Motor planning in different grasping tasks by capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.).

PubMed

Sabbatini, Gloria; Meglio, Giusy; Truppa, Valentina

2016-10-01

Studies on motor planning and action selection in object use reveal that what we choose to do in the present moment depends on our next planned action. In particular, many studies have shown that adult humans initially adopt uncomfortable hand postures to accommodate later task demands (i.e., the end-state comfort effect). Recent studies on action planning in different non-human primates species have provided contrasting results. Here, we tested whether capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.), natural tool users, would show planning abilities in two tasks with varying complexity: (i) an object-retrieval task involving self-directed actions (Experiment 1) and (ii) a tool-using task involving actions directed toward an external target (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, six of 10 monkeys preferentially used a radial grip (i.e., with the thumb-side oriented towards the baited end) to grasp a horizontal dowel with either the left- or right-end baited and bring it to their mouth. In Experiment 2, all six tested capuchins preferentially used a radial grip (i.e., with the thumb-side oriented towards the center of the dowel) to grasp a dowel that was positioned horizontally at different orientations and to dislodge an out-of-reach food reward. Thus, we found that the capuchins showed second-order planning abilities in both tasks, but performance differences emerged in relation to hand preference and learning across sessions. Our findings support the idea that second-order motor planning occurred in an early stage of the primate lineage. Factors affecting the ability of nonhuman primates to estimate motor costs in action selection are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Assessment of Military Multitasking Performance: Validation of a Dual-Task and Multitask Protocol

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

Revisions based on IRR findings and rater comments Charge of Quarters (CQ) Duty Requires the subject to organize and implement a plan in order to...to evaluate test burden) and malingering are planned . Where feasible, test-retest reliability for several of the tasks is being assessed during...in either a shopping mall or hospital lobby setting (Alderman, Burgess,Knight,&Henman, 2003;Cuberos- Urbano et al., 2013; Dawson et al., 2009

Movement planning reflects skill level and age changes in toddlers

PubMed Central

Chen, Yu-ping; Keen, Rachel; Rosander, Kerstin; von Hofsten, Claes

2010-01-01

Kinematic measures of children’s reaching were found to reflect stable differences in skill level for planning for future actions. Thirty-five toddlers (18–21 months) were engaged in building block towers (precise task) and in placing blocks into an open container (imprecise task). Sixteen children were re-tested on the same tasks a year later. Longer deceleration as the hand approached the block for pickup was found in the tower task compared to the imprecise task, indicating planning for the second movement. More skillful toddlers who could build high towers had a longer deceleration phase when placing blocks on the tower than toddlers who built low towers. Kinematic differences between the groups remained a year later when all children could build high towers. PMID:21077868

AgRISTARS: Renewable resources inventory. Land information support system implementation plan and schedule. [San Juan National Forest pilot test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yao, S. S. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The planning and scheduling of the use of remote sensing and computer technology to support the land management planning effort at the national forests level are outlined. The task planning and system capability development were reviewed. A user evaluation is presented along with technological transfer methodology. A land management planning pilot test of the San Juan National Forest is discussed.

Eye movements show similar adaptations in temporal coordination to movement planning conditions in both people with and without cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Payne, Alexander R; Plimmer, Beryl; McDaid, Andrew; Davies, T Claire

2017-05-01

The effects of cerebral palsy on movement planning for simple reaching tasks are not well understood. Movement planning is complex and entails many processes which could be affected. This study specifically sought to evaluate integrating task information, decoupling movements, and adjusting to altered mapping. For a reaching task, the asynchrony between the eye onset and the hand onset was measured across different movement planning conditions for participants with and without cerebral palsy. Previous research shows people without cerebral palsy vary this temporal coordination for different planning conditions. Our measurements show similar adaptations in temporal coordination for groups with and without cerebral palsy, to three of the four variations in planning condition tested. However, movement durations were still longer for the participants with cerebral palsy. Hence for simple goal-directed reaching, movement execution problems appear to limit activity more than movement planning deficits.

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

Zaks, D; Fletcher, R; Salamon, S

Purpose: To develop an online framework that tracks a patient’s plan from initial simulation to treatment and that helps automate elements of the physics plan checks usually performed in the record and verify (RV) system and treatment planning system. Methods: We have developed PlanTracker, an online plan tracking system that automatically imports new patients tasks and follows it through treatment planning, physics checks, therapy check, and chart rounds. A survey was designed to collect information about the amount of time spent by medical physicists in non-physics related tasks. We then assessed these non-physics tasks for automation. Using these surveys, wemore » directed our PlanTracker software development towards the automation of intra-plan physics review. We then conducted a systematic evaluation of PlanTracker’s accuracy by generating test plans in the RV system software designed to mimic real plans, in order to test its efficacy in catching errors both real and theoretical. Results: PlanTracker has proven to be an effective improvement to the clinical workflow in a radiotherapy clinic. We present data indicating that roughly 1/3 of the physics plan check can be automated, and the workflow optimized, and show the functionality of PlanTracker. When the full system is in clinical use we will present data on improvement of time use in comparison to survey data prior to PlanTracker implementation. Conclusion: We have developed a framework for plan tracking and automatic checks in radiation therapy. We anticipate using PlanTracker as a basis for further development in clinical/research software. We hope that by eliminating the most simple and time consuming checks, medical physicists may be able to spend their time on plan quality and other physics tasks rather than in arithmetic and logic checks. We see this development as part of a broader initiative to advance the clinical/research informatics infrastructure surrounding the radiotherapy clinic. This research project has been financially supported by Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA, through a Varian MRA.« less

Behaviour planning and problem solving deficiencies in children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from the Balobedu culture, Limpopo province, South Africa.

PubMed

Pila-Nemutandani, Refilwe Gloria; Meyer, Anneke

2016-07-01

To compare planning behaviour (frontal lobe functioning) in children with and without symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A total of 90 children (45 with symptoms of ADHD and 45 matched controls without ADHD symptoms) of both genders, who were medication naïve, from the Balobedu culture (Limpopo province, South Africa), aged 7-13 years, participated in the study. The performance of the two groups was compared on a test of planning and problem solving, the Tower of London (ToL) task. The results were analysed as a function of gender and ADHD subtype. The Finger Tapping test (testing fine motor skills) was used as a control test to verify that the expected differences were not due to poor motor skills. The children with ADHD symptoms scored significantly lower than the non-ADHD comparison group which indicated deficiency in frontal lobe functioning (p = 0.00). The difference in performance was not due to poor motor control (p = 0.70). Children with ADHD symptoms show deficits in behavioural planning which indicates impairment of functions of the frontal areas supplied by the mesocortical dopamine branch. More so than others, the ADHD Inattentive and Combined subtypes showed poor performance in the Tower of London task, indicating poor organisational and planning skills in these groups. The results also did show that the difference was not due to problems with motor control and that the ToL task is a culture-fair instrument for testing planning behaviour.

Extending a Hands-On Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Mestre, Neville

2004-01-01

This paper describes a "hands-on task" called Number Tiles, which is Task 43 in the collection constructed for the Mathematics Task Centre Project, and available at www.blackdouglas.com.au or www.curriculum.edu.au. This task is rich in possibilities and directions. It should be used as a planned curriculum experience at several year levels to…

A study of the performance of patients with frontal lobe lesions in a financial planning task.

PubMed

Goel, V; Grafman, J; Tajik, J; Gana, S; Danto, D

1997-10-01

It has long been argued that patients with lesions in the prefrontal cortex have difficulties in decision making and problem solving in real-world, ill-structured situations, particularly problem types involving planning and look-ahead components. Recently, several researchers have questioned our ability to capture and characterize these deficits adequately using just the standard neuropsychological test batteries, and have called for tests that reflect real-world task requirements more accurately. We present data from 10 patients with focal lesions to the prefrontal cortex and 10 normal control subjects engaged in a real-world financial planning task. We also introduce a theoretical framework and methodology developed in the cognitive science literature for quantifying and analysing the complex data generated by problem-solving tasks. Our findings indicate that patient performance is impoverished at a global level but not at the local level. Patients have difficulty in organizing and structuring their problem space. Once they begin problem solving, they have difficulty in allocating adequate effort to each problem-solving phase. Patients also have difficulty dealing with the fact that there are no right or wrong answers nor official termination points in real-world planning problems. They also find it problematic to generate their own feedback. They invariably terminate the session before the details are fleshed out and all the goals satisfied. Finally, patients do not take full advantage of the fact that constraints on real-world problems are negotiable. However, it is not necessary to postulate a 'planning' deficit. It is possible to understand the patients' difficulties in real world planning tasks in terms of the following four accepted deficits: inadequate access to 'structured event complexes', difficulty in generalizing from particulars, failure to shift between 'mental sets', and poor judgment regarding adequacy and completeness of a plan.

Sharing Data between Mobile Devices, Connected Vehicles and Infrastructure Task 8 : D2X Hub Proof-of-Concept Test Evaluation Report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-10-25

The Task 8 D2X Hub Proof-of-Concept Test Evaluation Report provides results of the experimental data analysis performed in accordance with the experimental plan for the proof-of-concept version of the prototype system. The data set analyzed includes ...

Parent and Adolescent Perceptions of Adolescent Career Development Tasks and Vocational Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Mary E.; Creed, Peter A.; Praskova, Anna

2018-01-01

We surveyed Australian adolescents and parents to test differences and congruence in perceptions of adolescent career development tasks (career planning, exploration, certainty, and world-of-work knowledge) and vocational identity. We found that, for adolescents (N = 415), career development tasks (not career exploration) explained 48% of the…

Motor Timing Deficits in Sequential Movements in Parkinson Disease Are Related to Action Planning: A Motor Imagery Study

PubMed Central

Avanzino, Laura; Pelosin, Elisa; Martino, Davide; Abbruzzese, Giovanni

2013-01-01

Timing of sequential movements is altered in Parkinson disease (PD). Whether timing deficits in internally generated sequential movements in PD depends also on difficulties in motor planning, rather than merely on a defective ability to materially perform the planned movement is still undefined. To unveil this issue, we adopted a modified version of an established test for motor timing, i.e. the synchronization–continuation paradigm, by introducing a motor imagery task. Motor imagery is thought to involve mainly processes of movement preparation, with reduced involvement of end-stage movement execution-related processes. Fourteen patients with PD and twelve matched healthy volunteers were asked to tap in synchrony with a metronome cue (SYNC) and then, when the tone stopped, to keep tapping, trying to maintain the same rhythm (CONT-EXE) or to imagine tapping at the same rhythm, rather than actually performing it (CONT-MI). We tested both a sub-second and a supra-second inter-stimulus interval between the cues. Performance was recorded using a sensor-engineered glove and analyzed measuring the temporal error and the interval reproduction accuracy index. PD patients were less accurate than healthy subjects in the supra-second time reproduction task when performing both continuation tasks (CONT-MI and CONT-EXE), whereas no difference was detected in the synchronization task and on all tasks involving a sub-second interval. Our findings suggest that PD patients exhibit a selective deficit in motor timing for sequential movements that are separated by a supra-second interval and that this deficit may be explained by a defect of motor planning. Further, we propose that difficulties in motor planning are of a sufficient degree of severity in PD to affect also the motor performance in the supra-second time reproduction task. PMID:24086534

Power Extension Package (PEP) system definition extension, orbital service module systems analysis study. Volume 9: PEP design, development and test plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

A plan for the production of two PEP flight systems is defined. The task's milestones are described. Provisions for the development and assembly of new ground support equipment required for both testing and launch operations are included.

