default mode network and the working memory network networks. Results We found that the two networks are anti-correlated only during the maintenance phase of working memory, i.e. when attention is focused on a memorized stimulus in the absence of external input. Conversely, during the encoding and retrieval phases, when the external stimulation is present, the default mode network is positively coupled with the working memory network, suggesting the existence of a dynamically switching of functional connectivity between “task-positive” and “task-negative” brain networks. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the well-established dichotomy of the human brain (anti-correlated networks during rest and balanced activation-deactivation during cognition) has a more nuanced organization than previously thought and engages in different patterns of correlation and anti-correlation during specific sub-phases of a cognitive task. This nuanced organization reinforces the hypothesis of a direct involvement of the default mode network in cognitive functions, as represented by a dynamic rather than static interaction with specific task-positive networks, such as the working memory network. PMID:25848951

Task Listing for Introduction to Health Occupations. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

This task listing is designed to be used in combination with the "Health Occupations Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in health occupations programs in Virginia. The task listing contains four major sections: (1) content/concept areas; (2) program and course description; (3) content…

Learning from Student Experiences for Online Assessment Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qayyum, M. Asim; Smith, David

2015-01-01

Introduction: Use of the Internet for open Web searches is common among university students in academic learning tasks. The tools used by students to find relevant information for online assessment tasks were investigated and their information seeking behaviour was documented to explore the impact on assessment design. Method: A mixed methods…

What a Difference a Tag Cloud Makes: Effects of Tasks and Cognitive Abilities on Search Results Interface Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gwizdka, Jacek

2009-01-01

Introduction: The goal of this study is to expand our understanding of the relationships between selected tasks, cognitive abilities and search result interfaces. The underlying objective is to understand how to select search results presentation for tasks and user contexts Method: Twenty three participants conducted four search tasks of two types…

Elucidating the functional relationship between working memory capacity and psychometric intelligence: a fixed-links modeling approach for experimental repeated-measures designs.

PubMed

Thomas, Philipp; Rammsayer, Thomas; Schweizer, Karl; Troche, Stefan

2015-01-01

Numerous studies reported a strong link between working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid intelligence (Gf), although views differ in respect to how close these two constructs are related to each other. In the present study, we used a WMC task with five levels of task demands to assess the relationship between WMC and Gf by means of a new methodological approach referred to as fixed-links modeling. Fixed-links models belong to the family of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and are of particular interest for experimental, repeated-measures designs. With this technique, processes systematically varying across task conditions can be disentangled from processes unaffected by the experimental manipulation. Proceeding from the assumption that experimental manipulation in a WMC task leads to increasing demands on WMC, the processes systematically varying across task conditions can be assumed to be WMC-specific. Processes not varying across task conditions, on the other hand, are probably independent of WMC. Fixed-links models allow for representing these two kinds of processes by two independent latent variables. In contrast to traditional CFA where a common latent variable is derived from the different task conditions, fixed-links models facilitate a more precise or purified representation of the WMC-related processes of interest. By using fixed-links modeling to analyze data of 200 participants, we identified a non-experimental latent variable, representing processes that remained constant irrespective of the WMC task conditions, and an experimental latent variable which reflected processes that varied as a function of experimental manipulation. This latter variable represents the increasing demands on WMC and, hence, was considered a purified measure of WMC controlled for the constant processes. Fixed-links modeling showed that both the purified measure of WMC (β = .48) as well as the constant processes involved in the task (β = .45) were related to Gf. Taken together, these two latent variables explained the same portion of variance of Gf as a single latent variable obtained by traditional CFA (β = .65) indicating that traditional CFA causes an overestimation of the effective relationship between WMC and Gf. Thus, fixed-links modeling provides a feasible method for a more valid investigation of the functional relationship between specific constructs.

Task-Based Language Teaching for Beginner-Level Learners of L2 French: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erlam, Rosemary; Ellis, Rod

2018-01-01

This study investigated the effect of input-based tasks on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar by beginner-level learners of L2 French and reported the introduction of task-based teaching as an innovation in a state secondary school. The experimental group (n = 19) completed a series of focused input-based language tasks, taught by their…

Cognitive Load Theory: An Empirical Study of Anxiety and Task Performance in Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, I-Jung; Chang, Chi-Cheng

2009-01-01

Introduction: This study explores the relationship among three variables--cognitive load, foreign language anxiety, and task performance. Cognitive load refers to the load imposed on working memory while performing a particular task. The authors hypothesized that anxiety consumes the resources of working memory, leaving less capacity for cognitive…

Evaluating Multiple Perspectives: Approaching the Synthesis Task through Assessing Credibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lafferty, Karen Elizabeth; Summers, Amy; Tanaka, Stephanie; Cavanagh, Jeanne

2016-01-01

Introduction of the Common Core State Standards and assessments like the synthesis performance task pose new challenges for secondary English teachers. As students of all ability levels engage with complex text and in tasks that target higher level cognitive skills, teachers need strategies to support their understanding. This article describes…

Fluid Intelligence Predicts Novel Rule Implementation in a Distributed Frontoparietal Control Network.

PubMed

Tschentscher, Nadja; Mitchell, Daniel; Duncan, John

2017-05-03

Fluid intelligence has been associated with a distributed cognitive control or multiple-demand (MD) network, comprising regions of lateral frontal, insular, dorsomedial frontal, and parietal cortex. Human fluid intelligence is also intimately linked to task complexity, and the process of solving complex problems in a sequence of simpler, more focused parts. Here, a complex target detection task included multiple independent rules, applied one at a time in successive task epochs. Although only one rule was applied at a time, increasing task complexity (i.e., the number of rules) impaired performance in participants of lower fluid intelligence. Accompanying this loss of performance was reduced response to rule-critical events across the distributed MD network. The results link fluid intelligence and MD function to a process of attentional focus on the successive parts of complex behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Fluid intelligence is intimately linked to the ability to structure complex problems in a sequence of simpler, more focused parts. We examine the basis for this link in the functions of a distributed frontoparietal or multiple-demand (MD) network. With increased task complexity, participants of lower fluid intelligence showed reduced responses to task-critical events. Reduced responses in the MD system were accompanied by impaired behavioral performance. Low fluid intelligence is linked to poor foregrounding of task-critical information across a distributed MD system. Copyright © 2017 Tschentscher et al.

Different motor tasks impact differently on cognitive performance of older persons during dual task tests.

PubMed

Simoni, David; Rubbieri, Gaia; Baccini, Marco; Rinaldi, Lucio; Becheri, Dimitri; Forconi, Tatiana; Mossello, Enrico; Zanieri, Samanta; Marchionni, Niccolò; Di Bari, Mauro

2013-07-01

Dual task paradigm states that the introduction of a second task during a cognitive or motor performance results in a decreased performance in either task. Treadmill walk, often used in clinical applications of dual task testing, has never been compared to overground walk, to ascertain its susceptibility to interference from a second task. We compared the effects of overground and treadmill gait on dual task performance. Gait kinematic parameters and cognitive performance were obtained in 29 healthy older adults (mean age 75 years, 14 females) when they were walking freely on a sensorized carpet or during treadmill walking with an optoelectronic system, in single task or dual task conditions, using alternate repetition of letters as a cognitive verbal task. During overground walking, speed, cadence, step length stride length, and double support time (all with P value<0.001) and cognitive performance (number of correct words, P<0.001) decreased substantially from single to dual task testing. When subjects walked at a fixed speed on the treadmill, cadence decreased significantly (P=0.005), whereas cognitive performance remained unaffected. Both motor and cognitive performances decline during dual task testing with overground walking. Conversely, cognitive performance remains unaffected in dual task testing on the treadmill. In the light of current dual task paradigm, these findings may have relevant implication for our understanding of motor control, as they suggest that treadmill walk does not involve brain areas susceptible to interference from the introduction of a cognitive task. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in working memory: introduction to the special section.

PubMed

Miyake, A

2001-06-01

This special section includes a set of 5 articles that examine the nature of inter- and intraindividual differences in working memory, using working memory span tasks as the main research tools. These span tasks are different from traditional short-term memory spans (e.g., digit or word span) in that they require participants to maintain some target memory items (e.g., words) while simultaneously performing some other tasks (e.g., reading sentences). In this introduction, a brief discussion of these working memory span tasks and their characteristics is provided first. This is followed by an overview of 2 major theoretical issues that are addressed by the subsequent articles--(a) the factors influencing the inter- and intraindividual differences in working memory performance and (b) the domain generality versus domain specificity of working memory--and also of some important issues that must be kept in mind when readers try to evaluate the claims regarding these 2 theoretical issues.

The link between mental rotation ability and basic numerical representations

PubMed Central

Thompson, Jacqueline M.; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Moeller, Korbinian; Cohen Kadosh, Roi

2013-01-01

Mental rotation and number representation have both been studied widely, but although mental rotation has been linked to higher-level mathematical skills, to date it has not been shown whether mental rotation ability is linked to the most basic mental representation and processing of numbers. To investigate the possible connection between mental rotation abilities and numerical representation, 43 participants completed four tasks: 1) a standard pen-and-paper mental rotation task; 2) a multi-digit number magnitude comparison task assessing the compatibility effect, which indicates separate processing of decade and unit digits; 3) a number-line mapping task, which measures precision of number magnitude representation; and 4) a random number generation task, which yields measures both of executive control and of spatial number representations. Results show that mental rotation ability correlated significantly with both size of the compatibility effect and with number mapping accuracy, but not with any measures from the random number generation task. Together, these results suggest that higher mental rotation abilities are linked to more developed number representation, and also provide further evidence for the connection between spatial and numerical abilities. PMID:23933002

South Carolina Guide for Introduction to Marketing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughan, Ellen C.; Elliott, Ronald T.

This introduction to marketing guide addresses the three domains of learning: psychomotor, cognitive, and affective. The guide contains suggestions for specific classroom activities for each domain. Each unit or task in this guide contains a competency statement followed by performance objectives, job-relevant instructional activities,…

Electrochemical lectin based biosensors as a label-free tool in glycomics

PubMed Central

Bertók, Tomáš; Katrlík, Jaroslav; Gemeiner, Peter; Tkac, Jan

2016-01-01

Glycans and other saccharide moieties attached to proteins and lipids, or present on the surface of a cell, are actively involved in numerous physiological or pathological processes. Their structural flexibility (that is based on the formation of various kinds of linkages between saccharides) is making glycans superb “identity cards”. In fact, glycans can form more “words” or “codes” (i.e., unique sequences) from the same number of “letters” (building blocks) than DNA or proteins. Glycans are physicochemically similar and it is not a trivial task to identify their sequence, or - even more challenging - to link a given glycan to a particular physiological or pathological process. Lectins can recognise differences in glycan compositions even in their bound state and therefore are most useful tools in the task to decipher the “glycocode”. Thus, lectin-based biosensors working in a label-free mode can effectively complement the current weaponry of analytical tools in glycomics. This review gives an introduction into the area of glycomics and then focuses on the design, analytical performance, and practical utility of lectin-based electrochemical label-free biosensors for the detection of isolated glycoproteins or intact cells. PMID:27239071

Introduction to Surgical Technology. Third Edition. Teacher Edition [and] Student Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bushey, Vicki; Hildebrand, Bob; Hildebrand, Dinah; Johnson, Dave; Sikes, John; Tahah, Ann; Walker, Susan; Zielsdorf, Lani

These teacher and student editions provide instructional materials for an introduction to surgical technology course. Introductory materials in the teacher edition include information on use, instructional/task analysis, academic and workplace skill classifications and definitions, related academic and workplace skill list, and crosswalk to…

Links between Success in Non-Measurement and Calculation Tasks in Area and Volume Measurement and Pupils' Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tumová, Veronika; Vondrová, Nada

2017-01-01

Measurement in geometry is one of the key areas of school mathematics, however, pupils make serious mistakes when solving problems involving measurement and hold misconceptions. This article focuses on the possible links between lower secondary pupils' (n = 870) success in solving non-measurement tasks and calculations tasks on area and volume and…

Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing. Applied Linguistics and Language Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bygate, Martin; Skehan, Peter; Swain, Merrill

This book brings together a series of empirical studies into the use of pedagogical tasks for second language learning, with a view to better understanding the structure of tasks, their impact on students, and their use by teachers. This edited volume starts with an introduction to the background and key issues in the topic area. Each section…

Classroom attention in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus: the effect of stabilizing serum glucose.

PubMed

Daley, Kelly B; Wodrich, David L; Hasan, Khalid

2006-02-01

To determine whether stabilizing serum glucose, via introduction of an insulin pump, improves classroom attention among children with type-1 diabetes mellitus. Four boys having type-1 diabetes mellitus with unstable serum glucose were observed in their classroom for 10 baseline days. An insulin pump was placed and serum glucose stabilized, and they were then observed again for 10 days. A modified multiple baseline design was used to determine if improved on-task and off-task behavior was associated with better glycemic control. Rating scales and a laboratory measure of attention, measures of secondary interest, were also administered before and after pump introduction, and potential improvement in individuals' scores was evaluated. All boys had apparent improvement in on-task and off-task behavior as observed in their classrooms. Improvements were substantial, averaging 20% in on-task behavior and 34% in off-task behavior. However, no changes were detected on rating scales or laboratory measures. This study offers preliminary evidence that stabilizing serum glucose improves classroom attention, although the effect was detected only by observation of classroom behavior using highly structured techniques. Consequently, use of direct observation techniques may be important in studying the effects of chronic illness on classroom functioning.

Cluster: Drafting. Course: Introduction to Technical Drafting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanford - Lee County Schools, NC.

The set of 10 units is designed for use with an instructor as an introduction to technical drafting, and is also keyed to other texts. Each unit contains several task packages specifying prerequisites, rationale for learning, objectives, learning activities to be supervised by the instructor, and learning practice. The units cover: drafting…

Illegitimate Tasks as an Impediment to Job Satisfaction and Intrinsic Motivation: Moderated Mediation Effects of Gender and Effort-Reward Imbalance

PubMed Central

Omansky, Rachel; Eatough, Erin M.; Fila, Marcus J.

2016-01-01

The current work examines a contemporary workplace stressor that has only recently been introduced into the literature: illegitimate tasks. Illegitimate tasks are work tasks that violate identity role norms about what can reasonably be expected from an employee in a given position. Although illegitimate tasks have been linked to employee well-being in past work, we know little about the potential explanatory mechanisms linking illegitimate tasks to work-relevant negative psychological states. Using a sample of 213 US-based employees of mixed occupations and a cross-sectional design, the present study examines job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation as outcomes of illegitimate tasks. Additionally, we examine perception of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) as a potential mediating mechanism through which illegitimate tasks relate to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, highlighting a possible pathway by which these relationships are functioning. Finally, we explore gender as a socially constructed variable that could contribute to variation in responses to illegitimate tasks and moderate the mediated link between illegitimate tasks and outcomes. Results indicated that illegitimate tasks were significantly related to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation both directly and indirectly through perceptions of ERI in the predicted directions. Moreover, a moderated-mediation effect was found such that male workers reacted more than female workers to illegitimate tasks through the mechanism of perceived ERI. PMID:27917145

Illegitimate Tasks as an Impediment to Job Satisfaction and Intrinsic Motivation: Moderated Mediation Effects of Gender and Effort-Reward Imbalance.

PubMed

Omansky, Rachel; Eatough, Erin M; Fila, Marcus J

2016-01-01

The current work examines a contemporary workplace stressor that has only recently been introduced into the literature: illegitimate tasks. Illegitimate tasks are work tasks that violate identity role norms about what can reasonably be expected from an employee in a given position. Although illegitimate tasks have been linked to employee well-being in past work, we know little about the potential explanatory mechanisms linking illegitimate tasks to work-relevant negative psychological states. Using a sample of 213 US-based employees of mixed occupations and a cross-sectional design, the present study examines job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation as outcomes of illegitimate tasks. Additionally, we examine perception of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) as a potential mediating mechanism through which illegitimate tasks relate to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, highlighting a possible pathway by which these relationships are functioning. Finally, we explore gender as a socially constructed variable that could contribute to variation in responses to illegitimate tasks and moderate the mediated link between illegitimate tasks and outcomes. Results indicated that illegitimate tasks were significantly related to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation both directly and indirectly through perceptions of ERI in the predicted directions. Moreover, a moderated-mediation effect was found such that male workers reacted more than female workers to illegitimate tasks through the mechanism of perceived ERI.

Frequency modulation system test procedure shuttle task 501 approach and landing test configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doland, G. D.

1976-01-01

Shuttle Task 501 is an in-line task to test the performance and compatibility of radiofrequency links between the SSO and ground, and relay via a satellite. Under Shuttle Task 501 approach and landing test (ALT) phase only a limited portion of the communication and tracking (C&T) equipment is to be tested. The principal item to be tested is a frequency modulated (FM) data link. To test this RF link, an ALT FM System was designed, constructed, and the console wiring verified. A step-by-step procedure to be used to perform the ALT FM system is presented. The ALT FM system test is to be performed prior to delivery of the equipment to the Electronic Systems Test Laboratory (ESTL).

An Introduction to Electrical Breakdown in Dielectrics

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

PROJECT TASK WORK UNIT ELEMENT NO. NO. NO. NO. 11TI TL E ’tniclude Security Classification) AN INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICAL 1PERSONAL AUTHOR(S...find themselves working in the area without the benefit of formal coursework. inAlthough the title of the course was High Voltage Engineer- inI titled...this work , "An Introduction to Electrical Breakdown * Phenomena," because breakdown may occur at low voltages when spacecraft systems are considered

Task Validation for the AN/TPQ-36 Radar System

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-09-01

report presents the method and results of a study to validate personnel task descriptions for the new AN/TyP-Jb radar...TP.J-Sb KAPAK SVSTKM CONTENTS i ■ l.t |i- INTRODUCTION t METHOD 2 RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS b Task Validation 5 26B MOS... method , results, conclusions, and recommendations of the validation study. The appendixes contain the following: 1. Appendix A contains

Homelessness: The New Hampshire Response. The Final Report and Recommendations of the New Hampshire Task Force on Homelessness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Hampshire State Div. of Mental Health and Developmental Services, Concord.

This report presents results and recommendations of a two-year study and information-gathering effort by the New Hampshire Task Force on Homelessness, in compliance with the charge of the State legislature. The report is comprised of five sections. Section 1, "Introduction," presents an overview of the Task Force and a report on the…

Screening for digital printing: a multiparameter task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daels, Katrien; Delabastita, Paul A.

1997-02-01

Changing demands in advertising and printing business has made the digital press systems valid competitors to offset technology for specific markets. Whereas offset is still superior in quality and high volume printing, the time consuming and costly prepress activities, as well as the need for huge investments in the press, make the all-in-one formula very attractive. How to link a fast/cheap machine with decent output-quality, making use of electrophotography? We use electrophotography as a pretext for making a stability analysis of several halftoning systems. As shown in a previous article (Ref. 3) we use the Fourier characteristics to figure out its dependence. In a first introduction we point out why electrophotography brings us to this matter. The further outline of the article scans through a list of opposite screening systems where we focus on the color stability in function of registration.

DiversePathsJ: diverse shortest paths for bioimage analysis.

PubMed

Uhlmann, Virginie; Haubold, Carsten; Hamprecht, Fred A; Unser, Michael

2018-02-01

We introduce a formulation for the general task of finding diverse shortest paths between two end-points. Our approach is not linked to a specific biological problem and can be applied to a large variety of images thanks to its generic implementation as a user-friendly ImageJ/Fiji plugin. It relies on the introduction of additional layers in a Viterbi path graph, which requires slight modifications to the standard Viterbi algorithm rules. This layered graph construction allows for the specification of various constraints imposing diversity between solutions. The software allows obtaining a collection of diverse shortest paths under some user-defined constraints through a convenient and user-friendly interface. It can be used alone or be integrated into larger image analysis pipelines. http://bigwww.epfl.ch/algorithms/diversepathsj. michael.unser@epfl.ch or fred.hamprecht@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Searching for Judy: How small mysteries affect narrative processes and memory

PubMed Central

Love, Jessica; McKoon, Gail; Gerrig, Richard J.

2010-01-01

Current theories of text processing say little about how author’s narrative choices, including the introduction of small mysteries, can affect readers’ narrative experiences. Gerrig, Love, and McKoon (2009) provided evidence that one type of small mystery—a character introduced without information linking him or her to the story—affects readers’ moment-by-moment processing. For that project, participants read stories that introduced characters by proper name alone (e.g., Judy) or with information connecting the character to the rest of the story (e.g., our principal Judy). In an on-line recognition probe task, responses to the character’s name three lines after his or her introduction were faster when the character had not been introduced with connecting information, suggesting that the character remained accessible awaiting resolution. In the four experiments in this paper, we extended our theoretical analysis of small mysteries. In Experiments 1 and 2, we found evidence that trait information (e.g., daredevil Judy) is not sufficient to connect a character to a text. In Experiments 3 and 4, we provide evidence that the moment-by-moment processing effects of such small mysteries also affect readers’ memory for the stories. We interpret the results in terms of Kintsch’s Construction-Integration model (1988) of discourse processing. PMID:20438273

Searching for Judy: how small mysteries affect narrative processes and memory.

PubMed

Love, Jessica; McKoon, Gail; Gerrig, Richard J

2010-05-01

Current theories of text processing say little about how authors' narrative choices, including the introduction of small mysteries, can affect readers' narrative experiences. Gerrig, Love, and McKoon (2009) provided evidence that 1 type of small mystery-a character introduced without information linking him or her to the story-affects readers' moment-by-moment processing. For that project, participants read stories that introduced characters by proper name alone (e.g., "Judy") or with information connecting the character to the rest of the story (e.g., "our principal Judy"). In an online recognition probe task, responses to the character's name 3 lines after his or her introduction were faster when the character had not been introduced with connecting information, suggesting that the character remained accessible awaiting resolution. In the 4 experiments in this article, we extend our theoretical analysis of small mysteries. In Experiments 1 and 2, we found evidence that trait information (e.g., "daredevil Judy") is not sufficient to connect a character to a text. In Experiments 3 and 4, we found evidence that the moment-by-moment processing effects of such small mysteries also affect readers' memory for the stories. We interpret the results in terms of Kintsch's (1988) construction-integration model of discourse processing. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

a Task-Driven Disaster Data Link Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, L. Y.; Zhu, Q.; Gu, J. Y.; Du, Z. Q.

2015-08-01

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, cases data, simulation data, disaster products and so on. However, the efficiency of current data management and service systems has become increasingly serious due to the task variety and heterogeneous data. For emergency task-oriented applications, data searching mainly relies on artificial experience based on simple metadata index, whose high time-consuming and low accuracy cannot satisfy the requirements of disaster products on velocity and veracity. In this paper, a task-oriented linking method is proposed for efficient disaster data management and intelligent service, with the objectives of 1) putting forward ontologies of disaster task and data to unify the different semantics of multi-source information, 2) identifying the semantic mapping from emergency tasks to multiple sources on the basis of uniform description in 1), 3) linking task-related data automatically and calculating the degree of correlation between each data and a target task. The method breaks through traditional static management of disaster data and establishes a base for intelligent retrieval and active push of disaster information. The case study presented in this paper illustrates the use of the method with a flood emergency relief task.

Information Resource Selection of Undergraduate Students in Academic Search Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jee Yeon; Paik, Woojin; Joo, Soohyung

2012-01-01

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the selection of information sources and to identify factors associated with the resource selection of undergraduate students for academic search tasks. Also, user perceptions of some factors, such as credibility, usefulness, accessibility and familiarity, were examined to classify resources by their…

Building Task-Oriented Applications: An Introduction to the Legion Programming Paradigm

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

These domain definitions are validated prior to execution and represent logical regions that each task can access and manipulate as per the dictates of...Introducing Enzo, an AMR cosmology application, in adaptive mesh refinement - theory and applications. Chicago (IL): Springer Berlin Heidelberg; c2005. p

Intravenous Therapy Instruction for Licensed Practical Nurses. Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, Pam; Carey, Jean

This Idaho instructor's guide lists tasks and enabling objectives, outlines instruction, and provides handout masters, overhead masters, and tests for intravenous therapy (IV) instruction for licensed practical nurses. Following an introduction and a list of criteria for successful completion of IV therapy courses, the document lists tasks and…

Task relevance of emotional information affects anxiety-linked attention bias in visual search.

PubMed

Dodd, Helen F; Vogt, Julia; Turkileri, Nilgun; Notebaert, Lies

2017-01-01

Task relevance affects emotional attention in healthy individuals. Here, we investigate whether the association between anxiety and attention bias is affected by the task relevance of emotion during an attention task. Participants completed two visual search tasks. In the emotion-irrelevant task, participants were asked to indicate whether a discrepant face in a crowd of neutral, middle-aged faces was old or young. Irrelevant to the task, target faces displayed angry, happy, or neutral expressions. In the emotion-relevant task, participants were asked to indicate whether a discrepant face in a crowd of middle-aged neutral faces was happy or angry (target faces also varied in age). Trait anxiety was not associated with attention in the emotion-relevant task. However, in the emotion-irrelevant task, trait anxiety was associated with a bias for angry over happy faces. These findings demonstrate that the task relevance of emotional information affects conclusions about the presence of an anxiety-linked attention bias. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chinese Preservice Teachers’ Professional Identity Links with Education Program Performance: The Roles of Task Value Belief and Learning Motivations

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yan; Hawk, Skyler T.; Zhang, Xiaohui; Zhao, Hongyu

2016-01-01

Professional identity is a key issue spanning the entirety of teachers’ career development. Despite the abundance of existing research examining professional identity, its link with occupation-related behavior at the primary career stage (i.e., GPA in preservice education) and the potential process that underlies this association is still not fully understood. This study explored the professional identity of Chinese preservice teachers, and its links with task value belief, intrinsic learning motivation, extrinsic learning motivation, and performance in the education program. Grade-point average (GPA) of courses (both subject and pedagogy courses) was examined as an indicator of performance, and questionnaires were used to measure the remaining variables. Data from 606 preservice teachers in the first 3 years of a teacher-training program indicated that: (1) variables in this research were all significantly correlated with each other, except the correlation between intrinsic learning motivation and program performance; (2) professional identity was positively linked to task value belief, intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations, and program performance in a structural equation model (SEM); (3) task value belief was positively linked to intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivation; (4) higher extrinsic (but not intrinsic) learning motivation was associated with increased program performance; and (5) task value belief and extrinsic learning motivation were significant mediators in the model. PMID:27199810

Chinese Preservice Teachers' Professional Identity Links with Education Program Performance: The Roles of Task Value Belief and Learning Motivations.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Hawk, Skyler T; Zhang, Xiaohui; Zhao, Hongyu

2016-01-01

Professional identity is a key issue spanning the entirety of teachers' career development. Despite the abundance of existing research examining professional identity, its link with occupation-related behavior at the primary career stage (i.e., GPA in preservice education) and the potential process that underlies this association is still not fully understood. This study explored the professional identity of Chinese preservice teachers, and its links with task value belief, intrinsic learning motivation, extrinsic learning motivation, and performance in the education program. Grade-point average (GPA) of courses (both subject and pedagogy courses) was examined as an indicator of performance, and questionnaires were used to measure the remaining variables. Data from 606 preservice teachers in the first 3 years of a teacher-training program indicated that: (1) variables in this research were all significantly correlated with each other, except the correlation between intrinsic learning motivation and program performance; (2) professional identity was positively linked to task value belief, intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations, and program performance in a structural equation model (SEM); (3) task value belief was positively linked to intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivation; (4) higher extrinsic (but not intrinsic) learning motivation was associated with increased program performance; and (5) task value belief and extrinsic learning motivation were significant mediators in the model.

Beyond human error taxonomies in assessment of risk in sociotechnical systems: a new paradigm with the EAST 'broken-links' approach.

PubMed

Stanton, Neville A; Harvey, Catherine

2017-02-01

Risk assessments in Sociotechnical Systems (STS) tend to be based on error taxonomies, yet the term 'human error' does not sit easily with STS theories and concepts. A new break-link approach was proposed as an alternative risk assessment paradigm to reveal the effect of information communication failures between agents and tasks on the entire STS. A case study of the training of a Royal Navy crew detecting a low flying Hawk (simulating a sea-skimming missile) is presented using EAST to model the Hawk-Frigate STS in terms of social, information and task networks. By breaking 19 social links and 12 task links, 137 potential risks were identified. Discoveries included revealing the effect of risk moving around the system; reducing the risks to the Hawk increased the risks to the Frigate. Future research should examine the effects of compounded information communication failures on STS performance. Practitioner Summary: The paper presents a step-by-step walk-through of EAST to show how it can be used for risk assessment in sociotechnical systems. The 'broken-links' method takes a systemic, rather than taxonomic, approach to identify information communication failures in social and task networks.

Interference effects on commonly used memory tasks.

PubMed

Brophy, Linda M; Jackson, Martin; Crowe, Simon F

2009-02-01

This paper reports two studies which investigated the effect of interference on delayed recall scores of the WMS-III and other commonly used memory measures. In Study 1, participants completed the immediate and delayed components of the WMS-III, with or without the introduction of conceptually similar memory tasks between the recall trials. In Study 2, this order of administration was reversed, with the WMS-III subtests used as the interference items. The results indicated that the introduction of interference items during the delay negatively affected delayed recall performance on almost all sub-tests. In addition, equal effects of proactive and retroactive interference were demonstrated. These findings raise concerns regarding the standardization process for memory tasks and highlight the need to consider interference effects in clinical practice, and stand as a caution in the use of memory-related materials during the delay interval in memory testing.

Emergency Physician Task Switching Increases With the Introduction of a Commercial Electronic Health Record.

PubMed

Benda, Natalie C; Meadors, Margaret L; Hettinger, A Zachary; Ratwani, Raj M

2016-06-01

We evaluate how the transition from a homegrown electronic health record to a commercial one affects emergency physician work activities from initial introduction to long-term use. We completed a quasi-experimental study across 3 periods during the transition from a homegrown system to a commercially available electronic health record with computerized provider order entry. Observation periods consisted of pre-implementation, 1 month before the implementation of the commercial electronic health record; "go-live" 1 week after implementation; and post-implementation, 3 to 4 months after use began. Fourteen physicians were observed in each period (N=42) with a minute-by-minute observation template to record emergency physician time allocation across 5 task-based categories (computer, verbal communication, patient room, paper [chart/laboratory results], and other). The average number of tasks physicians engaged in per minute was also analyzed as an indicator of task switching. From pre- to post-implementation, there were no significant differences in the amount of time spent on the various task categories. There were changes in time allocation from pre-implementation to go-live and go-live to pre-implementation, characterized by a significant increase in time spent on computer tasks during go-live relative to the other periods. Critically, the number of tasks physicians engaged in per minute increased from 1.7 during pre-implementation to 1.9 during post-implementation (difference 0.19 tasks per minute; 95% confidence interval 0.039 to 0.35). The increase in the number of tasks physicians engaged in per minute post-implementation indicates that physicians switched tasks more frequently. Frequent task switching behavior raises patient safety concerns. Copyright © 2015 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction to Industry Services. Self-Paced Instructional Module. Module Number I-A.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Kent

One of 33 self-paced instructional modules categorized under 13 major headings, which have been prepared for training industry services leaders to provide guidance in the performance of industry service tasks, this module is an introduction for those who need basic information about the concepts and activities of industry services programs.…

Synthesis of modified proanthocyanidins: introduction of acyl substituents at C-8 of catechin. Selective synthesis of a C-4-->O-->C-3 ether-linked procyanidin-like dimer.

PubMed

Beauhaire, Josiane; Es-Safi, Nour-Eddine; Boyer, François-Didier; Kerhoas, Lucien; Guernevé, Christine le; Ducrot, Paul-Henri

2005-02-01

The regioselective introduction of substituents at C-8 of (+)-catechin is described, leading to the synthesis of several catechin derivatives with various substitution patterns to be used for the further synthesis of modified proanthocyanidins. Thereafter, a new 3-O-4 ether-linked procyanidin-like derivative was synthesized. Its formation was selectively achieved through TiCl(4)-catalyzed condensation of 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)tetra-O-benzyl catechin with the 8-trifluoroacetyl adduct of tetra-O-benzyl catechin.

Multiple-Task Performance: A Critical Review of the Literature and a Cognitive Neuroscience Framework

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-10

determine capacity variations as shown in dual-task performance. In addition, neurobiology and psychological evidence shows that the nervous system is...do we perform complex tasks requiring two or more activities in a short period of time and what determines the quality of performance? Psychological ...definition for these kinds of entities. Introduction of the computer metaphor in cognitive psychology , ascribing behavioral capacity limitations to a kind

A Real Alternative: The Final Report and Recommendations of the Community National Field Task Force on the Improvement and Reform of American Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.

This report is one of six to be released by as many task forces on educational improvement and reform. The main body of this report consists of five sections: (a) an introduction, which briefly describes the work of the task force; (b) a description of the alternative of community participation in education; (c) recommendations; (d) access to…

Mission-based Scenario Research: Experimental Design And Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

neurotechnologies called Brain-Computer Interaction Technologies. 15. SUBJECT TERMS neuroimaging, EEG, task loading, neurotechnologies , ground... neurotechnologies called Brain-Computer Interaction Technologies. INTRODUCTION Imagine a system that can identify operator fatigue during a long-term...BCIT), a class of neurotechnologies , that aim to improve task performance by incorporating measures of brain activity to optimize the interactions

Women's Performance on Sexually Dimorphic Tasks: The Effect of Hormonal Fluctuations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duell, Lanora J.

2011-01-01

This study examined the effect of hormonal fluctuations on women's performance on sexually dimorphic cognitive tasks. Thirty-six participants were recruited through introduction to psychology courses at three colleges. Participants were assessed using the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability III (WJ III COG), which is a commonly-used, widely…

The Posing of Arithmetic Problems by Mathematically Talented Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espinoza González, Johan; Lupiáñez Gómez, José Luis; Segovia Alex, Isidoro

2016-01-01

Introduction: This paper analyzes the arithmetic problems posed by a group of mathematically talented students when given two problem-posing tasks, and compares these students' responses to those given by a standard group of public school students to the same tasks. Our analysis focuses on characterizing and identifying the differences between the…

Designing Spreadsheet-Based Tasks for Purposeful Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainley, Janet; Bills, Liz; Wilson, Kirsty

2005-01-01

We describe the design of a sequence of spreadsheet-based pedagogic tasks for the introduction of algebra in the early years of secondary schooling within the Purposeful Algebraic Activity project. This design combines two relatively novel features to bring a different perspective to research in the use of spreadsheets for the learning and…

The Colorado Autism Manual for Teachers, Service-Providers and Parents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

This manual provides information on autism to enable Colorado parents and educators to recognize early symptoms in children and to provide for early intervention. Section 1 of the manual provides an introduction to the Colorado Autism Task Force, lists participants in the task force, explains the guiding principles for development of educational…

TH-D-BRB-04: Pinnacle Scripting: Improving Efficiency While Maintaining Safety

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

Moore, J.

2016-06-15

Scripting capabilities and application programming interfaces (APIs) are becoming commonly available in modern treatment planning systems. These links to the treatment planning system (TPS) allow users to read data from the TPS, and in some cases use TPS functionality and write data back to the TPS. Such tools are powerful extensions, allowing automation of routine clinical tasks and supporting research, particularly research involving repetitive tasks on large patient populations. The data and functionality exposed by scripting/API capabilities is vendor dependent, as are the languages used by script/API engines, such as the Microsoft .NET framework or Python. Scripts deployed in amore » clinical environment must be commissioned and validated like any other software tool. This session will provide an overview of scripting applications and a discussion of best practices, followed by a practical introduction to the scripting capabilities of three commercial treatment planning systems. Learning Objectives: Understand the scripting capabilities available in several treatment planning systems Learn how to get started using scripting capabilities Understand the best practices for safe script deployment in a clinical environment R. Popple, Varian Medical Systems has provided research support unrelated to the topic of this session.R. Cardan, Varian Medical Systems for grant research, product evaluation, and teaching honorarium.« less

Negative correlation between leftward bias in line bisection and schizotypal features in healthy subjects

PubMed Central

Ribolsi, Michele; Lisi, Giulia; Di Lorenzo, Giorgio; Rociola, Giuseppe; Niolu, Cinzia; Siracusano, Alberto

2013-01-01

Introduction: Recent studies have found a lack of normal pseudoneglect in schizophrenia patients and in their first degree relatives. Similarly, several contributions have reported that measures of schizotypy in the healthy population may be related to signs of right-sided lateralization, but most of these studies differ greatly in methodology (sample size, choice of schizotypy scales, and laterality tasks) and, consequently, the results cannot be compared and so definitive conclusion cannot be drawn. In this study, our purpose is to investigate whether some tasks of spatial attention may be related to different dimensions of schizotypy not only in a larger sample of healthy subjects (HS), but testing the same people with several supposedly related measures several times. Materials and Methods: In the first part of the study (Part I), the performance on “paper and pencil” line bisection (LB) tasks in 205 HS was investigated. Each task was repeated three times. In the second part of the study (Part II), a subgroup of 80 subjects performed a computerized version of the LB test and of the mental number line bisection (MNL) test. In both parts of the study, every subject completed the 74-item version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI). Results: In both parts of the study, high scores on the subscale “magical thinking” of SPQ have resulted in being closely linked to a decreased pseudoneglect as assessed by the LB task. On the contrary, right handedness is related to an increased leftward bias at the same task. No association was found between MNL and the other variables. Discussion: The main finding of this study is that a decreased spatial leftward bias at the LB task correlates with positive schizotypy in the healthy population. This finding supports the hypothesis that a deviation from leftward hemispatial visual preference may be related to the degree of psychosis-like schizotypal signs in non-clinical population and should be investigated as a possible marker of psychosis. PMID:24294208

Linking Project Procedure Manual for Using Dumb-Barcode Linking on GEAC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Condron, Lyn

This procedure manual is designed to assist cataloging staff members at a university library through the 10-step process of barcoding and linking books classified by the Library of Congress system to the library's GEAC online computer system. A brief introduction provides background information on the project. The procedures involved in each…

Parental Autonomy Support Moderates the Link between ADHD Symptomatology and Task Perseverance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomassin, Kristel; Suveg, Cynthia

2012-01-01

The current study investigated the moderating role of mother and father autonomy support in the link between youth Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms and task perseverance. ADHD symptomatology was assessed using a multi-informant composite of mother, father, and teacher ratings, and youth perseverance and parental support of…

Large scale commissioning and operational experience with tier-2 to tier-2 data transfer links in CMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Letts, J.; Magini, N.

2011-12-01

Tier-2 to Tier-2 data transfers have been identified as a necessary extension of the CMS computing model. The Debugging Data Transfers (DDT) Task Force in CMS was charged with commissioning Tier-2 to Tier-2 PhEDEx transfer links beginning in late 2009, originally to serve the needs of physics analysis groups for the transfer of their results between the storage elements of the Tier-2 sites associated with the groups. PhEDEx is the data transfer middleware of the CMS experiment. For analysis jobs using CRAB, the CMS Remote Analysis Builder, the challenges of remote stage out of job output at the end of the analysis jobs led to the introduction of a local fallback stage out, and will eventually require the asynchronous transfer of user data over essentially all of the Tier-2 to Tier-2 network using the same PhEDEx infrastructure. In addition, direct file sharing of physics and Monte Carlo simulated data between Tier-2 sites can relieve the operational load of the Tier-1 sites in the original CMS Computing Model, and already represents an important component of CMS PhEDEx data transfer volume. The experience, challenges and methods used to debug and commission the thousands of data transfers links between CMS Tier-2 sites world-wide are explained and summarized. The resulting operational experience with Tier-2 to Tier-2 transfers is also presented.

Cognitive task analysis: Techniques applied to airborne weapons training

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

Terranova, M.; Seamster, T.L.; Snyder, C.E.

1989-01-01

This is an introduction to cognitive task analysis as it may be used in Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) training development. The focus of a cognitive task analysis is human knowledge, and its methods of analysis are those developed by cognitive psychologists. This paper explains the role that cognitive task analysis and presents the findings from a preliminary cognitive task analysis of airborne weapons operators. Cognitive task analysis is a collection of powerful techniques that are quantitative, computational, and rigorous. The techniques are currently not in wide use in the training community, so examples of this methodology are presented alongmore » with the results. 6 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.« less

Introduction of a child and adolescent mental health link worker: education and health staff focus group findings.

PubMed

Hunter, A; Playle, J; Sanchez, P; Cahill, J; McGowan, L

2008-10-01

Policy guidance suggests that outcomes for adolescents with mental health problems can be improved by secondary education services (SES) and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) working more closely. This study reports on staff experiences of the introduction of a mental health link worker (MHLW). The findings of two focus groups are presented, conducted with staff from CAMHS and SES. These focus groups formed part of the overall wider evaluation of the MHLW role. The groups explored staff perceptions and experiences following the introduction of the MHLW, and elicited their views on the effectiveness of this innovative role. Qualitative methods were employed, and analysis was conducted using the principles of grounded theory and the constant comparative method. The findings revealed that the MHLW was well received by both groups, despite the identification of potential barriers. A number of key themes emerged, which included the ability of the link worker to improve communication and to encourage mutual understanding between services. The issues raised by these themes are discussed and recommendations are made for future practice and research.

LMS Use and Instructor Performance: The Role of Task-Technology Fit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGill, Tanya; Klobas, Jane; Renzi, Stefano

2011-01-01

The introduction of learning management systems (LMS) has changed the way in which instructors work. This paper uses Goodhue and Thompson's (1995) technology-to-performance chain (TPC) to explore the roles of task-technology fit (TTF) and level of LMS use in the performance impacts of LMS for instructors. A mixed method approach was used: an…

Combining statistical inference and decisions in ecology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Perry J.; Hooten, Mevin B.

2016-01-01

Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices (i.e., loss), and prior beliefs about a system. SDT links the theoretical development of a large body of statistical methods including point estimation, hypothesis testing, and confidence interval estimation. The theory and application of SDT have mainly been developed and published in the fields of mathematics, statistics, operations research, and other decision sciences, but have had limited exposure in ecology. Thus, we provide an introduction to SDT for ecologists and describe its utility for linking the conventionally separate tasks of statistical investigation and decision making in a single framework. We describe the basic framework of both Bayesian and frequentist SDT, its traditional use in statistics, and discuss its application to decision problems that occur in ecology. We demonstrate SDT with two types of decisions: Bayesian point estimation, and an applied management problem of selecting a prescribed fire rotation for managing a grassland bird species. Central to SDT, and decision theory in general, are loss functions. Thus, we also provide basic guidance and references for constructing loss functions for an SDT problem.

Trust from the past: Bayesian Personalized Ranking based Link Prediction in Knowledge Graphs

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

Zhang, Baichuan; Choudhury, Sutanay; Al-Hasan, Mohammad

2016-02-01

Estimating the confidence for a link is a critical task for Knowledge Graph construction. Link prediction, or predicting the likelihood of a link in a knowledge graph based on prior state is a key research direction within this area. We propose a Latent Feature Embedding based link recommendation model for prediction task and utilize Bayesian Personalized Ranking based optimization technique for learning models for each predicate. Experimental results on large-scale knowledge bases such as YAGO2 show that our approach achieves substantially higher performance than several state-of-art approaches. Furthermore, we also study the performance of the link prediction algorithm in termsmore » of topological properties of the Knowledge Graph and present a linear regression model to reason about its expected level of accuracy.« less

Extending the Wireshark Network Protocol Analyser to Decode Link 16 Tactical Data Link Messages

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Interoperability Workshop 2003, Paper No. 03F- SIW -002. 6. Boardman, B., (2008), Introduction to Tactical Data Links in the ADF, accessed from <http...2008, Paper No. 08E- SIW -046. 19. Lamping, U., (2013), Wireshark Developer’s Guide for Wireshark 1.11, accessed from <http://www.wireshark.org/docs

Cognitive Architectures and Human-Computer Interaction. Introduction to Special Issue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Wayne D.; Young, Richard M.; Kirschenbaum, Susan S.

1997-01-01

In this introduction to a special issue on cognitive architectures and human-computer interaction (HCI), editors and contributors provide a brief overview of cognitive architectures. The following four architectures represented by articles in this issue are: Soar; LICAI (linked model of comprehension-based action planning and instruction taking);…

Linking science and policy to prevent the spread of invasive species from the ballast water discharge of ships

EPA Science Inventory

Huamn activites are causing the global redistribution of species at a historically unprecedented rates. In marine environments, a major vector of nonindigenous species introduction is commercial shipping, including the ballast water of ocean going vessels. The introduction of n...

Computerized training management system

DOEpatents

Rice, H.B.; McNair, R.C.; White, K.; Maugeri, T.

1998-08-04

A Computerized Training Management System (CTMS) is disclosed for providing a procedurally defined process that is employed to develop accreditable performance based training programs for job classifications that are sensitive to documented regulations and technical information. CTMS is a database that links information needed to maintain a five-phase approach to training-analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation independent of training program design. CTMS is designed using R-Base{trademark}, an-SQL compliant software platform. Information is logically entered and linked in CTMS. Each task is linked directly to a performance objective, which, in turn, is linked directly to a learning objective; then, each enabling objective is linked to its respective test items. In addition, tasks, performance objectives, enabling objectives, and test items are linked to their associated reference documents. CTMS keeps all information up to date since it automatically sorts, files and links all data; CTMS includes key word and reference document searches. 18 figs.

Computerized training management system

DOEpatents

Rice, Harold B.; McNair, Robert C.; White, Kenneth; Maugeri, Terry

1998-08-04

A Computerized Training Management System (CTMS) for providing a procedurally defined process that is employed to develop accreditable performance based training programs for job classifications that are sensitive to documented regulations and technical information. CTMS is a database that links information needed to maintain a five-phase approach to training-analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation independent of training program design. CTMS is designed using R-Base.RTM., an-SQL compliant software platform. Information is logically entered and linked in CTMS. Each task is linked directly to a performance objective, which, in turn, is linked directly to a learning objective; then, each enabling objective is linked to its respective test items. In addition, tasks, performance objectives, enabling objectives, and test items are linked to their associated reference documents. CTMS keeps all information up to date since it automatically sorts, files and links all data; CTMS includes key word and reference document searches.

An initial test of a normative Figure Of Merit for the quality of overall task performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemay, Moira; Comstock, J. R., Jr.

1990-01-01

An overall indicator, or Figure Of Merit (FOM), of the quality of crew/vehicle system performance is needed to establish the effect of workload on efficiency and to identify overload conditions. A normative FOM is proposed in which performance is measured on a representative task and a normative data base obtained. FOMs for subsequent executions of the task are then reported in terms of weighted deviations from average task performance. Performance of discrete tasks is measured primarily in terms of subtask time and errors. Discrete task performance is then combined with a measure of continuous vehicle control. In order to test the normative FOM procedure, the technique was applied to an existing set of data from a simulated landing task in which standard communications with ATC was compared with a data link communications system. The results indicated that while mean task performance was not affected, task variability, as measured by the FOM, was significantly higher when data link communications were used. In order to establish the sensitivity of the normative FOM method, further testing of the measure is recommended.

Search and detection modeling of military imaging systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurer, Tana; Wilson, David L.; Driggers, Ronald G.

2013-04-01

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) has been studying the science behind the human processes of searching and detecting, and using that knowledge to develop and refine its models for military imaging systems. Modeling how human observers perform military tasks while using imaging systems in the field and linking that model with the physics of the systems has resulted in the comprehensive sensor models we have today. These models are used by the government, military, industry, and academia for sensor development, sensor system acquisition, military tactics development, and war-gaming. From the original hypothesis put forth by John Johnson in 1958, to modeling time-limited search, to modeling the impact of motion on target detection, to modeling target acquisition performance in different spectral bands, the concept of search has a wide-ranging history. Our purpose is to present a snapshot of that history; as such, it will begin with a description of the search-modeling task, followed by a summary of highlights from the early years, and concluding with a discussion of search and detection modeling today and the changing battlefield. Some of the topics to be discussed will be classic search, clutter, computational vision models and the ACQUIRE model with its variants. We do not claim to present a complete history here, but rather a look at some of the work that has been done, and this is meant to be an introduction to an extensive amount of work on a complex topic. That said, it is hoped that this overview of the history of search and detection modeling of military imaging systems pursued by NVESD directly, or in association with other government agencies or contractors, will provide both the novice and experienced search modeler with a useful historical summary and an introduction to current issues and future challenges.

Cybersecurity of Critical Control Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-14

project are included below. The tasks include work in link encryption for existing legacy SCADA equipment, where we continue to develop lightweight...language for authoring and monitoring compliance of SCADA systems, including technologies for a “policy monitor” which reports out on any observance issues...Acquisition ( SCADA ). Details of each project are included below. The tasks include work in link encryption for existing legacy SCADA equipment

Use of GLONASS at the BIPM

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-01

TWSTFT links. This paper reports the latest results from the BIPM. INTRODUCTION Over the last 50 years, the accuracy...WORK Our work continues with the following projects:  Use of TWSTFT data for further link comparison studies (AOS, OP, and PTB)  Computation of

The Dynamics of Language: An Introduction. Syntax and Semantics. Volume 35

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, Ronnie; Kempson, Ruth; Marten, Lutz

2005-01-01

For the whole of the last half-century, most theoretical syntacticians have assumed that knowledge of language is different from the tasks of speaking and understanding. There have been some dissenters, but, by and large, this view still holds sway. This book takes a different view: it continues the task set in hand by Kempson et al (2001) of…

Academic Calendar Task Force Report to the President.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.

This report presents the findings of a study done by a college-wide task force at the College of DuPage (Illinois) on academic calendar formats in an effort to determine whether to retain the quarter system or convert to another calendar. A brief introduction gives the background to the issue at DuPage. A section on procedures explains that the…

Manitoba Task Force on Francophone Schools Governance. Report = Groupe de travail manitobain sur la gestion des ecoles franco-manitobaines. Le rapport.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manitoba Dept. of Education and Training, Winnipeg.

Findings of a task force on introduction of a school governance system for Manitoba's (Canada) francophone minority population are reported. The document outlines the background--i.e., the Canadian context--of this report, principles and procedures, the resulting recommended structure for governance, and suggestions for addressing such issues as…

Examining Student Conceptions of Covariation: A Focus on the Line of Best Fit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Stephanie A.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to learn about students' conceptions concerning the line of best fit just prior to their introduction to the topic. Task-based interviews were conducted with thirty-three students, focused on five tasks that asked them to place the line of best fit on a scatterplot and explain their reasoning throughout the…

From Many Records to One Graph: Heterogeneity Conflicts in the Linked Data Restructuring Cycle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tallerås, Kim

2013-01-01

Introduction: During the last couple of years the library community has developed a number of comprehensive metadata standardization projects inspired by the idea of linked data, such as the BIBFRAME model. Linked data is a set of best practice principles of publishing and exposing data on the Web utilizing a graph based data model powered with…

Integrated source and channel encoded digital communications system design study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huth, G. K.

1974-01-01

Studies on the digital communication system for the direct communication links from ground to space shuttle and the links involving the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). Three main tasks were performed:(1) Channel encoding/decoding parameter optimization for forward and reverse TDRS links,(2)integration of command encoding/decoding and channel encoding/decoding; and (3) modulation coding interface study. The general communication environment is presented to provide the necessary background for the tasks and to provide an understanding of the implications of the results of the studies.

The contribution of temporary storage and executive processes to category learning.

PubMed

Wang, Tengfei; Ren, Xuezhu; Schweizer, Karl

2015-09-01

Three distinctly different working memory processes, temporary storage, mental shifting and inhibition, were proposed to account for individual differences in category learning. A sample of 213 participants completed a classic category learning task and two working memory tasks that were experimentally manipulated for tapping specific working memory processes. Fixed-links models were used to decompose data of the category learning task into two independent components representing basic performance and improvement in performance in category learning. Processes of working memory were also represented by fixed-links models. In a next step the three working memory processes were linked to components of category learning. Results from modeling analyses indicated that temporary storage had a significant effect on basic performance and shifting had a moderate effect on improvement in performance. In contrast, inhibition showed no effect on any component of the category learning task. These results suggest that temporary storage and the shifting process play different roles in the course of acquiring new categories. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genomic epidemiology reveals multiple introductions of Zika virus into the United States

PubMed Central

Grubaugh, Nathan D; Ladner, Jason T; Kraemer, Moritz UG; Dudas, Gytis; Tan, Amanda L; Gangavarapu, Karthik; Wiley, Michael R; White, Stephen; Thézé, Julien; Magnani, Diogo M; Prieto, Karla; Reyes, Daniel; Bingham, Andrea; Paul, Lauren M; Robles-Sikisaka, Refugio; Oliveira, Glenn; Pronty, Darryl; Barcellona, Carolyn M; Metsky, Hayden C; Baniecki, Mary Lynn; Barnes, Kayla G; Chak, Bridget; Freije, Catherine A; Gladden-Young, Adrianne; Gnirke, Andreas; Luo, Cynthia; MacInnis, Bronwyn; Matranga, Christian B; Park, Daniel J; Qu, James; Schaffner, Stephen F; Tomkins-Tinch, Christopher; West, Kendra L; Winnicki, Sarah M; Wohl, Shirlee; Yozwiak, Nathan L; Quick, Joshua; Fauver, Joseph R; Khan, Kamran; Brent, Shannon E; Reiner, Robert C; Lichtenberger, Paola N; Ricciardi, Michael; Bailey, Varian K; Watkins, David I; Cone, Marshall R; Kopp, Edgar W; Hogan, Kelly N; Cannons, Andrew C; Jean, Reynald; Monaghan, Andrew J; Garry, Robert F; Loman, Nicholas J; Faria, Nuno R; Porcelli, Mario C; Vasquez, Chalmers; Nagle, Elyse R; Cummings, Derek AT; Stanek, Danielle; Rambaut, Andrew; Sanchez-Lockhart, Mariano; Sabeti, Pardis C; Gillis, Leah D; Michael, Scott F; Bedford, Trevor; Pybus, Oliver G; Isern, Sharon; Palacios, Gustavo; Andersen, Kristian G

2017-01-01

Zika virus (ZIKV) is causing an unprecedented epidemic linked to severe congenital syndromes1,2. In July 2016, mosquito-borne ZIKV transmission was reported in the continental United States and since then, hundreds of locally-acquired infections have been reported in Florida3,4. To gain insights into the timing, source, and likely route(s) of ZIKV introduction, we tracked the virus from its first detection in Florida by sequencing ZIKV genomes from infected patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. We show that at least four introductions, but potentially as many as 40, contributed to the outbreak in Florida and that local transmission likely started in the spring of 2016 - several months before initial detection. By analyzing surveillance and genetic data, we discovered that ZIKV moved among transmission zones in Miami. Our analyses show that most introductions are linked to the Caribbean, a finding corroborated by the high incidence rates and traffic volumes from the region into the Miami area. Our study provides an understanding of how ZIKV initiates transmission in new regions. PMID:28538723

Genomic epidemiology reveals multiple introductions of Zika virus into the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grubaugh, Nathan D.; Ladner, Jason T.; Kraemer, Moritz U. G.; Dudas, Gytis; Tan, Amanda L.; Gangavarapu, Karthik; Wiley, Michael R.; White, Stephen; Thézé, Julien; Magnani, Diogo M.; Prieto, Karla; Reyes, Daniel; Bingham, Andrea M.; Paul, Lauren M.; Robles-Sikisaka, Refugio; Oliveira, Glenn; Pronty, Darryl; Barcellona, Carolyn M.; Metsky, Hayden C.; Baniecki, Mary Lynn; Barnes, Kayla G.; Chak, Bridget; Freije, Catherine A.; Gladden-Young, Adrianne; Gnirke, Andreas; Luo, Cynthia; Macinnis, Bronwyn; Matranga, Christian B.; Park, Daniel J.; Qu, James; Schaffner, Stephen F.; Tomkins-Tinch, Christopher; West, Kendra L.; Winnicki, Sarah M.; Wohl, Shirlee; Yozwiak, Nathan L.; Quick, Joshua; Fauver, Joseph R.; Khan, Kamran; Brent, Shannon E.; Reiner, Robert C.; Lichtenberger, Paola N.; Ricciardi, Michael J.; Bailey, Varian K.; Watkins, David I.; Cone, Marshall R.; Kopp, Edgar W.; Hogan, Kelly N.; Cannons, Andrew C.; Jean, Reynald; Monaghan, Andrew J.; Garry, Robert F.; Loman, Nicholas J.; Faria, Nuno R.; Porcelli, Mario C.; Vasquez, Chalmers; Nagle, Elyse R.; Cummings, Derek A. T.; Stanek, Danielle; Rambaut, Andrew; Sanchez-Lockhart, Mariano; Sabeti, Pardis C.; Gillis, Leah D.; Michael, Scott F.; Bedford, Trevor; Pybus, Oliver G.; Isern, Sharon; Palacios, Gustavo; Andersen, Kristian G.

2017-06-01

Zika virus (ZIKV) is causing an unprecedented epidemic linked to severe congenital abnormalities. In July 2016, mosquito-borne ZIKV transmission was reported in the continental United States; since then, hundreds of locally acquired infections have been reported in Florida. To gain insights into the timing, source, and likely route(s) of ZIKV introduction, we tracked the virus from its first detection in Florida by sequencing ZIKV genomes from infected patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. We show that at least 4 introductions, but potentially as many as 40, contributed to the outbreak in Florida and that local transmission is likely to have started in the spring of 2016—several months before its initial detection. By analysing surveillance and genetic data, we show that ZIKV moved among transmission zones in Miami. Our analyses show that most introductions were linked to the Caribbean, a finding corroborated by the high incidence rates and traffic volumes from the region into the Miami area. Our study provides an understanding of how ZIKV initiates transmission in new regions.

Self-assembling software generator

DOEpatents

Bouchard, Ann M [Albuquerque, NM; Osbourn, Gordon C [Albuquerque, NM

2011-11-25

A technique to generate an executable task includes inspecting a task specification data structure to determine what software entities are to be generated to create the executable task, inspecting the task specification data structure to determine how the software entities will be linked after generating the software entities, inspecting the task specification data structure to determine logic to be executed by the software entities, and generating the software entities to create the executable task.

The Link between Basing Self-Worth on Academics and Student Performance Depends on Domain Identification and Academic Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Jason S.; Charbonneau, Joseph

2009-01-01

Two studies showed that the link between how much students base their self-worth on academics and their math performance depends on whether their identification with math was statistically controlled and whether the task measured ability or not. Study 1 showed that, when math identification was uncontrolled and the task was ability-diagnostic,…

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…

Present Status and Future Prospects in Bulk Processing of HIGH-Tc Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, S.; Chu, C. W.

The following sections are included: * INTRODUCTION * HIGH SUPERCONDUCTING TRANSITION TEMPERATURE * HIGH CRITICAL CURRENT DENSITY * Grain Boundary Weak Links * Nature of Weak Links * Possible Processing Approaches for Weak Link Problem * Processing Techniques for Texture Formation * Flux Creep in HTSC * Desirable Pinning Defects * Processing for Flux Pinning Enhancement * PROSPECTS FOR BULK APPLICATIONS * Magnetic Field Gener * Energy Storage * Magnetic Shielding * Other Applications * CONCLUDING REMARKS * ACKNOWLEDGMENT * REFERENCES

Nursing Education in High Blood Pressure Control. Report of the Task Force on the Role of Nursing in High Blood Pressure Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Institutes of Health (DHEW), Bethesda, MD. High Blood Pressure Information Center.

This curriculum guide on high blood pressure (hypertension) for nursing educators has five sections: (1) Introduction and Objectives provides information regarding the establishment and objectives of the National Task Force on the Role of Nursing in High Blood Pressure Control and briefly discusses nursing's role in hypertension control; (2) Goals…

Shuttle/TDRSS Ku-band downlink study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, R.

1976-01-01

Assessing the adequacy of the baseline signal design approach, developing performance specifications for the return link hardware, and performing detailed design and parameter optimization tasks was accomplished by completing five specific study tasks. The results of these tasks show that the basic signal structure design is sound and that the goals can be met. Constraints placed on return link hardware by this structure allow reasonable specifications to be written so that no extreme technical risk areas in equipment design are foreseen. A third channel can be added to the PM mode without seriously degrading the other services. The feasibility of using only a PM mode was shown to exist, however, this will require use of some digital TV transmission techniques. Each task and its results are summarized.

The scheme of LLSST based on inter-satellite link for planet gravity field measurement in deep-space mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yikang; Li, Xue; Liu, Lei

2009-12-01

Gravity field measurement for the interested planets and their moos in solar system, such as Luna and Mars, is one important task in the next step of deep-space mission. In this paper, Similar to GRACE mission, LLSST and DOWR technology of common-orbit master-slave satellites around task planet is inherited in this scheme. Furthermore, by intersatellite 2-way UQPSK-DSSS link, time synchronization and data processing are implemented autonomously by masterslave satellites instead of GPS and ground facilities supporting system. Conclusion is derived that the ISL DOWR based on 2-way incoherent time synchronization has the same precise level to GRACE DOWR based on GPS time synchronization. Moreover, because of inter-satellite link, the proposed scheme is rather autonomous for gravity field measurement of the task planet in deep-space mission.

Deontic introduction: A theory of inference from is to ought.

PubMed

Elqayam, Shira; Thompson, Valerie A; Wilkinson, Meredith R; Evans, Jonathan St B T; Over, David E

2015-09-01

Humans have a unique ability to generate novel norms. Faced with the knowledge that there are hungry children in Somalia, we easily and naturally infer that we ought to donate to famine relief charities. Although a contentious and lively issue in metaethics, such inference from "is" to "ought" has not been systematically studied in the psychology of reasoning. We propose that deontic introduction is the result of a rich chain of pragmatic inference, most of it implicit; specifically, when an action is causally linked to a valenced goal, valence transfers to the action and bridges into a deontic conclusion. Participants in 5 experiments were presented with utility conditionals in which an action results in a benefit, a cost, or neutral outcome (e.g., "If Lisa buys the booklet, she will pass the exam") and asked to evaluate how strongly deontic conclusions (e.g., "Lisa should buy the booklet") follow from the premises. Findings show that the direction of the conclusions was determined by outcome valence (Experiments 1a and 1b), whereas their strength was determined by the strength of the causal link between action and outcome (Experiments 1, 2a, and 2b). We also found that deontic introduction is defeasible and can be suppressed by additional premises that interfere with any of the links in the implicit chain of inference (Experiments 2a, 2b, and 3). We propose that deontic introduction is a species-specific generative capacity whose function is to regulate future behavior. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

An Account of Performance in Accessing Information Stored in Long-Term Memory. A Fixed-Links Model Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altmeyer, Michael; Schweizer, Karl; Reiss, Siegbert; Ren, Xuezhu; Schreiner, Michael

2013-01-01

Performance in working memory and short-term memory tasks was employed for predicting performance in a long-term memory task in order to find out about the underlying processes. The types of memory were represented by versions of the Posner Task, the Backward Counting Task and the Sternberg Task serving as measures of long-term memory, working…

The Human-Electronic Crew: Is the Team Maturing? Joint GAF/RAF/USAF workshop on Human-Electronic Crew Teamwork (2nd) Held in Ingolstadt, Germany on September 25-28, 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-10

a way ahead for future work to explore the cognitive nature of the whole command and control task and a decision support environment . Introduction...existing inferior approach. Second, the nature of how tasks are performed changes in a dynamic environment . For example, the decision-making process...the system must be designed to perform in its expected operational environment . It includes tasks performed by the aircraft, its systems, and each of

Pedagogy of Language Learning in Higher Education: An Introduction. Advances in Foreign Language Pedagogy, Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brauer, Gerd, Ed.

This second volume in the series "Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy" is an introduction to the pedagogy of language learning in higher education focusing on learner motivation, classroom environments, relationships for learning, and the future of language education. The book reveals numerous links to language education on the…

Ergonomic Redesign of an Industrial Control Panel.

PubMed

Raeisi, S; Osqueizadeh, R; Maghsoudipour, M; Jafarpisheh, A S

2016-07-01

Operator's role in industrial control centers takes place in time, which is one of the most important determinants of whether an expected action is going to be successful or not. In certain situations, due to the complex nature of the work, the existing interfaces and already prepared procedures do not meet the dynamic requirements of operator's cognitive demands, making the control tasks unnecessarily difficult. This study was conducted to identify ergonomic issues with a specific industrial control panel, and redesign its layout and elements to enhance its usability. Task and link analysis methodologies were implemented. All essential functions and supporting operations were identified at the required trivial levels. Next, the weight of any possible link between the elements of the panel was computed as a composite index of frequency and importance. Finally, all components were rearranged within a new layout, and a computerized mockup was generated. A total of 8 primary tasks was identified, including 4 system failure handling tasks, switching between manual and automated modes, and 3 types of routine vigilance and control tasks. These tasks were broken down into 28 functions and 145 supporting operations, accordingly. Higher link values were observed between hand rest position and 2 elements. Also, 6 other components showed robust linkages. In conclusion, computer modeling can reduce the likelihood of accidents and near misses in industrial control rooms by considering the operators' misperception or mental burden and correcting poor design of the panels and inappropriate task allocation.

Impulsive-Reflective Attitude, Behavioural Inhibition and Motor Skills: Are They Linked?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosey, Florence; Keller, Jean; Golomer, Eveline

2010-01-01

The present study aims to examine whether the inhibitory processes and impulsive-cognitive style can influence the emergence of coordination level among 61 children aged 3 to 5 years. Luria's tapping tasks, Day-Night tasks, Hand-Candle tasks, Go-NoGo tasks and the Trail Making Tests of Reitan, all involving inhibitory processes, were conducted.…

Dissociation of Short-Term Forgetting from the Passage of Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, K. Geoffrey

2012-01-01

In many theories, forgetting is closely linked to the passage of time. In the present experiments, recall in a short-term memory task was less accurate when the retention interval included a difficult arithmetic addition task, compared with an easy task. In a novel condition, the interfering task was switched from hard to easy partway through the…

The Effect of iPad Use during Independent Practice for Students with Challenging Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flower, Andrea

2014-01-01

In the classroom, time on-task is critical because it is linked to learning and success. When off-task behaviors occur, substantial learning and instructional time may be lost. Many students with disabilities struggle with remaining on-task, particularly during independent practice periods. Strategies to increase time on-task during classroom…

The Conflict between On-Task and Off-Task Actions in the Classroom and Its Consequences for Motivation and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilian, Britta; Hofer, Manfred; Fries, Stefan; Kuhnle, Claudia

2010-01-01

The relations between students' value orientations, decisions in conflicts between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom, and experiences of motivational interference following these conflicts were investigated. It was expected that well-being value orientation was positively linked and achievement value orientation was negatively linked…

Comparative evaluation of workload estimation techniques in piloting tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wierwille, W. W.

1983-01-01

Techniques to measure operator workload in a wide range of situations and tasks were examined. The sensitivity and intrusion of a wide variety of workload assessment techniques in simulated piloting tasks were investigated. Four different piloting tasks, psychomotor, perceptual, mediational, and communication aspects of piloting behavior were selected. Techniques to determine relative sensitivity and intrusion were applied. Sensitivity is the relative ability of a workload estimation technique to discriminate statistically significant differences in operator loading. High sensitivity requires discriminable changes in score means as a function of load level and low variation of the scores about the means. Intrusion is an undesirable change in the task for which workload is measured, resulting from the introduction of the workload estimation technique or apparatus.

The Maine Sealant Manual for School-Based and School-Linked Dental Sealant Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Kneka, Ed.

This manual is designed for use by school personnel and dental personnel to aid in the development and maintenance of school-based or school-linked dental sealant programs. The sections include (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Guidelines" (school selection, school contacts, dental providers, target grades, and tooth selection…

Advanced GPS-Based Time Link Calibration with PTB’s New GPS Calibration Setup

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

the BIPM to the Ku-band TWSTFT link. A deviation of 3.7 ns compared to the 2008 result was found. INTRODUCTION UTC generation and...adjustment made earlier by the BIPM to the Ku-band TWSTFT link. A deviation of 3.7 ns compared to the 2008 result was found. 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16...Frequency Transfer ( TWSTFT ) were in operation, with signals exchanged in X-band and in Ku-band, respectively. The links were repeatedly calibrated using

Using Scaffolding to Scale-up Justifications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Carolyn; Casas, Ana; Grant, Douglas

2016-01-01

Open-ended mathematical tasks provide great opportunities for students to engage in authentic mathematical practices, such as conjecturing, generalizing, and justifying. Supporting students in open-ended tasks can be challenging. Appropriate scaffolding of a task has been linked to more opportunities for student learning and better student…

An eye movement analysis of the effect of interruption modality on primary task resumption.

PubMed

Ratwani, Raj; Trafton, J Gregory

2010-06-01

We examined the effect of interruption modality (visual or auditory) on primary task (visual) resumption to determine which modality was the least disruptive. Theories examining interruption modality have focused on specific periods of the interruption timeline. Preemption theory has focused on the switch from the primary task to the interrupting task. Multiple resource theory has focused on interrupting tasks that are to be performed concurrently with the primary task. Our focus was on examining how interruption modality influences task resumption.We leverage the memory-for-goals theory, which suggests that maintaining an associative link between environmental cues and the suspended primary task goal is important for resumption. Three interruption modality conditions were examined: auditory interruption with the primary task visible, auditory interruption with a blank screen occluding the primary task, and a visual interruption occluding the primary task. Reaction time and eye movement data were collected. The auditory condition with the primary task visible was the least disruptive. Eye movement data suggest that participants in this condition were actively maintaining an associative link between relevant environmental cues on the primary task interface and the suspended primary task goal during the interruption. These data suggest that maintaining cue association is the important factor for reducing the disruptiveness of interruptions, not interruption modality. Interruption-prone computing environments should be designed to allow for the user to have access to relevant primary task cues during an interruption to minimize disruptiveness.

Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy

PubMed Central

Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

2015-01-01

Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction. PMID:26722134

Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy.

PubMed

Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

2012-04-01

Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction.

Time crawls when you're not having fun: feeling entitled makes dull tasks drag on.

PubMed

O'Brien, Edward H; Anastasio, Phyllis A; Bushman, Brad J

2011-10-01

All people have to complete dull tasks, but individuals who feel entitled may be more inclined to perceive them as a waste of their "precious" time, resulting in the perception that time drags. This hypothesis was confirmed in three studies. In Study 1, participants with higher trait entitlement (controlling for related variables) thought dull tasks took longer to complete; no link was found for fun tasks. In Study 2, participants exposed to entitled messages thought taking a dull survey was a greater waste of time and took longer to complete. In Study 3, participants subliminally exposed to entitled words thought dull tasks were less interesting, thought they took longer to complete, and walked away faster when leaving the laboratory. Like most resources, time is a resource valued more by entitled individuals. A time-entitlement link provides novel insight into mechanisms underlying self-focus and prosocial dynamics.

Local Use-Dependent Sleep in Wakefulness Links Performance Errors to Learning

PubMed Central

Quercia, Angelica; Zappasodi, Filippo; Committeri, Giorgia; Ferrara, Michele

2018-01-01

Sleep and wakefulness are no longer to be considered as discrete states. During wakefulness brain regions can enter a sleep-like state (off-periods) in response to a prolonged period of activity (local use-dependent sleep). Similarly, during nonREM sleep the slow-wave activity, the hallmark of sleep plasticity, increases locally in brain regions previously involved in a learning task. Recent studies have demonstrated that behavioral performance may be impaired by off-periods in wake in task-related regions. However, the relation between off-periods in wake, related performance errors and learning is still untested in humans. Here, by employing high density electroencephalographic (hd-EEG) recordings, we investigated local use-dependent sleep in wake, asking participants to repeat continuously two intensive spatial navigation tasks. Critically, one task relied on previous map learning (Wayfinding) while the other did not (Control). Behaviorally awake participants, who were not sleep deprived, showed progressive increments of delta activity only during the learning-based spatial navigation task. As shown by source localization, delta activity was mainly localized in the left parietal and bilateral frontal cortices, all regions known to be engaged in spatial navigation tasks. Moreover, during the Wayfinding task, these increments of delta power were specifically associated with errors, whose probability of occurrence was significantly higher compared to the Control task. Unlike the Wayfinding task, during the Control task neither delta activity nor the number of errors increased progressively. Furthermore, during the Wayfinding task, both the number and the amplitude of individual delta waves, as indexes of neuronal silence in wake (off-periods), were significantly higher during errors than hits. Finally, a path analysis linked the use of the spatial navigation circuits undergone to learning plasticity to off periods in wake. In conclusion, local sleep regulation in wakefulness, associated with performance failures, could be functionally linked to learning-related cortical plasticity. PMID:29666574

Neural correlates of task switching in paternal 15q11-q13 deletion Prader-Willi syndrome.

PubMed

Woodcock, Kate A; Humphreys, Glyn W; Oliver, Chris; Hansen, Peter C

2010-12-02

We report a first study of brain activity linked to task switching in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). PWS individuals show a specific cognitive deficit in task switching which may be associated with the display of temper outbursts and repetitive questioning. The performance of participants with PWS and typically developing controls was matched in a cued task switching procedure, and brain activity was contrasted on switching and non-switching blocks using fMRI. Individuals with PWS did not show the typical frontal-parietal pattern of neural activity associated with switching blocks, with significantly reduced activation in regions of the posterior parietal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. We suggest that this is linked to a difficulty in PWS in setting appropriate attentional weights to enable task-set reconfiguration. In addition to this, PWS individuals did not show the typical pattern of deactivation, with significantly less deactivation in an anterior region of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. One plausible explanation for this is that individuals with PWS show dysfunction within the default mode network, which has been linked to attentional control. The data point to functional changes in the neural circuitry supporting task switching in PWS even when behavioural performance is matched to controls and thus highlight neural mechanisms that may be involved in a specific pathway between genes, cognition and behaviour. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Atmospheric Models For Over-Ocean Propagation Loss

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-24

Radiosonde balloons are launched daily at selected loca- tions, and measure temperature, dew point temperature, and air pressure as they ascend. Radiosondes...different times of year and locations. The result was used to estimate high-reliability SHF/EHF air -to-surface radio link performance in a maritime...environment. I. INTRODUCTION Air -to-surface radio links differ from typical satellite com- munications links in that the path elevation angles are lower

High levels of time contraction in young children in dual tasks are related to their limited attention capacities.

PubMed

Hallez, Quentin; Droit-Volet, Sylvie

2017-09-01

Numerous studies have shown that durations are judged shorter in a dual-task condition than in a simple-task condition. The resource-based theory of time perception suggests that this is due to the processing of temporal information, which is a demanding cognitive task that consumes limited attention resources. Our study investigated whether this time contraction in a dual-task condition is greater in younger children and, if so, whether this is specifically related to their limited attention capacities. Children aged 5-7years were given a temporal reproduction task in a simple-task condition and a dual-task condition. In addition, different neuropsychological tests were used to assess not only their attention capacities but also their capacities in terms of working memory and information processing speed. The results showed a shortening of perceived time in the dual task compared with the simple task, and this increased as age decreased. The extent of this shortening effect was directly linked to younger children's limited attentional capacities; the lower their attentional capacities, the greater the time contraction. This study demonstrated that children's errors in time judgments are linked to their cognitive capacities rather than to capacities that are specific to time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Categorisation of Non-Categorical Colours: A Novel Paradigm in Colour Perception

PubMed Central

Cropper, Simon J.; Kvansakul, Jessica G. S.; Little, Daniel R.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate a new paradigm for studying the development of the colour ‘signal’ by having observers discriminate and categorize the same set of controlled and calibrated cardinal coloured stimuli. Notably, in both tasks, each observer was free to decide whether two pairs of colors were the same or belonged to the same category. The use of the same stimulus set for both tasks provides, we argue, an incremental behavioural measure of colour processing from detection through discrimination to categorisation. The measured data spaces are different for the two tasks, and furthermore the categorisation data is unique to each observer. In addition, we develop a model which assumes that the principal difference between the tasks is the degree of similarity between the stimuli which has different constraints for the categorisation task compared to the discrimination task. This approach not only makes sense of the current (and associated) data but links the processes of discrimination and categorisation in a novel way and, by implication, expands upon the previous research linking categorisation to other tasks not limited to colour perception. PMID:23536899

The categorisation of non-categorical colours: a novel paradigm in colour perception.

PubMed

Cropper, Simon J; Kvansakul, Jessica G S; Little, Daniel R

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate a new paradigm for studying the development of the colour 'signal' by having observers discriminate and categorize the same set of controlled and calibrated cardinal coloured stimuli. Notably, in both tasks, each observer was free to decide whether two pairs of colors were the same or belonged to the same category. The use of the same stimulus set for both tasks provides, we argue, an incremental behavioural measure of colour processing from detection through discrimination to categorisation. The measured data spaces are different for the two tasks, and furthermore the categorisation data is unique to each observer. In addition, we develop a model which assumes that the principal difference between the tasks is the degree of similarity between the stimuli which has different constraints for the categorisation task compared to the discrimination task. This approach not only makes sense of the current (and associated) data but links the processes of discrimination and categorisation in a novel way and, by implication, expands upon the previous research linking categorisation to other tasks not limited to colour perception.

Introduction of Sap ERP System Into a Heterogeneous Academic Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mornar, Vedran; Fertalj, Krešimir; Kalpić, Damir

2010-06-01

Introduction of a complex ERP system like SAP into a heterogeneous academic environment like the University of Zagreb is far from being a trivial task. The University comprises more than 30 constituents, called faculties or academies, geographically dispersed, with long and specific traditions. Financing according to the lump sum principle, enforced in Croatia as a side effect of the in Europe obligatory and omnipresent Bologna process, requires a unified view on the educational institutions in order to provide a more just and appropriate financing scheme than the current one. After the experience with own development to support educational tasks and student administration, for standard financial and administration tasks SAP has been chosen as the most appropriate platform. The developer was selected after public bidding and the authors' institution was chosen for the pilot project. The authors were playing principal roles in the process of successful deployment and still expect to offer their expertise for implementation in the rest of the University. However, serious risks stemming from lack of motivation by some constituents are present.

American Association for Emergency Psychiatry Task Force on Medical Clearance of Adults Part I: Introduction, Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines

PubMed Central

Anderson, Eric L.; Nordstrom, Kimberly; Wilson, Michael P.; Peltzer-Jones, Jennifer M.; Zun, Leslie; Ng, Anthony; Allen, Michael H.

2017-01-01

Introduction In the United States, the number of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) for a mental health concern is significant and expected to grow. The breadth of the medical evaluation of these patients is controversial. Attempts have been made to establish a standard evaluation for these patients, but to date no nationally accepted standards exist. A task force of the American Association of Emergency Psychiatry, consisting of physicians from emergency medicine and psychiatry, and a psychologist was convened to form consensus recommendations on the medical evaluation of psychiatric patients presenting to EDs. Methods The task force reviewed existing literature on the topic of medical evaluation of psychiatric patients in the ED (Part I) and then combined this with expert consensus (Part II). Results In Part I, we discuss terminological issues and existing evidence on medical exams and laboratory studies of psychiatric patients in the ED. Conclusion Emergency physicians should work cooperatively with psychiatric receiving facilities to decrease unnecessary testing while increasing the quality of medical screening exams for psychiatric patients who present to EDs. PMID:28210358

Delay of Gratification by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Working and Waiting Situations

PubMed Central

Beran, Michael J.; Evans, Theodore A.

2009-01-01

We tested four chimpanzees in a self-control task in which food rewards accumulated as long as they were not eaten. In one condition, the chimpanzees had to perform a computer task that directly led to the delivery of the food rewards. In another condition, working on the computerized task was not required and any such work was not linked to the delivery of rewards. The third condition offered no computerized task (chimpanzees simply waited for food rewards to be delivered). Three of four chimpanzees showed no effect of the work scenario on delay of gratification. The one chimpanzee that showed an influence of work scenario on self-control was the overall poorest performing animal. This animal delayed gratification the longest, however, when work was required and reward delivery was directly linked to that work. Therefore, although there is little evidence linking delay of gratification to work requirements in chimpanzees, chimpanzees with lower overall self-control might benefit from having some work available if reward accumulation is contingent on performing that work. PMID:19084581

“Off with the Old”: Mindfulness Practice Improves Backward Inhibition

PubMed Central

Greenberg, Jonathan; Reiner, Keren; Meiran, Nachshon

2013-01-01

Mindfulness practice has been linked to reduced depressive rumination and described as involving inhibition of information that has been relevant in the past and is no longer relevant in the present moment. Backward inhibition (BI) is considered to be one of the purest measures of task set inhibition, and impaired BI has been linked to depressive rumination. BI was contrasted with Competitor Rule Suppression (CRS), which is another phenomenon observed in task switching, yet one which involves episodic memory tagging of information that is currently conflicting rather than active inhibition. Although similar at baseline level, a randomly assigned group (n = 38) who underwent an eight session mindfulness training program exhibited improved BI but not CRS compared to a waiting list group (n = 38). Findings indicate that mindfulness improves the specific component of task set inhibition, which has previously been linked to reduced rumination. Implications regarding the potential role of task set inhibition in mediating between mindfulness and reduced rumination, as well as the role of mindfulness in “being in the present moment” are discussed. PMID:23335909

Accelerated Metals Development by Computation

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-02-01

6 Task 2………………………………………………………………………………….21 Task 3………………………………………………………………………………….32 Task 4 ………………………………………………………………………………….59 Task 5...and DISCUSSION 1. Introduction 2. Methods, Assumptions, Procedures 3. Results 4 . Discussion 5. Conclusions 6 . Recommendations 7. References 8...Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 (see list below). Phase two involved the initiation of three additional tasks which evolved into Tasks 5, 6 , and 7. Phase 3

Influences of a yoga intervention on the postural skills of the Italian short track speed skating team

PubMed Central

Brunelle, Jean-François; Blais-Coutu, Sébastien; Gouadec, Kenan; Bédard, Éric; Fait, Philippe

2015-01-01

Introduction In preparation for a short track speed skating season, eight men and seven women were given yoga sessions during an 8-week high volume training cycle. The sessions were planned according to the postural aspects specific to short track speed skating technical requirements. Three specific goals were selected for the intervention: 1) to observe whether the practice of yoga as postural training could improve the efficiency and the athlete’s repertoire along the muscular synergies solicited in the short track speed skating specific technique; 2) to enhance and diversify the motor time-on-task of athletes without changing the prescription of other training stimulus; and 3) to lower the risk of injury during periods with high volumes of training. Methods A total of 36 sessions of yoga were given. Three postural tests were administered before and after the intervention with 14 angles analyzed. Non-parametric Wilcoxon test was used to compare angles’ variations. Results The 36 yoga sessions totalized 986 minutes of motor time-on-task, registering a proportion of 30% of the global motor time-on-task of the training cycle. Improvements were found in eleven of the 14 angles measured when comparing pre- and post-postural tests (P-value from 0.01 to 0.005). During the 8 weeks, excepting traumatic injuries due to short track speed skating accidents, no skaters suffered injuries linked to the high volume of training. Following the intervention, coaches noticed, following their on-ice feedbacks, an adjustment in the efficiency of the skating technique, in particular regarding hip dissociation. Conclusion These results suggest that yoga could be inserted into out-of-season training cycles, even in a high volume training cycle. Planned with the decision training tools, it allows athletes to diversify their motor time-on-task by integrating a new functional range of generic movements with the solicitation of neuromuscular synergies related to the specificity of their sport. PMID:25709511

Introduction of Interfacial Charges to Black Phosphorus for a Family of Planar Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Lihong; Wang, Guocai; Du, Shixuan; Pantelides, Sokrates; Gao, Hong-Jun

As a young member in the family of two dimensional materials, black phosphorus (BP) has attracted great attention since its discovery due to its high hole mobility and a sizable and tunable bandgap, which meets the basic requirements for logic circuits applications. Naturally, for realization of complementary logic operation, the challenge lies in how to control the conduction type in BP FETs, i.e., the dominant carrier types, holes (p-type) or electrons (n-type). However, the absence of reliable substitutional doping techniques makes this task a great challenge. Introducing interfacial charges into 2D materials has been proven to be a successfulway to control conduction. In this work, we, for the first time, demonstrate that capping a thin BP layer with a layer of cross-linked PMMA can modify the conductivity type of the BP by a surface charge transfer process, converting a BP layer dominated by hole conduction in the absence of an external electric field (p-type) to one dominated by electron conduction (n-type). Combining BP films capped by cross-linked PMMA with standard BP, a familyof planar devices can be created, including BP gated diodes and bidirectional recitifiers (rectification ratio >102) and BP logic inverter (gain¡«0.75) which are capable of performing current rectification, switching, and signal inversion operations. The device performance demonstrated here suggests a promising route for developing 2D-based electronics.