Impacts Assessment of Dynamic Speed Harmonization with Queue Warning: Task 2 Impact Assessment Plan - Final

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-02-01

The purpose of the Impact Assessment Plan is to take the results of the test track or field tests of the prototype, make reasonable extrapolations of those results to a theoretical full scale implementation, and answer the following 7 questions relat...

Preschool children adapt grasping movements to upcoming object manipulations: Evidence from a dial rotation task.

PubMed

Herbort, Oliver; Büschelberger, Juliane; Janczyk, Markus

2018-03-01

In adults, the motor plans for object-directed grasping movements reflects the anticipated requirements of intended future object manipulations. This prospective mode of planning has been termed second-order planning. Surprisingly, second-order planning is thought to be fully developed only by 10 years of age, when children master seemingly more complex motor skills. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that already 5- and 6-year-old children consistently use second-order planning but that this ability does not become apparent in tasks that are traditionally used to probe it. We asked 5- and 6-year-olds and adults to grasp and rotate a circular dial in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Although children's grasp selections were less consistent on an intra- and inter-individual level than adults' grasp selections, all children adjusted their grasps to the upcoming dial rotations. By contrast, in an also administered bar rotation task, only a subset of children adjusted their grasps to different bar rotations, thereby replicating previous results. The results indicate that 5- and 6-year-olds consistently use second-order planning in a dial rotation task, although this ability does not become apparent in bar rotation tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing a Computerised Multiple Elements Test for Organisational Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hynes, Sinead M.; Fish, Jessica; Evans, Jonathan J.; Manly, Tom

2015-01-01

Executive function is best measured in loosely structured, multi-component tasks that reflect real-life demands. These tasks require participants to develop a strategy, keep a plan in mind and monitor time. Errors include ignoring stated goals ("goal neglect"), over-allocation of time to one task and violating rules. Teasing apart such…

An Expert Supervisor For A Robotic Work Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moed, M. C.; Kelley, R. B.

1988-02-01

To increase task flexibility in a robotic assembly environment, a hierarchical planning and execution system is being developed which will map user specified 3D part assembly tasks into various target robotic work cells, and execute these tasks efficiently using manipulators and sensors available in the work cell. One level of this hierarchy, the Supervisor, is responsible for assigning subtasks of a system generated Task Plan to a set of task specific Specialists and on-line coordination of the activity of these Specialists to accomplish the user specified assembly. The design of the Supervisor can be broken down into five major functional blocks: resource management; concurrency detection; task scheduling; error recovery; and interprocess communication. The Supervisor implementation has been completed on a VAX 11/750 under a Unix environment. PC card Pick-Insert experiments were performed to test this implementation. To test the robustness of the architecture, the Supervisor was then transported to a new work cell under a VMS environment. The experiments performed under Supervisor control in both implementations are discussed after a brief explanation of the functional blocks of the Supervisor and the other levels in the hierarchy.

KCBX Quality Assurance Project Plan - October 2014

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This revised plan's standards for data quality, sampling and testing methods, and task management guide the implementation of Ambient Air Monitoring by URS Corporation at the KCBX Terminals Company North and South Terminals in Chicago, Ill.

KCBX Quality Assurance Project Plan - February 2014

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This plan's standards for data quality, sampling and testing methods, and task management guide the implementation of Ambient Air Monitoring, by URS Corporation, at the KCBX Terminals Company North and South Terminals in Chicago, IL.

Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program phase 1 : application deployment plan : New York City : final application deployment plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-04

This document is the Task 7 Application Deployment Plan deliverable for the New York City Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment. It describes the process that the deployment team will follow to acquire and test the connected vehicle safety applications....

The sensitivity of a virtual reality task to planning and prospective memory impairments: group differences and the efficacy of periodic alerts on performance.

PubMed

Sweeney, Siobhan; Kersel, Denyse; Morris, Robin G; Manly, Tom; Evans, Jonathan J

2010-04-01

Executive functions have been argued to be the most vulnerable to brain injury. In providing an analogue of everyday situations amenable to control and management virtual reality (VR) may offer better insights into planning deficits consequent upon brain injury. Here 17 participants with a non-progressive brain injury and reported executive difficulties in everyday life were asked to perform a VR task (working in a furniture storage unit) that emphasised planning, rule following and prospective memory tasks. When compared with an age and IQ-matched control group, the patients were significantly poorer in terms of their strategy, their time-based prospective memory, the overall time required and their propensity to break rules. An examination of sensitivity and specificity of the VR task to group membership (brain-injured or control) showed that, with specificity set at maximum, sensitivity was only modest (at just over 50%). A second component to the study investigated whether the patients' performance could be improved by periodic auditory alerts. Previous studies have demonstrated that such cues can improve performance on laboratory tests, executive tests and everyday prospective memory tasks. Here, no significant changes in performance were detected. Potential reasons for this finding are discussed, including symptom severity and differences in the tasks employed in previous studies.

Planning for Applications of Communications Satellites in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connell, William K.

This report of a project to develop and test a prototype system for the delivery of continuing education (CE) to two defined target groups of registered dietitians includes user needs, alternative approaches, the operational plan, the management plan, and personnel. Major tasks involved in the project are described: (1) development,…

Kindergarten Stations for Interest and Skill Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1972

An instructional plan for kindergarten involving learning or interest centers is presented. The plan involves the development of stations for individual interest and skill development, including testing of readiness tasks. The teacher must plan the activities for each station. In classsrooms with only one teacher, only one station should be set up…

Sensitivity of subjective questionnaires to cognitive loading while driving with navigation aids: a pilot study.

PubMed

Smyth, Christopher C

2007-05-01

Developers of future forces are implementing automated aiding for driving tasks. In designing such systems, the effect of cognitive task interference on driving performance is important. The crew of such vehicles may have to occasionally perform communication and planning tasks while driving. Subjective questionnaires may aid researchers to parse out the sources of task interference in crew station designs. In this preliminary study, sixteen participants drove a vehicle simulator with automated road-turn cues (i.e., visual, audio, combined, or neither) along a course marked on a map display while replying to spoken test questions (i.e., repeating sentences, math and logical puzzles, route planning, or none) and reporting other vehicles in the scenario. Following each trial, a battery of subjective questionnaires was administered to determine the perceived effects of the loading on their cognitive functionality. Considering the performance, the participants drove significantly faster with the road-turn cues than with just the map. They recalled fewer vehicle sightings with the cognitive tests than without them. Questionnaire results showed that their reasoning was more straightforward, the quantity of information for understanding higher, and the trust greater with the combined cues than the map-only. They reported higher perceived workload with the cognitive tests. The capacity for maintaining situational awareness was reduced with the cognitive tests because of the increased division of attention and the increase in the instability, variability, and complexity of the demands. The association and intuitiveness of cognitive processing were lowest and the subjective stress highest for the route planning test. Finally, the confusability in reasoning was greater for the auditory cue with the route planning than the auditory cue without the cognitive tests. The subjective questionnaires are sensitive to the effects of the cognitive loading and, therefore, may be useful for guiding the development of automated aid designs.

Annual Report Nucelar Energy Research and Development Program Nuclear Energy Research Initiative

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

Hively, LM

2003-02-13

NERI Project No.2000-0109 began in August 2000 and has three tasks. The first project year addressed Task 1, namely development of nonlinear prognostication for critical equipment in nuclear power facilities. That work is described in the first year's annual report (ORNLTM-2001/195). The current (second) project year (FY02) addresses Task 2, while the third project year will address Tasks 2-3. This report describes the work for the second project year, spanning August 2001 through August 2002, including status of the tasks, issues and concerns, cost performance, and status summary of tasks. The objective of the second project year's work is amore » compelling demonstration of the nonlinear prognostication algorithm using much more data. The guidance from Dr. Madeline Feltus (DOE/NE-20) is that it would be preferable to show forewarning of failure for different kinds of nuclear-grade equipment, as opposed to many different failure modes from one piece of equipment. Long-term monitoring of operational utility equipment is possible in principle, but is not practically feasible for the following reason. Time and funding constraints for this project do not allow us to monitor the many machines (thousands) that will be necessary to obtain even a few failure sequences, due to low failure rates (<10{sup -3}/year) in the operational environment. Moreover, the ONLY way to guarantee a controlled failure sequence is to seed progressively larger faults in the equipment or to overload the equipment for accelerated tests. Both of these approaches are infeasible for operational utility machinery, but are straight-forward in a test environment. Our subcontractor has provided such test sequences. Thus, we have revised Tasks 2.1-2.4 to analyze archival test data from such tests. The second phase of our work involves validation of the nonlinear prognostication over the second and third years of the proposed work. Recognizing the inherent limitations outlined in the previous paragraph, Dr. Feltus urged Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to contact other researchers for additional data from other test equipment. Consequently, we have revised the work plan for Tasks 2.1-2.2, with corresponding changes to the work plan as shown in the Status Summary of NERI Tasks. The revised tasks are as follows: Task 2.1--ORNL will obtain test data from a subcontractor and other researchers for various test equipment. This task includes development of a test plan or a description of the historical testing, as appropriate: test facility, equipment to be tested, choice of failure mode(s), testing protocol, data acquisition equipment, and resulting data from the test sequence. ORNL will analyze this data for quality, and subsequently via the nonlinear paradigm for prognostication. Task 2.2--ORNL will evaluate the prognostication capability of the nonlinear paradigm. The comparison metrics for reliability of the predictions will include the true positives, true negatives, and the forewarning times. Task 2.3--ORNL will improve the nonlinear paradigm as appropriate, in accord with the results of Tasks 2.1-2.2, to maximize the rate of true positive and true negative indications of failure. Maximal forewarning time is also highly desirable. Task 2.4--ORNL will develop advanced algorithms for the phase-space distribution function (PS-DF) pattern change recognition, based on the results of Task 2.3. This implementation will provide a capability for automated prognostication, as part of the maintenance decision-making. Appendix A provides a detailed description of the analysis methods, which include conventional statistics, traditional nonlinear measures, and ORNL's patented nonlinear PSDM. The body of this report focuses on results of this analysis.« less

In situ gas treatment technology demonstration test plan

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

Thornton, E.C.; Miller, R.D.

1996-02-16

This document defines the objectives and requirements associated with undertaking a field demonstration of an in situ gas treatment appoach to remediation chromate-contaminated soil. The major tasks presented in this plan include the design and development of the surface gas treatment system, performance of permitting activities, and completion of site preparation and field testing activities.