Combining statistical inference and decisions in ecology.

PubMed

Williams, Perry J; Hooten, Mevin B

2016-09-01

Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices (i.e., loss), and prior beliefs about a system. SDT links the theoretical development of a large body of statistical methods, including point estimation, hypothesis testing, and confidence interval estimation. The theory and application of SDT have mainly been developed and published in the fields of mathematics, statistics, operations research, and other decision sciences, but have had limited exposure in ecology. Thus, we provide an introduction to SDT for ecologists and describe its utility for linking the conventionally separate tasks of statistical investigation and decision making in a single framework. We describe the basic framework of both Bayesian and frequentist SDT, its traditional use in statistics, and discuss its application to decision problems that occur in ecology. We demonstrate SDT with two types of decisions: Bayesian point estimation and an applied management problem of selecting a prescribed fire rotation for managing a grassland bird species. Central to SDT, and decision theory in general, are loss functions. Thus, we also provide basic guidance and references for constructing loss functions for an SDT problem. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Open Systems Architecture for Command, Control and Communications

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-07-01

CONTENTS SECTION TITLE PAGE I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 II. TERMS OF REFERENCE 7 III. PANEL MEMBERSHIP 9 IV. INTRODUCTION 11 V. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 19 VI...INTRODUCTION 18 19 V. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 20 21 Initial manifestations of computer and communications standards emerged in the early seventies, largely...SYSTEMS INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Application Presentation Session Transport Internet Data Link Physical Application Presentation Session Transport

Trajectories of Change in Youth Anxiety during Cognitive Behavior Therapy

PubMed Central

Peris, Tara S.; Compton, Scott N.; Kendall, Philip C.; Birmaher, Boris; Sherill, Joel; March, John; Gosch, Elizabeth; Ginsburg, Golda; Rynn, Moira; McCracken, James T.; Keeton, Courtney P.; Sakolsky, Dara; Suveg, Cynthia; Aschenbrand, Sasha; Almirall, Daniel; Iyengar, Satish; Walkup, John T.; Albano, Anne Marie; Piacentini, John

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate changes in the trajectory of youth anxiety following the introduction of specific cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) components: relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, and exposure tasks. Methods 488 youths ages 7–17 years (50% female; 74% ≤ 12 years) were randomly assigned to receive either CBT, sertraline (SRT), their combination (COMB), or pill placebo (PBO) as part of their participation in the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS). Youths in the CBT conditions were evaluated weekly by therapists using the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Severity (CGI-S; Guy, 1976) and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS; Schaffer et al., 1983) and every four weeks by blind independent evaluators (IEs) using the Pediatric Anxiety Ratings Scale (PARS; Rupp Study Group, 2002). Youths in SRT and PBO were included as controls. Results Longitudinal discontinuity analyses indicated that the introduction of both cognitive restructuring (e.g., changing self-talk) and exposure tasks significantly accelerated the rate of progress on measures of symptom severity and global functioning moving forward in treatment; the introduction of relaxation training had limited impact. Counter to expectations, no strategy altered the rate of progress in the specific domain of anxiety that it was intended to target (i.e., somatic symptoms, anxious self-talk, avoidance behavior). Conclusions Findings support CBT theory and suggest that cognitive restructuring and exposure tasks each make substantial contributions to improvement in youth anxiety. Implications for future research are discussed. PMID:25486372

Does Successful Attainment of Developmental Tasks Lead to Happiness and Success in Later Developmental Tasks? A Test of Havighurst's (1948) Theses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seiffge-Krenke, Inge; Gelhaar, Tim

2008-01-01

This study tested Havighurst's (1948) contention that successful attainment of age-specific developmental tasks leads to happiness and success in achieving subsequent tasks. A longitudinal study on 146 participants was carried out to investigate the links between developmental progression in adolescence and young adulthood and happiness, which was…

An Agent-Based Simulation for Investigating the Impact of Stereotypes on Task-Oriented Group Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maghami, Mahsa; Sukthankar, Gita

In this paper, we introduce an agent-based simulation for investigating the impact of social factors on the formation and evolution of task-oriented groups. Task-oriented groups are created explicitly to perform a task, and all members derive benefits from task completion. However, even in cases when all group members act in a way that is locally optimal for task completion, social forces that have mild effects on choice of associates can have a measurable impact on task completion performance. In this paper, we show how our simulation can be used to model the impact of stereotypes on group formation. In our simulation, stereotypes are based on observable features, learned from prior experience, and only affect an agent's link formation preferences. Even without assuming stereotypes affect the agents' willingness or ability to complete tasks, the long-term modifications that stereotypes have on the agents' social network impair the agents' ability to form groups with sufficient diversity of skills, as compared to agents who form links randomly. An interesting finding is that this effect holds even in cases where stereotype preference and skill existence are completely uncorrelated.

Attention in aviation. [to aircraft design and pilot performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wickens, Christopher D.

1987-01-01

The relevance of four principles or mechanisms of human attention to the design of aviation systems and the performance of pilots in multitask environments, including workload prediction and measurement, control-display integration, and the use of voice and head-up displays is discussed. The principles are: the mental energy that supplies task performance (resources), the resulting cross-talk between tasks as they are made more similar (confusion), the combination of different task elements (integration), and the way in which one task is processed and another is ignored (selection or tunneling). The introduction of greater levels of complexity into the validation of attentional theories in order to approach the demands of the cockpit or ATC console is proposed.

Introduction: Links between Social Interaction and Executive Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Charlie; Carpendale, Jeremy I. M.

2009-01-01

The term executive function is used increasingly within developmental psychology and is often taken to refer to unfolding brain processes. We trace the origins of research on executive function to show that the link with social interaction has a long history. We suggest that a recent frenzy of research exploring methods for studying individual…

User Interaction with the CNPC Link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hobbs, Alan; Lyall, Elizabeth A.

2014-01-01

As part of NASAs UAS in the NAS project, human factor guidelines are being developed for the ground control station of unmanned aircraft systems. A critical task for the pilot of a UAS is the management and control of the terrestrial radio links used to provide control of the vehicle and relay communications with air traffic control. An analysis of the task of the UAS pilot has been conducted to identify areas where guidelines are required. This analysis has identified a set of information requirements that must be supported by the radio equipment used to provide Control and Non-payload Communication (CNPC). Key requirements include the need for an alert when the link is lost, information on the current quality and latency of the link, and information to enable the future quality of the link to be anticipated as the aircraft changes location. These identified requirements can assist in the development of minimum operational performance standards for CNPC equipment.

Pressure Safety: Advanced Self-Study 30120

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

Glass, George

2016-02-29

Pressure Safety Advance Self-Study (Course 30120) consists of an introduction, five modules, and a quiz. To receive credit in UTrain for completing this course, you must score 80% or better on the 15-question quiz (check UTrain). Directions for initiating the quiz are appended to the end of this training manual. This course contains several links to LANL websites. UTrain might not support active links, so please copy links into the address line in your browser.

On Why Targets Evoke P3 Components in Prediction Tasks: Drawing an Analogy between Prediction and Matching Tasks

PubMed Central

Verleger, Rolf; Cäsar, Stephanie; Siller, Bastian; Śmigasiewicz, Kamila

2017-01-01

P3 is the most conspicuous component in recordings of stimulus-evoked EEG potentials from the human scalp, occurring whenever some task has to be performed with the stimuli. The process underlying P3 has been assumed to be the updating of expectancies. More recently, P3 has been related to decision processing and to activation of established stimulus-response associations (S/R-link hypothesis). However, so far this latter approach has not provided a conception about how to explain the occurrence of P3 with predicted stimuli, although P3 was originally discovered in a prediction task. The present article proposes such a conception. We assume that the internal responses right or wrong both become associatively linked to each predicted target and that one of these two response alternatives gets activated as a function of match or mismatch of the target to the preceding prediction. This seems similar to comparison tasks where responses depend on the matching of the target stimulus with a preceding first stimulus (S1). Based on this idea, this study compared the effects of frequencies of first events (predictions or S1) on target-evoked P3s in prediction and comparison tasks. Indeed, frequencies not only of targets but also of first events had similar effects across tasks on target-evoked P3s. These results support the notion that P3 evoked by predicted stimuli reflects activation of appropriate internal “match” or “mismatch” responses, which is compatible with S/R-link hypothesis. PMID:29066965

The prestimulus default mode network state predicts cognitive task performance levels on a mental rotation task.

PubMed

Kamp, Tabea; Sorger, Bettina; Benjamins, Caroline; Hausfeld, Lars; Goebel, Rainer

2018-06-22

Linking individual task performance to preceding, regional brain activation is an ongoing goal of neuroscientific research. Recently, it could be shown that the activation and connectivity within large-scale brain networks prior to task onset influence performance levels. More specifically, prestimulus default mode network (DMN) effects have been linked to performance levels in sensory near-threshold tasks, as well as cognitive tasks. However, it still remains uncertain how the DMN state preceding cognitive tasks affects performance levels when the period between task trials is long and flexible, allowing participants to engage in different cognitive states. We here investigated whether the prestimulus activation and within-network connectivity of the DMN are predictive of the correctness and speed of task performance levels on a cognitive (match-to-sample) mental rotation task, employing a sparse event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) design. We found that prestimulus activation in the DMN predicted the speed of correct trials, with a higher amplitude preceding correct fast response trials compared to correct slow response trials. Moreover, we found higher connectivity within the DMN before incorrect trials compared to correct trials. These results indicate that pre-existing activation and connectivity states within the DMN influence task performance on cognitive tasks, both effecting the correctness and speed of task execution. The findings support existing theories and empirical work on relating mind-wandering and cognitive task performance to the DMN and expand these by establishing a relationship between the prestimulus DMN state and the speed of cognitive task performance. © 2018 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Drexel at TREC 2014 Federated Web Search Track

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

of its input RS results. 1. INTRODUCTION Federated Web Search is the task of searching multiple search engines simultaneously and combining their...or distributed properly[5]. The goal of RS is then, for a given query, to select only the most promising search engines from all those available. Most...result pages of 149 search engines . 4000 queries are used in building the sample set. As a part of the Vertical Selection task, search engines are

The Effects of Material and Task Variations on a Brief Cognitive Learning Strategies Training Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

EFFECTS OF MATERIAL AND TASK VARIATIONS ON A BRIEF COGNITIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES TRAINING PROGRAM Introduction As scholastic achievement scores continue to...variance of the test scores revealed no significant dif- ferences among the three treatment conditions on any of the tests. Although these results...tentative because of the group performance patterns. On the first (easier) passage, group means indicated nearly perfect scores for all three of the

Chasing the silver bullet: measuring driver fatigue using simple and complex tasks.

PubMed

Baulk, S D; Biggs, S N; Reid, K J; van den Heuvel, C J; Dawson, D

2008-01-01

Driver fatigue remains a significant cause of motor-vehicle accidents worldwide. New technologies are increasingly utilised to improve road safety, but there are no effective on-road measures for fatigue. While simulated driving tasks are sensitive, and simple performance tasks have been used in industrial fatigue management systems (FMS) to quantify risk, little is known about the relationship between such measures. Establishing a simple, on-road measure of fatigue, as a fitness-to-drive tool, is an important issue for road safety and accident prevention, particularly as many fatigue related accidents are preventable. This study aimed to measure fatigue-related performance decrements using a simple task (reaction time - RT) and a complex task (driving simulation), and to determine the potential for a link between such measures, thus improving FMS success. Fifteen volunteer participants (7 m, 8 f) aged 22-56 years (mean 33.6 years), underwent 26 h of supervised wakefulness before an 8h recovery sleep opportunity. Participants were tested using a 30-min interactive driving simulation test, bracketed by a 10-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) at 4, 8, 18 and 24h of wakefulness, and following recovery sleep. Extended wakefulness caused significant decrements in PVT and driving performance. Although these measures are clearly linked, our analyses suggest that driving simulation cannot be replaced by a simple PVT. Further research is needed to closely examine links between performance measures, and to facilitate accurate management of fitness to drive, which requires more complex assessments of performance than RT alone.

Land uses, fire, and invasion: Exotic annual Bromus and human dimensions [Chapter 11

Treesearch

David A. Pyke; Jeanne C. Chambers; Jeffrey L. Beck; Matthew L. Brooks; Brian A. Mealor

2016-01-01

Human land uses are the primary cause of the introduction and spread of exotic annual Bromus species. Initial introductions were likely linked to contaminated seeds used by homesteading farmers in the late 1880s and early 1900s. Transportation routes aided their spread. Unrestricted livestock grazing from the 1800s through the mid-1900s reduced native plant competitors...

Project CHOICE: #111-A. A Career Unit for Grades 3 and 4. Introduction to Fishing. (Agriculture and Ecological Studies Career Cluster).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA.

This teaching unit, Introduction to Fishing, is one in a series of career guides developed by Project CHOICE (Children Have Options in Career Education) to provide the classroom teacher with a source of career-related activities linking third and fourth grade elementary classroom experiences with the world of work. Part of the Agriculture and…

Garter snakes distributions in high elevation aquatic ecosystems: Is there a link with declining amphibian populations and nonnative trout introductions?

Treesearch

K.R. Matthews; R.A. Knapp; K.L. Pope

2002-01-01

ABSTRACT.—The dramatic amphibian population declines reported worldwide likely have important effects on their predators. In the Sierra Nevada, where amphibian declines are well documented and some are closely tied to the introduction of nonnative trout, the mountain garter snake, Thamnophis elegans elegans, preys predominately on amphibians. We surveyed 2103 high-...

Project CHOICE: #67. A Career Unit for Grades 5 and 6. Introduction to Advertising. (Marketing and Distribution Occupations Career Cluster).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA.

This teaching unit, Introduction to Advertising, is one in a series of curriculum guides developed by Project CHOICE (Children Have Options in Career Education) to provide the classroom teacher with a source of career-related activities linking 5th and 6th grade elementary classroom experiences with the world of work. These ten lessons on…

Controller Evaluation of Initial Data Link Air Traffic Control Services, Mini Study 1, Volume 1

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1988-09-01

This report details the results of Mini Study 1. This mini study was conducted : at the Federal Aviation (FAA) Technical Center utilizing the Data Link testbed. : Initial Data Link air traffic control services were under part task simulation : condit...

[Incident reporting systems in anesthesiology--methods and benefits using the example of PaSOS].

PubMed

Rall, Marcus; Reddersen, Silke; Zieger, Jörg; Schädle, Bertram; Hirsch, Patricia; Stricker, Eric; Martin, Jörg; Geldner, Götz; Schleppers, Alexander

2008-09-01

Preventing patient harm is one of the main tasks for the field of anesthesiology from early on. With the introduction of the national German incident reporting system PaSOS, which is hosted by the German anesthesia society, anesthesiology is again leading the field of patient safety. Important elements, success factors and background information for the introduction of successful incident reporting systems in an organization are given. Examples by and from PaSOS are given.

Examining Elementary School Teachers' Enactment of Mathematical Tasks and Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polly, Drew

2016-01-01

Researchers have linked teachers' use of mathematical tasks and questions to students' achievement in mathematics, and also have documented that the types of tasks and questions posed might change throughout the year in grades that include high-stakes tests of student achievement. This qualitative research study explored 3 elementary school…

Imaging Tasks Scheduling for High-Altitude Airship in Emergency Condition Based on Energy-Aware Strategy

PubMed Central

Zhimeng, Li; Chuan, He; Dishan, Qiu; Jin, Liu; Manhao, Ma

2013-01-01

Aiming to the imaging tasks scheduling problem on high-altitude airship in emergency condition, the programming models are constructed by analyzing the main constraints, which take the maximum task benefit and the minimum energy consumption as two optimization objectives. Firstly, the hierarchy architecture is adopted to convert this scheduling problem into three subproblems, that is, the task ranking, value task detecting, and energy conservation optimization. Then, the algorithms are designed for the sub-problems, and the solving results are corresponding to feasible solution, efficient solution, and optimization solution of original problem, respectively. This paper makes detailed introduction to the energy-aware optimization strategy, which can rationally adjust airship's cruising speed based on the distribution of task's deadline, so as to decrease the total energy consumption caused by cruising activities. Finally, the application results and comparison analysis show that the proposed strategy and algorithm are effective and feasible. PMID:23864822

Complex Tasks Force Hand Laterality and Technological Behaviour in Naturalistically Housed Chimpanzees: Inferences in Hominin Evolution

PubMed Central

Mosquera, M.; Geribàs, N.; Bargalló, A.; Llorente, M.; Riba, D.

2012-01-01

Clear hand laterality patterns in humans are widely accepted. However, humans only elicit a significant hand laterality pattern when performing complementary role differentiation (CRD) tasks. Meanwhile, hand laterality in chimpanzees is weaker and controversial. Here we have reevaluated our results on hand laterality in chimpanzees housed in naturalistic environments at Fundació Mona (Spain) and Chimfunshi Wild Orphanage (Zambia). Our results show that the difference between hand laterality in humans and chimpanzees is not as great as once thought. Furthermore, we found a link between hand laterality and task complexity and also an even more interesting connection: CRD tasks elicited not only the hand laterality but also the use of tools. This paper aims to turn attention to the importance of this threefold connection in human evolution: the link between CRD tasks, hand laterality, and tool use, which has important evolutionary implications that may explain the development of complex behaviour in early hominins. PMID:22550466

Complex tasks force hand laterality and technological behaviour in naturalistically housed chimpanzees: inferences in hominin evolution.

PubMed

Mosquera, M; Geribàs, N; Bargalló, A; Llorente, M; Riba, D

2012-01-01

Clear hand laterality patterns in humans are widely accepted. However, humans only elicit a significant hand laterality pattern when performing complementary role differentiation (CRD) tasks. Meanwhile, hand laterality in chimpanzees is weaker and controversial. Here we have reevaluated our results on hand laterality in chimpanzees housed in naturalistic environments at Fundació Mona (Spain) and Chimfunshi Wild Orphanage (Zambia). Our results show that the difference between hand laterality in humans and chimpanzees is not as great as once thought. Furthermore, we found a link between hand laterality and task complexity and also an even more interesting connection: CRD tasks elicited not only the hand laterality but also the use of tools. This paper aims to turn attention to the importance of this threefold connection in human evolution: the link between CRD tasks, hand laterality, and tool use, which has important evolutionary implications that may explain the development of complex behaviour in early hominins.

Linking Early Childhood Education with Indigenous Education Using Gamification: The Case of Maintaining Cultural Value and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ukala, Catherine Chinyere; Agabi, Ogar G.

2017-01-01

Cultural values and identities remain the bench mark for national identity, cohesion, patriotism and harmonious coexistence in any society. The introduction of western education into West Africa created a weak bridge between the indigenous education and the western education which needs to be properly linked using curriculum harmonisation. This…

Stress-induced brain activity, brain atrophy, and clinical disability in multiple sclerosis

PubMed Central

Weygandt, Martin; Meyer-Arndt, Lil; Behrens, Janina Ruth; Wakonig, Katharina; Bellmann-Strobl, Judith; Ritter, Kerstin; Scheel, Michael; Brandt, Alexander U.; Labadie, Christian; Hetzer, Stefan; Gold, Stefan M.; Paul, Friedemann; Haynes, John-Dylan

2016-01-01

Prospective clinical studies support a link between psychological stress and multiple sclerosis (MS) disease severity, and peripheral stress systems are frequently dysregulated in MS patients. However, the exact link between neurobiological stress systems and MS symptoms is unknown. To evaluate the link between neural stress responses and disease parameters, we used an arterial-spin–labeling functional MRI stress paradigm in 36 MS patients and 21 healthy controls. Specifically, we measured brain activity during a mental arithmetic paradigm with performance-adaptive task frequency and performance feedback and related this activity to disease parameters. Across all participants, stress increased heart rate, perceived stress, and neural activity in the visual, cerebellar and insular cortex areas compared with a resting condition. None of these responses was related to cognitive load (task frequency). Consistently, although performance and cognitive load were lower in patients than in controls, stress responses did not differ between groups. Insula activity elevated during stress compared with rest was negatively linked to impairment of pyramidal and cerebral functions in patients. Cerebellar activation was related negatively to gray matter (GM) atrophy (i.e., positively to GM volume) in patients. Interestingly, this link was also observed in overlapping areas in controls. Cognitive load did not contribute to these associations. The results show that our task induced psychological stress independent of cognitive load. Moreover, stress-induced brain activity reflects clinical disability in MS. Finally, the link between stress-induced activity and GM volume in patients and controls in overlapping areas suggests that this link cannot be caused by the disease alone. PMID:27821732

The Link between Preschoolers' Executive Function and Theory of Mind and the Role of Epistemic States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henning, Anne; Spinath, Frank M.; Aschersleben, Gisa

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the specific relation between 3- to 6-year-olds' performance on a task measuring executive function (EF), the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS), and different developmental attainments in their theory of mind (ToM) by employing a battery of scaled ToM tasks that were comparable in task format and task…

Shifting human resources for health in the context of ART provision: qualitative and quantitative findings from the Lablite baseline study.

PubMed

Nkhata, Misheck J; Muzambi, Margaret; Ford, Deborah; Chan, Adrienne K; Abongomera, George; Namata, Harriet; Mambule, Ivan; South, Annabelle; Revill, Paul; Grundy, Caroline; Mabugu, Travor; Chiwaula, Levison; Hakim, James; Kityo, Cissy; Reid, Andrew; Katabira, Elly; Sodhi, Sumeet; Gilks, Charles F; Gibb, Diana M; Seeley, Janet; Cataldo, Fabian

2016-11-16

Lablite is an implementation project supporting and studying decentralized antiretroviral therapy (ART) rollout to rural communities in Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Task shifting is one of the strategies to deal with shortage of health care workers (HCWs) in ART provision. Evaluating Human Resources for Health (HRH) optimization is essential for ensuring access to ART. The Lablite project started with a baseline survey whose aim was to describe and compare national and intercountry delivery of ART services including training, use of laboratories and clinical care. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2011 and August 2012 in a sample of 81 health facilities representing different regions, facility levels and experience of ART provision in Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Using a questionnaire, data were collected on facility characteristics, human resources and service provision. Thirty three (33) focus group discussions were conducted with HCWs in a subset of facilities in Malawi and Zimbabwe. The survey results showed that in Malawi and Uganda, primary care facilities were run by non-physician clinical officers/medical assistants while in Zimbabwe, they were run by nurses/midwives. Across the three countries, turnover of staff was high especially among nurses. Between 10 and 20% of the facilities had at least one clinical officer/medical assistant leave in the 3 months prior to the study. Qualitative results show that HCWs in ART and non-ART facilities perceived a shortage of staff for all services, even prior to the introduction of ART provision. HCWs perceived the introduction of ART as having increased workload. In Malawi, the number of people on ART and hence the workload for HCWs has further increased following the introduction of Option B+ (ART initiation and life-long treatment for HIV positive pregnant and lactating women), resulting in extended working times and concerns that the quality of services have been affected. For some HCWs, perceived low salaries, extended working schedules, lack of training opportunities and inadequate infrastructure for service provision were linked to low job satisfaction and motivation. ART has been decentralized to lower level facilities in the context of an ongoing HRH crisis and staff shortage, which may compromise the provision of high-quality ART services. Task shifting interventions need adequate resources, relevant training opportunities, and innovative strategies to optimize the operationalization of new WHO treatment guidelines which continue to expand the number of people eligible for ART.

Mechanical Transformation of Task Heuristics into Operational Procedures

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-04-14

Introduction A central theme of recent research in artificial intelligence is that *Intelligent task performance requires large amounts of knowledge...PLAY P1 C4] (. (LEADING (QSO)) (OR (CAN-LEAO- HEARrS (gSO)J (mEg (SUIT-OF C3) H])] C-) (FOLLOWING (QSO)) (OR [VOID (OSO) (SUIT-LED)3 [IN-SUIT C3 (SUIT...Production rules as a representation for a knowledge based consultation system. Artificial Intelligence 8:15-45, Spring, 1977. [Davis 77b] R. Davis

Predicting Remembering: Judgments of Prospective Memory After Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

O'Brien, Katy H; Kennedy, Mary R T

2018-06-19

Adults with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often struggle with prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember to complete tasks in the future, such as taking medicines on a schedule. Metamemory judgments (or how well we think we will do at remembering) are linked to strategy use and are critical for managing demands of daily living. The current project used an Internet-based virtual reality tool to assess metamemory judgments of PM following TBI. Eighteen adults with moderate to severe TBI and 20 healthy controls (HCs) played Tying the String, a virtual reality game with PM items embedded across the course of a virtual work week. Participants studied PM items and made two judgments of learning about the likelihood of recognizing the CUE, that is, when the task should be done, and of recalling the TASK, that is, what needed to be done. Participants with TBI adjusted their metamemory expectations downward, but not enough to account for poorer recall performance. Absolute difference scores of metamemory accuracy showed that healthy adults were underconfident across PM components, whereas adults with TBI were markedly overconfident about their ability to recall TASKs. Adults with TBI appear to have a general knowledge that PM tasks will be difficult but are poor monitors of actual levels of success. Because metamemory monitoring is linked to strategy use, future work should examine using this link to direct PM intervention approaches.

A Motivational Model of Physical Education and Links to Enjoyment, Knowledge, Performance, Total Physical Activity and Body Mass Index

PubMed Central

Gråstén, Arto; Watt, Anthony

2017-01-01

The present paper examined the full sequence of the Hierarchical Model of Motivation in physical education (PE) including motivational climate, basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivation, and related links to contextual enjoyment, knowledge, performance, and total moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Gender differences and correlations with body mass index (BMI) were also analyzed. Cross-sectional data was represented by self-reports and objective assessments of 770 middle school students (52% of girls) in North-East Finland. The results showed that task-involving climate in girls’ PE classes was related to enjoyment and knowledge through physical competence and intrinsic motivation, whereas task-involving climate was associated with enjoyment and knowledge via competence and autonomy, and total MVPA via autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and knowledge within boys. This may indicate that girls and boys perceive PE classes in a different way. Graded PE assessments appeared to be essential in motivating both girls and boys to participate in greater total MVPA, whereas BMI was negatively linked with competence and social relatedness only among girls. Although, the current and previous empirical findings supported task-involving teaching methods in PE, in some cases, ego-involving climate should be considered. Therefore, both task- and ego-involving teaching practices can be useful ways of developing preferred behaviors in PE classes. Key points The present findings indicated that girls and boys perceive PE classes in a different way. Graded PE assessments appeared to be essential in motivating both girls and boys to participate in greater total MVPA, whereas BMI was negatively linked with competence and social relatedness only among girls. Although, the current and previous empirical findings supported task-involving teaching methods in PE, in some cases, ego-involving climate should be considered. Both task- and ego-involving teaching practices can be useful ways of developing preferred behaviors in PE classes. PMID:28912648

If this then that: an introduction to automated task services.

PubMed

Hoy, Matthew B

2015-01-01

This article explores automated task services, a type of website that allows users to create rules that are triggered by activity on one website and perform a task on another site. The most well-known automated task service is If This Then That (IFTTT), but recently a large number of these services have sprung up. These services can be used to connect websites, apps, business services, and even devices such as phones and home automation equipment. This allows for millions of possible combinations of rules, triggers, and actions. Librarians can put these services to use in many ways, from automating social media postings to remembering to bring their umbrella when rain is in the forecast. A list of popular automated task services is included, as well as a number of ideas for using these services in libraries.

Self-perception of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: effects on institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents.

PubMed

Lee, D Y; Syrnyk, R

1977-01-01

Self-perception theory predicts that the introduction of extrinsic rewards for behavior that was intrinsically rewarding may decrease rather than enhance overall motivation. This hypothesis was tested on a group of institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents (34 boys, 10 girls). Intrinsic (high and low task interest) and extrinsic (high- and low-incentive objects) motivation were both manipulated as independent variables, and the dependent variable was task persistence during a free-play period. Results indicated that for a high intrinsically interesting task, the task persistence was greater under the external reward of low- rather than high-incentive value conditions. The opposite trend was revealed for the low intrinsically interesting task. The results provided some evidence that the greater the amount of the reward for an interesting activity, the greater the degree to which the intrinsic interest is undermined.

Task Manager: an innovative approach to improving hospital communication after hours.

PubMed

Seddon, Mary E; Hay, David

2010-10-15

To improve communication between doctors and nurses after hours, by developing a tool to display ward tasks, allowing staff to prioritise their work, without constant interruption from pagers (beepers). Middlemore Hospital, a large metropolitan 800-bed hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Introduction of computerised system (Task Manager) to identify, allocate and complete after-hours tasks. In the first 6 months 21,000 tasks have been completed in Task Manager. Paging of junior doctors has decreased by over 30% and there is broad acceptance of the tool by both nursing and medical staff. Task Manager has collected real-time data on the type of after hours tasks (nearly 50% are phlebotomy-related tasks), busy times of the day (1600 hours to 2400 hours) and who is performing most of the tasks. Task Manager is a simple yet powerful tool for prioritising routine tasks after hours. It allows staff to quickly create tasks, and communicate effectively with other members of the team. It has reduced the frequency of junior doctors paging so that they can continue their work with fewer interruptions. Whilst it was introduced to improve effective communication after hours, it has become apparent that there are multiple 'tasks' that are ordered in a multitude of ways in our hospital and many could be served by Task Manager.

Project CHOICE: #16. A Career Education Unit for Junior High School. An Introduction to the Career Center and an Introduction to Career Clusters.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA.

This junior high teaching unit introducing career clusters is one in a series of career guidebooks developed by Project CHOICE (Children Have Options in Career Education) to provide the classroom teacher with a source of career-related activities linking classroom experiences with the world of work. The unit follows a typical format that includes…

Project CHOICE: #50. A Career Education Unit for Fifth and Sixth Grades. Introduction to Clothing Design. (Fine Arts and Humanities Career Cluster).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA.

This teaching unit, Introduction to Clothing Design, is one in a series of curriculum guides developed by Project CHOICE (Children Have Options in Career Education) to provide the classroom teacher with a source of career-related activities linking 5th and 6th grade elementary classroom experiences with the world of work. These ten clothing design…

Neuroimaging explanations of age-related differences in task performance.

PubMed

Steffener, Jason; Barulli, Daniel; Habeck, Christian; Stern, Yaakov

2014-01-01

Advancing age affects both cognitive performance and functional brain activity and interpretation of these effects has led to a variety of conceptual research models without always explicitly linking the two effects. However, to best understand the multifaceted effects of advancing age, age differences in functional brain activity need to be explicitly tied to the cognitive task performance. This work hypothesized that age-related differences in task performance are partially explained by age-related differences in functional brain activity and formally tested these causal relationships. Functional MRI data was from groups of young and old adults engaged in an executive task-switching experiment. Analyses were voxel-wise testing of moderated-mediation and simple mediation statistical path models to determine whether age group, brain activity and their interaction explained task performance in regions demonstrating an effect of age group. Results identified brain regions whose age-related differences in functional brain activity significantly explained age-related differences in task performance. In all identified locations, significant moderated-mediation relationships resulted from increasing brain activity predicting worse (slower) task performance in older but not younger adults. Findings suggest that advancing age links task performance to the level of brain activity. The overall message of this work is that in order to understand the role of functional brain activity on cognitive performance, analysis methods should respect theoretical relationships. Namely, that age affects brain activity and brain activity is related to task performance.

Neuronal activity in primate dorsal anterior cingulate cortex signals task conflict and predicts adjustments in pupil-linked arousal

PubMed Central

Ebitz, R. Becket; Platt, Michael L.

2014-01-01

Summary Whether driving a car, shopping for food, or paying attention in a classroom of boisterous teenagers, it’s often hard to maintain focus on goals in the face of distraction. Brain imaging studies in humans implicate the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in regulating the conflict between goals and distractors. Here we show for the first time that single dACC neurons signal conflict between task goals and distractors in the rhesus macaque, particularly for biologically-relevant social stimuli. For some neurons, task conflict signals predicted subsequent changes in pupil size—a peripheral index of arousal linked to noradrenergic tone—associated with reduced distractor interference. dACC neurons also responded to errors and these signals predicted adjustments in pupil size. These findings provide the first neurophysiological endorsement of the hypothesis that dACC regulates conflict, in part, via modulation of pupil-linked processes such as arousal. PMID:25654259

Parental autonomy support moderates the link between ADHD symptomatology and task perseverance.

PubMed

Thomassin, Kristel; Suveg, Cynthia

2012-12-01

The current study investigated the moderating role of mother and father autonomy support in the link between youth Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms and task perseverance. ADHD symptomatology was assessed using a multi-informant composite of mother, father, and teacher ratings, and youth perseverance and parental support of autonomy were examined using a behavioral observation paradigm (i.e., difficult puzzle task). Results indicated that youth who were rated as exhibiting more symptoms of ADHD persevered less on a difficult puzzle task and that this relationship was moderated by parental level of autonomy support. In the context of high parental autonomy support, the negative relation between ADHD and perseverance became nonsignificant. Findings indicate that supporting youth autonomy may have significant implications for their development and that it would be valuable to aid parents in developing the appropriate skills necessary for them to successfully support their child's autonomy.

Introduction to Personnel Management: Participants' Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Civil Service Commission, Denver, CO. Regional Training Center.

This manual for the introductory Federal personnel management course covers: major personnel laws and sources of information; position classification (standards and task analysis); staffing and placement (competitive appointments, temporary appointments/promotions, recruitment, and noncompetitive actions); merit promotion; qualification standards;…

Divergent Effects of Cognitive Load on Quiet Stance and Task-Linked Postural Coordination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitra, Suvobrata; Knight, Alec; Munn, Alexandra

2013-01-01

Performing a cognitive task while maintaining upright stance can lead to increased or reduced body sway depending on tasks and experimental conditions. Because greater sway is commonly taken to indicate loosened postural control, and vice versa, the precise impact of cognitive load on postural stability has remained unclear. In much of the large…

Million Hearts 2022: Understanding the Links between Environmental Pollutant Exposure and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events - Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force

EPA Science Inventory

The webinar was requested by the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force. From their website, “The task force was established in 1995 in North Carolina to provide statewide leadership for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease. Meetings are...

ACHP | News

Science.gov Websites

Search skip specific nav links Home arrow News arrow June 27, 2012 ACHP Rightsizing Task Force to Meet in Cleveland The ACHP's Rightsizing Task Force will be making a visit to Cleveland, Ohio, June 25-26 for a tour and a listening session and open meeting. The task force will host a public meeting on June 26 at

Algorithm Design of CPCI Backboard's Interrupts Management Based on VxWorks' Multi-Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Jingyuan; An, Qi; Yang, Junfeng

2006-09-01

This paper begins with a brief introduction of the embedded real-time operating system VxWorks and CompactPCI standard, then gives the programming interfaces of Peripheral Controller Interface (PCI) configuring, interrupts handling and multi-tasks programming interface under VxWorks, and then emphasis is placed on the software frameworks of CPCI interrupt management based on multi-tasks. This method is sound in design and easy to adapt, ensures that all possible interrupts are handled in time, which makes it suitable for data acquisition systems with multi-channels, a high data rate, and hard real-time high energy physics.

Functional Utilization of DABS Data Link Discrete Address Beacon System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-10-01

The report describes the output of a Task Force established by FAA Headquarters, SRDS, Robert Wedan, in June 1977 to study and recommend potential applications for Data Link to the DABS Experimentation Program

Using E-Z Reader to Simulate Eye Movements in Nonreading Tasks: A Unified Framework for Understanding the Eye-Mind Link

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reichle, Erik D.; Pollatsek, Alexander; Rayner, Keith

2012-01-01

Nonreading tasks that share some (but not all) of the task demands of reading have often been used to make inferences about how cognition influences when the eyes move during reading. In this article, we use variants of the E-Z Reader model of eye-movement control in reading to simulate eye-movement behavior in several of these tasks, including…

Activity Systems, Information Sharing and the Development of Organizational Knowledge in Two Finnish Firms: An Exploratory Study Using Activity Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Widén-Wulff, Gunilla; Davenport, Elisabeth

2007-01-01

Introduction: In this paper, we discuss the link between information sharing and organizational knowledge production in two very different organizations; a company that handles insurance claims and a small, entrepreneurial hi-tech company. We suggest that this link has not been adequately addressed by studies of information behaviour, though a…

Education and Work. Proceedings of the International Conference Linking Research and Practice (Toronto, Ontario, March 4-6, 1993). Volumes 1-2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corson, David, Ed.; Lawton, Stephen B., Ed.

These two volumes comprise the proceedings of a conference on links between education and work and the power relationships in the wider culture and in its social order. Each volume begins with a "Foreword" (Ronald C. Morrison), "Preface" (Arthur Kruger), "Introduction" (David Corson), and author notes. Volume I…

Linked open drug data for pharmaceutical research and development

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

There is an abundance of information about drugs available on the Web. Data sources range from medicinal chemistry results, over the impact of drugs on gene expression, to the outcomes of drugs in clinical trials. These data are typically not connected together, which reduces the ease with which insights can be gained. Linking Open Drug Data (LODD) is a task force within the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Health Care and Life Sciences Interest Group (HCLS IG). LODD has surveyed publicly available data about drugs, created Linked Data representations of the data sets, and identified interesting scientific and business questions that can be answered once the data sets are connected. The task force provides recommendations for the best practices of exposing data in a Linked Data representation. In this paper, we present past and ongoing work of LODD and discuss the growing importance of Linked Data as a foundation for pharmaceutical R&D data sharing. PMID:21575203

Virtual Reality in Engineering Education: A CIM Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erenay, Ozan; Hashemipour, Majid

2003-01-01

Instructors in technical schools, polytechnics, and universities of technology must continually help students find the links between theory and practice. Students often don't recognize the links among the various subjects they study, or the links among the various tasks they perform as they study. It is well known that students learn best by…

The Development of a Programming Support System for Rapid Prototyping. Tasks 2 and 3.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

of the problems that played a role in the larger system. The principal work in Task 2 was the design of a new method for code-generation...develop- Ing a prototype of the interpreter. Due to the limitation of funds, only a design , not a prototype of the bi-directional l 2 scanner was...Introduction LiTmitUn uupii The Problem of designing a code generator for an interpreter-based languae Jas provided a chance to reoexamine fth

Investigation of 14.5mm API Self-Sealing/Crashworthy Fuel Tank Material

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-09-01

describes the results of a f-rogram for a crashworthy, 14.5mm API tolerant fuel cell construction developed and subjected co qualification testing. The...Paragraphs 4.6.6.4 and 4.6.6.5), which were not required by contract. Two fuel tanks were built of a construction designated by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber...TABLES 3 INTRODUCTION 4 FUEL TANK MATERIAL DESIGN STUDY (TASK I) 4 QUALIFIC/.TION OF CONSTRUCTION (TASK 11) ........ 5 FUEL TANK GUNFIRE 12

Using cognitive task analysis to inform issues in human systems integration in railroad operations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-23

U.S. Railroad operations are undergoing rapid changes involving the introduction of new technologies such as positive train control (PTC), energy management systems (EMS), and electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes in the locomotive cab. To...