Development and evaluation of a specialized task taxonomy for spatial planning - A map literacy experiment with topographic maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rautenbach, Victoria; Coetzee, Serena; Çöltekin, Arzu

2017-05-01

Topographic maps are among the most commonly used map types, however, their complex and information-rich designs depicting natural, human-made and cultural features make them difficult to read. Regardless of their complexity, spatial planners make extensive use of topographic maps in their work. On the other hand, various studies suggest that map literacy among the development planning professionals in South Africa is not very high. The widespread use of topographic maps combined with the low levels of map literacy presents challenges for effective development planning. In this paper we address some of these challenges by developing a specialized task taxonomy based on systematically assessed map literacy levels; and conducting an empirical experiment with topographic maps to evaluate our task taxonomy. In such empirical studies if non-realistic tasks are used, the results of map literacy tests may be skewed. Furthermore, experience and familiarity with the studied map type play a role in map literacy. There is thus a need to develop map literacy tests aimed at planners specifically. We developed a taxonomy of realistic map reading tasks typically executed during the planning process. The taxonomy defines six levels tasks of increasing difficulty and complexity, ranging from recognising symbols to extracting knowledge. We hypothesized that competence in the first four levels indicates functional map literacy. In this paper, we present results from an empirical experiment with 49 map literate participants solving a subset of tasks from the first four levels of the taxonomy with a topographic map. Our findings suggest that the proposed taxonomy is a good reference for evaluating topographic map literacy. Participants solved the tasks on all four levels as expected and we therefore conclude that the experiment based on the first four levels of the taxonomy successfully determined the functional map literacy of the participants. We plan to continue the study for the remaining levels, repeat the experiments with a group of map illiterate participants to confirm that the taxonomy can also be used to determine map illiteracy.

Planning paths to multiple targets: memory involvement and planning heuristics in spatial problem solving.

PubMed

Wiener, J M; Ehbauer, N N; Mallot, H A

2009-09-01

For large numbers of targets, path planning is a complex and computationally expensive task. Humans, however, usually solve such tasks quickly and efficiently. We present experiments studying human path planning performance and the cognitive processes and heuristics involved. Twenty-five places were arranged on a regular grid in a large room. Participants were repeatedly asked to solve traveling salesman problems (TSP), i.e., to find the shortest closed loop connecting a start location with multiple target locations. In Experiment 1, we tested whether humans employed the nearest neighbor (NN) strategy when solving the TSP. Results showed that subjects outperform the NN-strategy, suggesting that it is not sufficient to explain human route planning behavior. As a second possible strategy we tested a hierarchical planning heuristic in Experiment 2, demonstrating that participants first plan a coarse route on the region level that is refined during navigation. To test for the relevance of spatial working memory (SWM) and spatial long-term memory (LTM) for planning performance and the planning heuristics applied, we varied the memory demands between conditions in Experiment 2. In one condition the target locations were directly marked, such that no memory was required; a second condition required participants to memorize the target locations during path planning (SWM); in a third condition, additionally, the locations of targets had to retrieved from LTM (SWM and LTM). Results showed that navigation performance decreased with increasing memory demands while the dependence on the hierarchical planning heuristic increased.

Improving the Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineering Requirements (SABER) Delivery Order Award Process: Results of a Process Improvement Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

putting all tasks directed towsrds achieving an outcome in aequence. The tasks can be viewed as steps in the process (39:2.3). Using this...improvement opportunity is investigated. A plan is developed, root causes are identified, and solutions are tested and implemented. The process is... solutions , check for actual improvement, and integrate the successful improvements into the process. ?UP 7. Check Improvement Performance. Finally, the

Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS) : Dallas-Fort Worth demonstration plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

This document describes the Demonstration Plan for the FRATIS system. The demonstration component of this task will serve to test the technical feasibility of the FRATIS prototype while also facilitating the collection of baseline and performance dat...

Test Plans. Lightweight Durable TPS: Tasks 1,2,4,5, and 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, H. S.; Tu, Tina

1994-01-01

The objective of this task is to develop the fluted core flexible blankets, also referred to as the Tailorable Advanced Blanket Insulation (TABI), to a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6. This task is one of the six tasks under TA 3, Lightweight Durable TPS study, of the Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) program. The purpose of this task is to develop a durable and low maintenance flexible TPS blanket material to be implemented on the SSTO vehicle.

Graphics Processor Units (GPUs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyrwas, Edward J.

2017-01-01

This presentation will include information about Graphics Processor Units (GPUs) technology, NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) tasks, The test setup, test parameter considerations, lessons learned, collaborations, a roadmap, NEPP partners, results to date, and future plans.

Lageos assembly operation plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brueger, J.

1975-01-01

Guidelines and constraints procedures for LAGEOS assembly, operation, and design performance are given. Special attention was given to thermal, optical, and dynamic analysis and testing. The operation procedures illustrate the interrelation and sequence of tasks in a flow diagram. The diagram also includes quality assurance functions for verification of operation tasks.

Scripts and information units in future planning: Interactions between a past and a future planning task.

PubMed

Cordonnier, Aline; Barnier, Amanda J; Sutton, John

2016-01-01

Research on future thinking has emphasized how episodic details from memories are combined to create future thoughts, but has not yet examined the role of semantic scripts. In this study, participants recalled how they planned a past camping trip in Australia (past planning task) and imagined how they would plan a future camping trip (future planning task), set either in a familiar (Australia) or an unfamiliar (Antarctica) context. Transcripts were segmented into information units that were coded according to semantic category (e.g., where, when, transport, material, actions). Results revealed a strong interaction between tasks and their presentation order. Starting with the past planning task constrained the future planning task when the context was familiar. Participants generated no new information when the future camping trip was set in Australia and completed second (after the past planning task). Conversely, starting with the future planning task facilitated the past planning task. Participants recalled more information units of their past plan when the past planning task was completed second (after the future planning task). These results shed new light on the role of scripts in past and future thinking and on how past and future thinking processes interact.

Conflict's consequences: effects of social motives on postnegotiation creative and convergent group functioning and performance.

PubMed

Beersma, Bianca; De Dreu, Carsten K W

2005-09-01

Two studies tested the effects of social motives during negotiation on postnegotiation group performance. In both experiments, a prosocial or a proself motivation was induced, and participants negotiated in 3-person groups about a joint market. In Experiment 1, groups subsequently performed an advertisement task. Consistent with the authors' predictions, results showed that proself groups performed worse on the convergent aspects of this task but better on the divergent aspects than prosocial groups. In Experiment 2, the authors manipulated social motive and negotiation (negotiation vs. no negotiation), and groups performed a creativity task (requiring divergent performance) or a planning task (requiring convergent performance). Proself groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than prosocial groups on the creativity task, whereas prosocial groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than proself groups on the planning task, and these effects only occurred when the task was preceded by group negotiation.

Training Materials and Data Requirements for Turret Organizational Maintenance Trainer (TOM-T) Training Test Support Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-01

performed on the TOM-T Turret Mock- Up . Those marked with a number symbol (#) can be done on the TOM-T Programmable Maintenance Trainer. Tasks with both...an asterisk and a number symbol (*/#) are those which can be performed partially on the turret mock- up and partially on the programmable trainer...time, the tasks serve as prerequisites to troubleshooting. With the exception of setting- up , testing, and shutting-down the STE/XMI test set, and

Selenide isotope generator for the Galileo mission. Reliability program plan

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

Not Available

1978-10-01

The reliability program plan for the Selenide Isotope Generator (SIG) program is presented. It delineates the specific tasks that will be accomplished by Teledyne Energy Systems and its suppliers during design, development, fabrication and test of deliverable Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators (RTG), Electrical Heated Thermoelectric Generators (ETG) and associated Ground Support Equipment (GSE). The Plan is formulated in general accordance with procedures specified in DOE Reliability Engineering Program Requirements Publication No. SNS-2, dated June 17, 1974. The Reliability Program Plan presented herein defines the total reliability effort without further reference to Government Specifications. The reliability tasks to be accomplished are delineatedmore » herein and become the basis for contract compliance to the extent specified in the SIG contract Statement of Work.« less

Learning stochastic reward distributions in a speeded pointing task.

PubMed

Seydell, Anna; McCann, Brian C; Trommershäuser, Julia; Knill, David C

2008-04-23

Recent studies have shown that humans effectively take into account task variance caused by intrinsic motor noise when planning fast hand movements. However, previous evidence suggests that humans have greater difficulty accounting for arbitrary forms of stochasticity in their environment, both in economic decision making and sensorimotor tasks. We hypothesized that humans can learn to optimize movement strategies when environmental randomness can be experienced and thus implicitly learned over several trials, especially if it mimics the kinds of randomness for which subjects might have generative models. We tested the hypothesis using a task in which subjects had to rapidly point at a target region partly covered by three stochastic penalty regions introduced as "defenders." At movement completion, each defender jumped to a new position drawn randomly from fixed probability distributions. Subjects earned points when they hit the target, unblocked by a defender, and lost points otherwise. Results indicate that after approximately 600 trials, subjects approached optimal behavior. We further tested whether subjects simply learned a set of stimulus-contingent motor plans or the statistics of defenders' movements by training subjects with one penalty distribution and then testing them on a new penalty distribution. Subjects immediately changed their strategy to achieve the same average reward as subjects who had trained with the second penalty distribution. These results indicate that subjects learned the parameters of the defenders' jump distributions and used this knowledge to optimally plan their hand movements under conditions involving stochastic rewards and penalties.

Goal Management Training and Mindfulness Meditation improve executive functions and transfer to ecological tasks of daily life in polysubstance users enrolled in therapeutic community treatment.

PubMed

Valls-Serrano, Carlos; Caracuel, Alfonso; Verdejo-Garcia, Antonio

2016-08-01

We have previously shown that Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) improves executive functions in polysubstance users enrolled in outpatient treatment. The aim of this study was to establish if GMT+MM has similar positive effects on executive functions in polysubstance users in residential treatment, and if executive functions' gains transfer to more ecologically valid goal-oriented tasks. Thirty-two polysbustance users were randomly allocated to eight weeks of GMT+MM (n=16) or control, i.e., no-intervention (n=16); both groups received treatment as usual. Outcome measures included performance in laboratory tasks of basic and complex executive functions (i.e., basic: working memory and inhibition; complex: planning and self-regulation) and in an ecological task of goal-directed behavior (the Multiple Errands Test - contextualized version, MET-CV) measured post-interventions. Results showed that GMT+MM was superior to control in improving basic measures of working memory (Letter-number sequencing; F=4.516, p=0.049) and reflection impulsivity (Information Sampling Test; F=6.217, p=0.018), along with initial thinking times during planning (Zoo Map Test; F=8.143, p=0.008). In addition, GMT+MM was superior to control in improving performance in the MET-CV (task failures; F=8.485, p=0.007). Our findings demonstrate that GMT+MM increases reflective processes and the achievement of goals in daily activities, furthermore ecological test can detects changes easily than laboratory tasks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

First evidence for "The backup plan paradox".