Dissociating retrieval success from incidental encoding activity during emotional memory retrieval, in the medial temporal lobe

PubMed Central

Shafer, Andrea T.; Dolcos, Florin

2014-01-01

The memory-enhancing effect of emotion has been linked to the engagement of emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions (amygdala-AMY; hippocampus-HC; parahippocampus-PHC), during both encoding and retrieval. However, recognition tasks used to investigate the neural correlates of retrieval make it difficult to distinguish MTL engagement linked to retrieval success (RS) from that linked to incidental encoding success (ES) during retrieval. This issue has been investigated for retrieval of non-emotional memories, but not for emotional memory retrieval. To address this, we used event-related functional MRI in conjunction with an emotional distraction and two episodic memory tasks (one testing memory for distracter items and the other testing memory for new/lure items presented in the first memory task). This paradigm allowed for dissociation of MTL activity specifically linked to RS from that linked to both RS and incidental ES during retrieval. There were two novel findings regarding the neural correlates of emotional memory retrieval. First, greater emotional RS was identified bilaterally in AMY, HC, and PHC. However, AMY activity was most impacted when accounting for ES activity, as only RS activity in left AMY was dissociated from ES activity during retrieval, whereas portions of HC and PHC showing greater emotional RS were largely uninvolved in ES. Second, an earlier and more anteriorly spread response (left AMY and bilateral HC, PHC) was linked to greater emotional RS activity, whereas a later and more posteriorly localized response (right posterior PHC) was linked to greater neutral RS activity. These findings shed light on MTL mechanisms subserving the memory-enhancing effect of emotion at retrieval. PMID:24917798

Flight Deck Data Link Displays: An Evaluation of Textual and Graphical Implementations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGann, Alison; Lozito, Sandy; Corker, Kevin; Ashford, Rose (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In Experiment 1, 16 pilots participated in a part-task simulation study that evaluated pilot data link communication for short and long message types and for two textual formats. No differences were found between the two textual formats when evaluating data link transaction times and pilot performance on a secondary task. Pilots initiated flight changes more quickly with the T-Scan format, where location of clearance information roughly corresponded to the cockpit instrument layout. Longer messages were less problematic than two short messages sent in close succession as pilots required more verbal clarification for closely spaced messages. 24 pilots participated in a second experiment that evaluated pilot communication performance for textual data link, two implementations of graphical data link, and a combined graphical and textual information modality. The two modalities incorporating text resulted in significantly faster transaction times and better performance on the secondary task than the two graphical-only implementations. The interval between messages was also more systematically varied in Experiment 2, and a short interval between messages significantly increased the access time for the second message. This delay in access was long enough to increase significantly the total transaction time of the second message, and this effect was exaggerated for the graphical-only implementations. Time to view the message before acknowledgement and time to initiate flight changes were not affected by the interval manipulation, This suggests that pilots adopt a sequential message handling strategy, and presenting messages closely in succession may present operational problems in a data link Air Traffic Control (ATC) environment. The results of this study also indicate that the perceived importance of message content is currently a crucial element in pilot data link communication.

Age-related decline in task switching is linked to both global and tract-specific changes in white matter microstructure.

PubMed

Jolly, Todd A D; Cooper, Patrick S; Rennie, Jaime L; Levi, Christopher R; Lenroot, Rhoshel; Parsons, Mark W; Michie, Patricia T; Karayanidis, Frini

2017-03-01

Task-switching performance relies on a broadly distributed frontoparietal network and declines in older adults. In this study, they investigated whether this age-related decline in task switching performance was mediated by variability in global or regional white matter microstructural health. Seventy cognitively intact adults (43-87 years) completed a cued-trials task switching paradigm. Microstructural white matter measures were derived using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses on the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequence. Task switching performance decreased with increasing age and radial diffusivity (RaD), a measure of white matter microstructure that is sensitive to myelin structure. RaD mediated the relationship between age and task switching performance. However, the relationship between RaD and task switching performance remained significant when controlling for age and was stronger in the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. Variability in error and RT mixing cost were associated with RaD in global white matter and in frontoparietal white matter tracts, respectively. These findings suggest that age-related increase in mixing cost may result from both global and tract-specific disruption of cerebral white matter linked to the increased incidence of cardiovascular risks in older adults. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1588-1603, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Deductive and inductive reasoning in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Pélissier, Marie-Claude; O'Connor, Kieron P

2002-03-01

This study tested the hypothesis that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) show an inductive reasoning style distinct from people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and from participants in a non-anxious (NA) control group. The experimental procedure consisted of administering a range of six deductive and inductive tasks and a probabilistic task in order to compare reasoning processes between groups. Recruitment was in the Montreal area within a French-speaking population. The participants were 12 people with OCD, 12 NA controls and 10 people with GAD. Participants completed a series of written and oral reasoning tasks including the Wason Selection Task, a Bayesian probability task and other inductive tasks, designed by the authors. There were no differences between groups in deductive reasoning. On an inductive "bridging task", the participants with OCD always took longer than the NA control and GAD groups to infer a link between two statements and to elaborate on this possible link. The OCD group alone showed a significant decrease in their degree of conviction about an arbitrary statement after inductively generating reasons to support this statement. Differences in probabilistic reasoning replicated those of previous authors. The results pinpoint the importance of examining inference processes in people with OCD in order to further refine the clinical applications of behavioural-cognitive therapy for this disorder.

Probing links between action perception and action production in Parkinson's disease using Fitts' law.

PubMed

Sakurada, Takeshi; Knoblich, Guenther; Sebanz, Natalie; Muramatsu, Shin-Ichi; Hirai, Masahiro

2018-03-01

Information on how the subcortical brain encodes information required to execute actions or to evaluate others' actions remains scanty. To clarify this link, Fitts'-law tasks for perception and execution were tested in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). For the perception task, participants were shown apparent motion displays of a person moving their arm between two identical targets and reported whether they judged that the person could realistically move at the perceived speed without missing the targets. For the motor task, participants were required to touch the two targets as quickly and accurately as possible, similarly to the person observed in the perception task. In both tasks, the PD group exhibited, or imputed to others, significantly slower performances than those of the control group. However, in both groups, the relationships of perception and execution with task difficulty were exactly those predicted by Fitts' law. This suggests that despite dysfunction of the subcortical region, motor simulation abilities reflected mechanisms of compensation in the PD group. Moreover, we found that patients with PD had difficulty in switching their strategy for estimating others' actions when asked to do so. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental influences on students' self-concept, task value beliefs, and achievement in science.

PubMed

Senler, Burcu; Sungur, Semra

2009-05-01

The aim of this study was twofold: firstly, to investigate the grade level (elementary and middle school) and gender effect on students' motivation in science (perceived academic science self-concept and task value) and perceived family involvement, and secondly to examine the relationship among family environment variables (fathers' educational level, mothers' educational level, and perceived family involvement), motivation, gender and science achievement in elementary and middle schools. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) showed that elementary school students have more positive science self-concept and task value beliefs compared to middle school students. Moreover, elementary school students appeared to perceive more family involvement in their schooling. Path analyses also suggested that family involvement was directly linked to elementary school students' task value and achievement. Also, in elementary school level, significant relationships were found among father educational level, science self-concept, task value and science achievement. On the other hand, in middle school level, family involvement, father educational level, and mother educational level were positively related to students' task value which is directly linked to students' science achievement. Moreover, mother educational level contributed to science achievement through its effect on self-concept.

Exploring physical exposures and identifying high-risk work tasks within the floor layer trade

PubMed Central

McGaha, Jamie; Miller, Kim; Descatha, Alexis; Welch, Laurie; Buchholz, Bryan; Evanoff, Bradley; Dale, Ann Marie

2014-01-01

Introduction Floor layers have high rates of musculoskeletal disorders yet few studies have examined their work exposures. This study used observational methods to describe physical exposures within floor laying tasks. Methods We analyzed 45 videos from 32 floor layers using Multimedia-Video Task Analysis software to determine the time in task, forces, postures, and repetitive hand movements for installation of four common flooring materials. We used the WISHA checklists to define exposure thresholds. Results Most workers (91%) met the caution threshold for one or more exposures. Workers showed high exposures in multiple body parts with variability in exposures across tasks and for different materials. Prolonged exposures were seen for kneeling, poor neck and low back postures, and intermittent but frequent hand grip forces. Conclusions Floor layers experience prolonged awkward postures and high force physical exposures in multiple body parts, which probably contribute to their high rates of musculoskeletal disorders. PMID:24274895

Revised American Thyroid Association Guidelines for the Management of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Asa, Sylvia L.; Dralle, Henning; Elisei, Rossella; Evans, Douglas B.; Gagel, Robert F.; Lee, Nancy; Machens, Andreas; Moley, Jeffrey F.; Pacini, Furio; Raue, Friedhelm; Frank-Raue, Karin; Robinson, Bruce; Rosenthal, M. Sara; Santoro, Massimo; Schlumberger, Martin; Shah, Manisha; Waguespack, Steven G.

2015-01-01

Introduction: The American Thyroid Association appointed a Task Force of experts to revise the original Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Management Guidelines of the American Thyroid Association. Methods: The Task Force identified relevant articles using a systematic PubMed search, supplemented with additional published materials, and then created evidence-based recommendations, which were set in categories using criteria adapted from the United States Preventive Services Task Force Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The original guidelines provided abundant source material and an excellent organizational structure that served as the basis for the current revised document. Results: The revised guidelines are focused primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and hereditary MTC. Conclusions: The Task Force developed 67 evidence-based recommendations to assist clinicians in the care of patients with MTC. The Task Force considers the recommendations to represent current, rational, and optimal medical practice. PMID:25810047

NASA's Big Data Task Force

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, C. P.; Kinter, J. L.; Beebe, R. F.; Feigelson, E.; Hurlburt, N. E.; Mentzel, C.; Smith, G.; Tino, C.; Walker, R. J.

2017-12-01

Two years ago NASA established the Ad Hoc Big Data Task Force (BDTF - https://science.nasa.gov/science-committee/subcommittees/big-data-task-force), an advisory working group with the NASA Advisory Council system. The scope of the Task Force included all NASA Big Data programs, projects, missions, and activities. The Task Force focused on such topics as exploring the existing and planned evolution of NASA's science data cyber-infrastructure that supports broad access to data repositories for NASA Science Mission Directorate missions; best practices within NASA, other Federal agencies, private industry and research institutions; and Federal initiatives related to big data and data access. The BDTF has completed its two-year term and produced several recommendations plus four white papers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This presentation will discuss the activities and results of the TF including summaries of key points from its focused study topics. The paper serves as an introduction to the papers following in this ESSI session.

Linking Theoretical Decision-making Mechanisms in the Simon Task with Electrophysiological Data: A Model-based Neuroscience Study in Humans.

PubMed

Servant, Mathieu; White, Corey; Montagnini, Anna; Burle, Borís

2016-10-01

A current challenge for decision-making research is in extending models of simple decisions to more complex and ecological choice situations. Conflict tasks (e.g., Simon, Stroop, Eriksen flanker) have been the focus of much interest, because they provide a decision-making context representative of everyday life experiences. Modeling efforts have led to an elaborated drift diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC), which implements a superimposition of automatic and controlled decision activations. The DMC has proven to capture the diversity of behavioral conflict effects across various task contexts. This study combined DMC predictions with EEG and EMG measurements to test a set of linking propositions that specify the relationship between theoretical decision-making mechanisms involved in the Simon task and brain activity. Our results are consistent with a representation of the superimposed decision variable in the primary motor cortices. The decision variable was also observed in the EMG activity of response agonist muscles. These findings provide new insight into the neurophysiology of human decision-making. In return, they provide support for the DMC model framework.

Orientations for the successful categorization of facial expressions and their link with facial features.

PubMed

Duncan, Justin; Gosselin, Frédéric; Cobarro, Charlène; Dugas, Gabrielle; Blais, Caroline; Fiset, Daniel

2017-12-01

Horizontal information was recently suggested to be crucial for face identification. In the present paper, we expand on this finding and investigate the role of orientations for all the basic facial expressions and neutrality. To this end, we developed orientation bubbles to quantify utilization of the orientation spectrum by the visual system in a facial expression categorization task. We first validated the procedure in Experiment 1 with a simple plaid-detection task. In Experiment 2, we used orientation bubbles to reveal the diagnostic-i.e., task relevant-orientations for the basic facial expressions and neutrality. Overall, we found that horizontal information was highly diagnostic for expressions-surprise excepted. We also found that utilization of horizontal information strongly predicted performance level in this task. Despite the recent surge of research on horizontals, the link with local features remains unexplored. We were thus also interested in investigating this link. In Experiment 3, location bubbles were used to reveal the diagnostic features for the basic facial expressions. Crucially, Experiments 2 and 3 were run in parallel on the same participants, in an interleaved fashion. This way, we were able to correlate individual orientation and local diagnostic profiles. Our results indicate that individual differences in horizontal tuning are best predicted by utilization of the eyes.

BDNF polymorphism predicts the rate of decline in skilled task performance and hippocampal volume in healthy individuals

PubMed Central

Sanchez, M Millan; Das, D; Taylor, J L; Noda, A; Yesavage, J A; Salehi, A

2011-01-01

Numerous studies have indicated a link between the presence of polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cognitive and affective disorders. However, only a few have studied these effects longitudinally along with structural changes in the brain. This study was carried out to investigate whether valine-to-methionine substitution at position 66 (val66met) of pro-BDNF could be linked to alterations in the rate of decline in skilled task performance and structural changes in hippocampal volume. Participants consisted of 144 healthy Caucasian pilots (aged 40–69 years) who completed a minimum of 3 consecutive annual visits. Standardized flight simulator score (SFSS) was measured as a reliable and quantifiable indicator for skilled task performance. In addition, a subset of these individuals was assessed for hippocampal volume alterations using magnetic resonance imaging. We found that val66met substitution in BDNF correlated longitudinally with the rate of decline in SFSS. Structurally, age-dependent hippocampal volume changes were also significantly altered by this substitution. Our study suggests that val66met polymorphism in BDNF can be linked to the rate of decline in skilled task performance. Furthermore, this polymorphism could be used as a predictor of the effects of age on the structure of the hippocampus in healthy individuals. Such results have implications for understanding possible disabilities in older adults performing skilled tasks who are at a higher risk for cognitive and affective disorders. PMID:22833197

Introduction to Listening: A Training Unit for Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schieber, Lisa M.

2009-01-01

The following instructional unit contains all the elements needed to complete a two hour training unit on Listening. Included in the unit are: training objectives, task analysis, needs analysis assessment, training plan, participant guide, and Power Point Presentation slides. A bibliography is included.

Acquiring Combat Capability through Innovative Uses of Public-Private Partnerships

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

needed for a vital fiber -optic link near the Arctic Circle. Then, we will explore the history of the Energy Saving Performance Contracts (ESPCs...research examines Hannon Armstrong’s “fee for service contract” solution to funding the vital fiber -optic link near the Arctic Circle. The second...5 A. INNOVATIVE USE OF FEE FOR SERVICE CONTRACT .....................5 1. Introduction to the Arctic Circle Fiber

An Event-Level Conceptual Model of College Student Drinking: The Role of Protective Behavioral Strategies, Alcohol Expectancies, and Drinking Motives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Danielle R.

2017-01-01

Introduction: The excessive consumption of alcohol by college students is a major public health problem in the U.S. Heavy alcohol use has been linked to numerous consequences ranging from less serious effects (i.e.., hangovers) to death. Decades of research have linked certain beliefs, attitudes or motivations to drinking behavior but intensive…

Atmospheric Models for Over-Ocean Propagation Loss

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-15

Atmospheric Models For Over-Ocean Propagation Loss Bruce McGuffin1 MIT Lincoln Laboratory Introduction Air -to-surface radio links differ from...from radiosonde profiles collected along the Atlantic coast of the United States, in order to accurately estimate high-reliability SHF/EHF air -to...predict required link performance to achieve high reliability at different locations and times of year. Data Acquisition Radiosonde balloons are

Event-Based Prospective Memory Is Resistant but Not Immune to Proactive Interference.

PubMed

Oates, Joyce M; Peynircioglu, Zehra F

2016-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that proactive interference (PI) does not hurt event-based prospective memory (ProM) the way it does retrospective memory (RetroM) (Oates, Peynircioglu, & Bates, 2015). We investigated this apparent resistance further. Introduction of a distractor task to ensure we were testing ProM rather than vigilance in Experiment 1 and tripling the number of lists to provide more opportunity for PI buildup in Experiment 2 still did not produce performance decrements. However, when the ProM task was combined with a RetroM task in Experiment 3, a comparable buildup and release was observed also in the ProM task. It appears that event based ProM is indeed somewhat resistant to PI, but this resistance can break down when the ProM task comprises the same stimuli as in an embedded RetroM task. We discuss the results using the ideas of cue overload and distinctiveness as well as shared attentional and working memory resources.

An empirically derived figure of merit for the quality of overall task performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemay, Moira

1989-01-01

The need to develop an operationally relevant figure of merit for the quality of performance of a complex system such as an aircraft cockpit stems from a hypothesized dissociation between measures of performance and those of workload. Performance can be measured in terms of time, errors, or a combination of these. In most tasks performed by expert operators, errors are relatively rare and often corrected in time to avoid consequences. Moreover, perfect performance is seldom necessary to accomplish a particular task. Moreover, how well an expert performs a complex task consisting of a series of discrete cognitive tasks superimposed on a continuous task, such as flying an aircraft, does not depend on how well each discrete task is performed, but on their smooth sequencing. This makes the amount of time spent on each subtask of paramount importance in measuring overall performance, since smooth sequencing requires a minimum amount of time spent on each task. Quality consists in getting tasks done within a crucial time interval while maintaining acceptable continuous task performance. Thus, a figure of merit for overall quality of performance should be primarily a measure of time to perform discrete subtasks combined with a measure of basic vehicle control. Thus, the proposed figure of merit requires doing a task analysis on a series of performance, or runs, of a particular task, listing each discrete task and its associated time, and calculating the mean and standard deviation of these times, along with the mean and standard deviation of tracking error for the whole task. A set of simulator data on 30 runs of a landing task was obtained and a figure of merit will be calculated for each run. The figure of merit will be compared for voice and data link, so that the impact of this technology on total crew performance (not just communication performance) can be assessed. The effect of data link communication on other cockpit tasks will also be considered.

Introduction of symbiotic human-robot-cooperation in the steel sector: an example of social innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colla, Valentina; Schroeder, Antonius; Buzzelli, Andrea; Abbà, Dario; Faes, Andrea; Romaniello, Lea

2018-05-01

The introduction of new technologies, which can support and empower human capabilities in a number of professional tasks while possibly reducing the need for cumbersome operations and the exposure to risk and professional diseases, is nowadays perceived as a must in any industrial field, process industry included. However, despite their relevant potentials, new technologies are not always easy to introduce in the professional environment. A design procedure which takes into account the workers' acceptance, needing and capabilities as well as a continuing education and training process of the personnel who must exploit the innovation, is as fundamental as the technical reliability for the successful introduction of any new technology in a professional environment. An exemplary case is provided by symbiotic human-robot-cooperation. In the steel sector, the difficulties for the implementation of symbiotic human-robot-cooperation is bigger with respect to the manufacturing sector, due to the environmental conditions, which in some cases are not favorable to robots. On the other hand, the opportunities and potential advantages are also greater, as robots could replace human operators in repetitive, heavy tasks, by improving workers' health and safety. The present paper provides an example of the potential and opportunities of human-robot interaction and discusses how this approach can be included in a social innovation paradigm. Moreover, an example will be provided of an ongoing project funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, "ROBOHARSH", which aims at implementing such approach in the steel industry, in order to develop a very sensitive task, i.e. the replacement of the refractory components of the ladle sliding gate.

Learning, specialization, efficiency and task allocation in social insects

PubMed Central

Muller, Helene

2009-01-01

One of the most spectacular features of social insect colonies is their division of labor. Although individuals are often totipotent in terms of the labor they might perform, they might persistently work as scouts, fighters, nurses, foragers, undertakers or cleaners with a repetitiveness that might resemble an assembly line worker in a factory. Perhaps because of this apparent analogy, researchers have often assumed a priori that such labor division must be efficient, but empirical proof is scarce. New work on Themnothorax ants shows that there might be no link between an individual's propensity to perform a task, and their efficiency at that task, nor are task specialists more efficient than generalists. Here we argue that learning psychology might provide the missing link between social insect task specialization and efficiency: just like in human societies, efficiency at a job specialty is only partially a result of “talent”, or innate tendency to engage in a job: it is much more a result of perfecting skills with experience, and the extent to which experience can be carried over from one task to the next (transfer), or whether experience at one task might actually impair performance at another (interference). Indeed there is extensive circumstantial evidence that learning is involved in almost any task performed by social insect workers, including food type recognition and handling techniques, but also such seemingly basic tasks as nest building and climate control. New findings on Cerapachys ants indicate that early experience of success at a task might to some extent determine the “profession” an insect worker chooses in later life. PMID:19513269

How Does Consecutive Interpreting Training Influence Working Memory: A Longitudinal Study of Potential Links Between the Two

PubMed Central

Dong, Yanping; Liu, Yuhua; Cai, Rendong

2018-01-01

With an intention to contribute to the issue of how language experience may influence working memory (WM), we focused on consecutive interpreting (CI), analyzed its potential links with WM functions and tested these links in a longitudinal experiment, trying to answer the specific question of how CI training may influence WM. Two comparable groups of Chinese learners of English received either CI or general second language (L2) training for one semester, and were tested before and after the training with the tasks of n-back (non-verbal updating), L2 listening span, and letter running span (verbal spans). CI performance was tested in the posttest. The results showed that (1) updating efficiency in both the pretest and posttest predicted CI performance, and CI training enhanced updating efficiency while general L2 training did not; (2) the relationship between verbal spans and CI performance was weaker (i.e., only pretest L2 listening span correlated with CI performance and predicted CI performance with marginal significance), and CI training did not make a unique contribution to these spans (i.e., no group differences). The results indicated an “interpreter advantage” in updating, which was probably due to that updating was more central in the CI task than WM spans. Theoretically, we believe that updating and CI are closely related because they share the same underlying mechanism, or more specifically updating and the recalling process in the CI task share the same attentional control process, a unique link between updating and the CI task. Methodological implications are discussed. PMID:29922199

Toward a Framework for Linking Linguistic Knowledge and Writing Expertise: Interplay between SFL-Based Genre Pedagogy and Task-Based Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasuda, Sachiko

2017-01-01

This article attempts to apply some systemic functional linguistic (SFL) concepts to task-based language teaching (TBLT) as a means of enriching the fields of learning, teaching, and evaluating writing in an additional language. The purposes are twofold. First, this article presents a concrete example concerning SFL-initiated genre-based tasks,…

Joint Terminal Attack Controllers Sensors and Lasers Modernization

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

and Evaluation Activity MCSC Marine Corps Systems Command MCT Marine Corps Task MCTL Marine Corps Task List MEMS MicroElectroMechanical Systems...functional relationship of the key performance requirements was associated to Marine Corps Tasks ( MCT ), Critical Operational Issues (COIs...to an accomplishment of mission objectives and achievement of desired results [5]. All COIs are linked to a MCT , which are provided within the

Childhood Obesity Task Forces Established by State Legislatures, 2001-2010

PubMed Central

Kim, Sonia A.; Sherry, Bettylou; Blanck, Heidi M.

2013-01-01

Introduction States and communities are considering policy and environmental strategies, including enacting legislation, to reduce and prevent childhood obesity. One legislative approach has been to create task forces to understand key issues and develop a course of action. The goal of this study was to describe state-level, childhood obesity task forces in the United States created by legislation from 2001 through 2010. Methods We used the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity database to identify state-level childhood obesity task forces created through legislation from 2001 through 2010. Results We identified 21 states that had enacted legislation creating childhood obesity task forces of which 6 had created more than one task force. Most task forces were charged with both gathering and reviewing information and making recommendations for obesity-prevention actions in the state. Most legislation required that task forces include representation from the state legislature, state agencies, community organizations, and community members. Conclusion Evaluation of the effectiveness of obesity-prevention task forces and the primary components that contribute to their success may help to determine the advantages of the use of such strategies in obesity prevention. PMID:23987250

Disrupted Intrinsic Networks Link Amyloid-β Pathology and Impaired Cognition in Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Koch, Kathrin; Myers, Nicholas E; Göttler, Jens; Pasquini, Lorenzo; Grimmer, Timo; Förster, Stefan; Manoliu, Andrei; Neitzel, Julia; Kurz, Alexander; Förstl, Hans; Riedl, Valentin; Wohlschläger, Afra M; Drzezga, Alexander; Sorg, Christian

2015-12-01

Amyloid-β pathology (Aβ) and impaired cognition characterize Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, neural mechanisms that link Aβ-pathology with impaired cognition are incompletely understood. Large-scale intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) are potential candidates for this link: Aβ-pathology affects specific networks in early AD, these networks show disrupted connectivity, and they process specific cognitive functions impaired in AD, like memory or attention. We hypothesized that, in AD, regional changes of ICNs, which persist across rest- and cognitive task-states, might link Aβ-pathology with impaired cognition via impaired intrinsic connectivity. Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-positron emission tomography reflecting in vivo Aβ-pathology, resting-state fMRI, task-fMRI, and cognitive testing were used in patients with prodromal AD and healthy controls. In patients, default mode network's (DMN) functional connectivity (FC) was reduced in the medial parietal cortex during rest relative to healthy controls, relatively increased in the same region during an attention-demanding task, and associated with patients' cognitive impairment. Local PiB-uptake correlated negatively with DMN connectivity. Importantly, corresponding results were found for the right lateral parietal region of an attentional network. Finally, structural equation modeling confirmed a direct influence of DMN resting-state FC on the association between Aβ-pathology and cognitive impairment. Data provide evidence that disrupted intrinsic network connectivity links Aβ-pathology with cognitive impairment in early AD. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Indirect decentralized repetitive control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Soo Cheol; Longman, Richard W.

1993-01-01

Learning control refers to controllers that learn to improve their performance at executing a given task, based on experience performing this specific task. In a previous work, the authors presented a theory of indirect decentralized learning control based on use of indirect adaptive control concepts employing simultaneous identification and control. This paper extends these results to apply to the indirect repetitive control problem in which a periodic (i.e., repetitive) command is given to a control system. Decentralized indirect repetitive control algorithms are presented that have guaranteed convergence to zero tracking error under very general conditions. The original motivation of the repetitive control and learning control fields was learning in robots doing repetitive tasks such as on an assembly line. This paper starts with decentralized discrete time systems, and progresses to the robot application, modeling the robot as a time varying linear system in the neighborhood of the desired trajectory. Decentralized repetitive control is natural for this application because the feedback control for link rotations is normally implemented in a decentralized manner, treating each link as if it is independent of the other links.

Cross-modal working memory binding and word recognition skills: how specific is the link?

PubMed

Wang, Shinmin; Allen, Richard J

2018-04-01

Recent research has suggested that the creation of temporary bound representations of information from different sources within working memory uniquely relates to word recognition abilities in school-age children. However, it is unclear to what extent this link is attributable specifically to the binding ability for cross-modal information. This study examined the performance of Grade 3 (8-9 years old) children on binding tasks requiring either temporary association formation of two visual items (i.e., within-modal binding) or pairs of visually presented abstract shapes and auditorily presented nonwords (i.e., cross-modal binding). Children's word recognition skills were related to performance on the cross-modal binding task but not on the within-modal binding task. Further regression models showed that cross-modal binding memory was a significant predictor of word recognition when memory for its constituent elements, general abilities, and crucially, within-modal binding memory were taken into account. These findings may suggest a specific link between the ability to bind information across modalities within working memory and word recognition skills.

Succeeding in New Vaccine Introduction: Lessons Learned From the Introduction of Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine in Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria

PubMed Central

Snidal, Sarah; Saidu, Yauba; Ojumu, Abiola; Ngatia, Antony; Bagana, Murtala; Mutuku, Faith; Sobngwi, Joelle; Efe-Aluta, Oniovo; Roper, Julia; LeTallec, Yann; Kang’ethe, Alice

2017-01-01

Abstract Introducing a new vaccine is a large-scale endeavor that can face many challenges, resulting in introduction delays and inefficiencies. The development of national task teams and tools, such as prelaunch trackers, for the introduction of new vaccines (hereafter, “new vaccine introductions” [NVIs]) can help countries implement robust project management systems, front-load critical preparatory activities, and ensure continuous communication around vaccine supply and financing. In addition, implementing postlaunch assessments to take rapid corrective action accelerates the uptake of the new vaccines. NVIs can provide an opportunity to strengthen routine immunization, through strengthening program management systems or by reinforcing local immunization managers’ abilities, among others. This article highlights key lessons learned during the introduction of inactivated poliovirus vaccine in 3 countries that would make future NVIs more successful. The article concludes by considering how the Immunization Systems Management Group of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been useful to the NVI process and how such global structures could be further enhanced. PMID:28838156

Basic Drafting. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schertz, Karen

This introductory module on drafting includes the technical content and tasks necessary for a student to be employed in an entry-level drafting occupation. The module contains 18 instructional units that cover the following topics: introduction to drafting; tools and equipment; supplies and materials; sketching; scales; drawing format; lettering;…

Stress Associated with Transportation: A Survey of Persons with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crudden, Adele; Cmar, Jennifer L.; McDonnall, Michele C.

2017-01-01

Introduction: This study evaluated transportation-related stress and factors predicting stress among persons with visual impairments. Methods: Participants with visual impairments completed electronic surveys rating their stress levels experienced when completing various walking and public transportation tasks. They also indicated activities they…

Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Dynamic Human Information Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Minsoo

2013-01-01

Introduction: This study aims to understand the interactions of perception, effort, emotion, time and performance during the performance of multiple information tasks using Web information technologies. Method: Twenty volunteers from a university participated in this study. Questionnaires were used to obtain general background information and…

The effect of a slack-pulling device in reducing operator physiological workload during log winching operations.

PubMed

Spinelli, Raffaele; Aalmo, Giovanna Ottaviani; Magagnotti, Natascia

2015-01-01

The authors conducted a comparative test to determine whether the introduction of a hydraulic slack puller allowed reducing the physiological workload of operators assigned to log winching tasks. The tests were conducted in northern Italy, on the mountains near Como. The study involved five volunteer subjects, considered representatives of the regional logging workforce. Physiological workload was determined by measuring the operators' heart rate upon completion of specific tasks. The slack puller improved the efficiency of downhill winching, since it allowed a single operator to pull out the cable on his own, without requiring the assistance of a colleague. However, introduction of the slack puller did not result in any reductions of operator physiological workload. The main stressor when working on a steep slope is moving up and down the slope: pulling a cable is only a secondary stressor. Any measures targeting secondary stressors are unlikely to produce dramatic reductions of operator workload.

Combining Variables, Controlling Variables, and Proportions: Is There a Psychological Link?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Anton E.

1979-01-01

Investigated the degree of relationship among the performance of 28 seventh grade students on the following three formal operations tasks: chemical combinations, bending rods, and balance beam. Results show that task performance ranged widely from early concrete operational to fully operational. (HM)

Parental monitoring may protect impulsive children from overeating.

PubMed

Bennett, C; Blissett, J

2017-10-01

Research has highlighted links between impulsivity and weight in children and adults. Nevertheless, little is known about the nature of this link in very young children or about the underlying mechanism by which impulsivity leads to greater adiposity. The present study aimed to explore relationships between impulsivity, weight and eating behaviour in a sample of 95 2 to 4-year-olds. Parent-child dyads visited the laboratory and consumed a meal after which parents completed measures of child impulsivity, eating behaviour and parental feeding, whilst children completed impulsivity tasks measuring the impulsivity facet delay of gratification (Snack Delay task), motor impulsivity (Line Walking task) and inhibitory control (Tower task). Pearson's correlations showed that girls with greater motor impulsivity were heavier. Additionally, monitoring moderated the relationship between impulsivity and food approach behaviour, indicating that monitoring may protect more impulsive children from displaying problematic eating behaviours. The motor impulsivity facet appears particularly relevant to child weight; parents can modulate the impact of impulsivity on child eating behaviour through their feeding style. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

A Link Between Attentional Function, Effective Eye Movements, and Driving Ability

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The misallocation of driver visual attention has been suggested as a major contributing factor to vehicle accidents. One possible reason is that the relatively high cognitive demands of driving limit the ability to efficiently allocate gaze. We present an experiment that explores the relationship between attentional function and visual performance when driving. Drivers performed 2 variations of a multiple-object tracking task targeting aspects of cognition including sustained attention, dual-tasking, covert attention, and visuomotor skill. They also drove a number of courses in a driving simulator. Eye movements were recorded throughout. We found that individuals who performed better in the cognitive tasks exhibited more effective eye movement strategies when driving, such as scanning more of the road, and they also exhibited better driving performance. We discuss the potential link between an individual’s attentional function, effective eye movements, and driving ability. We also discuss the use of a visuomotor task in assessing driving behavior. PMID:27893270

Airborne Data Link Operational Evaluation Test Plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-08-01

This plan describes an end-to-end study of operational concepts and procedures associated with the introduction of electronic data communications between flight crews and air traffic controllers. Full performance controllers from : terminal facilitie...

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.

Improving Website Hyperlink Structure Using Server Logs

PubMed Central

Paranjape, Ashwin; West, Robert; Zia, Leila; Leskovec, Jure

2016-01-01

Good websites should be easy to navigate via hyperlinks, yet maintaining a high-quality link structure is difficult. Identifying pairs of pages that should be linked may be hard for human editors, especially if the site is large and changes frequently. Further, given a set of useful link candidates, the task of incorporating them into the site can be expensive, since it typically involves humans editing pages. In the light of these challenges, it is desirable to develop data-driven methods for automating the link placement task. Here we develop an approach for automatically finding useful hyperlinks to add to a website. We show that passively collected server logs, beyond telling us which existing links are useful, also contain implicit signals indicating which nonexistent links would be useful if they were to be introduced. We leverage these signals to model the future usefulness of yet nonexistent links. Based on our model, we define the problem of link placement under budget constraints and propose an efficient algorithm for solving it. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by evaluating it on Wikipedia, a large website for which we have access to both server logs (used for finding useful new links) and the complete revision history (containing a ground truth of new links). As our method is based exclusively on standard server logs, it may also be applied to any other website, as we show with the example of the biomedical research site Simtk. PMID:28345077

Long-term and short-term action-effect links and their impact on effect monitoring.

PubMed

Wirth, Robert; Steinhauser, Robert; Janczyk, Markus; Steinhauser, Marco; Kunde, Wilfried

2018-04-23

People aim to produce effects in the environment, and according to ideomotor theory, actions are selected and executed via anticipations of their effects. Further, to ensure that an action has been successful and an effect has been realized, we must be able to monitor the consequences of our actions. However, action-effect links might vary between situations, some might apply for a majority of situations, while others might only apply to special occasions. With a combination of behavioral and electrophysiological markers, we show that monitoring of self-produced action effects interferes with other tasks, and that the length of effect monitoring is determined by both, long-term action-effect links that hold for most situations, and short-term action-effect links that emerge from a current setting. Effect monitoring is fast and frugal when these action-effect links allow for valid anticipation of action effects, but otherwise effect monitoring takes longer and delays a subsequent task. Specific influences of long-term and short-term links on the P1/N1 and P3a further allow to dissect the temporal dynamics of when these links interact for the purpose of effect monitoring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Initial Public Offering (IPO) Firm Legitimacy on Cooperative Agreements and Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-04-04

4(1): 15-27. Keats , B.W. 1990. Diversification and business economic performance revisted: Issues of measurementand causality. Journal of... Economics 50 III. DEVELOPMENT OF- HYPOTHESES 53 Introduction 53 The Link Between Legitimacy and Cooperative Agreements 53 The Link Between...for cooperative agreements is the young , growth oriented firm (Doz and Hamel, 1998). These firms find that a disproportionate number and type of

Development of the FITS tools package for multiple software environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pence, W. D.; Blackburn, J. K.

1992-01-01

The HEASARC is developing a package of general purpose software for analyzing data files in FITS format. This paper describes the design philosophy which makes the software both machine-independent (it runs on VAXs, Suns, and DEC-stations) and software environment-independent. Currently the software can be compiled and linked to produce IRAF tasks, or alternatively, the same source code can be used to generate stand-alone tasks using one of two implementations of a user-parameter interface library. The machine independence of the software is achieved by writing the source code in ANSI standard Fortran or C, using the machine-independent FITSIO subroutine interface for all data file I/O, and using a standard user-parameter subroutine interface for all user I/O. The latter interface is based on the Fortran IRAF Parameter File interface developed at STScI. The IRAF tasks are built by linking to the IRAF implementation of this parameter interface library. Two other implementations of this parameter interface library, which have no IRAF dependencies, are now available which can be used to generate stand-alone executable tasks. These stand-alone tasks can simply be executed from the machine operating system prompt either by supplying all the task parameters on the command line or by entering the task name after which the user will be prompted for any required parameters. A first release of this FTOOLS package is now publicly available. The currently available tasks are described, along with instructions on how to obtain a copy of the software.

Strategy-Based Technical Instruction: Development and Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

scripts dependant on target tasks and the outcomes desired, and to the use of node-link knowledge maps as communications props. In addition, we have...information "on the job" - communicate with others in the task environment; - monitor, diagnose, and correct problems associated with critical tasks... communicated . Technical Training Goals The individual in a technical training scenario is expected to achieve a wide variety of goals. These goals can

Report on New Methods for Representing and Interacting with Qualitative Geographic Information, Stage 2: Task Group 4 Message-Focused Use Case

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-17

less dependent on each other. Replay of existing events became necessary with the introduction of new SensePlace2 components that appear in pop -up...Report, P a g e | 15 SensePlace2 architecture that synchronizes pop -up windows with the main application in a transparent fashion that does not...a number of other trending retweets that look unfamiliar. Contract #: W912HZ-12-P-0334, Task 4 Report, P a g e | 19 Figure 13. Co-occurrence

Controlled field testing : Puget Sound Help Me (PuSHMe) operational test. Task 2 technical memorandum : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-10-01

This report provides a general introduction to the use of panel designs in transportation surveys. Through examples drawn from the transportation literature, it illustrates how panel designs can be used to address a variety of transportation issues. ...

Validation of an Evaluation Tutoring Task Scale at the University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sáiz-Manzanares, María Consuelo; Bol-Arreba, Alfredo; Payo-Hernanz, René Jesús

2014-01-01

Introduction: Recent investigations have emphasized the need for university teachers to develop tutorial programs for students at university. Many universities are committed to broadening research on university teaching that will sharpen academic performance and levels of student satisfaction. Tutoring programs improve the development of the…

Diesel Technology: Introduction. Teacher Edition [and] Student Edition. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joerschke, John D.; Eichhorn, Lane

This complete teacher edition of a diesel technology course consists of introductory pages, teacher pages, and the student edition. The introductory pages provide these tools: training and competency profile; National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation Crosswalk; instructional/task analysis; basic skills icons and classifications; basic…

The Logistics Planning Process of the Far East Air Material Command during the Korean War

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

Figures . . ........... ........ vii Abstract ........... ........................ viii I. Introduction to the Research ............. 1 Overview ...31 Particular Method . . . ........... 32 II. The National Defense Planning Structure. . . ... 34 Overview ...Air Materiel Command’s Logistics Plans and Policy Making Response to Korean Tasking . . . . ........ 83 Overview

Academic Procrastination in Non-Traditional College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garzón-Umerenkova, Angélica; Gil-Flores, Javier

2017-01-01

Introduction: Procrastination is the act of delaying necessary tasks to the extreme of experiencing discomfort and negative consequences for the individuals. The presence of nontraditional students at universities is a phenomenon which has increased remarkably over the last decades. This type of university students finds some difficulties during…

Subjective Appraisal as a Feedback Tool. Technical Report 604.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnside, Billy L.

This report examines the accuracy of subjective appraisals of several aspects of task performance, including proficiency, difficulty, frequency, and criticality. An introduction discusses current Army use of subjective appraisal, feedback methods, and problems with subjective appraisal. Data pertaining to the accuracy of various types of appraisal…

An introduction to scripting in Ruby for biologists.

PubMed

Aerts, Jan; Law, Andy

2009-07-16

The Ruby programming language has a lot to offer to any scientist with electronic data to process. Not only is the initial learning curve very shallow, but its reflection and meta-programming capabilities allow for the rapid creation of relatively complex applications while still keeping the code short and readable. This paper provides a gentle introduction to this scripting language for researchers without formal informatics training such as many wet-lab scientists. We hope this will provide such researchers an idea of how powerful a tool Ruby can be for their data management tasks and encourage them to learn more about it.

Low Cognitive Impulsivity Is Associated with Better Gain and Loss Learning in a Probabilistic Decision-Making Task

PubMed Central

Cáceres, Pablo; San Martín, René

2017-01-01

Many advances have been made over the last decades in describing, on the one hand, the link between reward-based learning and decision-making, and on the other hand, the link between impulsivity and decision-making. However, the association between reward-based learning and impulsivity remains poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the association between individual differences in loss-minimizing and gain-maximizing behavior in a learning-based probabilistic decision-making task and individual differences in cognitive impulsivity. We found that low cognitive impulsivity was associated both with a better performance minimizing losses and maximizing gains during the task. These associations remained significant after controlling for mathematical skills and gender as potential confounders. We discuss potential mechanisms through which cognitive impulsivity might interact with reward-based learning and decision-making. PMID:28261137

Low Cognitive Impulsivity Is Associated with Better Gain and Loss Learning in a Probabilistic Decision-Making Task.