PubMed

Napolitano, Christopher M; Freund, Alexandra M

2017-08-01

This research is a first test of the backup plan paradox. We hypothesized that investing in a backup plan may facilitate the conditions that it was developed to address: Plan A's insufficiency. Five studies provide initial, primarily correlative support for the undermining effect of investing in a backup plan. Study 1 (n= 160) demonstrated that the more participants perceived they had invested in developing a backup plan (preparing a "crib sheet"), the more likely they were to use it, although greater investments were unrelated to backup plan utility. Studies 2-4 used a simulated negotiation task. Study 2 (n = 247) demonstrated that when goal-relevant resources are limited, investing in developing backup plans and perceiving them as highly instrumental can decrease goal performance through the indirect effect of increased means replacing. Study 3 (n = 248) replicated this effect when goal-relevant resources were plentiful. Study 4 (n = 204) used an experimental variant of the simulated negotiation task and demonstrated that simply having a backup plan is not detrimental, but perceiving backup plans to be highly instrumental decreased goal performance, again through the indirect effect of increased means replacing. Study 5 (n = 160) replicated findings from Studies 1-4 using a lab-based motor task (throwing a ball). Together, these results provide first evidence that backup plans can introduce costs that may jeopardize goal performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

I Plan Therefore I Choose: Free-Choice Bias Due to Prior Action-Probability but Not Action-Value

PubMed Central

Suriya-Arunroj, Lalitta; Gail, Alexander

2015-01-01

According to an emerging view, decision-making, and motor planning are tightly entangled at the level of neural processing. Choice is influenced not only by the values associated with different options, but also biased by other factors. Here we test the hypothesis that preliminary action planning can induce choice biases gradually and independently of objective value when planning overlaps with one of the potential action alternatives. Subjects performed center-out reaches obeying either a clockwise or counterclockwise cue-response rule in two tasks. In the probabilistic task, a pre-cue indicated the probability of each of the two potential rules to become valid. When the subsequent rule-cue unambiguously indicated which of the pre-cued rules was actually valid (instructed trials), subjects responded faster to rules pre-cued with higher probability. When subjects were allowed to choose freely between two equally rewarded rules (choice trials) they chose the originally more likely rule more often and faster, despite the lack of an objective advantage in selecting this target. In the amount task, the pre-cue indicated the amount of potential reward associated with each rule. Subjects responded faster to rules pre-cued with higher reward amount in instructed trials of the amount task, equivalent to the more likely rule in the probabilistic task. Yet, in contrast, subjects showed hardly any choice bias and no increase in response speed in favor of the original high-reward target in the choice trials of the amount task. We conclude that free-choice behavior is robustly biased when predictability encourages the planning of one of the potential responses, while prior reward expectations without action planning do not induce such strong bias. Our results provide behavioral evidence for distinct contributions of expected value and action planning in decision-making and a tight interdependence of motor planning and action selection, supporting the idea that the underlying neural mechanisms overlap. PMID:26635565

Engineering Task Plan for the Ultrasonic Inspection of Hanford Double Shell Tanks (DST) FY2000

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

JENSEN, C.E.

2000-01-10

This document facilitates the ultrasonic examination of Hanford double-shell tanks. Included are a plan for engineering activities (individual responsibilities), plan for performance demonstration testing, and a plan for field activities (tank inspection). Also included are a Statement of Work for contractor performance of the work and a protocol to be followed should tank flaws that exceed the acceptance criteria be discovered.

Differential impact of continuous theta-burst stimulation over left and right DLPFC on planning.

PubMed

Kaller, Christoph P; Heinze, Katharina; Frenkel, Annekathrein; Läppchen, Claus H; Unterrainer, Josef M; Weiller, Cornelius; Lange, Rüdiger; Rahm, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Most neuroimaging studies on planning report bilateral activations of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Recently, these concurrent activations of left and right dlPFC have been shown to double dissociate with different cognitive demands imposed by the planning task: Higher demands on the extraction of task-relevant information led to stronger activation in left dlPFC, whereas higher demands on the integration of interdependent information into a coherent action sequence entailed stronger activation of right dlPFC. Here, we used continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to investigate the supposed causal structure-function mapping underlying this double dissociation. Two groups of healthy subjects (left-lateralized stimulation, n = 26; right-lateralized stimulation, n = 26) were tested within-subject on a variant of the Tower of London task following either real cTBS over dlPFC or sham stimulation over posterior parietal cortex. Results revealed that, irrespective of specific task demands, cTBS over left and right dlPFC was associated with a global decrease and increase, respectively, in initial planning times compared to sham stimulation. Moreover, no interaction between task demands and stimulation type (real vs. sham) and/or stimulation side (left vs. right hemisphere) were found. Together, against expectations from previous neuroimaging data, lateralized cTBS did not lead to planning-parameter specific changes in performance, but instead revealed a global asymmetric pattern of faster versus slower task processing after left versus right cTBS. This global asymmetry in the absence of any task-parameter specific impact of cTBS suggests that different levels of information processing may span colocalized, but independent axes of functional lateralization in the dlPFC. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Backward assembly planning with DFA analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sukhan (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An assembly planning system that operates based on a recursive decomposition of assembly into subassemblies, and analyzes assembly cost in terms of stability, directionality, and manipulability to guide the generation of preferred assembly plans is presented. The planning in this system incorporates the special processes, such as cleaning, testing, labeling, etc. that must occur during the assembly, and handles nonreversible as well as reversible assembly tasks through backward assembly planning. In order to increase the planning efficiency, the system avoids the analysis of decompositions that do not correspond to feasible assembly tasks. This is achieved by grouping and merging those parts that can not be decomposable at the current stage of backward assembly planning due to the requirement of special processes and the constraint of interconnection feasibility. The invention includes methods of evaluating assembly cost in terms of the number of fixtures (or holding devices) and reorientations required for assembly, through the analysis of stability, directionality, and manipulability. All these factors are used in defining cost and heuristic functions for an AO* search for an optimal plan.

Disentangling weak coherence and executive dysfunction: planning drawing in autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed Central

Booth, Rhonda; Charlton, Rebecca; Hughes, Claire; Happé, Francesca

2003-01-01

A tendency to focus on details at the expense of configural information, 'weak coherence', has been proposed as a cognitive style in autism. In the present study we tested whether weak coherence might be the result of executive dysfunction, by testing clinical groups known to show deficits on tests of executive control. Boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were compared with age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developing (TD) boys, on a drawing task requiring planning for the inclusion of a new element. Weak coherence was measured through analysis of drawing style. In line with the predictions made, the ASD group was more detail-focused in their drawings than were either ADHD or TD boys. The ASD and ADHD groups both showed planning impairments, which were more severe in the former group. Poor planning did not, however, predict detail-focus, and scores on the two aspects of the task were unrelated in the clinical groups. These findings indicate that weak coherence may indeed be a cognitive style specific to autism and unrelated to cognitive deficits in frontal functions. PMID:12639335

Facing the future: Memory as an evolved system for planning future acts

PubMed Central

Klein, Stanley B.; Robertson, Theresa E.; Delton, Andrew W.

2013-01-01

All organisms capable of long-term memory are necessarily oriented toward the future. We propose that one of the most important adaptive functions of long-term episodic memory is to store information about the past in the service of planning for the personal future. Because a system should have especially efficient performance when engaged in a task that makes maximal use of its evolved machinery, we predicted that future-oriented planning would result in especially good memory relative to other memory tasks. We tested recall performance of a word list, using encoding tasks with different temporal perspectives (e.g., past, future) but a similar context. Consistent with our hypothesis, future-oriented encoding produced superior recall. We discuss these findings in light of their implications for the thesis that memory evolved to enable its possessor to anticipate and respond to future contingencies that cannot be known with certainty. PMID:19966234

Test plan. Task 5, subtask 5.2: Early on-orbit TPSdebris impact tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, H. S.

1994-01-01

The limitation of damage to, and survival of, the cryogenic tankage during the on-orbit stay despite potential impact of orbital debris, may be a significant discriminator in the RHCTS trade studies described in the TA-1 trade study plan (ref. RHCTS-TSP-1) dated July 29, 1994. The objective of this early phase of an overall debris impact test program is to provide the data to support assessment of the relative suitability of integral and non integral tanks.

Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels: Database Extension Task 3.0 and Impact Damage Effects Control Task 8.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beeson, Harold D.; Davis, Dennis D.; Ross, William L., Sr.; Tapphorn, Ralph M.

2002-01-01

This document represents efforts accomplished at the NASA Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) in support of the Enhanced Technology for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV) Program, a joint research and technology effort among the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and the Aerospace Corporation. WSTF performed testing for several facets of the program. Testing that contributed to the Task 3.0 COPV database extension objective included baseline structural strength, failure mode and safe-life, impact damage tolerance, sustained load/impact effect, and materials compatibility. WSTF was also responsible for establishing impact protection and control requirements under Task 8.0 of the program. This included developing a methodology for establishing an impact control plan. Seven test reports detail the work done at WSTF. As such, this document contributes to the database of information regarding COPV behavior that will ensure performance benefits and safety are maintained throughout vessel service life.

Leveraging Large-Scale Semantic Networks for Adaptive Robot Task Learning and Execution.

PubMed

Boteanu, Adrian; St Clair, Aaron; Mohseni-Kabir, Anahita; Saldanha, Carl; Chernova, Sonia

2016-12-01

This work seeks to leverage semantic networks containing millions of entries encoding assertions of commonsense knowledge to enable improvements in robot task execution and learning. The specific application we explore in this project is object substitution in the context of task adaptation. Humans easily adapt their plans to compensate for missing items in day-to-day tasks, substituting a wrap for bread when making a sandwich, or stirring pasta with a fork when out of spoons. Robot plan execution, however, is far less robust, with missing objects typically leading to failure if the robot is not aware of alternatives. In this article, we contribute a context-aware algorithm that leverages the linguistic information embedded in the task description to identify candidate substitution objects without reliance on explicit object affordance information. Specifically, we show that the task context provided by the task labels within the action structure of a task plan can be leveraged to disambiguate information within a noisy large-scale semantic network containing hundreds of potential object candidates to identify successful object substitutions with high accuracy. We present two extensive evaluations of our work on both abstract and real-world robot tasks, showing that the substitutions made by our system are valid, accepted by users, and lead to a statistically significant reduction in robot learning time. In addition, we report the outcomes of testing our approach with a large number of crowd workers interacting with a robot in real time.

Exploring Operational Test and Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems: A Qualitative Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saliceti, Jose A.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and identify strategies that may potentially remedy operational test and evaluation procedures used to evaluate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology. The sample for analysis consisted of organizations testing and evaluating UASs (e.g., U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs Border Protection). A purposeful sampling technique was used to select 15 subject matter experts in the field of operational test and evaluation of UASs. A questionnaire was provided to participants to construct a descriptive and robust research. Analysis of responses revealed themes related to each research question. Findings revealed operational testers utilized requirements documents to extrapolate measures for testing UAS technology and develop critical operational issues. The requirements documents were (a) developed without the contribution of stakeholders and operational testers, (b) developed with vague or unrealistic measures, and (c) developed without a systematic method to derive requirements from mission tasks. Four approaches are recommended to develop testable operational requirements and assist operational testers: (a) use a mission task analysis tool to derive requirements for mission essential tasks for the system, (b) exercise collaboration among stakeholders and testers to ensure testable operational requirements based on mission tasks, (c) ensure testable measures are used in requirements documents, and (d) create a repository list of critical operational issues by mission areas. The preparation of operational test and evaluation processes for UAS technology is not uniform across testers. The processes in place are not standardized, thus test plan preparation and reporting are different among participants. A standard method to prepare and report UAS technology should be used when preparing and reporting on UAS technology. Using a systematic process, such as mission-based test design, resonated among participants as an analytical method to link UAS mission tasks and measures of performance to the capabilities of the system under test when developing operational test plans. Further research should examine system engineering designs for system requirements traceability matrix of mission tasks and subtasks while using an analysis tool that adequately evaluates UASs with an acceptable level of confidence in the results.