PubMed

Cáceres, Pablo; San Martín, René

2017-01-01

Many advances have been made over the last decades in describing, on the one hand, the link between reward-based learning and decision-making, and on the other hand, the link between impulsivity and decision-making. However, the association between reward-based learning and impulsivity remains poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the association between individual differences in loss-minimizing and gain-maximizing behavior in a learning-based probabilistic decision-making task and individual differences in cognitive impulsivity. We found that low cognitive impulsivity was associated both with a better performance minimizing losses and maximizing gains during the task. These associations remained significant after controlling for mathematical skills and gender as potential confounders. We discuss potential mechanisms through which cognitive impulsivity might interact with reward-based learning and decision-making.

[Assessment of sociocognitive functions in neurological patients Presentation of a French adaptation of two tools and implementation in frontal dementia].

PubMed

Ehrlé, Nathalie; Henry, Audrey; Pesa, Audrey; Bakchine, Serge

2011-03-01

This paper presents a French battery designed to assess emotional and sociocognitive abilities in neurological patients in clinical practice. The first part of this battery includes subtests assessing emotions: a recognition task of primary facial emotions, a discrimination task of facial emotions, a task of expressive intensity judgment, a task of gender identification, a recognition task of musical emotions. The second part intends to assess some sociocognitive abilities, that is mainly theory of mind (attribution tasks of mental states to others: false believe tasks of first and second order, faux-pas task) and social norms (moral/conventional distinction task, social situations task) but also abstract language and humour. We present a general description of the battery with special attention to specific methodological constraints for the assessment of neurological patients. After a brief introduction to moral and conventional judgments (definition and current theoretical basis), the French version of the social norm task from RJR Blair (Blair and Cipolotti, 2000) is developed. The relevance of these tasks in frontal variant of frontotemporal dementia (fvFTD is illustrated by the report of the results of a study conducted in 18 patients by the Cambridge group and by the personal study of a patient with early stage of vfFTD. The relevance of the diagnostic of sociocognitive impairment in neurological patients is discussed.

Task- and self-related pathways to deep learning: the mediating role of achievement goals, classroom attentiveness, and group participation.

PubMed

Lau, Shun; Liem, Arief Darmanegara; Nie, Youyan

2008-12-01

The expectancy-value and achievement goal theories are arguably the two most dominant theories of achievement motivation in the contemporary literature. However, very few studies have examined how the constructs derived from both theories are related to deep learning. Moreover, although there is evidence demonstrating the links between achievement goals and deep learning, little research has examined the mediating processes involved. The aims of this research were to: (a) investigate the role of task- and self-related beliefs (task value and self-efficacy) as well as achievement goals in predicting deep learning in mathematics and (b) examine how classroom attentiveness and group participation mediated the relations between achievement goals and deep learning. The sample comprised 1,476 Grade-9 students from 39 schools in Singapore. Students' self-efficacy, task value, achievement goals, classroom attentiveness, group participation, and deep learning in mathematics were assessed by a self-reported questionnaire administered on-line. Structural equation modelling was performed to test the hypothesized model linking these variables. Task value was predictive of task-related achievement goals whereas self-efficacy was predictive of task-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Achievement goals were found to fully mediate the relations between task value and self-efficacy on the one hand, and classroom attentiveness, group participation, and deep learning on the other. Classroom attentiveness and group participation partially mediated the relations between achievement goal adoption and deep learning. The findings suggest that (a) task- and self-related pathways are two possible routes through which students could be motivated to learn and (b) like task-approach goals, performance-approach goals could lead to adaptive processes and outcomes.

Memory, reasoning, and categorization: parallels and common mechanisms

PubMed Central

Hayes, Brett K.; Heit, Evan; Rotello, Caren M.

2014-01-01

Traditionally, memory, reasoning, and categorization have been treated as separate components of human cognition. We challenge this distinction, arguing that there is broad scope for crossover between the methods and theories developed for each task. The links between memory and reasoning are illustrated in a review of two lines of research. The first takes theoretical ideas (two-process accounts) and methodological tools (signal detection analysis, receiver operating characteristic curves) from memory research and applies them to important issues in reasoning research: relations between induction and deduction, and the belief bias effect. The second line of research introduces a task in which subjects make either memory or reasoning judgments for the same set of stimuli. Other than broader generalization for reasoning than memory, the results were similar for the two tasks, across a variety of experimental stimuli and manipulations. It was possible to simultaneously explain performance on both tasks within a single cognitive architecture, based on exemplar-based comparisons of similarity. The final sections explore evidence for empirical and processing links between inductive reasoning and categorization and between categorization and recognition. An important implication is that progress in all three of these fields will be expedited by further investigation of the many commonalities between these tasks. PMID:24987380

Memory, reasoning, and categorization: parallels and common mechanisms.

PubMed

Hayes, Brett K; Heit, Evan; Rotello, Caren M

2014-01-01

Traditionally, memory, reasoning, and categorization have been treated as separate components of human cognition. We challenge this distinction, arguing that there is broad scope for crossover between the methods and theories developed for each task. The links between memory and reasoning are illustrated in a review of two lines of research. The first takes theoretical ideas (two-process accounts) and methodological tools (signal detection analysis, receiver operating characteristic curves) from memory research and applies them to important issues in reasoning research: relations between induction and deduction, and the belief bias effect. The second line of research introduces a task in which subjects make either memory or reasoning judgments for the same set of stimuli. Other than broader generalization for reasoning than memory, the results were similar for the two tasks, across a variety of experimental stimuli and manipulations. It was possible to simultaneously explain performance on both tasks within a single cognitive architecture, based on exemplar-based comparisons of similarity. The final sections explore evidence for empirical and processing links between inductive reasoning and categorization and between categorization and recognition. An important implication is that progress in all three of these fields will be expedited by further investigation of the many commonalities between these tasks.

Number comparison and number ordering as predictors of arithmetic performance in adults: Exploring the link between the two skills, and investigating the question of domain-specificity.

PubMed

Morsanyi, Kinga; O'Mahony, Eileen; McCormack, Teresa

2017-12-01

Recent evidence has highlighted the important role that number-ordering skills play in arithmetic abilities, both in children and adults. In the current study, we demonstrated that number comparison and ordering skills were both significantly related to arithmetic performance in adults, and the effect size was greater in the case of ordering skills. Additionally, we found that the effect of number comparison skills on arithmetic performance was mediated by number-ordering skills. Moreover, performance on comparison and ordering tasks involving the months of the year was also strongly correlated with arithmetic skills, and participants displayed similar (canonical or reverse) distance effects on the comparison and ordering tasks involving months as when the tasks included numbers. This suggests that the processes responsible for the link between comparison and ordering skills and arithmetic performance are not specific to the domain of numbers. Finally, a factor analysis indicated that performance on comparison and ordering tasks loaded on a factor that included performance on a number line task and self-reported spatial thinking styles. These results substantially extend previous research on the role of order processing abilities in mental arithmetic.

UAV Data-Links: Tasks, Types, Technologies and Examples

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-04-01

Services Mercedes - Benz *Clapra Mercedes - Benz Al cmercial *Leasing *rinancial R ail Systams aftrs Services *smar * lpmoser F reightliner commerciali...highlighting the basic variants of data-links Blohm, MTU and others to form Daimler- Benz and their general advantages and disadvantages a Aerospace (now...bandwidth devices for the consumer market . antenna characteristics Generally speaking, the data-rate of a digital-link signal processing. using BPSK

Item Dependency in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iramaneerat, Cherdsak; Myford, Carol M.; Yudkowsky, Rachel

2006-01-01

An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an assessment approach employed in medical education, in which residents rotate through multiple stations of standardized clinical tasks to evaluate their clinical competence. Because items used to evaluate residents' performance in each OSCE station are linked to the same task and are rated…

The Role of Executive Functions in Social Cognition among Children with Down Syndrome: Relationship Patterns

PubMed Central

Amadó, Anna; Serrat, Elisabet; Vallès-Majoral, Eduard

2016-01-01

Many studies show a link between social cognition, a set of cognitive and emotional abilities applied to social situations, and executive functions in typical developing children. Children with Down syndrome (DS) show deficits both in social cognition and in some subcomponents of executive functions. However this link has barely been studied in this population. The aim of this study is to investigate the links between social cognition and executive functions among children with DS. We administered a battery of social cognition and executive function tasks (six theory of mind tasks, a test of emotion comprehension, and three executive function tasks) to a group of 30 participants with DS between 4 and 12 years of age. The same tasks were administered to a chronological-age control group and to a control group with the same linguistic development level. Results showed that apart from deficits in social cognition and executive function abilities, children with DS displayed a slight improvement with increasing chronological age and language development in those abilities. Correlational analysis suggested that working memory was the only component that remained constant in the relation patterns of the three groups of participants, being the relation patterns similar among participants with DS and the language development control group. A multiple linear regression showed that working memory explained above 50% of the variability of social cognition in DS participants and in language development control group, whereas in the chronological-age control group this component only explained 31% of the variability. These findings, and specifically the link between working memory and social cognition, are discussed on the basis of their theoretical and practical implications for children with DS. We discuss the possibility to use a working memory training to improve social cognition in this population. PMID:27679588

Linking information needs with evaluation: the role of task identification.

PubMed Central

Weir, C. R.

1998-01-01

Action Identification Theory was used to explore user's subjective constructions of information tasks in a primary care setting. The first part of the study involved collecting clinician's descriptions of their information tasks. These items were collated and then rated by another larger group of clinicians. Results clearly identified 6 major information tasks, including communication, patient assessment, work monitoring, seeking science information, compliance with policies and procedures, and data integration. Results discussed in terms of implications for evaluation and assessing information needs in a clinical setting. PMID:9929232

2006 AAHA canine vaccine guidelines.

PubMed

Paul, Michael A; Carmichael, Leland E; Childers, Henry; Cotter, Susan; Davidson, Autumn; Ford, Richard; Hurley, Kate F; Roth, James A; Schultz, Ronald D; Thacker, Eileen; Welborn, Link

2006-01-01

In 2005, AAHA's Canine Vaccine Task Force met to reexamine and revise guidelines on the use of vaccines in dogs. The results of the Task Force's work are summarized and tabulated in this article and are published in their entirety on the AAHA website (www.aahanet.org). The 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines contain information on new technological developments in vaccines, an introduction to conditionally licensed vaccines, and detailed recommendations on the use of available vaccines. Perhaps the most noteworthy addition to the guidelines is a separate set of recommendations created for shelter facilities. Vaccines are classified as core (universally recommended), noncore (optional), or not recommended. The Task Force recognizes that vaccination decisions must always be made on an individual basis, based on risk and lifestyle factors.

Task-Oriented Language Acquisition and the Advanced Learner of French.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rolin-Ianziti, Jeanne; McCarthy, Brian

A new third-year French textbook, in its introduction, describes its rationale and construction. The book's main objective is to provide authentic material for developing students' linguistic skills, focusing on language learning rather than civilization but including a cultural component. The textbook's organization is based on 20 recorded…

An Introduction to Confidence Intervals for Both Statistical Estimates and Effect Sizes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capraro, Mary Margaret

This paper summarizes methods of estimating confidence intervals, including classical intervals and intervals for effect sizes. The recent American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Statistical Inference report suggested that confidence intervals should always be reported, and the fifth edition of the APA "Publication Manual"…

Seeking Information with an Information Visualization System: A Study of Cognitive Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Xiaojun; Zhang, Xiangman; Chen, Chaomei; Avery, Joshua M.

2011-01-01

Introduction: This study investigated the effect of cognitive styles on users' information-seeking task performance using a knowledge domain information visualization system called CiteSpace. Method: Sixteen graduate students participated in a user experiment. Each completed an extended cognitive style analysis wholistic-analytic test (the…

Educable Mentally Retarded; Level III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fort Worth Public Schools, TX.

The guide incorporates a variety of physical, personal, social, and vocational experiences to be achieved by educable intermediate pupils. Nine resource units, designed around the four areas, emphasize the development of competency to perform simple tasks at home and the development of a sense of responsibility. Each unit includes an introduction,…

Patient-Specific B-Cell Antibody Factories to Treat Metastatic Disease

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

clinical interface training and education to assure optimal sample viability and lack of the unique immortalization virus, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). All... Disease Kevin Claffey University of Connecticut Farmington, CT 06032 8 claffey@nso2.uchc.edu 3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 4 BODY 4-5 TASK 1

78 FR 20844 - Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc. Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

... limitation tasks. We are proposing this AD to prevent flap system failure, and consequent reduced landing performance of the airplane. DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by May 23, 2013. ADDRESSES..., through an actuator sampling program, the performance of the flap system since the introduction of...

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Washington, DC.

This report presents recommendations of an American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) task force which revised existing guidelines for nursing education. An introduction provides background information and notes major trends in health care and nursing. Also provided is a summary of the revision process which included two invitational…

Resource Guide to Careers in Toxicology, 3rd Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Society of Toxicology, Reston, VA.

This resource guide was prepared by the Tox 90's Educational Issues Task Force of the Society of Toxicology. The introduction provides information on the Society of Toxicology and financial support for graduate students in toxicology. Other sections include career opportunities in toxicology, academic and postdoctoral programs in toxicology, and…

Foods and Nutrition. Student Modules and Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Dept. of Education, Columbia. Office of Vocational Education.

These 64 performance-based instructional modules are for the home economics content area of food and nutrition. Each module is composed of an introduction for the student, a performance objective, a variety of learning activities (reading assignments, tasks, written assignments), content information, a student self-check, recommended references,…

The Empirical Nature and Statistical Treatment of Missing Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tannenbaum, Christyn E.

2009-01-01

Introduction. Missing data is a common problem in research and can produce severely misleading analyses, including biased estimates of statistical parameters, and erroneous conclusions. In its 1999 report, the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference encouraged authors to report complications such as missing data and discouraged the use of…

Enabling the Interoperability of Large-Scale Legacy Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

information retrieval systems ( Salton and McGill 1983). We use this method because, in the schema mapping task, only one instance per class is...2001). A survey of approaches to automatic schema matching. The VLDB Journal, 10, 334-350. Salton , G., & McGill, M.J. (1983). Introduction to

Evaluation of the Anaheim Advanced Traffic Control System Field Operational Test : introduction and Task A : evaluation of SCOOT performance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-03-01

This report provides an overview of both the Anaheim Advanced Traffic Control System Field Operations Test (FOT) and of the technical issues associated with the evaluation of SCOOT performance during the test. The primary objective of the FOT was to ...

Community Leadership through Community-Based Programming: The Role of the Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boone, Edgar J.; And Others

Organized around 15 tasks involved in the community-based programming (CBP) process, this book provides practical, field-tested guidance on successfully implementing CBP in community colleges. Following prefatory materials, the following chapters are provided: (1) "An Introduction to the Community-Based Programming Process" (Edgar J.…

Introductory American Government in Comparison: An Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engstrom, Richard N.

2008-01-01

Introduction to American Government classes can benefit from the addition of examples from comparative politics. Presenting students with examples of other democratic systems encourages them to confront the costs and benefits of choices made in the American context. Dealing with these "cognitive conflict" tasks facilitates higher level learning on…

Flipping Introduction to MIS for a Connected World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Wai K.

2014-01-01

It has been increasingly challenging to provide an introductory coverage of the rapidly expanding fields in Information Systems (IS). The task has been further complicated by the popularity of web resources and cloud services. A new generation of technically savvy learners, while recognizing the significance of information systems, expects…

Introduction to the MCS. Visual Media Learning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spokane Falls Community Coll., WA.

This student learning guide is designed to introduce graphics arts students t the MCS (Modular Composition System) compugraphic typesetting system. Addressed in the individual units of the competency-based guide are the following tasks: programming the compugraphic typesetting system, creating a new file and editing a file, operating a…

Public Domain Generic Tools: An Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erjavec, Tomaz

This paper presents an introduction to language engineering software, especially for computerized language and text corpora. The focus of the paper is on small and relatively independent pieces of software designed for specific, often low-level language analysis tasks, and on tools in the public domain. Discussion begins with the application of…

Scanning the Business External Environment for Information: Evidence from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kourteli, Liana

2005-01-01

Introduction: This paper examines the business external environment scanning theory for information in the context of Greece. Method. A questionnaire was developed to explore the relationships between general and task business environment, perceived uncertainty, scanning strategy, and sources of information with respect to type of environment,…

Using Digital Libraries Non-Visually: Understanding the Help-Seeking Situations of Blind Users

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xie, Iris; Babu, Rakesh; Joo, Soohyung; Fuller, Paige

2015-01-01

Introduction: This study explores blind users' unique help-seeking situations in interacting with digital libraries. In particular, help-seeking situations were investigated at both the physical and cognitive levels. Method: Fifteen blind participants performed three search tasks, including known- item search, specific information search, and…

Students' Motivation to Learn in Middle School--A Self-Regulated Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulino, Paula; Sá, Isabel; Lopes da Silva, Adelina

2016-01-01

Introduction: The self-regulation of motivation (SRM) is conceptualized as a meta-motivational process that guides students' efforts and persistence when performing tasks. This process regulates students' behavior through strategies that are influenced by motivational beliefs. SRM allows students to motivate themselves and guides their behavior.…

Constructing Meanings and Utilities within Algebraic Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainley, Janet; Bills, Liz; Wilson, Kirsty

2004-01-01

The Purposeful Algebraic Activity project aims to explore the potential of spreadsheets in the introduction to algebra and algebraic thinking. We discuss two sub-themes within the project: tracing the development of pupils' construction of meaning for variable from arithmetic-based activity, through use of spreadsheets, and into formal algebra,…

The Effect of Incorrect Reliability Information on Expectations, Perceptions, and Use of Automation.

PubMed

Barg-Walkow, Laura H; Rogers, Wendy A

2016-03-01

We examined how providing artificially high or low statements about automation reliability affected expectations, perceptions, and use of automation over time. One common method of introducing automation is providing explicit statements about the automation's capabilities. Research is needed to understand how expectations from such introductions affect perceptions and use of automation. Explicit-statement introductions were manipulated to set higher-than (90%), same-as (75%), or lower-than (60%) levels of expectations in a dual-task scenario with 75% reliable automation. Two experiments were conducted to assess expectations, perceptions, compliance, reliance, and task performance over (a) 2 days and (b) 4 days. The baseline assessments showed initial expectations of automation reliability matched introduced levels of expectation. For the duration of each experiment, the lower-than groups' perceptions were lower than the actual automation reliability. However, the higher-than groups' perceptions were no different from actual automation reliability after Day 1 in either study. There were few differences between groups for automation use, which generally stayed the same or increased with experience using the system. Introductory statements describing artificially low automation reliability have a long-lasting impact on perceptions about automation performance. Statements including incorrect automation reliability do not appear to affect use of automation. Introductions should be designed according to desired outcomes for expectations, perceptions, and use of the automation. Low expectations have long-lasting effects. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Synthesis of Potential Trypanocides

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

0188 Ia. REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 1b RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS Unclassified 2a. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION AUTHORITY 3 . DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY OF...and the phenyl ring, ring structures 2 and 3 , introduction of a -CH:CII- group between the phenyl ring and its 4’-substituent, ring structure 4...imidazole (9, 15) thiazole (11) and pyridine (12-14) into ether-linked and vinyl-linked structures. 3 t % SCHEME 1 HETEROAROMATIC RINGS OHw Ch3 CH3 +1 N% f

Word Links: A Strategy for Developing Word Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yopp, Ruth Helen

2007-01-01

Word Links, an effective strategy for developing students' vocabulary, is based on four principles. It provides contextual and definitional information; offers repeated exposure to words and opportunities to practice them; encourages students to think about relationships among word meanings; and involves active engagement in learning tasks. Yopp…

The human gastric microbiota: Is it time to rethink the pathogenesis of stomach diseases?

PubMed Central

Compare, Debora

2015-01-01

Introduction Although long thought to be a sterile organ, due to its acid production, the human stomach holds a core microbiome. Aim To provide an update of findings related to gastric microbiota and its link with gastric diseases. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature. Results The development of culture-independent methods facilitated the identification of many bacteria. Five major phyla have been detected in the stomach: Firmicutes, Bacteroidites, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria. At the genera level, the healthy human stomach is dominated by Prevotella, Streptococcus, Veillonella, Rothia and Haemophilus; however, the composition of the gastric microbiota is dynamic and affected by such factors as diet, drugs and diseases. The interaction between the pre-existing gastric microbiota and Helicobacter pylori infection might influence an individual’s risk of gastric disease, including gastric cancer. Conclusions The maintenance of bacterial homeostasis could be essential for the stomach’s health and highlights the chance for therapeutic interventions targeting the gastric microbiota, even if gastric pH, peristalsis and the mucus layer may prevent bacteria colonization; and the definition of gastric microbiota of the healthy stomach is still an ongoing challenging task. PMID:26137299

Dendrimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryant, L. Henry; Bulte, Jeff W. M.

Dendrimers have received an enormous amount of attention in the last ten years and several recent review articles have appeared in the literature that address their potential applications [1-3]. Stoddart et al [1] have stated that: "We are now approaching a time when the study of dendriniers bec omes inextricably linked with many other fields, leaving the comprehensive reviewer of the subject a near-impossible task to fulfil". On that note, this review provides a brief introduction to the chemical principles of dendrimers by highlighting main synthetic strategies and methods for characterisation. p]Dendrimers containing heteroatoms will not be reviewed per se since these have recently been reviewed [4]. The major thrust of this review is the potential applications of dendrimers in such areas as boron neutron capture therapy, as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, as vaccines, as cellular transfection agents and as bioconjugate dendrimers, i.e., in-vitro immunoassays for antigens. The outline used in this review proved to be effective in classifying most published papers about dendrimers, but it must be kept in mind that some articles not only transcended two different classifications, such as synthesis and characterisation, but several classifications such as synthesis, characterisation and at least one potential application covered in this review.

The diagnosis related groups enhanced electronic medical record.

PubMed

Müller, Marcel Lucas; Bürkle, Thomas; Irps, Sebastian; Roeder, Norbert; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich

2003-07-01

The introduction of Diagnosis Related Groups as a basis for hospital payment in Germany announced essential changes in the hospital reimbursement practice. A hospital's economical survival will depend vitally on the accuracy and completeness of the documentation of DRG relevant data like diagnosis and procedure codes. In order to enhance physicians' coding compliance, an easy-to-use interface integrating coding tasks seamlessly into clinical routine had to be developed. A generic approach should access coding and clinical guidelines from different information sources. Within the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) a user interface ('DRG Control Center') for all DRG relevant clinical and administrative data has been built. A comprehensive DRG-related web site gives online access to DRG grouping software and an electronic coding expert. Both components are linked together using an application supporting bi-directional communication. Other web based services like a guideline search engine can be integrated as well. With the proposed method, the clinician gains quick access to context sensitive clinical guidelines for appropriate treatment of his/her patient and administrative guidelines for the adequate coding of the diagnoses and procedures. This paper describes the design and current implementation and discusses our experiences.

Editorial Introduction. After the Carnival: Tourism and Community Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovel, Hermione; Feuerstein, Marie-Therese

1992-01-01

Considers the following questions: How is tourism linked to community development? Who benefits economically? What is the impact on the environment? Does tourism promote respect for other cultures, or does it trivialize cultural differences? (SK)

Masking release for words in amplitude-modulated noise as a function of modulation rate and task

PubMed Central

Buss, Emily; Whittle, Lisa N.; Grose, John H.; Hall, Joseph W.

2009-01-01

For normal-hearing listeners, masked speech recognition can improve with the introduction of masker amplitude modulation. The present experiments tested the hypothesis that this masking release is due in part to an interaction between the temporal distribution of cues necessary to perform the task and the probability of those cues temporally coinciding with masker modulation minima. Stimuli were monosyllabic words masked by speech-shaped noise, and masker modulation was introduced via multiplication with a raised sinusoid of 2.5–40 Hz. Tasks included detection, three-alternative forced-choice identification, and open-set identification. Overall, there was more masking release associated with the closed than the open-set tasks. The best rate of modulation also differed as a function of task; whereas low modulation rates were associated with best performance for the detection and three-alternative identification tasks, performance improved with modulation rate in the open-set task. This task-by-rate interaction was also observed when amplitude-modulated speech was presented in a steady masker, and for low- and high-pass filtered speech presented in modulated noise. These results were interpreted as showing that the optimal rate of amplitude modulation depends on the temporal distribution of speech cues and the information required to perform a particular task. PMID:19603883

Staff perceptions of leadership during implementation of task-shifting in three surgical units.

PubMed

Henderson, Amanda; Paterson, Karyn; Burmeister, Liz; Thomson, Bernadette; Young, Louise

2013-03-01

Registered nurses are difficult to recruit and retain. Task shifting, which involves reallocation of delegation, can reduce demand for registered nurses. Effective leadership is needed for successful task shifting. This study explored leadership styles of three surgical nurse unit managers. Staff completed surveys before and after the implementation of task shifting. Task shifting involved the introduction of endorsed enrolled nurses (licensed nurses who must practise under registered nurse supervision) to better utilize registered nurses. Implementation of task shifting occurred over 4 months in a 700-bed tertiary hospital, in southeast Queensland, Australia. A facilitator assisted nurse unit managers during implementation. The impact was assessed by comparison of data before (n = 49) and after (n = 72) task shifting from registered nurses and endorsed enrolled nurses (n = 121) who completed the Ward Organization Features Survey. Significant differences in leadership and staff organization subscales across the settings suggest that how change involving task shifting is implemented influences nurses' opinions of leadership. Leadership behaviours of nurse unit managers is a key consideration in managing change such as task shifting. Consistent and clear messages from leaders about practice change are viewed positively by nursing staff. In the short term, incremental change possibly results in staff maintaining confidence in leadership. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

[Enhancement of quality by employing qualification-oriented staff and team-oriented cooperation].

PubMed

Meyenburg-Altwarg, Iris; Tecklenburg, Andreas

2010-01-01

Taking three practical examples from a university hospital the present article describes how quality can be improved by linking deployment of qualification-oriented staff with team-oriented cooperation, especially with regard to the professional groups of physicians and nurses. In the first example, a cross-professional work group defined tasks which--in a legally acceptable manner--allow selected activities to be transferred from physicians to nurses, improving the work processes of all persons concerned. Work and duty profiles, training and modified work processes were created and implemented according to the PDCA circle-based process. The first evaluation took place after nine months using interviews, questionnaires (patients, physicians, and nurses) as well as CIRS. In the second example, emphasis was placed on offers of supplementary services for private patients resulting in a lightening of the workload on the nursing staff. These supplementary services are intended to enhance the wellbeing of the patients. Special external-service staff provide high standard hotel services. These services consistently receive high ratings from the patients. The methods used for introduction and evaluation are analogous to those used in the first example. The third example is concerned with the extension of nursing care and patient empowerment beyond the boundaries of ward and hospital. The guidelines were the implementation of the national expert standard for discharge management according to the DNQP. The methods of introduction were analogous to those used in example 1. For the evaluation interviews were conducted with all participating groups. In all examples actual quantitative measures (key ratios) are not yet available; however, the data collected from the interviews and questionnaires of all the participants are promising.

Introducing a checking technician allows pharmacists to spend more time on patient-focused activities.

PubMed

Napier, Patti; Norris, Pauline; Braund, Rhiannon

2018-04-01

Internationally there is an increasing focus on the clinical and cognitive services that pharmacists can provide. Lack of time has been identified as a barrier to pharmacists increasing their clinical activities. Within the pharmacy workplace there are many tasks that can only be performed by a pharmacist. The final accuracy check of a dispensed prescription is currently the sole responsibility of pharmacists in New Zealand. This takes up a significant amount of time during a pharmacist's work day. The introduction of a checking technician role has been suggested to allow pharmacists more time to do more patient focused work. To investigate the amount of time pharmacy staff spend on specific activities and to establish whether the introduction of a checking technician into twelve pilot sites increased the amount of time that the pharmacists could spend on patient focused activities. This study utilised a self-reported work sampling technique in twelve pilot sites, selected from both the hospital and community settings. Work sampling using an electronic device was conducted at two time-points (before the implementation of a Pharmacy Accuracy Checking Technician (PACT) role and when the PACT was in place). Data was collected at 10 min intervals for the period of five days, a working week. Tasks were grouped into patient focused, dispensing and personal activities. The introduction of the PACT into the pilot sites saw a mean increase of 19% in pharmacists' patient focused activities and a mean 20% decrease in dispensing activities. The introduction of a checking technician role into New Zealand pharmacies demonstrated the potential to provide pharmacists with more time to spend on patient focused activities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Charging Infrastructure for Plug-in Electric Vehicles at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island: Task 3

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

Schey, Steve; Francfort, Jim

2015-07-01

Several U.S. Department of Defense base studies have been conducted to identify potential U.S. Department of Defense transportation systems that are strong candidates for introduction or expansion of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Task 1 consisted of a survey of the non-tactical fleet of vehicles at NASWI to begin the review of vehicle mission assignments and types of vehicles in service. Task 2 selected vehicles for further monitoring and involved identifying daily operational characteristics of these select vehicles. Data logging of vehicle movements was initiated in order to characterize the vehicle’s mission. The Task 3 Vehicle Utilization report provided the resultsmore » of the data analysis and observations related to the replacement of current vehicles with PEVs. This report provides an assessment of charging infrastructure required to support the suggested PEV replacements.« less

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

Attentional enhancement of spatial resolution: linking behavioural and neurophysiological evidence

PubMed Central

Anton-Erxleben, Katharina; Carrasco, Marisa

2014-01-01

Attention allows us to select relevant sensory information for preferential processing. Behaviourally, it improves performance in various visual tasks. One prominent effect of attention is the modulation of performance in tasks that involve the visual system’s spatial resolution. Physiologically, attention modulates neuronal responses and alters the profile and position of receptive fields near the attended location. Here, we develop a hypothesis linking the behavioural and electrophysiological evidence. The proposed framework seeks to explain how these receptive field changes enhance the visual system’s effective spatial resolution and how the same mechanisms may also underlie attentional effects on the representation of spatial information. PMID:23422910

Cortical activity and children's rituals, habits and other repetitive behavior: a visual P300 study.

PubMed

Evans, David W; Maliken, Ashley

2011-10-10

This study examines the link between children's repetitive, ritualistic, behavior and cortical brain activity. Twelve typically developing children between the ages of 6 and 12 years were administered two visual P300, oddball tasks with a 32-electrode electroencephalogram (EEG) system. One of the oddball tasks was specifically designed to reflect sensitivity to asymmetry, a phenomenon common in children and in a variety of disorders involving compulsive behavior. Parents completed the Childhood Routines Inventory. Children's repetitive, compulsive-like behaviors were strongly associated with faster processing of an asymmetrical target stimulus, even when accounting for their P300 latencies on a control task. The research punctuates the continuity between observed brain-behavior links in clinical disorders such as OCD and autism spectrum disorders, and normative variants of repetitive behavior. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new family of fluidic precursors for the self-templated synthesis of hierarchical nanoporous carbons

DOE PAGES

Fulvio, Pasquale F.; Hillesheim, Patrick C.; Oyola, Yatsandra; ...

2016-06-24

Hierarchical nanoporous nitrogen-doped carbons were prepared from task specific ionic liquids having a bis-imidazolium motif linked with various organic groups. While ethyl chains linking the imidazolium ions afford microporous-mesoporous carbons, long or aromatic groups resulted in microporous samples.

Dynamic task allocation for a man-machine symbiotic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. E.; Pin, F. G.

1987-01-01

This report presents a methodological approach to the dynamic allocation of tasks in a man-machine symbiotic system in the context of dexterous manipulation and teleoperation. This report addresses a symbiotic system containing two symbiotic partners which work toward controlling a single manipulator arm for the execution of a series of sequential manipulation tasks. It is proposed that an automated task allocator use knowledge about the constraints/criteria of the problem, the available resources, the tasks to be performed, and the environment to dynamically allocate task recommendations for the man and the machine. The presentation of the methodology includes discussions concerning the interaction of the knowledge areas, the flow of control, the necessary communication links, and the replanning of the task allocation. Examples of task allocation are presented to illustrate the results of this methodolgy.

Teaching Children with Autism to Request Help with Difficult Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Nicole M.; Levesque, Megan A.; Cohrs, Victoria L.; Niemeier, Jessica J.

2017-01-01

We taught three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to request help using an interrupted chain procedure during which we manipulated task materials such that the child was either incapable or capable of independently completing a link of a behavior chain. We initially observed undesirable generalization of requests for help during…

Salient and Emerging Developmental Tasks in the Transition to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roisman, Glenn I.; Masten, Ann S.; Coatsworth, J. Douglas; Tellegen, Auke

2004-01-01

Drawing on data from a normative sample of 205 children tracked into adulthood, this study examined the predictive links from 3 salient (friendship, academic, conduct) and 2 emerging (work, romantic) developmental tasks during the transition years around age 20 to adult adaptation 10 years later. Results (a) confirm the utility of salient…

Job Characteristics, Work Involvement, and Job Performance of Public Servants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johari, Johanim; Yahya, Khulida Kirana

2016-01-01

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to assess the predicting role of job characteristics on job performance. Dimensions in the job characteristics construct are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. Further, work involvement is tested as a mediator in the hypothesized link. Design/methodology/approach: A…

How Dynamic Is Interhemispheric Interaction? Effects of Task Switching on the across-Hemisphere Advantage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welcome, Suzanne E.; Chiarello, Christine

2008-01-01

Interaction between the cerebral hemispheres may allow both hemispheres to contribute their processing resources in order to cope efficiently with complex tasks [Banich, M. (1998). The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing. "Brain and Cognition," 36, 128-157]. The current study investigated whether the…

Teacher Self-Efficacy for Teaching Students to Lead IEP Meetings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, LaRon

2010-01-01

The level of self-efficacy exhibited by an individual has been closely linked to how that individual will perform a given task. Previous studies on teacher self-efficacy focused on general activities and were less specific regarding special education teachers' perceived ability to perform a given task. Based on the theoretical framework of…

The Institutional Organisation of Knowledge Transfer and Its Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Heide, Sjors; van der Sijde, Peter C.; Terlouw, Cees

2008-01-01

How do European universities organise the knowledge transfer (KT) task? We consider the institutional organisation of knowledge transfer as encompassing 1) the knowledge transfer office structure, i.e. the way universities have embedded and organise their KT activities, 2) the focus towards the KT task, linked to the KT strategy, and 3) the KT…

Wandering Minds and Wavering Rhythms: Linking Mind Wandering and Behavioral Variability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seli, Paul; Cheyne, James Allan; Smilek, Daniel

2013-01-01

Mind wandering is a pervasive feature of human cognition often associated with the withdrawal of task-related executive control processes. Here, we explore the possibility that, in tasks requiring executive control to sustain consistent responding, moments of mind wandering could be associated with moments of increased behavioral variability. To…

Teaching Statistics: Creating an Intersection for Intra and Interdisciplinarity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savard, Annie; Manuel, Dominic

2016-01-01

Statistics is taught in mathematics courses in all school levels. We suggest that using rich tasks in statistics can develop statistical reasoning and create both intra and interdisciplinary links in students. In this paper, we present three case studies where middle school mathematics teachers used different tasks in lessons on pie charts. We…

Developmental dyslexia: exploring how much phonological and visual attention span disorders are linked to simultaneous auditory processing deficits.

PubMed

Lallier, Marie; Donnadieu, Sophie; Valdois, Sylviane

2013-07-01

The simultaneous auditory processing skills of 17 dyslexic children and 17 skilled readers were measured using a dichotic listening task. Results showed that the dyslexic children exhibited difficulties reporting syllabic material when presented simultaneously. As a measure of simultaneous visual processing, visual attention span skills were assessed in the dyslexic children. We presented the dyslexic children with a phonological short-term memory task and a phonemic awareness task to quantify their phonological skills. Visual attention spans correlated positively with individual scores obtained on the dichotic listening task while phonological skills did not correlate with either dichotic scores or visual attention span measures. Moreover, all the dyslexic children with a dichotic listening deficit showed a simultaneous visual processing deficit, and a substantial number of dyslexic children exhibited phonological processing deficits whether or not they exhibited low dichotic listening scores. These findings suggest that processing simultaneous auditory stimuli may be impaired in dyslexic children regardless of phonological processing difficulties and be linked to similar problems in the visual modality.

Supporting open collaboration in science through explicit and linked semantic description of processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gil, Yolanda; Michel, Felix; Ratnakar, Varun; Read, Jordan S.; Hauder, Matheus; Duffy, Christopher; Hanson, Paul C.; Dugan, Hilary

2015-01-01

The Web was originally developed to support collaboration in science. Although scientists benefit from many forms of collaboration on the Web (e.g., blogs, wikis, forums, code sharing, etc.), most collaborative projects are coordinated over email, phone calls, and in-person meetings. Our goal is to develop a collaborative infrastructure for scientists to work on complex science questions that require multi-disciplinary contributions to gather and analyze data, that cannot occur without significant coordination to synthesize findings, and that grow organically to accommodate new contributors as needed as the work evolves over time. Our approach is to develop an organic data science framework based on a task-centered organization of the collaboration, includes principles from social sciences for successful on-line communities, and exposes an open science process. Our approach is implemented as an extension of a semantic wiki platform, and captures formal representations of task decomposition structures, relations between tasks and users, and other properties of tasks, data, and other relevant science objects. All these entities are captured through the semantic wiki user interface, represented as semantic web objects, and exported as linked data.

Cockpit data management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groce, J. L.; Boucek, G. P.

1988-01-01

This study is a continuation of an FAA effort to alleviate the growing problems of assimilating and managing the flow of data and flight related information in the air transport flight deck. The nature and extent of known pilot interface problems arising from new NAS data management programs were determined by a comparative timeline analysis of crew tasking requirements. A baseline of crew tasking requirements was established for conventional and advanced flight decks operating in the current NAS environment and then compared to the requirements for operation in a future NAS environment emphasizing Mode-S data link and TCAS. Results showed that a CDU-based pilot interface for Mode-S data link substantially increased crew visual activity as compared to the baseline. It was concluded that alternative means of crew interface should be available during high visual workload phases of flight. Results for TCAS implementation showed substantial visual and motor tasking increases, and that there was little available time between crew tasks during a TCAS encounter. It was concluded that additional research should be undertaken to address issues of ATC coordination and the relative benefit of high workload TCAS features.

Test of a potential link between analytic and nonanalytic category learning and automatic, effortful processing.

PubMed

Tracy, J I; Pinsk, M; Helverson, J; Urban, G; Dietz, T; Smith, D J

2001-08-01

The link between automatic and effortful processing and nonanalytic and analytic category learning was evaluated in a sample of 29 college undergraduates using declarative memory, semantic category search, and pseudoword categorization tasks. Automatic and effortful processing measures were hypothesized to be associated with nonanalytic and analytic categorization, respectively. Results suggested that contrary to prediction strong criterion-attribute (analytic) responding on the pseudoword categorization task was associated with strong automatic, implicit memory encoding of frequency-of-occurrence information. Data are discussed in terms of the possibility that criterion-attribute category knowledge, once established, may be expressed with few attentional resources. The data indicate that attention resource requirements, even for the same stimuli and task, vary depending on the category rule system utilized. Also, the automaticity emerging from familiarity with analytic category exemplars is very different from the automaticity arising from extensive practice on a semantic category search task. The data do not support any simple mapping of analytic and nonanalytic forms of category learning onto the automatic and effortful processing dichotomy and challenge simple models of brain asymmetries for such procedures. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Visualizing weighted networks: a performance comparison of adjacency matrices versus node-link diagrams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIntire, John P.; Osesina, O. Isaac; Bartley, Cecilia; Tudoreanu, M. Eduard; Havig, Paul R.; Geiselman, Eric E.

2012-06-01

Ensuring the proper and effective ways to visualize network data is important for many areas of academia, applied sciences, the military, and the public. Fields such as social network analysis, genetics, biochemistry, intelligence, cybersecurity, neural network modeling, transit systems, communications, etc. often deal with large, complex network datasets that can be difficult to interact with, study, and use. There have been surprisingly few human factors performance studies on the relative effectiveness of different graph drawings or network diagram techniques to convey information to a viewer. This is particularly true for weighted networks which include the strength of connections between nodes, not just information about which nodes are linked to other nodes. We describe a human factors study in which participants performed four separate network analysis tasks (finding a direct link between given nodes, finding an interconnected node between given nodes, estimating link strengths, and estimating the most densely interconnected nodes) on two different network visualizations: an adjacency matrix with a heat-map versus a node-link diagram. The results should help shed light on effective methods of visualizing network data for some representative analysis tasks, with the ultimate goal of improving usability and performance for viewers of network data displays.

Enzyme-Linked Antibodies: A Laboratory Introduction to the ELISA Assay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Gretchen L.; McNellis, Leo A.

1998-10-01

A fast and economical laboratory exercise is presented that qualitatively demonstrates the power of enzyme-linked antibodies to detect a specific antigen. Although ELISAs are commonly used in disease diagnosis in clinical settings, this application uses biotin, covalently attached to albumin, to take advantage of readily available reagents and avoids problems associated with potentially pathogenic antigens. The laboratory exercise is suitable for high school or freshman level biochemistry courses, and can be completed within two hours.

In vitro characterization of a collagen scaffold enzymatically cross-linked with a tailored elastin-like polymer.

PubMed

Garcia, Yolanda; Hemantkumar, Naik; Collighan, Russell; Griffin, Martin; Rodriguez-Cabello, Jose Carlos; Pandit, Abhay

2009-04-01

Collagen, the main structural component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), provides tensile stiffness to different structures and organs against rupture. However, collagen tissue-engineered implants are hereto still lacking in mechanical strength. Attempts to create stiffer scaffolds have resulted in increased brittleness of the material, reducing the versatility of the original component. The hypothesis behind this research is that the introduction of an elastic element in the scaffold will enhance the mechanical properties of the collagen-based scaffolds, as elastin does in the ECM to prevent irreversible deformation. In this study, an elastin-like polymer (ELP) designed and synthesized using recombinant DNA methodology is used with the view to providing increased proteolytic resistance and increased functionality to the scaffolds by carrying specific sequences for microbial transglutaminase cross-linking, endothelial cell adhesion, and drug delivery. Evaluation of the effects that cross-linking ELP-collagen has on the physicochemical properties of the scaffold such as porosity, presence of cross-linking, thermal behavior, and mechanical strength demonstrated that the introduction of enzymatically resistant covalent bonds between collagen and ELP increases the mechanical strength of the scaffolds in a dose-dependent manner without significantly affecting the porosity or thermal properties of the original scaffold. Importantly, the scaffolds also showed selective behavior, in a dose (ELP)-dependent manner toward human umbilical vein endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells when compared to fibroblasts.

Is a Responsive Default Mode Network Required for Successful Working Memory Task Performance?

PubMed Central

Čeko, Marta; Gracely, John L.; Fitzcharles, Mary-Ann; Seminowicz, David A.; Schweinhardt, Petra

2015-01-01

In studies of cognitive processing using tasks with externally directed attention, regions showing increased (external-task-positive) and decreased or “negative” [default-mode network (DMN)] fMRI responses during task performance are dynamically responsive to increasing task difficulty. Responsiveness (modulation of fMRI signal by increasing load) has been linked directly to successful cognitive task performance in external-task-positive regions but not in DMN regions. To investigate whether a responsive DMN is required for successful cognitive performance, we compared healthy human subjects (n = 23) with individuals shown to have decreased DMN engagement (chronic pain patients, n = 28). Subjects performed a multilevel working-memory task (N-back) during fMRI. If a responsive DMN is required for successful performance, patients having reduced DMN responsiveness should show worsened performance; if performance is not reduced, their brains should show compensatory activation in external-task-positive regions or elsewhere. All subjects showed decreased accuracy and increased reaction times with increasing task level, with no significant group differences on either measure at any level. Patients had significantly reduced negative fMRI response (deactivation) of DMN regions (posterior cingulate/precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex). Controls showed expected modulation of DMN deactivation with increasing task difficulty. Patients showed significantly reduced modulation of DMN deactivation by task difficulty, despite their successful task performance. We found no evidence of compensatory neural recruitment in external-task-positive regions or elsewhere. Individual responsiveness of the external-task-positive ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, but not of DMN regions, correlated with task accuracy. These findings suggest that a responsive DMN may not be required for successful cognitive performance; a responsive external-task-positive network may be sufficient. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We studied the relationship between responsiveness of the brain to increasing task demand and successful cognitive performance, using chronic pain patients as a probe. fMRI working memory studies show that two main cognitive networks [“external-task positive” and “default-mode network” (DMN)] are responsive to increasing task difficulty. The responsiveness of both of these brain networks is suggested to be required for successful task performance. The responsiveness of external-task-positive regions has been linked directly to successful cognitive task performance, as we also show here. However, pain patients show decreased engagement and responsiveness of the DMN but can perform a working memory task as well as healthy subjects, without demonstrable compensatory neural recruitment. Therefore, a responsive DMN might not be needed for successful cognitive performance. PMID:26290236

Is a Responsive Default Mode Network Required for Successful Working Memory Task Performance?

PubMed

Čeko, Marta; Gracely, John L; Fitzcharles, Mary-Ann; Seminowicz, David A; Schweinhardt, Petra; Bushnell, M Catherine

2015-08-19

In studies of cognitive processing using tasks with externally directed attention, regions showing increased (external-task-positive) and decreased or "negative" [default-mode network (DMN)] fMRI responses during task performance are dynamically responsive to increasing task difficulty. Responsiveness (modulation of fMRI signal by increasing load) has been linked directly to successful cognitive task performance in external-task-positive regions but not in DMN regions. To investigate whether a responsive DMN is required for successful cognitive performance, we compared healthy human subjects (n = 23) with individuals shown to have decreased DMN engagement (chronic pain patients, n = 28). Subjects performed a multilevel working-memory task (N-back) during fMRI. If a responsive DMN is required for successful performance, patients having reduced DMN responsiveness should show worsened performance; if performance is not reduced, their brains should show compensatory activation in external-task-positive regions or elsewhere. All subjects showed decreased accuracy and increased reaction times with increasing task level, with no significant group differences on either measure at any level. Patients had significantly reduced negative fMRI response (deactivation) of DMN regions (posterior cingulate/precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex). Controls showed expected modulation of DMN deactivation with increasing task difficulty. Patients showed significantly reduced modulation of DMN deactivation by task difficulty, despite their successful task performance. We found no evidence of compensatory neural recruitment in external-task-positive regions or elsewhere. Individual responsiveness of the external-task-positive ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, but not of DMN regions, correlated with task accuracy. These findings suggest that a responsive DMN may not be required for successful cognitive performance; a responsive external-task-positive network may be sufficient. We studied the relationship between responsiveness of the brain to increasing task demand and successful cognitive performance, using chronic pain patients as a probe. fMRI working memory studies show that two main cognitive networks ["external-task positive" and "default-mode network" (DMN)] are responsive to increasing task difficulty. The responsiveness of both of these brain networks is suggested to be required for successful task performance. The responsiveness of external-task-positive regions has been linked directly to successful cognitive task performance, as we also show here. However, pain patients show decreased engagement and responsiveness of the DMN but can perform a working memory task as well as healthy subjects, without demonstrable compensatory neural recruitment. Therefore, a responsive DMN might not be needed for successful cognitive performance. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3511596-11$15.00/0.

Proprioceptive feedback and brain computer interface (BCI) based neuroprostheses.

PubMed

Ramos-Murguialday, Ander; Schürholz, Markus; Caggiano, Vittorio; Wildgruber, Moritz; Caria, Andrea; Hammer, Eva Maria; Halder, Sebastian; Birbaumer, Niels

2012-01-01

Brain computer interface (BCI) technology has been proposed for motor neurorehabilitation, motor replacement and assistive technologies. It is an open question whether proprioceptive feedback affects the regulation of brain oscillations and therefore BCI control. We developed a BCI coupled on-line with a robotic hand exoskeleton for flexing and extending the fingers. 24 healthy participants performed five different tasks of closing and opening the hand: (1) motor imagery of the hand movement without any overt movement and without feedback, (2) motor imagery with movement as online feedback (participants see and feel their hand, with the exoskeleton moving according to their brain signals, (3) passive (the orthosis passively opens and closes the hand without imagery) and (4) active (overt) movement of the hand and rest. Performance was defined as the difference in power of the sensorimotor rhythm during motor task and rest and calculated offline for different tasks. Participants were divided in three groups depending on the feedback receiving during task 2 (the other tasks were the same for all participants). Group 1 (n = 9) received contingent positive feedback (participants' sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) desynchronization was directly linked to hand orthosis movements), group 2 (n = 8) contingent "negative" feedback (participants' sensorimotor rhythm synchronization was directly linked to hand orthosis movements) and group 3 (n = 7) sham feedback (no link between brain oscillations and orthosis movements). We observed that proprioceptive feedback (feeling and seeing hand movements) improved BCI performance significantly. Furthermore, in the contingent positive group only a significant motor learning effect was observed enhancing SMR desynchronization during motor imagery without feedback in time. Furthermore, we observed a significantly stronger SMR desynchronization in the contingent positive group compared to the other groups during active and passive movements. To summarize, we demonstrated that the use of contingent positive proprioceptive feedback BCI enhanced SMR desynchronization during motor tasks.

Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, July--September 1990

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

Tiedemann, H.A.

1991-05-01

The report contains a general introduction and background to DOE's revised National Energy Strategy Advanced Oil Recovery Program and activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; a detailed synopsis of the symposium, including technical presentations, comments and suggestions; a section of technical information on deltaic reservoirs; and appendices containing a comprehensive listing of references keyed to general deltaic and geological aspects of reservoirs and those relevant to six selected deltaic plays. Enhanced recovery processes include chemical floodings, gas displacement, thermal recovery, geoscience, and microbial recovery.

Visual skills in airport-security screening.

PubMed

McCarley, Jason S; Kramer, Arthur F; Wickens, Christopher D; Vidoni, Eric D; Boot, Walter R

2004-05-01

An experiment examined visual performance in a simulated luggage-screening task. Observers participated in five sessions of a task requiring them to search for knives hidden in x-ray images of cluttered bags. Sensitivity and response times improved reliably as a result of practice. Eye movement data revealed that sensitivity increases were produced entirely by changes in observers' ability to recognize target objects, and not by changes in the effectiveness of visual scanning. Moreover, recognition skills were in part stimulus-specific, such that performance was degraded by the introduction of unfamiliar target objects. Implications for screener training are discussed.

Wikisearching and Wikilinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkinson, Dylan; Leung, Kai-Cheung; Trotman, Andrew

The University of Otago submitted three element runs and three passage runs to the Relevance-in-Context task of the ad hoc track. The best Otago run was a whole-document run placing 7th. The best Otago passage run placed 13th while the best Otago element run placed 31st. There were a total of 40 runs submitted to the task. The ad hoc result reinforced our prior belief that passages are better answers than elements and that the most important aspect of the focused retrieval is the identification of relevant documents. Six runs were submitted to the Link-the-Wiki track. The best Otago run placed 1st (of 21) in file to file automatic assessment and 6th (of 28) with manual assessment. The Itakura & Clarke algorithm was used for outgoing links, with special attention paid to parsing and case sensitivity. For incoming links representative terms were selected from the document and used to find similar documents.

Flow, affect and visual creativity.

PubMed

Cseh, Genevieve M; Phillips, Louise H; Pearson, David G

2015-01-01

Flow (being in the zone) is purported to have positive consequences in terms of affect and performance; however, there is no empirical evidence about these links in visual creativity. Positive affect often--but inconsistently--facilitates creativity, and both may be linked to experiencing flow. This study aimed to determine relationships between these variables within visual creativity. Participants performed the creative mental synthesis task to simulate the creative process. Affect change (pre- vs. post-task) and flow were measured via questionnaires. The creativity of synthesis drawings was rated objectively and subjectively by judges. Findings empirically demonstrate that flow is related to affect improvement during visual creativity. Affect change was linked to productivity and self-rated creativity, but no other objective or subjective performance measures. Flow was unrelated to all external performance measures but was highly correlated with self-rated creativity; flow may therefore motivate perseverance towards eventual excellence rather than provide direct cognitive enhancement.

Speaking under pressure: Low linguistic complexity is linked to high physiological and emotional stress reactivity

PubMed Central

Saslow, Laura R.; McCoy, Shannon; van der Löwe, Ilmo; Cosley, Brandon; Vartan, Arbi; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher; Moskowitz, Judith T.; Epel, Elissa S.

2014-01-01

What can a speech reveal about someone's state? We tested the idea that greater stress reactivity would relate to lower linguistic cognitive complexity while speaking. In Study 1, we tested whether heart rate and emotional stress reactivity to a stressful discussion would relate to lower linguistic complexity. In Studies 2 and 3 we tested whether a greater cortisol response to a standardized stressful task including a speech (Trier Social Stress Test) would be linked to speaking with less linguistic complexity during the task. We found evidence that measures of stress responsivity (emotional and physiological) and chronic stress are tied to variability in the cognitive complexity of speech. Taken together, these results provide evidence that our individual experiences of stress or ‘stress signatures’—how our body and mind react to stress both in the moment and over the longer term—are linked to how complexly we speak under stress. PMID:24354732

How to allocate limited healthcare resources: Lessons from the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in rural Mozambique

PubMed Central

Dodson, Zan M.; Agadjanian, Victor; Driessen, Julia

2016-01-01

Proper allocation of limited healthcare resources is a challenging task for policymakers in developing countries. Allocation of and access to these resources typically varies based on how need is defined, thus determining how individuals access and acquire healthcare. Using the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in southern Mozambique as an example, we examine alternative definitions of need for rural populations and how they might impact the allocation of this vital health service. Our results show that how need is defined matters when allocating limited healthcare resources and the use of need-based metrics can help ensure more optimal distribution of services. PMID:28596630

An introduction to scripting in Ruby for biologists

PubMed Central

Aerts, Jan; Law, Andy

2009-01-01

The Ruby programming language has a lot to offer to any scientist with electronic data to process. Not only is the initial learning curve very shallow, but its reflection and meta-programming capabilities allow for the rapid creation of relatively complex applications while still keeping the code short and readable. This paper provides a gentle introduction to this scripting language for researchers without formal informatics training such as many wet-lab scientists. We hope this will provide such researchers an idea of how powerful a tool Ruby can be for their data management tasks and encourage them to learn more about it. PMID:19607723

Multi-Attribute Task Battery - Applications in pilot workload and strategic behavior research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnegard, Ruth J.; Comstock, J. R., Jr.

1991-01-01

The Multi-Attribute Task (MAT) Battery provides a benchmark set of tasks for use in a wide range of lab studies of operator performance and workload. The battery incorporates tasks analogous to activities that aircraft crewmembers perform in flight, while providing a high degree of experimenter control, performance data on each subtask, and freedom to nonpilot test subjects. Features not found in existing computer based tasks include an auditory communication task (to simulate Air Traffic Control communication), a resource management task permitting many avenues or strategies of maintaining target performance, a scheduling window which gives the operator information about future task demands, and the option of manual or automated control of tasks. Performance data are generated for each subtask. In addition, the task battery may be paused and onscreen workload rating scales presented to the subject. The MAT Battery requires a desktop computer with color graphics. The communication task requires a serial link to a second desktop computer with a voice synthesizer or digitizer card.

The multi-attribute task battery for human operator workload and strategic behavior research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comstock, J. Raymond, Jr.; Arnegard, Ruth J.

1992-01-01

The Multi-Attribute Task (MAT) Battery provides a benchmark set of tasks for use in a wide range of lab studies of operator performance and workload. The battery incorporates tasks analogous to activities that aircraft crewmembers perform in flight, while providing a high degree of experimenter control, performance data on each subtask, and freedom to use nonpilot test subjects. Features not found in existing computer based tasks include an auditory communication task (to simulate Air Traffic Control communication), a resource management task permitting many avenues or strategies of maintaining target performance, a scheduling window which gives the operator information about future task demands, and the option of manual or automated control of tasks. Performance data are generated for each subtask. In addition, the task battery may be paused and onscreen workload rating scales presented to the subject. The MAT Battery requires a desktop computer with color graphics. The communication task requires a serial link to a second desktop computer with a voice synthesizer or digitizer card.

Medical genetics

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

Jorde, L.B.; Carey, J.C.; White, R.L.

This book on the subject of medical genetics is a textbook aimed at a very broad audience: principally, medical students, nursing students, graduate, and undergraduate students. The book is actually a primer of general genetics as applied to humans and provides a well-balanced introduction to the scientific and clinical basis of human genetics. The twelve chapters include: Introduction, Basic Cell Biology, Genetic Variation, Autosomal Dominant and Recessive Inheritance, Sex-linked and Mitochondrial Inheritance, Clinical Cytogenetics, Gene Mapping, Immunogenetics, Cancer Genetics, Multifactorial Inheritance and Common Disease, Genetic Screening, Genetic Diagnosis and Gene Therapy, and Clinical Genetics and Genetic Counseling.

The cost of making an eye movement: A direct link between visual working memory and saccade execution.

PubMed

Schut, Martijn J; Van der Stoep, Nathan; Postma, Albert; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

2017-06-01

To facilitate visual continuity across eye movements, the visual system must presaccadically acquire information about the future foveal image. Previous studies have indicated that visual working memory (VWM) affects saccade execution. However, the reverse relation, the effect of saccade execution on VWM load is less clear. To investigate the causal link between saccade execution and VWM, we combined a VWM task and a saccade task. Participants were instructed to remember one, two, or three shapes and performed either a No Saccade-, a Single Saccade- or a Dual (corrective) Saccade-task. The results indicate that items stored in VWM are reported less accurately if a single saccade-or a dual saccade-task is performed next to retaining items in VWM. Importantly, the loss of response accuracy for items retained in VWM by performing a saccade was similar to committing an extra item to VWM. In a second experiment, we observed no cost of executing a saccade for auditory working memory performance, indicating that executing a saccade exclusively taxes the VWM system. Our results suggest that the visual system presaccadically stores the upcoming retinal image, which has a similar VWM load as committing one extra item to memory and interferes with stored VWM content. After the saccade, the visual system can retrieve this item from VWM to evaluate saccade accuracy. Our results support the idea that VWM is a system which is directly linked to saccade execution and promotes visual continuity across saccades.

Variations of response time in a selective attention task are linked to variations of functional connectivity in the attentional network.

PubMed

Prado, Jérôme; Carp, Joshua; Weissman, Daniel H

2011-01-01

Although variations of response time (RT) within a particular experimental condition are typically ignored, they may sometimes reflect meaningful changes in the efficiency of cognitive and neural processes. In the present study, we investigated whether trial-by-trial variations of response time (RT) in a cross-modal selective attention task were associated with variations of functional connectivity between brain regions that are thought to underlie attention. Sixteen healthy young adults performed an audiovisual selective attention task, which involved attending to a relevant visual letter while ignoring an irrelevant auditory letter, as we recorded their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In line with predictions, variations of RT were associated with variations of functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and various other brain regions that are posited to underlie attentional control, such as the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral regions of the posterior parietal cortex. They were also linked to variations of functional connectivity between anatomically early and anatomically late regions of the relevant-modality visual cortex whose communication is thought to be modulated by attentional control processes. By revealing that variations of RT in a selective attention task are linked to variations of functional connectivity in the attentional network, the present findings suggest that variations of attention may contribute to trial-by-trial fluctuations of behavioral performance. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Establishing a Cross-Cultural Analysis Component in Business Foreign Language Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulsell, Patricia R.

Introduction of materials designed to heighten the cultural awareness of students intending to work in international business is a more difficult task than introducing cultural material to language students, due to lack of appropriate texts and methods and the limited international awareness of students. The importance of cultural understanding to…

Improving the Audio Game-Playing Performances of People with Visual Impairments through Multimodal Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balan, Oana; Moldoveanu, Alin; Moldoveanu, Florica; Nagy, Hunor; Wersenyi, Gyorgy; Unnporsson, Runar

2017-01-01

Introduction: As the number of people with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) is continuously increasing, rehabilitation and engineering researchers have identified the need to design sensory-substitution devices that would offer assistance and guidance to these people for performing navigational tasks. Auditory…

Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Marketing Education. Bulletin No. 9005.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin State Dept. of Public Instruction, Madison.

This document contains standards for the academic content of the Wisconsin K-12 curriculum in the area of marketing education. Developed by task forces of educators, parents, board of education members, and employers and employees, the standards cover content, performance, and proficiency areas. The first part of the guide is an introduction that…

Blended Learning Applied to the Study of Mechanical Couplings in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortizo, J. L.; Rodriguez, E.; Vijande, R.; Sierra, J. M.; Noriega, A.

2010-01-01

This paper begins with a brief introduction to blended learning (BL), recognising the important contributions to learning that can be obtained from the use of methods which combine the New Information and Communications Technologies (NICT) with more traditional methods. The paper goes onto describe the bases, tasks and methodology for developing…

Students' Engagement in Collaborative Knowledge Construction in Group Assignments for Information Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sormunen, Eero; Tanni, Mikko; Heinström, Jannica

2013-01-01

Introduction: Information literacy instruction is often undertaken in schools as collaborative source-based writing assignments. his paper presents the findings of a study on collaboration in two school assignments designed for information literacy. Method: The study draws on the models of cooperative and collaborative learning and the task-based…

How Do Children Reformulate Their Search Queries?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutter, Sophie; Ford, Nigel; Clough, Paul

2015-01-01

Introduction: This paper investigates techniques used by children in year 4 (age eight to nine) of a UK primary school to reformulate their queries, and how they use information retrieval systems to support query reformulation. Method: An in-depth study analysing the interactions of twelve children carrying out search tasks in a primary school…

New Hampshire Educators' Handbook: A Guide for Developing HIV/AIDS Curriculum and Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Hampshire State Dept. of Education, Concord.

This handbook was developed to facilitate the task school districts face in developing and implementing effective Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) curriculum and policy. Organized into five sections, the guide begins with an introduction that includes the New Hampshire State Board of Education HIV/AIDS…

Right Brain Activities to Improve Analytical Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Marion E.

Schools tend to have a built-in bias toward left brain activities (tasks that are linear and sequential in nature), so the introduction of right brain activities (functions related to music, rhythm, images, color, imagination, daydreaming, dimensions) brings a balance into the classroom and helps those students who may be right brain oriented. To…

Women in Academe. Progress and Prospects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamberlain, Mariam K., Ed.

The role of women in higher education during the past two decades is assessed, and dramatic changes are noted. Information for this collaborative work comes from a 4-year study by the Task Force on Women in Higher Education. Five sections have the following titles and subject matter: (1) "Introduction" (historical background and overview…

Solar Physics in the Space Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dittmer, Phil D.; And Others

This amply illustrated booklet provides a physical description of the sun as well as present and future tasks for solar physics study. The first chapter, an introduction, describes the history of solar study, solar study in space, and the relevance of solar study. The second chapter describes the five heliographic domains including the interior,…

Math Worlds: Philosophical and Social Studies of Mathematics and Mathematics Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Restivo, Sal, Ed.; And Others

This book is a compilation of papers from authors who are all concerned with what bearing mathematical practice has on the production or construction of mathematics. The sections and chapters are: (1) General Introduction: "The Promethean Task of Bringing Mathematics to Earth" (S. Restivo); (2) Philosophical Perspectives: "Foundations of…

77 FR 22000 - Hearing of the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-12

...; comprehensive research; and extensive input from experts, advocates, and impacted families and communities... & Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, 810 7th Street NW., Washington, DC 20531. Phone: (202) 305..., introductions, and panel presentations from invited guests on the impact of children's exposure to violence. The...

Scaffolding Young Children: The Utility of Mediation in a Classification Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mata, Sara; van Geert, Paul; van der Aalsvoort, Geerdina

2017-01-01

Introduction: Studies of Dynamic Assessment of cognitive abilities reveal that young children profit from assistance while carrying out tasks that elicit cognitive effort. Dynamic assessment refers to a test format of a pretest-mediation-posttest in which the mediation phase includes scaffolding to assist the child to grasp the purpose of the…

Just-in-Time Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gavrin, A.

2006-01-01

Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) is an innovative pedagogy that enables faculty to increase interactivity in the classroom and engage students in learning. By creating a feedback loop between students' work at home and the classroom setting, time on task is improved in both quality and quantity. This paper includes an introduction to JiTT and evidence…

21st-Century Urban Renewal: Mathematical Understanding of Real-World Graphical Data Using Geospatial Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeBay, Dennis J.

2017-01-01

The introduction of real-world, meaningful tasks in mathematics classrooms promises to create opportunities for enhancing students' learning through active engagement with mathematical ideas; however, researchers have given little consideration to the contexts in which urban high-school students live. The case study of three students reported in…

Attention and Multistep Problem Solving in 24-Month-Old Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrico, Renee L.

2013-01-01

The current study examined the role of increased attentional load in 24 month-old children's multistep problem-solving behavior. Children solved an object-based nonspatial working-memory search task, to which a motor component of varying difficulty was added. Significant disruptions in search performance were observed with the introduction of the…

Adaptive Criterion Setting in Perceptual Decision Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stuttgen, Maik C.; Yildiz, Ali; Gunturkun, Onur

2011-01-01

Pigeons responded in a perceptual categorization task with six different stimuli (shades of gray), three of which were to be classified as "light" or "dark", respectively. Reinforcement probability for correct responses was varied from 0.2 to 0.6 across blocks of sessions and was unequal for correct light and dark responses. Introduction of a new…

Automotive Technician. A Competency-Based Curriculum Designed To Prepare Students for Entry-Level Employment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vocational Curriculum Resource Center of Maine, Fairfield.

This curriculum guide is designed to assist instructors in the development and implementation of a comprehensive, competency-based automotive curriculum. It contains an instructional unit for each task listed on the enclosed job analysis or DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) chart. These units include introduction, performance objectives, suggested…

Attributional Style of Children with and without Specific Learning Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasta, Tiziana; Mendola, Manuela; Longobardi, Claudio; Prino, Laura Elvira; Gastaldi, Francesca Giovanna Maria

2013-01-01

Introduction: The literature highlights that pupils with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) often reveal a poor meta-cognitive system, with low levels of attribution to internal factors like diligence and personal skill, and high levels of attribution to external factors like ease of task, luck or help from others. Methods: This study aims to…

Crimes against Children: F. Regulatory Offenses Directed at Children. Discussion Paper 86-1F.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haas, Shaun; And Others

This document is one of six discussion papers prepared for the Wisconsin Legislative Council's Special Committee on Crimes Against Children. The introduction explains the committee's task of conducting a thorough examination of state laws relating to crimes against children, reviewing major policy issues affecting those laws to determine whether…

Telerobot task planning and reasoning: Introduction to JPL artificial intelligence research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atkinson, D. J.

1987-01-01

A view of the capabilities and areas of artificial intelligence research which are required for autonomous space telerobotics extending through the year 2000 is given. In the coming years, JPL will be conducting directed research to achieve these capabilities, as well as drawing heavily on collaborative efforts conducted with other research laboratories.

How Sociological Leaders Rank Learning Goals for Introductory Sociology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Persell, Caroline Hodges

2010-01-01

In 2001, the American Sociological Association launched a task force to articulate learning goals for an introduction to sociology course and design an advanced high school sociology curriculum that could also be a model for introductory sociology courses in colleges and universities. This research note describes one of several efforts to validate…

Proposal and Validation of an Entrepreneur Competency Profile: Implications for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alda-Varas, Rodrigo; Villardon-Gallego, Lourdes; Elexpuru-Albizuri, Itziar

2012-01-01

Introduction: This research presents the validated proposal of an entrepreneur competency profile. We analyzed the phases of the entrepreneurial process, and the functions involved in each of them, in order to identify the tasks involved in each function/role and consequently the specific competencies of entrepreneurs. Method: The proposal was…

NASA/WVU Software Research Laboratory, 1995

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabolish, George J.; Callahan, John R.

1995-01-01

In our second year, the NASA/WVU Software Research Lab has made significant strides toward analysis and solution of major software problems related to V&V activities. We have established working relationships with many ongoing efforts within NASA and continue to provide valuable input into policy and decision-making processes. Through our publications, technical reports, lecture series, newsletters, and resources on the World-Wide-Web, we provide information to many NASA and external parties daily. This report is a summary and overview of some of our activities for the past year. This report is divided into 6 chapters: Introduction, People, Support Activities, Process, Metrics, and Testing. The Introduction chapter (this chapter) gives an overview of our project beginnings and targets. The People chapter focuses on new people who have joined the Lab this year. The Support chapter briefly lists activities like our WWW pages, Technical Report Series, Technical Lecture Series, and Research Quarterly newsletter. Finally, the remaining four chapters discuss the major research areas that we have made significant progress towards producing meaningful task reports. These chapters can be regarded as portions of drafts of our task reports.

Friends with benefits: the evolved psychology of same- and opposite-sex friendship.

PubMed

Lewis, David M G; Conroy-Beam, Daniel; Al-Shawaf, Laith; Raja, Annia; DeKay, Todd; Buss, David M

2011-12-08

During human evolution, men and women faced distinct adaptive problems, including pregnancy, hunting, childcare, and warfare. Due to these sex-linked adaptive problems, natural selection would have favored psychological mechanisms that oriented men and women toward forming friendships with individuals possessing characteristics valuable for solving these problems. The current study explored sex-differentiated friend preferences and the psychological design features of same- and opposite-sex friendship in two tasks. In Task 1, participants (N = 121) categorized their same-sex friends (SSFs) and opposite-sex friends (OSFs) according to the functions these friends serve in their lives. In Task 2, participants designed their ideal SSFs and OSFs using limited budgets that forced them to make trade-offs between the characteristics they desire in their friends. In Task 1, men, more than women, reported maintaining SSFs for functions related to athleticism and status enhancement and OSFs for mating opportunities. In Task 2, both sexes prioritized agreeableness and dependability in their ideal SSFs, but men prioritized physical attractiveness in their OSFs, whereas women prioritized economic resources and physical prowess. These findings suggest that friend preferences may have evolved to solve ancestrally sex-linked adaptive problems, and that opposite-sex friendship may directly or indirectly serve mating functions.

Assessing performance in complex team environments.

PubMed

Whitmore, Jeffrey N

2005-07-01

This paper provides a brief introduction to team performance assessment. It highlights some critical aspects leading to the successful measurement of team performance in realistic console operations; discusses the idea of process and outcome measures; presents two types of team data collection systems; and provides an example of team performance assessment. Team performance assessment is a complicated endeavor relative to assessing individual performance. Assessing team performance necessitates a clear understanding of each operator's task, both at the individual and team level, and requires planning for efficient data capture and analysis. Though team performance assessment requires considerable effort, the results can be very worthwhile. Most tasks performed in Command and Control environments are team tasks, and understanding this type of performance is becoming increasingly important to the evaluation of mission success and for overall system optimization.

Numerical cognition is resilient to dramatic changes in early sensory experience.

PubMed

Kanjlia, Shipra; Feigenson, Lisa; Bedny, Marina

2018-06-20

Humans and non-human animals can approximate large visual quantities without counting. The approximate number representations underlying this ability are noisy, with the amount of noise proportional to the quantity being represented. Numerate humans also have access to a separate system for representing exact quantities using number symbols and words; it is this second, exact system that supports most of formal mathematics. Although numerical approximation abilities and symbolic number abilities are distinct in representational format and in their phylogenetic and ontogenetic histories, they appear to be linked throughout development--individuals who can more precisely discriminate quantities without counting are better at math. The origins of this relationship are debated. On the one hand, symbolic number abilities may be directly linked to, perhaps even rooted in, numerical approximation abilities. On the other hand, the relationship between the two systems may simply reflect their independent relationships with visual abilities. To test this possibility, we asked whether approximate number and symbolic math abilities are linked in congenitally blind individuals who have never experienced visual sets or used visual strategies to learn math. Congenitally blind and blind-folded sighted participants completed an auditory numerical approximation task, as well as a symbolic arithmetic task and non-math control tasks. We found that the precision of approximate number representations was identical across congenitally blind and sighted groups, suggesting that the development of the Approximate Number System (ANS) does not depend on visual experience. Crucially, the relationship between numerical approximation and symbolic math abilities is preserved in congenitally blind individuals. These data support the idea that the Approximate Number System and symbolic number abilities are intrinsically linked, rather than indirectly linked through visual abilities. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Ground Software Maintenance Facility (GSMF) user's manual. Appendices NASA-CR-178806 NAS 1.26:178806 Rept-41849-G159-026-App HC A05/MF A01

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aquila, V.; Derrig, D.; Griffith, G.

1986-01-01

Procedures are presented that allow the user to assemble tasks, link, compile, backup the system, generate/establish/print display pages, cancel tasks in memory, and to TET an assembly task without having to enter the commands every time. A list of acronyms is provided. Software identification, payload checkout unit operating system services, data base generation, and MITRA operating procedures are also discussed.

What Causes a Memory Strategy Utilization Deficiency?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Patricia H.; And Others

1994-01-01

In memory strategy utilization deficiency, a child spontaneously produces an appropriate strategy but receives little or no benefit from it for recall. Three studies suggest two causes: children's failure to relate the task situation to their event knowledge, or to link the strategy to a second strategy, in this case linking a selective attention…

Linking climate change and fish conservation efforts using spatially explicit decision support tools

Treesearch

Douglas P. Peterson; Seth J. Wenger; Bruce E. Rieman; Daniel J. Isaak

2013-01-01

Fisheries professionals are increasingly tasked with incorporating climate change projections into their decisions. Here we demonstrate how a structured decision framework, coupled with analytical tools and spatial data sets, can help integrate climate and biological information to evaluate management alternatives. We present examples that link downscaled climate...

Growth Points in Linking Representations of Function: A Research-Based Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronda, Erlina

2015-01-01

This paper describes five growth points in linking representations of function developed from a study of secondary school learners. Framed within the cognitivist perspective and process-object conception of function, the growth points were identified and described based on linear and quadratic function tasks learners can do and their strategies…

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurrell, Derek; O'Neil, Jennifer

2011-01-01

In providing a continued focus on tasks and activities that help to illustrate key ideas embedded in the new Australian Curriculum, this issue the authors focus, on Geometry in the Measurement and Geometry strand with strong links for an integrated focus on the Statistics and Probability strand. The small unit of work on the sorting and…

Unmanned Aircraft System Control and ATC Communications Bandwidth Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henriksen, Steve

2008-01-01

There are significant activities taking place to establish the procedures and requirements for safe and routine operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS). Among the barriers to overcome in achieving this goal is the lack of sufficient frequency spectrum necessary for the UAS control and air traffic control (ATC) communications links. This shortcoming is compounded by the fact that the UAS control communications links will likely be required to operate in protected frequency spectrum, just as ATC communications links are, because they relate to "safety and regularity of flight." To support future International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Radio Conference (WRC) agenda items concerning new frequency allocations for UAS communications links, and to augment the Future Communications Study (FCS) Technology Evaluation Group efforts, NASA Glenn Research Center has sponsored a task to estimate the UAS control and ATC communications bandwidth requirements for safe, reliable, and routine operation of UAS in the NAS. This report describes the process and results of that task. The study focused on long-term bandwidth requirements for UAS approximately through 2030.

Hyperlink Format, Categorization Abilities and Memory Span as Contributors to Deaf Users Hypertext Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farjardo, Inmaculada; Arfe, Barbara; Benedetti, Patrizia; Altoe, Gianmarco

2008-01-01

Sixty deaf and hearing students were asked to search for goods in a Hypertext Supermarket with either graphical or textual links of high typicality, frequency, and familiarity. Additionally, they performed a picture and word categorization task and two working memory span tasks (spatial and verbal). Results showed that deaf students were faster in…

A Problem-Solving Conceptual Framework and Its Implications in Designing Problem-Posing Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Florence Mihaela; Voica, Cristian

2013-01-01

The links between the mathematical and cognitive models that interact during problem solving are explored with the purpose of developing a reference framework for designing problem-posing tasks. When the process of solving is a successful one, a solver successively changes his/her cognitive stances related to the problem via transformations that…

A Bayesian Network Approach to Modeling Learning Progressions and Task Performance. CRESST Report 776

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Patti; Rutstein, Daisy Wise; Mislevy, Robert J.; Liu, Junhui; Choi, Younyoung; Levy, Roy; Crawford, Aaron; DiCerbo, Kristen E.; Chappel, Kristina; Behrens, John T.

2010-01-01

A major issue in the study of learning progressions (LPs) is linking student performance on assessment tasks to the progressions. This report describes the challenges faced in making this linkage using Bayesian networks to model LPs in the field of computer networking. The ideas are illustrated with exemplar Bayesian networks built on Cisco…

Visual Search Deficits Are Independent of Magnocellular Deficits in Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Craig M.; Conlon, Elizabeth G.; Dyck, Murray

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the theory that visual magnocellular deficits seen in groups with dyslexia are linked to reading via the mechanisms of visual attention. Visual attention was measured with a serial search task and magnocellular function with a coherent motion task. A large group of children with dyslexia (n = 70) had slower…

Using the Expectancy-Value Theory of Motivation to Predict Behavioral and Emotional Risk among High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dever, Bridget V.

2016-01-01

Within the expectancy-value framework, much work has been done linking expectancies and task values to academic outcomes such as performance, persistence, and choice. Research on the associations between student motivation (including efficacy and task values) and behavioral and emotional problems, however, is nascent. The present study examined a…

Science Motivation across Asian Countries: Links among Future-Oriented Motivation, Self-Efficacy, Task Values, and Achievement Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Yuwen

2015-01-01

The relationships among future-oriented motivation, self-efficacy, task values of science, and achievement outcomes were investigated among 15-year-olds across four Asian nations who participated in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The factor structure of…

Similar Neural Correlates for Language and Sequential Learning: Evidence from Event-Related Brain Potentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christiansen, Morten H.; Conway, Christopher M.; Onnis, Luca

2012-01-01

We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the time course and distribution of brain activity while adults performed (1) a sequential learning task involving complex structured sequences and (2) a language processing task. The same positive ERP deflection, the P600 effect, typically linked to difficult or ungrammatical syntactic…

ERP Evidence of Early Cross-Modal Links between Auditory Selective Attention and Visuo-Spatial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bomba, Marie D.; Singhal, Anthony

2010-01-01

Previous dual-task research pairing complex visual tasks involving non-spatial cognitive processes during dichotic listening have shown effects on the late component (Ndl) of the negative difference selective attention waveform but no effects on the early (Nde) response suggesting that the Ndl, but not the Nde, is affected by non-spatial…

The Link between Higher Order Thinking Skills, Representation and Concepts in Enhancing TIMSS Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tajudin, Nor'ain Mohd.; Chinnappan, Mohan

2016-01-01

Students' performances in TIMSS have featured strongly in recent discussions and debates about the quality of mathematical learning outcomes both from teachers and policy makers. Findings of TIMSS trends showed that most high school students in Malaysia continue to perform at less than satisfactory levels, particularly, in tasks that are…

Time Spent on Dedicated Patient Care and Documentation Tasks Before and After the Introduction of a Structured and Standardized Electronic Health Record.

PubMed

Joukes, Erik; Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Cornet, Ronald; de Keizer, Nicolette F

2018-01-01

Physicians spend around 35% of their time documenting patient data. They are concerned that adopting a structured and standardized electronic health record (EHR) will lead to more time documenting and less time for patient care, especially during consultations. This study measures the effect of the introduction of a structured and standardized EHR on documentation time and time for dedicated patient care during outpatient consultations. We measured physicians' time spent on four task categories during outpatient consultations: documentation, patient care, peer communication, and other activities. Physicians covered various specialties from two university hospitals that jointly implemented a structured and standardized EHR. Preimplementation, one hospital used a legacy-EHR, and one primarily paper-based records. The same physicians were observed 2 to 6 months before and 6 to 8 months after implementation.We analyzed consultation duration, and percentage of time spent on each task category. Differences in time distribution before and after implementation were tested using multilevel linear regression. We observed 24 physicians (162 hours, 439 consultations). We found no significant difference in consultation duration or number of consultations per hour. In the legacy-EHR center, we found the implementation associated with a significant decrease in time spent on dedicated patient care (-8.5%). In contrast, in the previously paper-based center, we found a significant increase in dedicated time spent on documentation (8.3%) and decrease in time on combined patient care and documentation (-4.6%). The effect on dedicated documentation time significantly differed between centers. Implementation of a structured and standardized EHR was associated with 8.5% decrease in time for dedicated patient care during consultations in one center and 8.3% increase in dedicated documentation time in another center. These results are in line with physicians' concerns that the introduction of a structured and standardized EHR might lead to more documentation burden and less time for dedicated patient care. Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with limited executive resources in a working memory task

PubMed Central

Honzel, Nikki; Justus, Timothy; Swick, Diane

2015-01-01

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can show declines in working memory. A dual-task design was used to determine if these impairments are linked to executive control limitations. Participants performed a Sternberg memory task with either one or four letters. In the dual-task condition, the maintenance period was filled with an arrow flanker task. PTSD patients were less accurate on the working memory task than controls, especially in the dual-task condition. In the single-task condition, both groups showed similar patterns of brain potentials from 300–500 ms when discriminating old and new probes. However, when taxed with an additional task, the event-related potentials (ERPs) of the PTSD group no longer differentiated old and new probes. In contrast, interference resolution processes in both the single- and dual-task conditions of the flanker were intact. The lack of differentiation in the ERPs reflects impaired working memory performance under more difficult dual-task conditions. Exacerbated difficulty in performing a working memory task with concurrent task demands suggests a specific limitation in executive control resources in PTSD. PMID:24165904

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

Hey Teacher, Don't Leave Them Kids Alone: Action Is Better for Memory than Reading.