Backward assembly planning with DFA analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sukhan (Inventor)

1992-01-01

An assembly planning system that operates based on a recursive decomposition of assembly into subassemblies is presented. The planning system analyzes assembly cost in terms of stability, directionality, and manipulability to guide the generation of preferred assembly plans. The planning in this system incorporates the special processes, such as cleaning, testing, labeling, etc., that must occur during the assembly. Additionally, the planning handles nonreversible, as well as reversible, assembly tasks through backward assembly planning. In order to decrease the planning efficiency, the system avoids the analysis of decompositions that do not correspond to feasible assembly tasks. This is achieved by grouping and merging those parts that can not be decomposable at the current stage of backward assembly planning due to the requirement of special processes and the constraint of interconnection feasibility. The invention includes methods of evaluating assembly cost in terms of the number of fixtures (or holding devices) and reorientations required for assembly, through the analysis of stability, directionality, and manipulability. All these factors are used in defining cost and heuristic functions for an AO* search for an optimal plan.

Intelligent Engine Systems: Bearing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Arnant P.

2008-01-01

The overall requirements necessary for sensing bearing distress and the related criteria to select a particular rotating sensor were established during the phase I. The current phase II efforts performed studies to evaluate the Robustness and Durability Enhancement of the rotating sensors, and to design, and develop the Built-in Telemetry System concepts for an aircraft engine differential sump. A generic test vehicle that can test the proposed bearing diagnostic system was designed, developed, and built. The Timken Company, who also assisted with testing the GE concept of using rotating sensors for the differential bearing diagnostics during previous phase, was selected as a subcontractor to assist General Electric (GE) for the design, and procurement of the test vehicle. A purchase order was prepared to define the different sub-tasks, and deliverables for this task. The University of Akron was selected to provide the necessary support for installing, and integrating the test vehicle with their newly designed test facility capable of simulating the operating environment for the planned testing. The planned testing with good and damaged bearings will be on hold pending further continuation of this effort during next phase.

Moving granular-bed filter development program, Option III: Development of moving granular-bed filter technology for multi-contaminant control. Task 14: Test plan; Topical report

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

Haas, J.C.; Olivo, C.A.; Wilson, K.B.

1994-04-01

An experimental test plan has been prepared for DOE/METC review and approval to develop a filter media suitable for multi-contaminant control in granular-bed filter (GBF) applications. The plan includes identification, development, and demonstration of methods for enhanced media morphology, chemical reactivity, and mechanical strength. The test plan includes media preparation methods, physical and chemical characterization methods for fresh and reacted media, media evaluation criteria, details of test and analytical equipment, and test matrix of the proposed media testing. A filter media composed of agglomerated limestone and clay was determined to be the best candidate for multi-contaminate control in GBF operation.more » The combined limestone/clay agglomerate has the potential to remove sulfur and alkali species, in addition to particulate, and possibly halogens and trace heavy metals from coal process streams.« less

The Consolidated Planning and Scheduling System for Space Transportation and Space Station operations - Successful development experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hornstein, Rhoda S.; Willoughby, John K.; Gardner, Jo A.; Shinkle, Gerald L.

1993-01-01

In 1992, NASA made the decision to evolve a Consolidated Planning System (CPS) by adding the Space Transportation System (STS) requirements to the Space Station Freedom (SSF) planning software. This paper describes this evolutionary process, which began with a series of six-month design-build-test cycles, using a domain-independent architecture and a set of developmental tools known as the Advanced Scheduling Environment. It is shown that, during these tests, the CPS could be used at multiple organizational levels of planning and for integrating schedules from geographically distributed (including international) planning environments. The potential for using the CPS for other planning and scheduling tasks in the SSF program is being currently examined.

Integrating SIMNET into Heavy Task Force Tactical Training

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-10-01

the overlays will allow the battlemaster time to input them for display on the Plan View Display ( PVD ) for use in AARs. The time schedule must also...reconnaissance for both friendly and enemy forces to occupy. The stealth station, in conjunction with the Plan View Display ( PVD ), can be used to...was moved to another assembly area for armor crewman and Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) skills testing. The battalion observer tested 25% to

Executive and attentional functions in chronic pain: Does performance decrease with increasing task load?

PubMed Central

Oosterman, Joukje M; Derksen, Laura C; van Wijck, Albert JM; Kessels, Roy PC; Veldhuijzen, Dieuwke S

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Diminished executive function and attentional control has been reported in chronic pain patients. However, the precise pattern of impairment in these aspects of cognition in chronic pain remains unclear. Moreover, a decline in psychomotor speed could potentially influence executive and attentional control performance in pain patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine different aspects of executive and attentional control in chronic pain together with the confounding role of psychomotor slowing. METHODS: Neuropsychological tests of sustained attention, planning ability, inhibition and mental flexibility were administered to 34 participants with chronic pain and 32 control participants. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, participants with chronic pain took longer to complete tests of sustained attention and mental flexibility, but did not perform worse on inhibition or planning tasks. The decreased performance on the mental flexibility task likely reflects a reduction in psychomotor speed. The pattern of performance on the sustained attention task reveals a specific decline in attention, indicated by a disproportionate decline in performance with an increase in task duration and by increased fluctuations in attention during task performance. No additional effect was noted of pain intensity, pain duration, pain catastrophizing, depressive symptoms, reduced sleep because of the pain or opioid use. CONCLUSIONS: Executive and attention functions are not uniformly affected in chronic pain. At least part of the previously reported decline in executive function in this group may reflect psychomotor slowing. Overall, limited evidence was found that executive and attention performance is indeed lower in chronic pain. Therefore, it can be concluded that in chronic pain sustained attention performance is diminished while mental flexibility, planning and inhibition appear to be intact. PMID:22606680

Mission planning for autonomous systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, G.

1987-01-01

Planning is a necessary task for intelligent, adaptive systems operating independently of human controllers. A mission planning system that performs task planning by decomposing a high-level mission objective into subtasks and synthesizing a plan for those tasks at varying levels of abstraction is discussed. Researchers use a blackboard architecture to partition the search space and direct the focus of attention of the planner. Using advanced planning techniques, they can control plan synthesis for the complex planning tasks involved in mission planning.

Construction of Tasks in Order to Develop and Promote Classroom Communication in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olteanu, Lucian

2015-01-01

In this article, the focus is on task construction and the importance of this process to develop and promote classroom communication in mathematics. The students' tests, examination of students' mathematical work, the teachers' lesson plans, and reports of the lessons' instructions are the basic data for this article. The analysis indicated that…

The neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: a new analysis.

PubMed

Fineberg, Naomi A; Day, Grace A; de Koenigswarter, Nica; Reghunandanan, Samar; Kolli, Sangeetha; Jefferies-Sewell, Kiri; Hranov, Georgi; Laws, Keith R

2015-10-01

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is characterized by perfectionism, need for control, and cognitive rigidity. Currently, little neuropsychological data exist on this condition, though emerging evidence does suggest that disorders marked by compulsivity, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are associated with impairment in cognitive flexibility and executive planning on neurocognitive tasks. The current study investigated the neurocognitive profile in a nonclinical community-based sample of people fulfilling diagnostic criteria for OCPD in the absence of major psychiatric comorbidity. Twenty-one nonclinical subjects who fulfilled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for OCPD were compared with 15 healthy controls on selected clinical and neurocognitive tasks. OCPD was measured using the Compulsive Personality Assessment Scale (CPAS). Participants completed tests from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery including tests of set shifting (Intra-Extra Dimensional [IED] Set Shifting) executive planning (Stockings of Cambridge [SOC]), and decision making (Cambridge Gamble Task [CGT]). The OCPD group made significantly more IED-ED shift errors and total shift errors, and also showed longer mean initial thinking time on the SOC at moderate levels of difficulty. No differences emerged on the CGT. Nonclinical cases of OCPD showed significant cognitive inflexibility coupled with executive planning deficits, whereas decision-making remained intact. This profile of impairment overlaps with that of OCD and implies that common neuropsychological changes affect individuals with these disorders.

The Use of Cognitive Cues for Anticipatory Strategies in a Dynamic Postural Control Task - Validation of a Novel Approach to Dual-Task Testing.

PubMed

Laessoe, Uffe; Grarup, Bo; Bangshaab, Jette

2016-01-01

Dual-task testing is relevant in the assessment of postural control. A combination of a primary (motor) and a secondary (distracting cognitive) tasks is most often used. It remains a challenge however, to standardize and monitor the cognitive task. In this study a new dual-task testing approach with a facilitating, rather than distracting, cognitive component was evaluated. Thirty-one community-dwelling elderly and fifteen young people were tested with respect to their ability to use anticipatory postural control strategies. The motor task consisted of twenty-five repetitive tasks in which the participants needed to exceed their limit of stability in order to touch one out of eight lights. The participants performed three tests. In two of the tests the color cues of the lights allowed the participants to utilize cognitive strategies to plan their next movement and improve their performance time. The young performed the baseline motor task test in an average of 29 seconds, while the average time for the elderly was 44 seconds. When comparing the performance time with a leading cue to the time with no cue, the young group improved their performance time significantly better than the elderly did: young: 17% (5), elderly: 5% (8); p<0.001. Similar differences were seen with a more complicated leading cue: young: 12% (5), elderly: 4% (9); p<0.01. The reliability of the test showed moderate to substantial agreement (ICC = 0.74), with a small learning effect between two sessions. The dual-task test was sensitive enough to discriminate between elderly and young people. It revealed that the elderly did not utilize cognitive cues for their anticipatory postural control strategies as well as the young were able to. The test procedure was feasible and comprehensible for the participants, and it may be relevant to standardize a similar test for an alternative dual-task approach in the clinical setting.

Effects of Planning on Task Load, Knowledge, and Tool Preference: A Comparison of Two Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonestroo, Wilco J.; de Jong, Ton

2012-01-01

Self-regulated learners are expected to plan their own learning. Because planning is a complex task, it is not self-evident that all learners can perform this task successfully. In this study, we examined the effects of two planning support tools on the quality of created plans, planning behavior, task load, and acquired knowledge. Sixty-five…

[Ecologic evaluation in the cognitive assessment of brain injury patients: generation and execution of script].

PubMed

Baguena, N; Thomas-Antérion, C; Sciessere, K; Truche, A; Extier, C; Guyot, E; Paris, N

2006-06-01

Assessment of executive functions in an everyday life activity, evaluating brain injury subjects with script generation and execution tasks. We compared a script generation task to a script execution task, whereby subjects had to make a cooked dish. Two grids were used for the quotation, qualitative and quantitative, as well as the calculation of an anosognosis score. We checked whether the execution task was more sensitive to a dysexecutive disorder than the script generation task and compared the scores obtained in this evaluation with those from classical frontal tests. Twelve subjects with brain injury 6 years+/-4.79 ago and 12 healthy control subjects were tested. The subjects carried out a script generation task whereby they had to explain the necessary stages to make a chocolate cake. They also had to do a script execution task corresponding to the cake making. The 2 quotation grids were operational and complementary. The quantitative grid is more sensitive to a dysexecutive disorder. The brain injury subjects made more errors in the execution task. It is important to evaluate the executive functions of subjects with brain injury in everyday life tasks, not just in psychometric or script-generation tests. Indeed the ecological realization of a very simple task can reveal executive function difficulties such as the planning or the sequencing of actions, which are under-evaluated in laboratory tests.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Development Activities at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center - 2006 Accomplishments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballard, Richard O.