PubMed

Hainselin, Mathieu; Picard, Laurence; Manolli, Patrick; Vankerkore-Candas, Sophie; Bourdin, Béatrice

2017-01-01

There is no consensus on how the enactment effect (EE), although it is robust, enhances memory. Researchers are currently investigating the cognitive processes underlying this effect, mostly during adulthood; the link between EE and crucial function identified in adulthood such as episodic memory and binding process remains elusive. Therefore, this study aims to verify the existence of EE in 6-10 years old and assess cognitive functions potentially linked to this effect in order to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the EE during childhood. Thirty-five children (15 second graders and 20 fifth graders) were included in this study. They encoded 24 action phrases from a protocol adapted from Hainselin et al. (2014). Encoding occurred under four conditions: Verbal Task, Listening Task, Experimenter-Performed Task, and Subject-Performed Task. Memory performance was assessed for free and cued recall, as well as source memory abilities. ANOVAS were conducted to explore age-related effects on the different scores according to encoding conditions. Correlations between EE scores (Subject-Performed Task/Listening Task) and binding memory scores (short-term binding and episodic memory) were run. Both groups benefited from EE. However, in both groups, performance did not significantly differ between Subject-Performed Task and Experimenter-Performed Task. A positive correlation was found between EE and episodic memory score for second graders and a moderate negative correlation was found between EE and binding scores for fifth graders. Our results confirm the existence of EE in 6 and 10 year olds, but they do not support the multimodal theory (Engelkamp, 2001) or the "glue" theory (Kormi-Nouri and Nilsson, 2001). This suggests instead that episodic memory might not underlie EE during early childhood.

The balanced mind: the variability of task-unrelated thoughts predicts error monitoring

PubMed Central

Allen, Micah; Smallwood, Jonathan; Christensen, Joanna; Gramm, Daniel; Rasmussen, Beinta; Jensen, Christian Gaden; Roepstorff, Andreas; Lutz, Antoine

2013-01-01

Self-generated thoughts unrelated to ongoing activities, also known as “mind-wandering,” make up a substantial portion of our daily lives. Reports of such task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) predict both poor performance on demanding cognitive tasks and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in the default mode network (DMN). However, recent findings suggest that TUTs and the DMN can also facilitate metacognitive abilities and related behaviors. To further understand these relationships, we examined the influence of subjective intensity, ruminative quality, and variability of mind-wandering on response inhibition and monitoring, using the Error Awareness Task (EAT). We expected to replicate links between TUT and reduced inhibition, and explored whether variance in TUT would predict improved error monitoring, reflecting a capacity to balance between internal and external cognition. By analyzing BOLD responses to subjective probes and the EAT, we dissociated contributions of the DMN, executive, and salience networks to task performance. While both response inhibition and online TUT ratings modulated BOLD activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the DMN, the former recruited a more dorsal area implying functional segregation. We further found that individual differences in mean TUTs strongly predicted EAT stop accuracy, while TUT variability specifically predicted levels of error awareness. Interestingly, we also observed co-activation of salience and default mode regions during error awareness, supporting a link between monitoring and TUTs. Altogether our results suggest that although TUT is detrimental to task performance, fluctuations in attention between self-generated and external task-related thought is a characteristic of individuals with greater metacognitive monitoring capacity. Achieving a balance between internally and externally oriented thought may thus aid individuals in optimizing their task performance. PMID:24223545

Advanced information processing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lala, J. H.

1984-01-01

Design and performance details of the advanced information processing system (AIPS) for fault and damage tolerant data processing on aircraft and spacecraft are presented. AIPS comprises several computers distributed throughout the vehicle and linked by a damage tolerant data bus. Most I/O functions are available to all the computers, which run in a TDMA mode. Each computer performs separate specific tasks in normal operation and assumes other tasks in degraded modes. Redundant software assures that all fault monitoring, logging and reporting are automated, together with control functions. Redundant duplex links and damage-spread limitation provide the fault tolerance. Details of an advanced design of a laboratory-scale proof-of-concept system are described, including functional operations.

A cluster of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008-2009.

PubMed

Pravinkumar, S J; Edwards, G; Lindsay, D; Redmond, S; Stirling, J; House, R; Kerr, J; Anderson, E; Breen, D; Blatchford, O; McDonald, E; Brown, A

2010-02-25

Three cases of Legionnaires disease caused by Legionella longbeachae Sg 1 associated with potting compost have been reported in Scotland between 2008 and 2009. The exact method of transmission is still not fully understood as Legionnaires disease is thought to be acquired by droplet inhalation. The linked cases associated with compost exposure call for an introduction of compost labelling, as is already in place in other countries where L. longbeachae outbreaks have been reported.

Mini-Tn7 Insertion in Bacteria With Multiple glmS-Linked attTn7 Sites: Example Burkholderia Mallei ATCC 23344

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-27

INTRODUCTION Burkholderia mallei is the etiological agent of glanders and a highly evolved obligate zoonotic mammalian pathogen that naturally affects horses...mini-Tn7 insertion in bacteria with multiple glmS-linked attTn7 sites: example Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344 Kyoung-Hee Choi1, David DeShazer2... glanders is a rare disease, B. mallei has received renewed attention because of its listing as a category B agent by the Centers for Disease Control

Contributions of episodic retrieval and mentalizing to autobiographical thought: evidence from functional neuroimaging, resting-state connectivity, and fMRI meta-analyses

PubMed Central

Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R.; Saxe, Rebecca; Yarkoni, Tal

2014-01-01

A growing number of studies suggest the brain’s “default network” becomes engaged when individuals recall their personal past or simulate their future. Recent reports of heterogeneity within the network raises the possibility that these autobiographical processes are comprised of multiple component processes, each supported by distinct functional-anatomic subsystems. We previously hypothesized that a medial temporal subsystem contributes to autobiographical memory and future thought by enabling individuals to retrieve prior information and bind this information into a mental scene. Conversely, a dorsal medial subsystem was proposed to support social-reflective aspects of autobiographical thought, allowing individuals to reflect on the mental states of one’s self and others (i.e. “mentalizing”). To test these hypotheses, we first examined activity in the default network subsystems as participants performed two commonly employed tasks of episodic retrieval and mentalizing. In a subset of participants, relationships among task-evoked regions were examined at rest, in the absence of an overt task. Finally, large-scale fMRI meta-analyses were conducted to identify brain regions that most strongly predicted the presence of episodic retrieval and mentalizing, and these results were compared to meta-analyses of autobiographical tasks. Across studies, laboratory-based episodic retrieval tasks were preferentially linked to the medial temporal subsystem, while mentalizing tasks were preferentially linked to the dorsal medial subsystem. In turn, autobiographical tasks engaged aspects of both subsystems. These results suggest the default network is a heterogeneous brain system whose subsystems support distinct component processes of autobiographical thought. PMID:24486981

Contributions of episodic retrieval and mentalizing to autobiographical thought: evidence from functional neuroimaging, resting-state connectivity, and fMRI meta-analyses.

PubMed

Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R; Saxe, Rebecca; Yarkoni, Tal

2014-05-01

A growing number of studies suggest the brain's "default network" becomes engaged when individuals recall their personal past or simulate their future. Recent reports of heterogeneity within the network raise the possibility that these autobiographical processes comprised of multiple component processes, each supported by distinct functional-anatomic subsystems. We previously hypothesized that a medial temporal subsystem contributes to autobiographical memory and future thought by enabling individuals to retrieve prior information and bind this information into a mental scene. Conversely, a dorsal medial subsystem was proposed to support social-reflective aspects of autobiographical thought, allowing individuals to reflect on the mental states of one's self and others (i.e. "mentalizing"). To test these hypotheses, we first examined activity in the default network subsystems as participants performed two commonly employed tasks of episodic retrieval and mentalizing. In a subset of participants, relationships among task-evoked regions were examined at rest, in the absence of an overt task. Finally, large-scale fMRI meta-analyses were conducted to identify brain regions that most strongly predicted the presence of episodic retrieval and mentalizing, and these results were compared to meta-analyses of autobiographical tasks. Across studies, laboratory-based episodic retrieval tasks were preferentially linked to the medial temporal subsystem, while mentalizing tasks were preferentially linked to the dorsal medial subsystem. In turn, autobiographical tasks engaged aspects of both subsystems. These results suggest the default network is a heterogeneous brain system whose subsystems support distinct component processes of autobiographical thought. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotion-based decision-making in healthy subjects: short-term effects of reducing dopamine levels

PubMed Central

Sevy, Serge; Hassoun, Youssef; Bechara, Antoine; Yechiam, Eldad; Napolitano, Barbara; Burdick, Katherine; Delman, Howard; Malhotra, Anil

2007-01-01

Introduction Converging evidences from animal and human studies suggest that addiction is associated with dopaminergic dysfunction in brain reward circuits. So far, it is unclear what aspects of addictive behaviors are related to a dopaminergic dysfunction. Discussion We hypothesize that a decrease in dopaminergic activity impairs emotion-based decision-making. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of a decrease in dopaminergic activity on the performance of an emotion-based decision-making task, the Iowa gambling task (IGT), in 11 healthy human subjects. Materials and methods We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design to examine the effect of a mixture containing the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) valine, isoleucine and leucine on prolactin, IGT performance, perceptual competency and visual aspects of visuospatial working memory, visual attention and working memory, and verbal memory. The expectancy-valence model was used to determine the relative contributions of distinct IGT components (attention to past outcomes, relative weight of wins and losses, and choice strategies) in the decision-making process. Observations and results Compared to placebo, the BCAA mixture increased prolactin levels and impaired IGT performance. BCAA administration interfered with a particular component process of decision-making related to attention to more recent events as compared to more distant events. There were no differences between placebo and BCAA conditions for other aspects of cognition. Our results suggest a direct link between a reduced dopaminergic activity and poor emotion-based decision-making characterized by shortsightedness, and thus difficulties resisting short-term reward, despite long-term negative consequences. These findings have implications for behavioral and pharmacological interventions targeting impaired emotion-based decision-making in addictive disorders. PMID:16915385

A thousand bites - Insect introductions and late Holocene environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panagiotakopulu, Eva; Buckland, Paul C.

2017-01-01

The impact of insect species directly associated with man-made habitats and human dispersal has been, and remains globally significant. Their early expansion from their original niches into Europe is intrinsically related to discussions of climate change, origins of domesticated plants and animals, the spread of agriculture and infectious diseases. The Holocene fossil records of the dispersal of three storage pest species, Sitophilus granarius, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, and Tribolium castaneum, the housefly, Musca domestica, and the human flea, Pulex irritans from 221 sites have been mapped ranging from the Near East to Europe and from the Neolithic to the post medieval period. The importance of human induced change as a driver for the spread of synanthropic faunas and the potential for the spread of disease during this process are discussed. The results show links between mobility of farming groups and distribution of synanthropic insect species and produce a roadmap for the different cultural periods of the Late Holocene based on dispersal of these synanthropic insects. During the Neolithic, the first wave of insect introductions shows the northern European frontiers of storage of cereals, introduction of domestic animals and pastoralism and exchange. Pest introductions, linked with the itinerary of the Roman army, reached the most northerly parts of the Empire. During the medieval period, the insect records indicate further expansion and changes which parallel the spread of epidemic diseases like Plague. Understanding the timing and the rates of change of synanthropic insects provides key information about the development of the homogenised and highly anthropogenic environments in which we live today.

The World Wide Web Virtual Library of Museums.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Jonathan P.

1995-01-01

Provides an introduction to and overview of the World Wide Web Virtual Library of Museums, an interactive directory of online museums, including organization of the hyperlinks visitor statistics, possible future direction, and information on some of the sites linked to the library. (JKP)

Introduction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Eve P.; Merkel-Holguin, Lisa A.

1995-01-01

Summarizes this special issue, which aims to illustrate the importance of, and stimulate interest in, child welfare history; demonstrate links between historical and current child welfare practice and policy; and encourage inclusion of child welfare in research perspectives. Topics include rise of child welfare services, responses to the need for…

Microgravity Science and Applications. Program Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

An annual report published by the Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD) of NASA is presented. It represents a compilation of the Division's currently-funded ground, flight and Advanced Technology Development tasks. An overview and progress report for these tasks, including progress reports by principal investigators selected from the academic, industry and government communities, are provided. The document includes a listing of new bibliographic data provided by the principal investigators to reflect the dissemination of research data during FY 1993 via publications and presentations. The document also includes division research metrics and an index of the funded investigators. The document contains three sections and three appendices: Section 1 includes an introduction and metrics data, Section 2 is a compilation of the task reports in an order representative of its ground, flight or ATD status and the science discipline it represents, and Section 3 is the bibliography. The three appendices, in the order of presentation, are: Appendix A - a microgravity science acronym list, Appendix B - a list of guest investigators associated with a biotechnology task, and Appendix C - an index of the currently funded principal investigators.

Competitive On-Line Scheduling for Overloaded Real-Time Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-01

Real - Time Systems by Gilad Koren a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements...Overloaded Real - Time Systems 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK...1.1 Introduction : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 2 1.1.1 Real - Time Systems : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

"What Page, Miss?" Enhancing Text Accessibility with DAISY (Digital Accessible Information SYstem)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spooner, Sue

2014-01-01

Introduction: The provision of specially formatted materials is a complex and increasingly difficult task, given the extensive and burgeoning range of texts and resources available for classroom use. The need to extend the provision of accessible formats to include digital resources (in addition to braille, audio, and large print) led to a study…

Audience, Purpose, and Civic Engagement: A Reassessment of Writing Instruction in Political Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anson, Ian G.

2017-01-01

In the present study I examine meaning-making as an integral aspect of successful writing assignments in political science. Results of a semester-long quasi-experimental pilot study show that meaning-making writing tasks help students in Introduction to American Politics courses become more politically engaged through the inculcation of civic…

The Introduction and Refinement of the Assessment of Digitally Recorded Audio Presentations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinclair, Stefanie

2016-01-01

This case study critically evaluates benefits and challenges of a form of assessment included in a final year undergraduate Religious Studies Open University module, which combines a written essay task with a digital audio recording of a short oral presentation. Based on the analysis of student and tutor feedback and sample assignments, this study…

Task-Based Navigation of a Taxonomy Interface to a Digital Repository

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khoo, Christopher S. G.; Wang, Zhonghong; Chaudhry, Abdus Sattar

2012-01-01

Introduction: This is a study of hierarchical navigation; how users browse a taxonomy-based interface to an organizational repository to locate information resources. The study is part of a project to develop a taxonomy for an library and information science department to organize resources and support user browsing in a digital repository.…

Conceptual Understanding of Shape and Space by Braille-Reading Norwegian Students in Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klingenberg, Oliv G.

2012-01-01

Introduction: The study presented here investigated the ways in which students who read braille were able to complete geometric tasks and how they constructed mental representations of the shapes of objects. Methods: Data were collected in an educational experiment conducted as a geometry course for students who read braille. A case study approach…

Technical and Symbolic Knowledge in CNC Machining: A Study of Technical Workers of Different Backgrounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Laura M. W.; Beach, King

Performances of 45 individuals with varying degrees of formal and informal training in machining and programming were compared on tasks designed to tap intellectual changes that may occur with the introduction of computer numerical control (CNC). Participants--30 machinists, 8 machine operators, and 7 engineers--were asked background questions and…

Student Search Behaviour in an Online Public Access Catalogue: An Examination of "Searching Mental Models" and "Searcher Self-Concept"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willson, Rebekah; Given, Lisa M.

2014-01-01

Introduction: This paper presents a qualitative exploration of university students' experience of searching an online public access catalogue. The study investigated how students conceptualise their searching process, as well as how students understand themselves as seekers of information. Method: Following a search task, thirty-eight…

Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tardy, Christine M.

2010-01-01

As students move from writing personal essays to writing formal academic texts in English, they face several new challenges. Writing tasks in higher education often require students to draw upon outside sources and to adopt the styles and genres of academic discourse. They must conduct research, summarize and paraphrase, cite sources, adopt genre…

Conversion of Gasoline Engines to Use Ethanol as the Sole Fuel. Student Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mishler, Glenn; Spignesi, Bill

This student guide is a learning packet that is intended for use as part of the regular auto mechanics curriculum and that provides the information necessary to convert a gasoline engine with a minimum of modifications to successfully be operated on ethanol alcohol. Contents include an introduction, objectives, procedures, list of tasks to be…

Didactics of the Use of ICT and Traditional Teaching Aids in Municipal Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombillo Rivero, Ideleichy; López Padrón, Alexander; Zumeta Izaguirre, Ernesto

2012-01-01

Issues related to the use of teaching aids in Higher Education are currently going through constant revision and rethinking due to the rapid advancement of science and technology. Their uses have significantly changed after the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the educational field. One of the main tasks to…

Transforming an Introductory Programming Course: From Lectures to Active Learning via Wireless Laptops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barak, Miri; Harward, Judson; Kocur, George; Lerman, Steven

2007-01-01

Within the framework of MIT's course 1.00: Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, this paper describes an innovative project entitled: "Studio 1.00" that integrates lectures with in-class demonstrations, active learning sessions, and on-task feedback, through the use of wireless laptop computers. This paper also describes a…

From Sharing to Experimenting: How Mobile Technologies Are Helping Ordinary Citizens Regain Their Positions as Scientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devisch, Oswald; Veestraeten, Daniel

2013-01-01

Citizen science is a term used to describe the engagement of ordinary citizens in scientific tasks like observation, measurement, and computation. A series of technological innovations, such as the Internet, the upgrade of mobile phones from communication devices to networked mobile personal measurement devices, and the introduction of…

NASA's Role in Aeronautics: A Workshop. Volume VI - Aeronautical Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Assembly of Engineering.

The central task of a 1980 workshop on the role of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in aeronautics was to examine the relationship of NASA's research capabilities to the state of U.S. aviation and to make recommendations about NASA's future role in aeronautics. Following a brief introduction, the Overview Panel on…

Radar Resource Management in a Dense Target Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-01

problem faced by networked MFRs . While relaxing our assumptions concerning information gain presents numerous challenges worth exploring, future research...linear programming MFR multifunction phased array radar MILP mixed integer linear programming NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization PDF probability...1: INTRODUCTION Multifunction phased array radars ( MFRs ) are capable of performing various tasks in rapid succession. The performance of target search

Technical Report on Manpower Planning. Technical Group Report No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montana Commission on Post-Secondary Education, Helena.

The report is one of a series containing data and recommendations relevant to the task of developing future plans for Montana's post-secondary education. A brief introduction outlines the methods used in gathering information on manpower needs, and is followed by a review and summarization of the data collected, including a description, analysis,…

Advanced Architectures for Modern Weather/Multifunction Radars

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

Advanced Architectures for Modern Weather /Multifunction Radars Caleb Fulton The University of Oklahoma Advanced Radar Research Center Norman...and all of them are addressing the need to lower cost while improving beamforming flexibility in future weather radar systems that will be tasked...with multiple non- weather functions. Keywords: Phased arrays, digital beamforming, multifunction radar. Introduction and Overview As the performance

Factors for Development of Learning Content and Task for MOOCs in an Asian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordin, Norazah; Norman, Helmi; Embi, Mohamed Amin; Mansor, Ahmad Zamri; Idris, Fazilah

2016-01-01

The rapid advancement of emergent learning technologies has led to the introduction of massive open online courses (MOOCs) which offer open-based online learning courses to a large number of students. In line with the advancement, the Malaysia Ministry of Education has recently initiated Malaysia MOOCs via collaboration with four public…

Preferences and Practices among Students Who Read Braille and Use Assistive Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Andrea, Frances Mary

2012-01-01

Introduction: Students who read braille use assistive technology to engage in literacy tasks and to access the general curriculum. There is little research on the ways in which technology has changed the reading and writing practices and preferences of students who use braille, nor is there much research on how assistive technology is learned by…

Gender Differences in the Relationship between Academic Procrastination, Satisfaction with Academic Life and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balkis, Murat; Duru, Erdinç

2017-01-01

Introduction: Procrastination has become one of the most researched topics due its adverse effects on the both general and student population in social sciences. The general tendency toward delaying academic tasks has been conceptualized as academic procrastination in academic setting. It is a prevalent issue among students and a numerous students…

Preparing Students with Learning Disabilities for Writing Tasks: Introduction to a Special Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sperling, Marko; Grünke, Matthias

2017-01-01

Just as composing a story, a report, or an argumentative essay is challenging for most students with LD, so it is challenging for teachers in inclusive settings to instruct them (Gillespie & Kiuhara, 2017; Grünke & Leonard Zabel, 2015). The articles in this issue of "Insights into Learning Disabilities" are geared towards special…

A Scale to Measure Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Deaf-Blindness Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartmann, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

Introduction: The Teacher Efficacy in Deafblindness Education Scale (TEDE) was developed to expand the construct of self-efficacy to teach children with deaf-blindness. Methods: Eighty-seven special educators in the United States were asked to rate their confidence to perform a variety of tasks that are associated with teaching children who are…

Asynchronous Peer-to-Peer Learning: Putting Student Projects to Work in Future Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talley, Kimberly G.; Smith, Shaunna

2018-01-01

For instructors interested in flipping their courses or using in-class video introductions to new topics, the development of custom video lecture content can be a daunting task. Having students create videos as a term project creates the potential opportunity to engage students in peer-to-peer learning via videos while also generating course…

Probing the Community College Transfer Function: Research on Curriculum, Degree Completion, and Academic Tasks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Council on Education, Washington, DC. National Center for Academic Achievement and Transfer.

Presenting results of transfer research undertaken between 1989 and 1992, this book examines three different dimensions of student transfer from two- to four-year institutions. Following an introduction by Judith S. Eaton, the first chapter, "The Total Community College Curriculum," by Arthur M. Cohen and Jan M. Ignash, presents results…

Purchasing and Accounting. MAS-116. Waste Isolation Division (WID). Management and Supervisor Training (MAST) Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM.

This learning module, which is part of a management and supervisor training program for managers and supervisors employed at the Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Division, is designed to prepare trainees to perform purchasing and accounting tasks efficiently and effectively. The first section is an introduction to the module. The next three…

Game-Like Tablet Assessment of Approaches to Learning: Assessing Mastery Motivation and Executive Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Józsa, Krisztián; Barrett, Karen Caplovitz; Morgan, George A.

2017-01-01

Introduction: School readiness predicts both school and life success, so measuring it effectively is extremely important. Current school readiness tests focus on pre-academic skills; however, mastery motivation (MM: persistent, focus on trying to do a task) and executive functions (EF: planful self-control) are also crucial. Method: The purpose of…

Logical Reasoning in Middle Childhood: A Study of Piagetian Concrete Operations Stage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hooper, Frank H.; And Others

This 4-year longitudinal study of logical reasoning found complex interrelationships among different cognitive processes of children ages 6 to 15. Piaget's stage theory is discussed in the introduction, with a focus on the concrete operational stage in middle childhood. In the study, a representative array of logical concept tasks and short-term…

[Delegation of medico-administrative tasks : what do medical interns and secretaries think?

PubMed

Castioni, Julien; Hagenbuch, Angélique; Tâche, Johann; Cappai, Milva; Jovanovic, Milica; Sartori, Claudio

2017-11-22

The hospital activity of physicians in training mainly consists in direct contacts with patients, tasks indirectly linked to patients such as administration, as well as clinical and theoretical training. In our era of digitalization, an important administrative work load without any added medical value fills their daily chores. In parallel activities of medical secretaries are getting more partitioned, with their desks situated far from physicians' and tasks often limited to finalizing discharge letters. Added to multiple overtime, this reduces physicians' and secretaries' work satisfaction. This article describes the context and development of delegating medico-administrative tasks to secretaries in our department of internal medicine.

The Medium Is the Message: Pictures and Objects Evoke Distinct Conceptual Relations in Parent-Child Conversations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, Elizabeth A.; Gelman, Susan A.; Kleinberg, Felicia

2013-01-01

An important developmental task is learning to organize experience by forming conceptual relations among entities. (For example, a "lion" and a "snake" can be linked because both are animals; a lion and a cage can be linked because the "lion" lives in the "cage".) We propose that representational medium…

Strategies for Linking School Finance and Students' Opportunity To Learn.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Patricia

This report answers questions that the Governors' Task Force on Education raised in their 1993 report "The Debate on Opportunity-to-Learn Standards." To assist states as they contemplate how to link school finance with the goals of education reform, the National Governors' Association invited six experts on various aspects of school finance and…

Strengthening Teaching and Research Links: The Case of a Pollution Exposure Inquiry Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spronken-Smith, Rachel; Kingham, Simon

2009-01-01

In recent years there has been a move towards the strengthening of teaching and research links in the undergraduate curriculum. Inquiry-based learning offers an opportunity for students to engage in research tasks and consequently students can develop valuable research skills, as well as working on projects aligned to staff research interests.…

The Bridge: Linking Mood Induction, Self-Report, and Psychophysiology to Vocabulary Learning on a Paired-Associates Learning Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Jessica Kate

2017-01-01

Researchers in the field of second language acquisition continue to establish links between cognition and emotion (Dewaele, 2013; MacIntyre, 2002; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989, 1991b, 1994; Segalowitz & Trofimovich, 2011). The purpose of the present study is to investigate to what extent physiological and self-report measures predict…

More Use Almost Always Means a Smaller Frequency Effect: Aging, Bilingualism, and the Weaker Links Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gollan, Tamar H.; Montoya, Rosa I.; Cera, Cynthia; Sandoval, Tiffany C.

2008-01-01

The "weaker links" hypothesis proposes that bilinguals are disadvantaged relative to monolinguals on speaking tasks because they divide frequency-of-use between two languages. To test this proposal, we contrasted the effects of increased word use associated with monolingualism, language dominance, and increased age on picture naming times. In two…

The error of L5/S1 joint moment calculation in a body-centered non-inertial reference frame when the fictitious force is ignored.

PubMed

Xu, Xu; Faber, Gert S; Kingma, Idsart; Chang, Chien-Chi; Hsiang, Simon M

2013-07-26

In ergonomics studies, linked segment models are commonly used for estimating dynamic L5/S1 joint moments during lifting tasks. The kinematics data input to these models are with respect to an arbitrary stationary reference frame. However, a body-centered reference frame, which is defined using the position and the orientation of human body segments, is sometimes used to conveniently identify the location of the load relative to the body. When a body-centered reference frame is moving with the body, it is a non-inertial reference frame and fictitious force exists. Directly applying a linked segment model to the kinematics data with respect to a body-centered non-inertial reference frame will ignore the effect of this fictitious force and introduce errors during L5/S1 moment estimation. In the current study, various lifting tasks were performed in the laboratory environment. The L5/S1 joint moments during the lifting tasks were calculated by a linked segment model with respect to a stationary reference frame and to a body-centered non-inertial reference frame. The results indicate that applying a linked segment model with respect to a body-centered non-inertial reference frame will result in overestimating the peak L5/S1 joint moments of the coronal plane, sagittal plane, and transverse plane during lifting tasks by 78%, 2%, and 59% on average, respectively. The instant when the peak moment occurred was delayed by 0.13, 0.03, and 0.09s on average, correspondingly for the three planes. The root-mean-square errors of the L5/S1 joint moment for the three planes are 21Nm, 19Nm, and 9Nm, correspondingly. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential for Introduction of Bat-Borne Zoonotic Viruses into the EU: A Review

PubMed Central

Simons, Robin R. L.; Gale, Paul; Horigan, Verity; Snary, Emma L.; Breed, Andrew C.

2014-01-01

Bat-borne viruses can pose a serious threat to human health, with examples including Nipah virus (NiV) in Bangladesh and Malaysia, and Marburg virus (MARV) in Africa. To date, significant human outbreaks of such viruses have not been reported in the European Union (EU). However, EU countries have strong historical links with many of the countries where NiV and MARV are present and a corresponding high volume of commercial trade and human travel, which poses a potential risk of introduction of these viruses into the EU. In assessing the risks of introduction of these bat-borne zoonotic viruses to the EU, it is important to consider the location and range of bat species known to be susceptible to infection, together with the virus prevalence, seasonality of viral pulses, duration of infection and titre of virus in different bat tissues. In this paper, we review the current scientific knowledge of all these factors, in relation to the introduction of NiV and MARV into the EU. PMID:24841385

Inaction Inertia, the Sunk Cost Effect, and Handedness: Avoiding the Losses of Past Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westfall, Jonathan E.; Jasper, John D.; Christman, Stephen

2012-01-01

Strength of handedness, or the degree to which an individual prefers to use a single hand to perform various tasks, is a neurological marker for brain organization and has been shown to be linked to episodic memory, attribute framing, and anchoring, as well as other domains and tasks. The present work explores the relationship of handedness to…

Investigating the Link between Self Directed Learning Readiness and Project-Based Learning Outcomes: The Case of International Masters Students in an Engineering Management Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Rodney A.

2007-01-01

Modern learning approaches increasingly have fewer structured learning activities and more self-directed learning tasks guided through consultation with academics. Such tasks are predominately project-/problem-based where the student is required to follow a freely guided road map to self discovery while simultaneously achieving desired learning…

Integrating Speech and Iconic Gestures in a Stroop-Like Task: Evidence for Automatic Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Spencer D.; Creigh, Peter; Bartolotti, James

2010-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated a link between language and action in the brain. The present study investigates the strength of this neural relationship by focusing on a potential interface between the two systems: cospeech iconic gesture. Participants performed a Stroop-like task in which they watched videos of a man and a woman speaking and…

New Directions in Evaluating Social Problem Solving in Childhood: Early Precursors and Links to Adolescent Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Susan H.; Smith, Karen E.; Swank, Paul R.

2009-01-01

A major objective of this chapter is to present a novel, ecologically sensitive social problem-solving task for school-aged children that captures the complexity of social and cognitive demands placed on children in naturalistic situations. Competence on this task correlates with a range of skills including executive functions, verbal reasoning,…

The (B)link Between Creativity and Dopamine: Spontaneous Eye Blink Rates Predict and Dissociate Divergent and Convergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chermahini, Soghra Akbari; Hommel, Bernhard

2010-01-01

Human creativity has been claimed to rely on the neurotransmitter dopamine, but evidence is still sparse. We studied whether individual performance (N=117) in divergent thinking (alternative uses task) and convergent thinking (remote association task) can be predicted by the individual spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR), a clinical marker of…

Does Positive Affect Broaden and Negative Affect Narrow Attentional Scope? A New Answer to an Old Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huntsinger, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

The current research challenges the common view that positive affect and negative affect generate a broadened or narrowed attentional focus, respectively. Contrary to this view, two studies found that the link between affect and attentional focus as measured by a traditional flanker task (Study 1) and a modified flanker task (Study 2) reflects…

Pennsylvania Blue Shield's Job Linked Skills Program. A Basic Skills Education Program. Final Performance Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania Blue Shield, Camp Hill.

A project developed a model curriculum to be delivered by computer-based instruction to teach the required literacy skills for entry workers in the health insurance industry. Literacy task analyses were performed for the targeted jobs and then validated with focus groups. The job tasks and related basic skills were divided into modules. The job…

Effects of Dispositional Mindfulness on the Self-Controlled Learning of a Novel Motor Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kee, Ying Hwa; Liu, Yeou-Teh

2011-01-01

Current literature suggests that mindful learning is beneficial to learning but its links with motor learning is seldom examined. In the present study, we examine the effects of learners' mindfulness disposition on the self-controlled learning of a novel motor task. Thirty-two participants undertook five practice sessions, in addition to a pre-,…

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.

Changing the precision of preschoolers' approximate number system representations changes their symbolic math performance.

PubMed

Wang, Jinjing Jenny; Odic, Darko; Halberda, Justin; Feigenson, Lisa

2016-07-01

From early in life, humans have access to an approximate number system (ANS) that supports an intuitive sense of numerical quantity. Previous work in both children and adults suggests that individual differences in the precision of ANS representations correlate with symbolic math performance. However, this work has been almost entirely correlational in nature. Here we tested for a causal link between ANS precision and symbolic math performance by asking whether a temporary modulation of ANS precision changes symbolic math performance. First, we replicated a recent finding that 5-year-old children make more precise ANS discriminations when starting with easier trials and gradually progressing to harder ones, compared with the reverse. Next, we show that this brief modulation of ANS precision influenced children's performance on a subsequent symbolic math task but not a vocabulary task. In a supplemental experiment, we present evidence that children who performed ANS discriminations in a random trial order showed intermediate performance on both the ANS task and the symbolic math task, compared with children who made ordered discriminations. Thus, our results point to a specific causal link from the ANS to symbolic math performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing the precision of preschoolers’ approximate number system representations changes their symbolic math performance

PubMed Central

Wang, Jinjing (Jenny); Odic, Darko; Halberda, Justin; Feigenson, Lisa

2016-01-01

From early in life, humans have access to an Approximate Number System (ANS) that supports an intuitive sense of numerical quantity. Previous work in both children and adults suggests that individual differences in the precision of ANS representations correlate with symbolic math performance. However, this work has been almost entirely correlational in nature. Here we tested for a causal link between ANS precision and symbolic math performance by asking whether a temporary modulation of ANS precision changes symbolic math performance. First we replicated a recent finding that 5-year-old children make more precise ANS discriminations when starting with easier trials and gradually progressing to harder ones, compared to the reverse. Next, we show that this brief modulation of ANS precision influenced children’s performance on a subsequent symbolic math task, but not a vocabulary task. In a supplemental experiment we present evidence that children who performed ANS discriminations in a random trial order showed intermediate performance both on the ANS task and the symbolic math task, compared to the children who made ordered discriminations. Thus, our results point to a specific causal link from the ANS to symbolic math performance. PMID:27061668

Nurse prescribing of medicines in Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries: a survey on forces, conditions and jurisdictional control.

PubMed

Kroezen, Marieke; Francke, Anneke L; Groenewegen, Peter P; van Dijk, Liset

2012-08-01

The number of Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries where nurses are legally allowed to prescribe medicines is growing. As the prescribing of medicines has traditionally been the task of the medical profession, nurse prescribing is changing the relationship between the medical and nursing professions. To gain more insight into the forces that led to the introduction of nurse prescribing of medicines in Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries, as well as into the legal, educational and organizational conditions under which nurses prescribe in these countries. Moreover, this study sought to determine which consequences nurse prescribing has for the division of jurisdictional control over prescribing between the nursing and medical professions. International survey. An email survey was sent to 60 stakeholders of professional nursing or medical associations or government bodies, at national, state or provincial level across ten Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries, namely Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The survey addressed the reasons for the introduction of nurse prescribing and the conditions under which nurses are or will be prescribing medicines. The response rate was 65% (n=39). It was shown that a diversity of forces led to the introduction of nurse prescribing, and respondents from nursing and medical associations and government bodies cited different forces as being important for the introduction of nurse prescribing. Representatives of nurses' associations oftentimes emphasized the medication needs of patients living in remote geographical areas, while representatives of medical associations more often pointed to workforce shortages within the health care service. The conditions under which nurses prescribe medicines vary considerably, from countries where nurses prescribe independently to countries in which prescribing by nurses is only allowed under strict conditions and the supervision of physicians. Citing different forces as being important in the introduction of nurse prescribing can be conceived as a professional 'problem construction' in order to gain jurisdiction over the prescribing task. In most countries, nurses prescribe in a subordinate position and the jurisdiction over prescribing remains predominantly with the medical profession. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The 4th edition of Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry Edited by Eldor Paul continues in the vein of the 3rd edition by providing an excellent, broad-reaching introduction to soil biology. The new edition improves on the previous by providing extensive supplementary materials, links to outs...

Introductions to Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, Helen J.

2009-01-01

This slide presentation discusses how in the early concept studies the communications architecture plays an important part: The communications architecture is the arrangement, or configuration of satellites and ground systems in a space system, and the network of communications links that transfers information between them.

Workshop Introduction: Systems Biology and Biological Models

EPA Science Inventory

As we consider the future of toxicity testing, the importance of applying biological models to this problem is clear. Modeling efforts exist along a continuum with respect to the level of organization (e.g. cell, tissue, organism) linked to the resolution of the model. Generally,...

Disrupted neural activity patterns to novelty and effort in young adult APOE-e4 carriers performing a subsequent memory task.

PubMed

Evans, Simon; Dowell, Nicholas G; Tabet, Naji; King, Sarah L; Hutton, Samuel B; Rusted, Jennifer M

2017-02-01

The APOE e4 allele has been linked to poorer cognitive aging and enhanced dementia risk. Previous imaging studies have used subsequent memory paradigms to probe hippocampal function in e4 carriers across the age range, and evidence suggests a pattern of hippocampal overactivation in young adult e4 carriers. In this study, we employed a word-based subsequent memory task under fMRI; pupillometry data were also acquired as an index of cognitive effort. Participants (26 non-e4 carriers and 28 e4 carriers) performed an incidental encoding task (presented as word categorization), followed by a surprise old/new recognition task after a 40 minute delay. In e4 carriers only, subsequently remembered words were linked to increased hippocampal activity. Across all participants, increased pupil diameter differentiated subsequently remembered from forgotten words, and neural activity covaried with pupil diameter in cuneus and precuneus. These effects were weaker in e4 carriers, and e4 carriers did not show greater pupil diameter to remembered words. In the recognition phase, genotype status also modulated hippocampal activity: here, however, e4 carriers failed to show the conventional pattern of greater hippocampal activity to novel words. Overall, neural activity changes were unstable in e4 carriers, failed to respond to novelty, and did not link strongly to cognitive effort, as indexed by pupil diameter. This provides further evidence of abnormal hippocampal recruitment in young adult e4 carriers, manifesting as both up and downregulation of neural activity, in the absence of behavioral performance differences.

Daily variability in working memory is coupled with negative affect: the role of attention and motivation.

PubMed

Brose, Annette; Schmiedek, Florian; Lövdén, Martin; Lindenberger, Ulman

2012-06-01

Across days, individuals experience varying levels of negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. We investigated whether this intraindividual variability was coupled with daily fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance. In 100 days, 101 younger individuals worked on a spatial N-back task and rated negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. Results showed that individuals differed in how reliably WM performance fluctuated across days, and that subjective experiences were primarily linked to performance accuracy. WM performance was lower on days with higher levels of negative affect, reduced control of attention, and reduced task-related motivation. Thus, variables that were found to predict WM in between-subjects designs showed important relationships to WM at the within-person level. In addition, there was shared predictive variance among predictors of WM. Days with increased negative affect and reduced performance were also days with reduced control of attention and reduced motivation to work on tasks. These findings are in line with proposed mechanisms linking negative affect and cognitive performance.

Dimensionality of brain networks linked to life-long individual differences in self-control.

PubMed

Berman, Marc G; Yourganov, Grigori; Askren, Mary K; Ayduk, Ozlem; Casey, B J; Gotlib, Ian H; Kross, Ethan; McIntosh, Anthony R; Strother, Stephen; Wilson, Nicole L; Zayas, Vivian; Mischel, Walter; Shoda, Yuichi; Jonides, John

2013-01-01

The ability to delay gratification in childhood has been linked to positive outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Here we examine a subsample of participants from a seminal longitudinal study of self-control throughout a subject's life span. Self-control, first studied in children at age 4 years, is now re-examined 40 years later, on a task that required control over the contents of working memory. We examine whether patterns of brain activation on this task can reliably distinguish participants with consistently low and high self-control abilities (low versus high delayers). We find that low delayers recruit significantly higher-dimensional neural networks when performing the task compared with high delayers. High delayers are also more homogeneous as a group in their neural patterns compared with low delayers. From these brain patterns, we can predict with 71% accuracy, whether a participant is a high or low delayer. The present results suggest that dimensionality of neural networks is a biological predictor of self-control abilities.

Prediction is Production: The missing link between language production and comprehension.

PubMed

Martin, Clara D; Branzi, Francesca M; Bar, Moshe

2018-01-18

Language comprehension often involves the generation of predictions. It has been hypothesized that such prediction-for-comprehension entails actual language production. Recent studies provided evidence that the production system is recruited during language comprehension, but the link between production and prediction during comprehension remains hypothetical. Here, we tested this hypothesis by comparing prediction during sentence comprehension (primary task) in participants having the production system either available or not (non-verbal versus verbal secondary task). In the primary task, sentences containing an expected or unexpected target noun-phrase were presented during electroencephalography recording. Prediction, measured as the magnitude of the N400 effect elicited by the article (expected versus unexpected), was hindered only when the production system was taxed during sentence context reading. The present study provides the first direct evidence that the availability of the speech production system is necessary for generating lexical prediction during sentence comprehension. Furthermore, these important results provide an explanation for the recruitment of language production during comprehension.

Short-term retention of pictures and words as a function of type of distraction and length of delay interval.

PubMed

Pellegrino, J W; Siegel, A W; Dhawan, M

1976-01-01

Picture and word triads were tested in a Brown-Peterson short-term retention task at varying delay intervals (3, 10, or 30 sec) and under acoustic and simultaneous acoustic and visual distraction. Pictures were superior to words at all delay intervals under single acoustic distraction. Dual distraction consistently reduced picture retention while simultaneously facilitating word retention. The results were interpreted in terms of the dual coding hypothesis with modality-specific interference effects in the visual and acoustic processing systems. The differential effects of dual distraction were related to the introduction of visual interference and differential levels of functional acoustic interference across dual and single distraction tasks. The latter was supported by a constant 2/1 ratio in the backward counting rates of the acoustic vs. dual distraction tasks. The results further suggest that retention may not depend on total processing load of the distraction task, per se, but rather that processing load operates within modalities.

NASA Engineering Safety Center NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group 2007 Proactive Task Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, Michelle A.