2007-01-01

In 2005-06, the Prometheus program funded a number of tasks at the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to support development of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) system for future manned exploration missions. These tasks include the following: 1. NTP Design Develop Test & Evaluate (DDT&E) Planning 2. NTP Mission & Systems Analysis / Stage Concepts & Engine Requirements 3. NTP Engine System Trade Space Analysis and Studies 4. NTP Engine Ground Test Facility Assessment 5. Non-Nuclear Environmental Simulator (NTREES) 6. Non-Nuclear Materials Fabrication & Evaluation 7. Multi-Physics TCA Modeling. This presentation is a overview of these tasks and their accomplishments

Planning in human children (Homo sapiens) assessed by maze problems on the touch screen.

PubMed

Miyata, Hiromitsu; Itakura, Shoji; Fujita, Kazuo

2009-02-01

The authors examined how human children perform on maze tasks on the touch screen and whether the children plan the solution of the mazes. In Experiment 1, the authors exposed children around 3 years of age to a maze having an L-shaped line as a barrier that can be solved by moving an illustration of a dog (the target) to that of a bone (the goal) with their fingers. The participants successfully solved the maze by taking efficient routes more frequently than chance, although the authors found no evidence that a preview of the maze before starting to solve the task facilitated their performance. In Experiment 2, using a plus-shaped maze, the authors found that 3- and 4-year-old children plan and adjust their moves while solving the maze, with 4-year-olds showing more advanced and higher-level planning than 3-year-olds. Similarity of these results to what the authors previously found in pigeons tested in the same tasks may suggest an analogy for planning capacity in the behavioral level across taxa and developmental stages. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Autonomous mission management for UAVs using soar intelligent agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunetti, Paolo; Thompson, Haydn; Dodd, Tony

2013-05-01

State-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are typically able to autonomously execute a pre-planned mission. However, UAVs usually fly in a very dynamic environment which requires dynamic changes to the flight plan; this mission management activity is usually tasked to human supervision. Within this article, a software system that autonomously accomplishes the mission management task for a UAV will be proposed. The system is based on a set of theoretical concepts which allow the description of a flight plan and implemented using a combination of Soar intelligent agents and traditional control techniques. The system is capable of automatically generating and then executing an entire flight plan after being assigned a set of objectives. This article thoroughly describes all system components and then presents the results of tests that were executed using a realistic simulation environment.

Planning Abilities in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa Compared with Healthy Controls.

PubMed

Carral-Fernández, Laura; González-Blanch, César; Goddard, Elizabeth; González-Gómez, Jana; Benito-González, Pilar; Bustamante-Cruz, Encarnación; Gómez Del Barrio, Andrés

2016-02-01

Altered cognitive functioning could have an important role in the development and maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The majority of previous research has focused on flexibility and global-detail processing. The aim of this study was to explore planning abilities in women with AN. Women with AN (n = 32) were compared to healthy controls (n = 42) using two different types of neuropsychological tasks for the assessment of planning abilities: Tower of London (ToL), a classic measure of planning abilities, and Zoo Map test, a more ecologically valid planning measure. Measures of AN psychopathology, anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsivity were also collected. The AN group did not differ from controls in the ToL (all p-values p > .05), although they performed significantly worse than controls in the main score of the Zoo Map (p = .02). A worse performance in the Zoo Map test More was associated with more eating disorders (rho = -.44, p = .018) and depressive (rho = -.42, p = .026) symptoms in the AN group. Our study suggests the presence of subtle planning difficulties in women with AN which might be better detected using tasks with increased ecological validity.

Deep Bore Storage of Nuclear Waste Using MMW (Millimeter Wave) Technology, STTR Fast Track Project, Phase I Final Report-Revised

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

Oglesby, Kenneth D.; Woskov, Paul; Einstein, Herbert

This report covers the technical work in Phase I of this DOE-Nuclear Program STTR Fast Track project. All key tasks were successfully performed, new tasks were added to utilize DOD-AFRL’s 95 GigaHertz (GHz) gyrotron in Phase II, while other lesser tasks were left for Phase II efforts or were requested to be made optional. This research adds to our understanding of using MMW power to melt and vaporize rocks and steel/ metals and laid plans for future testing in Phase II. This work built upon a prior DOE project DE-EE0005504 that developed the basic waveguide setup, process and instruments. Inmore » this project we were investigating the use of MMW to form rock melt and steel plugs in deep wells to further isolate highly radioactive nuclear waste in ultra-deep basement rocks for long term storage. This technology also has potential for deep well drilling for nuclear storage, geothermal and oil and gas industries. It also has the potential for simultaneously sealing and securing the wellbore with a thick rock melt liner as the wellbore is drilled. This allows for higher levels of safety and protection of the environment during deep drilling operations. The larger purpose of this project was to find answers to key questions in progressing MMW technology for these applications. Phase I of this project continued bench testing using the MIT 10 kilo-Watt (kW), 28 GHz frequency laboratory gyrotron, literature searches, planning and design of equipment for Phase II efforts. Furnace melting and rock testing (Tasks 4 and 5) were deferred to Phase II due to lack of concurrent availability of the furnace and personnel at MIT. That delay and lower temperature furnace (limited to 1650oC) caused rethinking of Task 4 to utilize coordinated rock selection with the DOD testing in Phase II. The high pressure and high power window design work (moved to Phase I Task 3 from Phase II Task 20) and Additive materials and methods (Tasks 7 & 8) performed in Phase I may become patentable and thus little detail can be provided in this public report. A version of that new high pressure, high MMW power window may be built for possible Phase II testing at the DOD site. Most significantly, additional tasks were added for planning the use of the Department of Defense, Air Force Research Laboratory’s (DOD-AFRL’s) System 0 gyrotron in Phase II. Specifically added and accomplished were multiple discussions on DOD and DOE-MIT-Impact goals, timing between ongoing DOD testing, outlining the required equipment and instruments for rock testing, and terms for an agreement. That addition required a visit to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico to talk to key DOD-AFRL personnel and management. A DOD-Impact-MIT charter (i.e., contract) is now being circulated for signatures. Also added task to Phase I, MIT designed the critical path reflected power isolator screen for Phase II testing. To ensure compatibility, that design was computer simulated for the expected heat load distribution and the resulting temperature increase. Advancing the MMW testing up to the optimum 95 GHz and 100kW (5X higher) power levels was stated in the original proposal to be a key required development step for this technology to achieve prototype drilling, lining, and rock melting/ vaporization for creating sealing plugs.« less

Gender differences in visuospatial planning: an eye movements study.

PubMed

Cazzato, Valentina; Basso, Demis; Cutini, Simone; Bisiacchi, Patrizia

2010-01-20

Gender studies report a male advantage in several visuospatial abilities. Only few studies however, have evaluated differences in visuospatial planning behaviour with regard to gender. This study was aimed at exploring whether gender may affect the choice of cognitive strategies in a visuospatial planning task and, if oculomotor measures could assist in disentangling the cognitive processes involved. A computerised task based on the travelling salesperson problem paradigm, the Maps test, was used to investigate these issues. Participants were required to optimise time and space of a path travelling among a set of sub-goals in a spatially constrained environment. Behavioural results suggest that there are no gender differences in the initial visual processing of the stimuli, but rather during the execution of the plan, with males showing a shorter execution time and a higher path length optimisation than females. Males often showed changes of heuristics during the execution while females seemed to prefer a constant strategy. Moreover, a better performance in behavioural and oculomotor measures seemed to suggest that males are more able than females in either the optimisation of spatial features or the realisation of the planned scheme. Despite inconclusive findings, the results support previous research and provide insight into the level of cognitive processing involved in navigation and planning tasks, with regard to the influence of gender.

Encoding and choice in the task span paradigm.

PubMed

Reiman, Kaitlin M; Weaver, Starla M; Arrington, Catherine M

2015-03-01

Cognitive control during sequences of planned behaviors requires both plan-level processes such as generating, maintaining, and monitoring the plan, as well as task-level processes such as selecting, establishing and implementing specific task sets. The task span paradigm (Logan in J Exp Psychol Gen 133:218-236, 2004) combines two common cognitive control paradigms, task switching and working memory span, to investigate the integration of plan-level and task-level processes during control of sequential behavior. The current study expands past task span research to include measures of encoding processes and choice behavior with volitional sequence generation, using the standard task span as well as a novel voluntary task span paradigm. In two experiments, we consider how sequence complexity, defined separately for plan-level and task-level complexity, influences sequence encoding (Experiment 1), sequence choice (Experiment 2), sequence memory, and task performance of planned sequences of action. Results indicate that participants were sensitive to sequence complexity, but that different aspects of behavior are most strongly influenced by different types of complexity. Hierarchical complexity at the plan level best predicts voluntary sequence generation and memory; while switch frequency at the task level best predicts encoding of externally defined sequences and task performance. Furthermore, performance RTs were similar for externally and internally defined plans, whereas memory was improved for internally defined sequences. Finally, participants demonstrated a significant sequence choice bias in the voluntary task span. Consistent with past research on choice behavior, volitional selection of plans was markedly influenced by both the ease of memory and performance.

Robotic technologies of the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) including fault tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chladek, John T.; Craver, William M.

1994-01-01

The original FTS concept for Space Station Freedom (SSF) was to provide telerobotic assistance to enhance crew activity and safety and to reduce crew EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) activity. The first flight of the FTS manipulator systems would demonstrate several candidate tasks and would verify manipulator performance parameters. These first flight tasks included unlocking a SSF Truss Joint, mating/demating a fluid coupling, contact following of a contour board, demonstrating peg-in-hole assembly, and grasping and moving a mass. Future tasks foreseen for the FTS system included ORU (Orbit Replaceable Unit) change-out, Hubble Space Telescope Servicing, Gamma Ray Observatory refueling, and several in-situ SSF servicing and maintenance tasks. Operation of the FTS was planned to evolve from teleoperation to fully autonomous execution of many tasks. This wide range of mission tasks combined with the desire to evolve toward fully autonomy forced several requirements which may seen extremely demanding to the telerobotics community. The FTS requirements appear to have been created to accommodate the open-ended evolution plan such that operational evolution would not be impeded by function limitations. A recommendation arising from the FTS program to remedy the possible impacts from such ambitious requirements is to analyze candidate robotic tasks. Based on these task analyses, operational impacts against development impacts were weighed prior to requirements definition. Many of the FTS requirements discussed in the following sections greatly influenced the development cost and schedule of the FTS manipulator. The FTS manipulator has been assembled at Martin Marietta and is currently in testing. Successful component tests indicate a manipulator which achieves unprecedented performance specifications.

The future-orientation of memory: Planning as a key component mediating the high levels of recall found with survival processing

PubMed Central

Klein, Stanley B.; Robertson, Theresa E.; Delton, Andrew W.

2013-01-01

In a series of papers, Nairne and colleagues have demonstrated that tasks encouraging participants to judge words for relevance to survival led to better recall than did tasks lacking survival relevance. Klein, Robertson, and Delton (2010) presented data suggesting that the future-directed temporal orientation of the survival task (e.g., planning), rather than survival per se, accounts for the good recall found with the task. In the present studies we manipulated the amount of survival and planning processing encouraged by a set of encoding tasks. Participants performed tasks that encouraged processing stimuli for their relevance to (a) both survival and planning, (b) planning, but not survival, or (c) survival but not planning. We predicted, and found, that recall performance associated with tasks encouraging planning (i.e., survival with planning and planning without survival) should exceed tasks that encouraged survival but not planning (i.e., survival without planning). We draw several conclusions. First, planning is a necessary component of the superior recall found in the survival paradigm. Second, memory, from an evolutionary perspective, is inherently prospective—tailored by natural selection to support future decisions and judgements that cannot be known in advance with certainty. PMID:21229456

Putting brain training to the test.

PubMed

Owen, Adrian M; Hampshire, Adam; Grahn, Jessica A; Stenton, Robert; Dajani, Said; Burns, Alistair S; Howard, Robert J; Ballard, Clive G

2010-06-10

'Brain training', or the goal of improved cognitive function through the regular use of computerized tests, is a multimillion-pound industry, yet in our view scientific evidence to support its efficacy is lacking. Modest effects have been reported in some studies of older individuals and preschool children, and video-game players outperform non-players on some tests of visual attention. However, the widely held belief that commercially available computerized brain-training programs improve general cognitive function in the wider population in our opinion lacks empirical support. The central question is not whether performance on cognitive tests can be improved by training, but rather, whether those benefits transfer to other untrained tasks or lead to any general improvement in the level of cognitive functioning. Here we report the results of a six-week online study in which 11,430 participants trained several times each week on cognitive tasks designed to improve reasoning, memory, planning, visuospatial skills and attention. Although improvements were observed in every one of the cognitive tasks that were trained, no evidence was found for transfer effects to untrained tasks, even when those tasks were cognitively closely related.

Action planning and position sense in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

PubMed

Adams, Imke L J; Ferguson, Gillian D; Lust, Jessica M; Steenbergen, Bert; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C M

2016-04-01

The present study examined action planning and position sense in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Participants performed two action planning tasks, the sword task and the bar grasping task, and an active elbow matching task to examine position sense. Thirty children were included in the DCD group (aged 6-10years) and age-matched to 90 controls. The DCD group had a MABC-2 total score ⩽5th percentile, the control group a total score ⩾25th percentile. Results from the sword-task showed that children with DCD planned less for end-state comfort. On the bar grasping task no significant differences in planning for end-state comfort between the DCD and control group were found. There was also no significant difference in the position sense error between the groups. The present study shows that children with DCD plan less for end-state comfort, but that this result is task-dependent and becomes apparent when more precision is needed at the end of the task. In that respect, the sword-task appeared to be a more sensitive task to assess action planning abilities, than the bar grasping task. The action planning deficit in children with DCD cannot be explained by an impaired position sense during active movements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

National Task Force on a Uniform Measurement Unit for the Recognition of Continuing Education: Working Papers; and The Continuing Education Unit: A Uniform Unit of Measure for Non-Credit Continuing Education Programs (An Interim Statement of the National Task Force).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Univ. Extension Association, Washington, DC.

In 1968, a national planning conference, under the joint sponsorship of 34 organizations responsing to continuing education needs, created the National Task Force to determine the feasibility of a uniform unit of measurement and develop a proposal for field testing the concept. Stressing that continuing education units should supplement, not…

ART/Ada design project, phase 1. Task 3 report: Test plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Bradley P.

1988-01-01

The plan is described for the integrated testing and benchmark of Phase Ada based ESBT Design Research Project. The integration testing is divided into two phases: (1) the modules that do not rely on the Ada code generated by the Ada Generator are tested before the Ada Generator is implemented; and (2) all modules are integrated and tested with the Ada code generated by the Ada Generator. Its performance and size as well as its functionality is verified in this phase. The target platform is a DEC Ada compiler on VAX mini-computers and VAX stations running the VMS operating system.

Subjective and objective quantification of physician's workload and performance during radiation therapy planning tasks.

PubMed

Mazur, Lukasz M; Mosaly, Prithima R; Hoyle, Lesley M; Jones, Ellen L; Marks, Lawrence B

2013-01-01

To quantify, and compare, workload for several common physician-based treatment planning tasks using objective and subjective measures of workload. To assess the relationship between workload and performance to define workload levels where performance could be expected to decline. Nine physicians performed the same 3 tasks on each of 2 cases ("easy" vs "hard"). Workload was assessed objectively throughout the tasks (via monitoring of pupil size and blink rate), and subjectively at the end of each case (via National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index; NASA-TLX). NASA-TLX assesses the 6 dimensions (mental, physical, and temporal demands, frustration, effort, and performance); scores > or ≈ 50 are associated with reduced performance in other industries. Performance was measured using participants' stated willingness to approve the treatment plan. Differences in subjective and objective workload between cases, tasks, and experience were assessed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The correlation between subjective and objective workload measures were assessed via the Pearson correlation test. The relationships between workload and performance measures were assessed using the t test. Eighteen case-wise and 54 task-wise assessments were obtained. Subjective NASA-TLX scores (P < .001), but not time-weighted averages of objective scores (P > .1), were significantly lower for the easy vs hard case. Most correlations between the subjective and objective measures were not significant, except between average blink rate and NASA-TLX scores (r = -0.34, P = .02), for task-wise assessments. Performance appeared to decline at NASA-TLX scores of ≥55. The NASA-TLX may provide a reasonable method to quantify subjective workload for broad activities, and objective physiologic eye-based measures may be useful to monitor workload for more granular tasks within activities. The subjective and objective measures, as herein quantified, do not necessarily track each other, and more work is needed to assess their utilities. From a series of controlled experiments, we found that performance appears to decline at subjective workload levels ≥55 (as measured via NASA-TLX), which is consistent with findings from other industries. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Executive function impairments in fibromyalgia syndrome: Relevance of clinical variables and body mass index.

PubMed

Muñoz Ladrón de Guevara, Cristina; Fernández-Serrano, María José; Reyes Del Paso, Gustavo A; Duschek, Stefan

2018-01-01

Several investigations suggest the presence of deterioration of executive function in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The study quantified executive functions in patients with FMS. A wide array of functions was assessed, including updating, shifting and inhibition, as well as decision making and mental planning. Moreover, clinical variables were investigated as possible mediators of executive dysfunction, including pain severity, psychiatric comorbidity, medication and body mass index (BMI). Fifty-two FMS patients and 32 healthy controls completed a battery of 14 neuropsychological tests. Clinical interviews were conducted and the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Fatigue Severity Scale and Oviedo Quality of Sleep Questionnaire were presented. Patients performed poorer than controls on the Letter Number Sequencing, Arithmetic and Similarities subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, an N-back task, a verbal fluency task, the Ruff Figural Fluency Test, the Inhibition score of the Stroop Test, the Inhibition and Shifting scores of the Five Digits Test, the Key Search Test and the Zoo Map Task. Moreover, patients exhibited less steep learning curves on the Iowa Gambling Task. Among clinical variables, BMI and pain severity explained the largest proportion of performance variance. This study demonstrated impairments in executive functions of updating, shifting inhibition, decision making and planning in FMS. While the mediating role of pain in cognitive impairments in FMS had been previously established, the influence of BMI is a novel finding. Overweight and obesity should be considered by FMS researchers, and in the treatment of the condition.

Executive function impairments in fibromyalgia syndrome: Relevance of clinical variables and body mass index

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Background Several investigations suggest the presence of deterioration of executive function in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The study quantified executive functions in patients with FMS. A wide array of functions was assessed, including updating, shifting and inhibition, as well as decision making and mental planning. Moreover, clinical variables were investigated as possible mediators of executive dysfunction, including pain severity, psychiatric comorbidity, medication and body mass index (BMI). Methods Fifty-two FMS patients and 32 healthy controls completed a battery of 14 neuropsychological tests. Clinical interviews were conducted and the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Fatigue Severity Scale and Oviedo Quality of Sleep Questionnaire were presented. Results Patients performed poorer than controls on the Letter Number Sequencing, Arithmetic and Similarities subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, an N-back task, a verbal fluency task, the Ruff Figural Fluency Test, the Inhibition score of the Stroop Test, the Inhibition and Shifting scores of the Five Digits Test, the Key Search Test and the Zoo Map Task. Moreover, patients exhibited less steep learning curves on the Iowa Gambling Task. Among clinical variables, BMI and pain severity explained the largest proportion of performance variance. Conclusions This study demonstrated impairments in executive functions of updating, shifting inhibition, decision making and planning in FMS. While the mediating role of pain in cognitive impairments in FMS had been previously established, the influence of BMI is a novel finding. Overweight and obesity should be considered by FMS researchers, and in the treatment of the condition. PMID:29694417

The library system of the DFVLR: Present status, planned reorganization, user possibilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sternemann, P.

1985-01-01

This paper gives an overview of the present status, planned alterations, and the scope of users of the DFVLR library, as well as a survey of library related activities outside of the library department. Attention is given to the tasks of the DFVLR which include research, assistance in planning and carrying out projects, and the construction and operation of large test installations, showing how they relate to demands on the library.

Walking execution is not affected by divided attention in patients with multiple sclerosis with no disability, but there is a motor planning impairment.

PubMed

Nogueira, Leandro Alberto Calazans; Santos, Luciano Teixeira Dos; Sabino, Pollyane Galinari; Alvarenga, Regina Maria Papais; Thuler, Luiz Claudio Santos

2013-08-01

We analysed the cognitive influence on walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, in the absence of clinical disability. A case-control study was conducted with 12 MS patients with no disability and 12 matched healthy controls. Subjects were referred for completion a timed walk test of 10 m and a 3D-kinematic analysis. Participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable speed in a dual-task (arithmetic task) condition, and motor planning was measured by mental chronometry. Scores of walking speed and cadence showed no statistically significant differences between the groups in the three conditions. The dual-task condition showed an increase in the double support duration in both groups. Motor imagery analysis showed statistically significant differences between real and imagined walking in patients. MS patients with no disability did not show any influence of divided attention on walking execution. However, motor planning was overestimated as compared with real walking.

Assessment of planning abilities in individuals with mild cognitive impairment using an open-ended problem-solving task.

PubMed

Sanders, Chad; Low, Christina; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2014-01-01

There is currently limited research evaluating planning abilities, a core subcomponent of executive functioning, in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the present study, we utilized the "Amap Task," an open-ended problem-solving task, to separately evaluate the formulation and execution components of planning ability in individuals with MCI. Thirty-seven cognitively healthy older adults and 37 individuals with MCI used a map layout of a university apartment to develop and write out a strategy (formulation stage) to successfully complete a list of tasks (e.g., retrieve and fill a water pitcher before placing it in the refrigerator). Subsequently, participants carried out the tasks in the apartment with the aid of their formulated plan (execution stage). MCI participants performed more poorly than older adult (OA) controls during both the formulation and execution stages on measures of task accuracy and task efficiency. However, both groups were able to adjust and improve task accuracy and efficiency from formulation to task execution. Finally, MCI participants took significantly longer to complete the task and adhered less to their formulated plans during task completion. Using an open-ended problem-solving task, the findings revealed that individuals with MCI experienced difficulties with both the formulation and execution components of planning. Like controls, participants with MCI were able to successfully modify their plan online, improving their performance from task formulation to task execution.

An efficient temporal logic for robotic task planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Jeffrey M.