2007-01-01

In 2007, the NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC) chartered the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group to bring forth and address critical battery-related performance/manufacturing issues for NASA and the aerospace community. A suite of tasks identifying and addressing issues related to Ni-H2 and Li-ion battery chemistries was submitted and selected for implementation. The current NESC funded are: (1) Wet Life of Ni-H2 Batteries (2) Binding Procurement (3) NASA Lithium-Ion Battery Guidelines (3a) Li-Ion Performance Assessment (3b) Li-Ion Guidelines Document (3b-i) Assessment of Applicability of Pouch Cells for Aerospace Missions (3b-ii) High Voltage Risk Assessment (3b-iii) Safe Charge Rates for Li-Ion Cells (4) Availability of Source Material for Li-Ion Cells (5) NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop This presentation provides a brief overview of the tasks in the 2007 plan and serves as an introduction to more detailed discussions on each of the specific tasks.

QUADRICEPS LOW FREQUENCY FATIGUE AND MUSCLE PAIN ARE CONTRACTION TYPE DEPENDENT

PubMed Central

Iguchi, Masaki; Shields, Richard K.

2010-01-01

Introduction Eccentric contractions are thought to induce greater low frequency fatigue (LFF) and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) than concentric contractions. This study induced a similar amount of eccentric quadriceps muscle fatigue during either a concentric or eccentric fatigue task to compare LFF and DOMS. Methods Subjects (n=22) performed concentric or eccentric fatigue tasks using 75% of the pre-fatigue maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, and both tasks ended when the MVC eccentric torque decreased by 25% pre-fatigue. Results When subjects reached the failure criterion during the eccentric and concentric tasks, the concentric MVC was 78 ± 9.8% and 64 ± 8.4% of initial, respectively. LFF was greater after the concentric than the eccentric protocols (22 ± 12.4% and 15 ± 7.6% increase, respectively; p < 0.01). DOMS was over 100% greater for the eccentric protocol. Discussion These results indicate that DOMS is not dependent on the events that contribute to LFF. PMID:20544933

Development of Vestibular Stochastic Resonance as a Sensorimotor Countermeasure: Improving Otolith Ocular and Motor Task Responses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulavara, Ajitkumar; Fiedler, Matthew; DeDios,Yiri E.; Galvan, Raquel; Bloomberg, Jacob; Wood, Scott

2011-01-01

Astronauts experience disturbances in sensorimotor function after spaceflight during the initial introduction to a gravitational environment, especially after long-duration missions. Stochastic resonance (SR) is a mechanism by which noise can assist and enhance the response of neural systems to relevant, imperceptible sensory signals. We have previously shown that imperceptible electrical stimulation of the vestibular system enhances balance performance while standing on an unstable surface. The goal of our present study is to develop a countermeasure based on vestibular SR that could improve central interpretation of vestibular input and improve motor task responses to mitigate associated risks.

Resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging for presurgical planning.

PubMed

Kamran, Mudassar; Hacker, Carl D; Allen, Monica G; Mitchell, Timothy J; Leuthardt, Eric C; Snyder, Abraham Z; Shimony, Joshua S

2014-11-01

Resting-state functional MR imaging (rsfMR imaging) measures spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal and can be used to elucidate the brain's functional organization. It is used to simultaneously assess multiple distributed resting-state networks. Unlike task-based functional MR imaging, rsfMR imaging does not require task performance. This article presents a brief introduction of rsfMR imaging processing methods followed by a detailed discussion on the use of rsfMR imaging in presurgical planning. Example cases are provided to highlight the strengths and limitations of the technique. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design concepts for the development of cooperative problem-solving systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Philip J.; Mccoy, Elaine; Layton, Chuck; Bihari, Tom

1992-01-01

There are many problem-solving tasks that are too complex to fully automate given the current state of technology. Nevertheless, significant improvements in overall system performance could result from the introduction of well-designed computer aids. We have been studying the development of cognitive tools for one such problem-solving task, enroute flight path planning for commercial airlines. Our goal was two-fold. First, we were developing specific systems designs to help with this important practical problem. Second, we are using this context to explore general design concepts to guide in the development of cooperative problem-solving systems. These designs concepts are described.

Sex differences in effects of testing medium and response format on a visuospatial task.

PubMed

Cherney, Isabelle D; Rendell, Jariel A

2010-06-01

Sex differences on visuospatial tests are among the most reliably replicated. It is unclear to what extent these performance differences reflect underlying differences in skills or testing factors. To assess whether testing medium and response format affect visuospatial sex differences, performances of introductory psychology students (100 men, 104 women) were examined on a visuospatial task presented in paper-and-pencil and tablet computer forms. Both sexes performed better when tested on paper, although men outperformed women. The introduction of an open-ended component to the visuospatial task eliminated sex differences when prior spatial experiences were controlled, but men outperformed women when prior spatial experiences were not considered. In general, the open-ended version and computerized format of the test diminished performance, suggesting that response format and medium are testing factors that influence visuospatial abilities.

[Influence Additional Cognitive Tasks on EEG Beta Rhythm Parameters during Forming and Testing Set to Perception of the Facial Expression].

PubMed

Yakovenko, I A; Cheremushkin, E A; Kozlov, M K

2015-01-01

The research of changes of a beta rhythm parameters on condition of working memory loading by extension of a interstimuli interval between the target and triggering stimuli to 16 sec is investigated on 70 healthy adults in two series of experiments with set to a facial expression. In the second series at the middle of this interval for strengthening of the load was entered the additional cognitive task in the form of conditioning stimuli like Go/NoGo--circles of blue or green color. Data analysis of the research was carried out by means of continuous wavelet-transformation on the basis of "mather" complex Morlet-wavelet in the range of 1-35 Hz. Beta rhythm power was characterized by the mean level, maxima of wavelet-transformation coefficient (WLC) and latent periods of maxima. Introduction of additional cognitive task to pause between the target and triggering stimuli led to essential increase in absolute values of the mean level of beta rhythm WLC and relative sizes of maxima of beta rhythm WLC. In the series of experiments without conditioning stimulus subjects with large number of mistakes (from 6 to 40), i.e. rigid set, in comparison with subjects with small number of mistakes (to 5), i.e. plastic set, at the forming stage were characterized by higher values of the mean level of beta rhythm WLC. Introduction of the conditioning stimuli led to smoothing of intergroup distinctions throughout the experiment.

I(CES)-cubes: a modular self-reconfigurable bipartite robotic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unsal, Cem; Kiliccote, Han; Khosla, Pradeep K.

1999-08-01

In this manuscript, we introduce I(CES)-Cubes, a class of 3D modular robotic system that is capable of reconfiguring itself in order to adapt to its environment. This is a bipartite system, i.e. a collection of (i) active elements capable of actuation, and (ii) passive elements acting as connectors between actuated elements. Active elements, called links, are 3-DOF manipulators that are capable of attaching/detaching themselves to/from the passive elements. The cubes can then be positioned and oriented using links, which are independent mechatronic elements. Self- reconfiguration property enables the system to performed locomotion tasks over difficult terrain. For example, the system would be capable of moving over obstacles and climbing stairs. These task are performed by positing and orienting cubes and links to form a 3D network with required shape and position. This paper describes the design of the passive and active elements, the attachment mechanics, and several reconfiguration scenarios. Specifics of the hardware implementation and result of experiments with current prototypes are also given.

Speaking under pressure: low linguistic complexity is linked to high physiological and emotional stress reactivity.

PubMed

Saslow, Laura R; McCoy, Shannon; van der Löwe, Ilmo; Cosley, Brandon; Vartan, Arbi; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher; Moskowitz, Judith T; Epel, Elissa S

2014-03-01

What can a speech reveal about someone's state? We tested the idea that greater stress reactivity would relate to lower linguistic cognitive complexity while speaking. In Study 1, we tested whether heart rate and emotional stress reactivity to a stressful discussion would relate to lower linguistic complexity. In Studies 2 and 3, we tested whether a greater cortisol response to a standardized stressful task including a speech (Trier Social Stress Test) would be linked to speaking with less linguistic complexity during the task. We found evidence that measures of stress responsivity (emotional and physiological) and chronic stress are tied to variability in the cognitive complexity of speech. Taken together, these results provide evidence that our individual experiences of stress or "stress signatures"-how our body and mind react to stress both in the moment and over the longer term-are linked to how complex our speech under stress. Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Organisational Problems in Planning Educational Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Directorate for Scientific Affairs.

Papers submitted to a meeting of economists, educators, and government officials discuss the organizational implications of the link between education and economic growth. Following an introduction by Henning Friis, the authors and titles of the papers are (1) Necat Erder, "Some Administrative Problems in Educational Planning," (2) Raymond…

World Link.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Linda C.

This training manual written for elementary and secondary school teachers in the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools, explains how to use the Internet. An introduction explains how computers in different locations can be connected and provides a general description of telecommunications software. How to log in and how to use various Internet tools are…

Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deal, Terrence E.; Peterson, Kent D.

Reforms that strive for educational excellence will fail unless they are meaningfully linked to schools' unique cultures. Chapter 1, "Introduction: The Case for School Culture," discusses the impact of culture on achievement, reform, and learning. Chapter 2, "Schools as Tribes," examines a school that transformed itself through…

Interrogating Racism in Qualitative Research Methodology. Counterpoints.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez, Gerardo R., Ed.; Parker, Laurence, Ed.

This book explores the link between critical race theory and qualitative research methodology, interrogating how race connects and conflicts with other areas of difference and is never entirely absent from the research process. After an introduction, "Critical Race Theory in Education: Theory, Praxis, and Recommendations" (Sylvia R.…

CyberEconomics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schenk, Robert

2003-01-01

Describes CyberEconomics, a complete, free, two-semester principles of economics textbook available on the World Wide Web. Contains chapters, sections, a table of contents, a set of learning objectives, and links to chapter introductions and sections. Offers a CD-ROM version available for a fee that contains interactive review questions. (JEH)

LINKING HISTORICAL ORGANOCHLORINE EXPOSURES IN THE GREAT LAKES CAUSALLY TO MAJOR FISH POPULATION CHANGES

EPA Science Inventory

The Great Lakes of North America are large aquatic ecosystems that have been greatly impacted by human activities in the 20th century. Introduction of non-native species, both advertently and inadvertently; reduction in populations through commercial fishing; habitat alternation...

Effect Of Colony Numbers Selected From Plating Media On Salmonella Serogroup Detection From Naturally Contaminated Chicken Carcasses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction: Attribution studies are being undertaken to link Salmonella serotypes associated with human illness to food sources. However, studies have demonstrated that culture techniques often influence the sensitivity and specificity associated with bacterial recovery. Purpose: This study ...

Organizational Learning? Look Again

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belle, Stuart

2016-01-01

Purpose: Despite the growth in research on conditions for successful learning by organizations and the introduction of expanding practices and approaches, a progressive and shared understanding of the link between organizational learning and governance is currently missing. This paper aims to take a closer look at organizational learning from a…

What causes high fat diet-induced postprandial inflammation: endotoxin or free fatty acids?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction High fat (saturated fat) diet has been generally used to induce tissue inflammation, insulin resistance and obesity in animal models. High fat diet can also induce postprandial inflammation in humans. Importantly, postprandial inflammation is linked to elevated cardiovascular and metabo...

75 FR 13174 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-18

...-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Establish Strike Price Intervals and Trading Hours for Options on Index-Linked Securities March 12, 2010. I. Introduction On January 27, 2010, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (``CBOE...

Functional Electrical Therapy Systems: Neuroprostheses for Life-Like Reach and Grasp

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

communication channel by means of an infrared link. Keywords – Neuroprosthesis, therapy, reaching, grasping I. INTRODUCTION Functional electrical...present technology and the next generation. Proc 2nd Int Symp IFESS, Burnaby, pp 139-140, 1997. [7] Ocadiz G, Mayagoitia RE. Programmable eight channel

Social motivation and implicit theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Burnside, Kimberly; Wright, Kristyn; Poulin-Dubois, Diane

2017-11-01

According to the social motivation theory of autism, children who develop Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have early deficits in social motivation, which is expressed by decreased attention to social information. These deficits are said to lead to impaired socio-cognitive development, such as theory of mind (ToM). There is little research focused on the relation between social motivation and ToM in this population. The goal of the present study was to investigate the link between one aspect of social motivation, social orienting, and ToM in preschoolers with ASD. It was expected that, in contrast to typically developing (TD) children, children with ASD would show impaired performance on tasks measuring social orienting and ToM. It was also expected that children's performance on the social orienting tasks would be correlated with their performance on the ToM task. A total of 17 children with ASD and 16 TD children participated in this study. Participants completed two social orienting tasks, a face preference task and a biological motion preference task, as well an implicit false belief task. Results reveal that TD children, but not children with ASD, exhibited social preference as measured by a preference for faces and biological motion. Furthermore, children with ASD tended to perform worse on the ToM task compared to their TD counterparts. Performance on the social motivation tasks and the ToM task tended to be related but only for the TD children. These findings suggest that ToM is multifaceted and that motivational deficits might have downstream effects even on implicit ToM. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1834-1844. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The goal of the present study was to examine the link between poor attention to social information and mindreading abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results demonstrated that children with ASD tended to perform worse than neurotypical children on both social orienting and theory of mind tasks. Preference for human faces and motion tended to be related but only for the neurotypical children. These findings provide partial support for the social motivation theory. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brain Modularity Mediates the Relation between Task Complexity and Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Fengdan; Yue, Qiuhai; Martin, Randi; Fischer-Baum, Simon; Ramos-Nuã+/-Ez, Aurora; Deem, Michael

Recent work in cognitive neuroscience has focused on analyzing the brain as a network, rather than a collection of independent regions. Prior studies taking this approach have found that individual differences in the degree of modularity of the brain network relate to performance on cognitive tasks. However, inconsistent results concerning the direction of this relationship have been obtained, with some tasks showing better performance as modularity increases, and other tasks showing worse performance. A recent theoretical model suggests that these inconsistencies may be explained on the grounds that high-modularity networks favor performance on simple tasks whereas low-modularity networks favor performance on complex tasks. The current study tests these predictions by relating modularity from resting-state fMRI to performance on a set of behavioral tasks. Complex and simple tasks were defined on the basis of whether they drew on executive attention. Consistent with predictions, we found a negative correlation between individuals' modularity and their performance on the complex tasks but a positive correlation with performance on the simple tasks. The results presented here provide a framework for linking measures of whole brain organization to cognitive processing.

Developmental changes in children's abilities to share and allocate attention in a dual task.

PubMed

Irwin-Chase, H; Burns, B

2000-09-01

Characterizing developmental changes in children's dual-task performance has been problematic because differences in divided attention abilities are easily confounded with differences in overall capacity. Two experiments showed that after individual differences in children's capacity for single-task performance were controlled for, age differences between second- (M = 8.1 years) and fifth-grade (M = 11.1 years) children did not exist in dual-task performance when tasks were of equal priority. However, when tasks had different priorities, only fifth-grade children could differentially allocate attention in the dual task. Results are discussed within the coordination hypothesis framework (see A. F. Kramer & J. L. Larish, 1996), which suggests that changes in dual-task performance with aging are due to changes in the ability to coordinate and control the allocation of attention. It is argued that linking the investigations of children's attention with research on attention and aging provides both methodological and theoretical benefits. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

High and low schizotypal female subjects do not differ in spatial memory abilities in a virtual reality task.

PubMed

García-Montes, José Manuel; Noguera, Carmen; Alvarez, Dolores; Ruiz, Marina; Cimadevilla Redondo, José Manuel

2014-01-01

Schizotypy is a psychological construct related to schizophrenia. The exact relationship between both entities is not clear. In recent years, schizophrenia has been associated with hippocampal abnormalities and spatial memory problems. The aim of this study was to determine possible links between high schizotypy (HS) and low schizotypy (LS) and spatial abilities, using virtual reality tasks. We hypothesised that the HS group would exhibit a lower performance in spatial memory tasks than the LS group. Two groups of female students were formed according to their score on the ESQUIZO-Q-A questionnaire. HS and LS subjects were tested on two different tasks: the Boxes Room task, a spatial memory task sensitive to hippocampal alterations and a spatial recognition task. Data showed that both groups mastered both tasks. Groups differed in personality features but not in spatial performance. These results provide valuable information about the schizotypy-schizophrenia connections. Schizotypal subjects are not impaired on spatial cognition and, accordingly, the schizotypy-schizophrenia relationship is not straightforward.

Making sense of theory of mind and paranoia: the psychometric properties and reasoning requirements of a false belief sequencing task.

PubMed

Corcoran, Rhiannon; Bentall, Richard P; Rowse, Georgina; Moore, Rosanne; Cummins, Sinead; Blackwood, Nigel; Howard, Robert; Shryane, Nick M

2011-11-01

INTRODUCTION. This study used Item-Response Theory (IRT) to model the psychometric properties of a false belief picture sequencing task. Consistent with the mental time travel hypothesis of paranoia, we anticipated that performance on this deductive theory of mind (ToM) task would not be associated with the presence of persecutory delusions but would be related to other clinical, cognitive, and demographic factors. METHOD. A large (N=237) and diverse clinical and nonclinical sample differing in levels of depression and paranoid ideation performed 2 ToM tasks: the false belief sequencing task and a ToM stories task that was used to assess the validity of the false belief sequencing task as a measure of ToM. RESULTS. A unidimensional IRT model was found to fit the data well. Latent ToM ability as measured by the false belief sequencing task was negatively related with age and positively with IQ. In contrast to the ToM stories measure, there was no association between clinical diagnosis or symptoms and false belief picture sequencing after controlling for age and IQ. CONCLUSIONS. In line with mental time travel hypothesis of paranoia (Corcoran, 2010 ), performance on this deductive nonverbal ToM task is not related to the presence of paranoid symptoms. This measure is best suited for assessing ToM functioning where participants' performance falls just short of the average latent ToM ability. Furthermore, it is sensitive to the effects of increasing age and decreasing IQ.

Estimating the Relation between Health and Education: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eide, Eric R.; Showalter, Mark H.

2011-01-01

The empirical link between education and health is firmly established. Numerous studies document that higher levels of education are positively associated with longer life and better health throughout the lifespan. But measuring the causal links between education and health is a more challenging task. Aside from the typical econometric concerns…

Specifying Links between Executive Functioning and Theory of Mind during Middle Childhood: Cognitive Flexibility Predicts Social Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bock, Allison M.; Gallaway, Kristin C.; Hund, Alycia M.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to specify the development of and links between executive functioning and theory of mind during middle childhood. One hundred four 7- to 12-year-old children completed a battery of age-appropriate tasks measuring working memory, inhibition, flexibility, theory of mind, and vocabulary. As expected, spatial working…

Culture-specific links between maternal executive function, parenting, and preschool children's executive function in South Korea.

PubMed

Lee, Min Kyung; Baker, Sara; Whitebread, David

2018-06-01

Research on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures. This study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF. South Korean mothers and their preschool children (N = 95 dyads) completed EF tasks. Two aspects of parental scaffolding were observed during a puzzle task: contingency (i.e., adjusting among levels of scaffolding according to the child's ongoing evidence of understanding) and intrusiveness (i.e., directive, mother-centred interactions). Maternal EF and maternal contingency each accounted for unique variance in child EF, above and beyond child age, child language and maternal education. Maternal intrusiveness, however, was not significantly related to child EF. Additionally, no mediating role of parenting was found in the maternal and child EF link. However, child language was found to partially mediate the link between maternal contingency and child EF. These results complement prior findings by revealing distinctive patterns in the link between maternal EF, parenting behaviours, and child EF in the Korean context. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

How "Central" Is Central Coherence?: Preliminary Evidence on the Link between Conceptual and Perceptual Processing in Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez, Beatriz; Leekam, Susan R.; Arts, Gerda R. J.

2008-01-01

This study aimed to test the assumption drawn from weak central coherence theory that a central cognitive mechanism is responsible for integrating information at both conceptual and perceptual levels. A visual semantic memory task and a face recognition task measuring use of holistic information were administered to 15 children with autism and 16…

I Can Talk You into It: Theory of Mind and Persuasion Behavior in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, Candida C.; Moore, Chris

2013-01-01

We investigated links between persuasive behavior and theory of mind (ToM) understanding using a novel naturalistic peer persuasion task in which children were invited to convince an interactive puppet to eat raw broccoli or brush his teeth. Sixty-three 3- to 8-year-olds (M age = 6 years, 6 months) took part in the persuasion task and were also…

Drawing Links between the Autism Cognitive Profile and Imagination: Executive Function and Processing Bias in Imaginative Drawings by Children with and without Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ten Eycke, Kayla D.; Müller, Ulrich

2018-01-01

Little is known about the relation between cognitive processes and imagination and whether this relation differs between neurotypically developing children and children with autism. To address this issue, we administered a cognitive task battery and Karmiloff-Smith's drawing task, which requires children to draw imaginative people and houses. For…

Technical Operations (TOPS) IV Task Order 0003: Responsive Interface for Transport Tuning (RITT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-29

on the further development of artificial hair sensors (AHS) featuring a responsive carbon nanotube (CNT) array to serve as a piezoresistive element...under separate cover, as AFRL Interim Report AFRL-RX-WP-TR-2016-0071 dated 30 October 2015. 15. SUBJECT TERMS artificial hair sensor, carbon... Hair Sensors: Fabrication and Model Parameterization .......................... 4 3.1.1 Introduction

Artificial Intelligence: A ’User Friendly Introduction

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-03-01

computer sVste-. They are tc not only ’magnify’ human nental abilitieL, but perform tasks with an waerring tirele-snets . while serving as ’intelligent...Can’t See (Yet)," Abacus, Vol. I, Iq83, 17-26. 1.6. Kevin McKean, "Computers That See," Discover, September 1984, 1𔃼-74. 17. Takeo Kanade and Raj

A Critical Survey of Aircraft Maintenance Officer Training and Career Development.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-01

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............ ... 52 Introduction ...... ................. ... 52 Data Collection Plan .... ............. ... 52 v CHAPTER...1,981 of whom held an AMO AFSC. The occupational data collected was used to develop job tasks inventories, demographic pro- files, organizational...Specifically, it addresses the data collection plans we used, the statistical tests we designed and applied, and the assumptions and limitations we

Discussion of the Special Issue on Growth Models for Longitudinal Data in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molenaar, Peter C. M.; Campbell, Cynthia G.

2008-01-01

In his introduction to this special issue, Roger Millsap has given an excellent summary of its contents. This eases our task considerably. In what follows, we first present some general observations about growth curve modeling of longitudinal data. Among other things, we will address the criticism that the popular latent growth curve model may…

Nuclear Technology. Course 31: Quality Assurance Practices. Module 31-7, Auditing for Quality Assurance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritchard, Jim; Espy, John

This seventh in a series of eight modules for a course titled Quality Assurance Practices describes the key features of an audit system and offers practice in carrying out tasks of the technicians. The module follows a typical format that includes the following sections: (1) introduction, (2) module prerequisites, (3) objectives, (4) notes to…

Construction Upgrade. A Pack To Improve Communication, Numerical and IT Skills for NVQ.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rylands, Judy

This pack of materials is designed to help students working to improve their basic skills as part of their carpentry and joinery course. An introduction lists relevant core skills units and basic skills standards. The six individual sections of the pack are divided into task sheets and fact sheets. The fact sheets give information and teaching…

Physician Manpower in Georgia: Report of the Task Force for Physician Manpower to the Georgia Comprehensive Health Planning Council.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgia State Dept. of Public Health, Atlanta. Office of Comprehensive Health Planning.

This report is a result of a study of the state's physician manpower by representatives of the fields of medical education and professional practice in Georgia. Contents include introduction and principal findings, recommendations, and analysis of present supply of physicians and other data. Recommendations suggest improvement of the utilization…

An Evaluation of Opinions Concerning Immigration and Multiculturality in the School for Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

del Barco, Benito Leon; Mira, Antonio Ricardo; Carroza, Teresa Gomez

2007-01-01

Introduction: During the past academic year in Spain, more than 500,000 immigrant students were enrolled in primary and secondary schools. School is one of those places available to society for creating spaces for coexistence and for changing attitudes. The teacher plays a very important role in this task. In this paper we will observe opinions…

Your Family Land: Legacy or Memory? An Introduction to the Family Land Protection Process

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, State and Private Forestry

2008-01-01

If you have this perspective, protecting your land from development is a task you certainly can accomplish. Virtually every situation is workable and every problem can be solved. It does require some planning and decisionmaking; however, so the sooner you start the better. Experience has shown that the number one obstacle to the protection of family land...

30 CFR 48.25 - Training of new miners; minimum courses of instruction; hours of instruction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Miners Working at Surface Mines and Surface Areas of Underground Mines § 48.25 Training of new miners... to work environment, hazard recognition, and health and safety aspects of the tasks to which the new...) Introduction to work environment. The course shall include a visit and tour of the mine, or portions of the...

Let's Go! Kindergarten Activity. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiesner, Eileen

In this colorfully illustrated kindergarten activity, students read (and re-read) "My Blue Suitcase" (Sharon Katz), as an introduction to traveling. The book uses all of the basic forms of transportation and forms the transportation lesson outline. The activity gives the students the task of learning about each mode of transportation:…

Modeling Temporal Crowd Work Quality with Limited Supervision

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-11

crowdsourcing, human computation, predic- tion, uncertainty-aware learning, time- series modeling Introduction While crowdsourcing offers a cost...individual correctness. As discussed ear- lier, such a strategy is difficult to employ in a live setting because it is unrealistic to assume that all...et al. 2014). Finally, there are interesting opportunities to investigate at the intersection of live task-routing with active-learning techniques

Time Orientation and Human Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

Work with Computing Systems 2004. H.M. Khalid, M.G. Helander, A.W. Yeo (Editors) . Kuala Lumpur: Damai Sciences. 1 Time Orientation and Human...Multi-tasking. 1 . Introduction With increased globalization, understanding the various cultures and people’s attitudes and behaviours is crucial...reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching

Forum Guide to Ensuring Equal Access to Education Websites: Introduction to Electronic Information Accessibility Standards. NFES 2011-807

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Education Statistics, 2011

2011-01-01

This guide is designed for use by information technology administrators, data specialists, and program staff responsible for the "content" in data reports, as well as education leaders (e.g., administrators who prioritize tasks for technical and data staff), and other stakeholders who have an interest in seeing that schools, school…

A ‘one-stop shop’ approach in antenatal care: does this improve antiretroviral treatment uptake in Zimbabwe?

PubMed Central

Zachariah, R.; Bissell, K.; Ndebele, W.; Moyo, J.; Mutasa-Apollo, T.

2013-01-01

Setting: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme, Mpilo Hospital antenatal clinic, Zimbabwe. Objective: Before and after the introduction of a one-stop shop approach and task-shifting of antiretroviral treatment (ART) to midwives in the PMTCT programme, 1) to compare ART uptake and 2) to determine socio-demographic and other characteristics associated with non-initiation of ART post integration. Design: Before and after cohort study. Results: A total of 285 women were eligible for ART before the introduction of the one-stop approach and 280 after. Of the 285, 163 (57%) initiated ART before integration; this increased to 244/280 (87%) after integration (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4–1.7, P < 0.001). A total of 36 (13%) women did not initiate ART after integration; this was significantly associated with cotrimoxazole uptake (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Integrating ART into antenatal care along with task-shifting to midwives considerably increased the uptake of ART. This provides further evidence for scaling up integration rapidly to other facilities in Zimbabwe, and is in line with the vision of a world where no child will be born with the human immunodeficiency virus by 2015. PMID:26393047

A 'one-stop shop' approach in antenatal care: does this improve antiretroviral treatment uptake in Zimbabwe?

PubMed

Gunguwo, H; Zachariah, R; Bissell, K; Ndebele, W; Moyo, J; Mutasa-Apollo, T

2013-12-21

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme, Mpilo Hospital antenatal clinic, Zimbabwe. Before and after the introduction of a one-stop shop approach and task-shifting of antiretroviral treatment (ART) to midwives in the PMTCT programme, 1) to compare ART uptake and 2) to determine socio-demographic and other characteristics associated with non-initiation of ART post integration. Before and after cohort study. A total of 285 women were eligible for ART before the introduction of the one-stop approach and 280 after. Of the 285, 163 (57%) initiated ART before integration; this increased to 244/280 (87%) after integration (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.7, P < 0.001). A total of 36 (13%) women did not initiate ART after integration; this was significantly associated with cotrimoxazole uptake (P = 0.03). Integrating ART into antenatal care along with task-shifting to midwives considerably increased the uptake of ART. This provides further evidence for scaling up integration rapidly to other facilities in Zimbabwe, and is in line with the vision of a world where no child will be born with the human immunodeficiency virus by 2015.

Children's moral emotions and moral cognition: towards an integrative perspective.

PubMed

Malti, Tina; Latzko, Brigitte

2010-01-01

This chapter presents a brief introduction to the developmental and educational literature linking children's moral emotions to cognitive moral development. A central premise of the chapter is that an integrative developmental perspective on moral emotions and moral cognition provides an important conceptual framework for understanding children's emerging morality and designing developmentally sensitive moral intervention strategies. The subsequent chapters present promising conceptual approaches and empirical evidence linking children's moral emotions to moral cognition. Examples of integrated educational interventions intended to enhance children's moral development are presented and discussed. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessment of Functional Change and Cognitive Correlates in the Progression from Healthy Cognitive Aging to Dementia

PubMed Central

Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Parsey, Carolyn M.

2014-01-01

Objective There is currently limited understanding of the course of change in everyday functioning that occurs with normal aging and dementia. To better characterize the nature of this change, we evaluated the types of errors made by participants as they performed everyday tasks in a naturalistic environment. Method Participants included cognitively healthy younger adults (YA; N = 55) and older adults (OA; N =88), and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI: N =55) and dementia (N = 18). Participants performed eight scripted everyday activities (e.g., filling a medication dispenser) while under direct observation in a campus apartment. Task performances were coded for the following errors: inefficient actions, omissions, substitutions, and irrelevant actions. Results Performance accuracy decreased with age and level of cognitive impairment. Relative to the YAs, the OA group exhibited more inefficient actions which were linked to performance on neuropsychological measures of executive functioning. Relative to the OAs, the MCI group committed significantly more omission errors which were strongly linked to performance on memory measures. All error types were significantly more prominent in individuals with dementia. Omission errors uniquely predicted everyday functional status as measured by both informant-report and a performance-based measure. Conclusions These findings suggest that in the progression from healthy aging to MCI, everyday task difficulties may evolve from task inefficiencies to task omission errors, leading to inaccuracies in task completion that are recognized by knowledgeable informants. Continued decline in cognitive functioning then leads to more substantial everyday errors, which compromise ability to live independently. PMID:24933485

Lessons Learned from Deploying an Analytical Task Management Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil, Daniel A.; Welch, Clara; Arceneaux, Joshua; Bulgatz, Dennis; Hunt, Mitch; Young, Stephen

2007-01-01

Defining requirements, missions, technologies, and concepts for space exploration involves multiple levels of organizations, teams of people with complementary skills, and analytical models and simulations. Analytical activities range from filling a To-Be-Determined (TBD) in a requirement to creating animations and simulations of exploration missions. In a program as large as returning to the Moon, there are hundreds of simultaneous analysis activities. A way to manage and integrate efforts of this magnitude is to deploy a centralized database that provides the capability to define tasks, identify resources, describe products, schedule deliveries, and generate a variety of reports. This paper describes a web-accessible task management system and explains the lessons learned during the development and deployment of the database. Through the database, managers and team leaders can define tasks, establish review schedules, assign teams, link tasks to specific requirements, identify products, and link the task data records to external repositories that contain the products. Data filters and spreadsheet export utilities provide a powerful capability to create custom reports. Import utilities provide a means to populate the database from previously filled form files. Within a four month period, a small team analyzed requirements, developed a prototype, conducted multiple system demonstrations, and deployed a working system supporting hundreds of users across the aeros pace community. Open-source technologies and agile software development techniques, applied by a skilled team enabled this impressive achievement. Topics in the paper cover the web application technologies, agile software development, an overview of the system's functions and features, dealing with increasing scope, and deploying new versions of the system.

How is a motor skill learned? Change and invariance at the levels of task success and trajectory control

PubMed Central

Krakauer, John W.; Mazzoni, Pietro

2012-01-01

The public pays large sums of money to watch skilled motor performance. Notably, however, in recent decades motor skill learning (performance improvement beyond baseline levels) has received less experimental attention than motor adaptation (return to baseline performance in the setting of an external perturbation). Motor skill can be assessed at the levels of task success and movement quality, but the link between these levels remains poorly understood. We devised a motor skill task that required visually guided curved movements of the wrist without a perturbation, and we defined skill learning at the task level as a change in the speed–accuracy trade-off function (SAF). Practice in restricted speed ranges led to a global shift of the SAF. We asked how the SAF shift maps onto changes in trajectory kinematics, to establish a link between task-level performance and fine motor control. Although there were small changes in mean trajectory, improved performance largely consisted of reduction in trial-to-trial variability and increase in movement smoothness. We found evidence for improved feedback control, which could explain the reduction in variability but does not preclude other explanations such as an increased signal-to-noise ratio in cortical representations. Interestingly, submovement structure remained learning invariant. The global generalization of the SAF across a wide range of difficulty suggests that skill for this task is represented in a temporally scalable network. We propose that motor skill acquisition can be characterized as a slow reduction in movement variability, which is distinct from faster model-based learning that reduces systematic error in adaptation paradigms. PMID:22514286

Children's Alcohol Initiation: An Analytic Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Bernadette; Snow, Pamela; Aroni, Rosalie

2010-01-01

Many parents support the "supervised introduction" of alcohol to children. While initiation to regular alcohol consumption in early adolescence has been linked with alcohol-related problems in adult life, the findings from these studies cannot be extrapolated to early childhood. The definition of initiation to alcohol in early childhood is often…

Inside Information--A Door to the Future?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twining, John

1986-01-01

Explains background to development by the British Broadcasting Corporation of Inside Information, a course providing an introduction to information technology for adults, and its linking to the City and Guilds of London Institute's short-course program. Medium and long-term education scenarios are suggested based on the Inside Information model.…

Education and the Ideologies of Racism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarup, Madan

As an introduction to education and the ideologies of racism within it, this book discusses the link between education and social class. The problematic relationship between class, gender, and race, and how this affects black students is addressed. The term "Black" is being used for nonwhite students rather than strictly those of African…

Teachers Discovering Computers: A Link to the Future, Web and CNN Turner Learning Enhanced. Shelly Cashman Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelly, Gary B.; Cashman, Thomas J.; Gunter, Randolph E.; Gunter, Glenda A.

Intended for use in an introductory computer course for educators, this textbook contains the following chapters: (1) "Introduction to Using Computers in Education"; (2) "Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web"; (3) "Software Applications for Education,"; (4) "Hardware Applications for…

Women and Communicative Power: Theory, Research, and Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valentine, Carol Ann; Hoar, Nancy, Ed.

A collection of essays that explores the links among women and communicative power from a variety of perspectives, this monograph focuses on issue analysis and suggestions for future research. The articles and their authors are as follows (1) "Women and Communicative Power: Introduction" (Carol Ann Valentine); (2) "Genderlect,…

Children's Moral Emotions and Moral Cognition: Towards an Integrative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malti, Tina; Latzko, Brigitte

2010-01-01

This chapter presents a brief introduction to the developmental and educational literature linking children's moral emotions to cognitive moral development. A central premise of the chapter is that an integrative developmental perspective on moral emotions and moral cognition provides an important conceptual framework for understanding children's…

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Cancer-Related Genes and Neurodegenerative Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghetti, Bernardino; Buonaguro, Franco M.

2014-07-01

The following sections are included: * INTRODUCTION * MUTATIONS IN THE CSF1R GENE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFUSE LEUKOENCEPHALOPATHY WITH SPHEROIDS AND HUMAN CANCERS. * A SPECIAL LINK HAS BEEN SHOWN BETWEEN PTEN AND AD. * ACETYLCHOLINE DEFICIENCY AND PATHOGENESIS OF AD. * MIRNAS AND COMMON PATHWAYS IN CANCER AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE. * SUMMARY * REFERENCES

Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research: Luciano L'Abate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2009

2009-01-01

Luciano L'Abate, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research, contributed to applied research through the introduction of the laboratory method in clinical psychology assessment and intervention, leading to the development of the first automated playroom, linking play therapy with research in child…

Freedom Of Information Act

Science.gov Websites

Web Site Freedom of Information Act Sign In Freedom of Information Act Header Search this site ... Search Freedom of Information Act Introduction to FOIA Making A Request Points of Contact FOIA Reports Reading Room Frequently Asked Questions FOIA Links Privacy Act Requests Freedom Of Information (FOIA) &

Portfolios for Development: A Guide for Trainers and Managers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redman, Warren

Portfolios are increasingly being used to demonstrate competence and to show development needs among employees in organizations. This book explains what a portfolio is and how it links with the current training revolution taking place through the introduction of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in Great Britain. It shows how portfolios…

Risk analysis and bioeconomics of invasive species to inform policy and management

Treesearch

David M. Lodge; Paul W. Simonin; Stanley W. Burgiel; Reuben P. Keller; Jonathan M. Bossenbroek; Christopher L. Jerde; Andrew M. Kramer; Edward S. Rutherford; Matthew A. Barnes; Marion E. Wittmann; W. Lindsay Chadderton; Jenny L. Apriesnig; Dmitry Beletsky; Roger M. Cooke; John M. Drake; Scott P. Egan; David C. Finnoff; Crysta A. Gantz; Erin K. Grey; Michael H. Hoff; Jennifer G. Howeth; Richard A. Jensen; Eric R. Larson; Nicholas E. Mandrak; Doran M. Mason; Felix A. Martinez; Tammy J. Newcomb; John D. Rothlisberger; Andrew J. Tucker; Travis W. Warziniack; Hongyan Zhang

2016-01-01

Risk analysis of species invasions links biology and economics, is increasingly mandated by international and national policies, and enables improved management of invasive species. Biological invasions proceed through a series of transition probabilities (i.e., introduction, establishment, spread, and impact), and each of these presents opportunities for...

COMPARISON OF PBDES IN CAT SERUM TO LEVELS IN CAT FOOD: EVIDENCE OF DECA DEBROMINATION?

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract Since the introduction of brominated flame retardants (such as the PBDEs), increases in feline hyperthyroidism have been observed. We hypothesized that PBDE exposure was linked to the increased occurrence of hyperthyroidism in cats. Herein, PBDEs in serum of pet ...

INTRODUCTION: INHALATION EXPOSURE AND SYSTEMIC IMMUNOTOXICITY: MECHANISMS LINKING THE LUNG AND IMMUNE SYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

Concerns regarding inhaled compounds, immune suppression and increased risk of disease have focused primarily on suppression of local immune responses in the lung and susceptibility to respiratory infections. However, a number of studies have shown that both gaseous (O3, NO2)...

NCC and Computers in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Ron L.

1982-01-01

This introduction to the work of the National Computing Centre (NCC), looks at industry/education links, the development of case studies, the use of computers in training, work in the Department of Industry - Micros in Schools Scheme, and at the Department of Education and Science-Micro-Electronics in Education Programme. (MP)

The use of an atmospheric cold plasma jet to inactivate Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts on cilantro

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction: In 2015, the CDC reported a rise in outbreaks linked to parasites like Cryptosporidium. Outbreaks of Cryptosporidium parvum have been associated with contaminated drinking or recreational water; however, there is growing concern that oocysts may become a more common contaminant in food...

Attachment and Socioemotional Problems in Middle Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Ellen; Lecompte, Vanessa

2015-01-01

In this article, we will evaluate the evidence concerning links between attachment and behavior problems in the middle childhood period. We will first provide a general introduction to the question of attachment and maladaptation in the middle childhood period, and then examine the recent empirical evidence with respect to both externalizing and…

Kickstarting Creativity: Supporting the Productive Faces of Uncertainty in Information Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Theresa Dirndorfer

2010-01-01

Introduction: Examines implications of research suggesting fast access to information may reduce the time needed for creative thinking and reflection. To support human thought through information provision, more opportunities to experience and work with imperfect information and to engage with ambiguities are needed. Method: Four linked arguments…

Terminological Ambiguity: Game and Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klabbers, Jan H. G.

2009-01-01

Since its introduction in academia and professional practice during the 1950s, gaming has been linked to simulation. Although both fields have a few important characteristics in common, they are distinct in their form and underlying theories of knowledge and methodology. Nevertheless, in the literature, hybrid terms such as "gaming/simulation" and…

Conceptual Acrobatics: Talking about Assessment Standards in the Transparency Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Jane; Bloxham, Sue; den Outer, Birgit; Price, Margaret

2017-01-01

Since their introduction in the 1990s, explicit standards documents have pervaded higher education assessment--success likely linked to their compatibility with constructive alignment and quality assurance regimes. Researchers, however, criticise that such documents are based on a misconception of standards as explicit and absolute, when in fact…

Discrete elliptic solitons in two-dimensional waveguide arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Fangwei; Dong, Liangwei; Wang, Jiandong; Cai, Tian; Li, Yong-Ping

2005-04-01

The fundamental properties of discrete elliptic solitons (DESs) in the two-dimensional waveguide arrays were studied. The DESs show nontrivial spatial structures in their parameters space due to the introduction of the new freedom of ellipticity, and their stability is closely linked to their propagation directions in the transverse plane.

Academic Achievement and Formal Thought in Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vazquez, Stella Maris; de Anglat, Hilda Difabio

2009-01-01

Introduction: Research on university-level academic performance has significantly linked failure and dropping out to formal reasoning deficiency. We have not found any papers on formal thought in Argentine university students, in spite of the obvious shortcomings observed in the classrooms. Thus, the main objective of this paper was exploring the…