1989-01-01

Computations required for temporal reasoning can be prohibitively expensive if fully general representations are used. Overly simple representations, such as totally ordered sequence of time points, are inadequate for use in a nonlinear task planning system. A middle ground is identified which is general enough to support a capable nonlinear task planner, but specialized enough that the system can support online task planning in real time. A Temporal Logic System (TLS) was developed during the Intelligent Task Automation (ITA) project to support robotic task planning. TLS is also used within the ITA system to support plan execution, monitoring, and exception handling.

Neuropsychological predictors of clinical outcome in opiate addiction.

PubMed

Passetti, F; Clark, L; Mehta, M A; Joyce, E; King, M

2008-04-01

A growing literature supports a role for neurocognitive deficits such as impaired decision-making in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviour. On the basis of these findings, it has been suggested that measures of neurocognitive functioning may be applied to the task of predicting clinical outcome in drug addiction. This in turn may have relevance for differentiating treatment based on individual patient needs. To explore this hypothesis we obtained neurocognitive measures of planning, impulsivity and decision-making from 37 opiate dependent individuals within 6 weeks of starting a community drug treatment programme and we followed them up 3 months into the programme. Performance on two tests of decision-making, but not on tests of planning, motor inhibition, reflection impulsivity or delay discounting, was found to predict abstinence from illicit drugs at 3 months with high specificity and moderate sensitivity. In particular, two thirds of the participants performing normally on the Cambridge Gamble Task and the Iowa Gambling Task, but none of those impaired on both, were abstinent from illicit drugs at follow up. Other neuropsychological, psychiatric or psychosocial factors measured in this sample did not explain this finding. The results are discussed in terms of the brain circuitry involved and the potential implications for the planning of treatment services for opiate dependence.

The Effects of Pre-Task Planning and On-line Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy in L2 Monologic Oral Production.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Fangyuan; Ellis, Rod

2003-01-01

Investigated the effects of both pre-task and on-line planning on second language (L2) oral production. Results show that pre-task planning enhances grammatical complexity while on-line planning positively influences accuracy and grammatical complexity. Pre-task planners also produced more fluent and lexically varied language than the on-line…

To plan or not to plan: Does planning for production remove facilitation from associative priming?

PubMed

Jongman, Suzanne R; Meyer, Antje S

2017-11-01

Theories of conversation propose that in order to have smooth transitions from one turn to the next, speakers already plan their response while listening to their interlocutor. Moreover, it has been argued that speakers align their linguistic representations (i.e. prime each other), thereby reducing the processing costs associated with concurrent listening and speaking. In two experiments, we assessed how identity and associative priming from spoken words onto picture naming were affected by a concurrent speech planning task. In a baseline (no name) condition, participants heard prime words that were identical, associatively related, or unrelated to target pictures presented two seconds after prime onset. Each prime was accompanied by a non-target picture and followed by its recorded name. The participant did not name the non-target picture. In the plan condition, the participants first named the non-target picture, instead of listening to the recording, and then the target. In Experiment 1, where the plan- and no-plan conditions were tested between participants, priming effects of equal strength were found in the plan and no-plan condition. In Experiment 2, where the two conditions were tested within participants, the identity priming effect was maintained, but the associative priming effect was only seen in the no-plan but not in the plan condition. In this experiment, participant had to decide at the onset of each trial whether or not to name the non-target picture, rendering the task more complex than in Experiment 1. These decision processes may have interfered with the processing of the primes. Thus, associative priming can take place during speech planning, but only if the cognitive load is not too high. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Productivity increase through implementation of CAD/CAE workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bromley, L. K.

1985-01-01

The tracking and communication division computer aided design/computer aided engineering system is now operational. The system is utilized in an effort to automate certain tasks that were previously performed manually. These tasks include detailed test configuration diagrams of systems under certification test in the ESTL, floorplan layouts of future planned laboratory reconfigurations, and other graphical documentation of division activities. The significant time savings achieved with this CAD/CAE system are examined: (1) input of drawings and diagrams; (2) editing of initial drawings; (3) accessibility of the data; and (4) added versatility. It is shown that the Applicon CAD/CAE system, with its ease of input and editing, the accessibility of data, and its added versatility, has made more efficient many of the necessary but often time-consuming tasks associated with engineering design and testing.

Motor planning flexibly optimizes performance under uncertainty about task goals.

PubMed

Wong, Aaron L; Haith, Adrian M

2017-03-03

In an environment full of potential goals, how does the brain determine which movement to execute? Existing theories posit that the motor system prepares for all potential goals by generating several motor plans in parallel. One major line of evidence for such theories is that presenting two competing goals often results in a movement intermediate between them. These intermediate movements are thought to reflect an unintentional averaging of the competing plans. However, normative theories suggest instead that intermediate movements might actually be deliberate, generated because they improve task performance over a random guessing strategy. To test this hypothesis, we vary the benefit of making an intermediate movement by changing movement speed. We find that participants generate intermediate movements only at (slower) speeds where they measurably improve performance. Our findings support the normative view that the motor system selects only a single, flexible motor plan, optimized for uncertain goals.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

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

PROGRAM ASTEC (ADVANCED SOLAR TURBO ELECTRIC CONCEPT). PART IV. SOLAR COLLECTOR DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT TASKS. VOL. VII. ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT GROUND TEST PLAN FOR THE ASTEC SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTOR.

DTIC Science & Technology

optical, and structural integrity of the full scale ASTEC solar collector before further development proceeds. This document specifies these initial...engineering ground tests recommended for testing petals and other critical components of the ASTEC collector. It defines the requirements and

Electric Grid Expansion Planning with High Levels of Variable Generation

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

Hadley, Stanton W.; You, Shutang; Shankar, Mallikarjun

2016-02-01

Renewables are taking a large proportion of generation capacity in U.S. power grids. As their randomness has increasing influence on power system operation, it is necessary to consider their impact on system expansion planning. To this end, this project studies the generation and transmission expansion co-optimization problem of the US Eastern Interconnection (EI) power grid with a high wind power penetration rate. In this project, the generation and transmission expansion problem for the EI system is modeled as a mixed-integer programming (MIP) problem. This study analyzed a time series creation method to capture the diversity of load and wind powermore » across balancing regions in the EI system. The obtained time series can be easily introduced into the MIP co-optimization problem and then solved robustly through available MIP solvers. Simulation results show that the proposed time series generation method and the expansion co-optimization model and can improve the expansion result significantly after considering the diversity of wind and load across EI regions. The improved expansion plan that combines generation and transmission will aid system planners and policy makers to maximize the social welfare. This study shows that modelling load and wind variations and diversities across balancing regions will produce significantly different expansion result compared with former studies. For example, if wind is modeled in more details (by increasing the number of wind output levels) so that more wind blocks are considered in expansion planning, transmission expansion will be larger and the expansion timing will be earlier. Regarding generation expansion, more wind scenarios will slightly reduce wind generation expansion in the EI system and increase the expansion of other generation such as gas. Also, adopting detailed wind scenarios will reveal that it may be uneconomic to expand transmission networks for transmitting a large amount of wind power through a long distance in the EI system. Incorporating more details of renewables in expansion planning will inevitably increase the computational burden. Therefore, high performance computing (HPC) techniques are urgently needed for power system operation and planning optimization. As a scoping study task, this project tested some preliminary parallel computation techniques such as breaking down the simulation task into several sub-tasks based on chronology splitting or sample splitting, and then assigning these sub-tasks to different cores. Testing results show significant time reduction when a simulation task is split into several sub-tasks for parallel execution.« less

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control - Pilot-Scale Test Results

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

Gary M. Blythe

2006-03-01

This Topical Report summarizes progress on Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42309, ''Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive.'' The objective of the project is to demonstrate the use of a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) additive, Degussa Corporation's TMT-15, to prevent the reemissions of elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) in flue gas exiting wet FGD systems on coal-fired boilers. Furthermore, the project intends to demonstrate that the additive can be used to precipitate most of the mercury (Hg) removed in the wet FGD system as a fine TMT salt that can be separated from the FGD liquor and bulk solid byproducts for separate disposal.more » The project will conduct pilot and full-scale tests of the TMT-15 additive in wet FGD absorbers. The tests are intended to determine required additive dosage requirements to prevent Hg{sup 0} reemissions and to separate mercury from the normal FGD byproducts for three coal types: Texas lignite/Power River Basin (PRB) coal blend, high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal, and low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal. The project team consists of URS Group, Inc., EPRI, TXU Generation Company LP, Southern Company, and Degussa Corporation. TXU Generation has provided the Texas lignite/PRB co-fired test site for pilot FGD tests, Monticello Steam Electric Station Unit 3. Southern Company is providing the low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal host site for wet scrubbing tests, as well as the pilot and full-scale jet bubbling reactor (JBR) FGD systems to be tested. A third utility, to be named later, will provide the high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal full-scale FGD test site. Degussa Corporation is providing the TMT-15 additive and technical support to the test program. The project is being conducted in six tasks. Of the six project tasks, Task 1 involves project planning and Task 6 involves management and reporting. The other four tasks involve field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. The four tasks include: Task 2 - Pilot Additive Testing in Texas Lignite Flue Gas; Task 3 - Full-scale FGD Additive Testing in High Sulfur Eastern Bituminous Flue Gas; Task 4 - Pilot Wet Scrubber Additive Tests at Yates; and Task 5 - Full-scale Additive Tests at Plant Yates. This topical report presents the results from the Task 2 and Task 4 pilot-scale additive tests. The Task 3 and Task 5 full-scale additive tests will be conducted later in calendar year 2006.« less

Brain mechanisms controlling decision making and motor planning.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, Arjun; Murthy, Aditya

2013-01-01

Accumulator models of decision making provide a unified framework to understand decision making and motor planning. In these models, the evolution of a decision is reflected in the accumulation of sensory information into a motor plan that reaches a threshold, leading to choice behavior. While these models provide an elegant framework to understand performance and reaction times, their ability to explain complex behaviors such as decision making and motor control of sequential movements in dynamic environments is unclear. To examine and probe the limits of online modification of decision making and motor planning, an oculomotor "redirect" task was used. Here, subjects were expected to change their eye movement plan when a new saccade target appeared. Based on task performance, saccade reaction time distributions, computational models of behavior, and intracortical microstimulation of monkey frontal eye fields, we show how accumulator models can be tested and extended to study dynamic aspects of decision making and motor control. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

International Space Station ECLSS Technical Task Agreement Summary Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, C. D. (Compiler); Salyer, B. H. (Compiler)

1999-01-01

This Technical Memorandum provides a summary of current work accomplished under Technical Task Agreement (TTA) by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) regarding the International Space Station (ISS) Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). Current activities include ECLSS component design and development, computer model development, subsystem/integrated system testing, life testing, and general test support provided to the ISS program. Under ECLSS design, MSFC was responsible for the six major ECLSS functions, specifications and standard, component design and development, and was the architectural control agent for the ISS ECLSS. MSFC was responsible for ECLSS analytical model development. In-house subsystem and system level analysis and testing were conducted in support of the design process, including testing air revitalization, water reclamation and management hardware, and certain nonregenerative systems. The activities described herein were approved in task agreements between MSFC and NASA Headquarters Space Station Program Management Office and their prime contractor for the ISS, Boeing. These MSFC activities are in line to the designing, development, testing, and flight of ECLSS equipment planned by Boeing. MSFC's unique capabilities for performing integrated systems testing and analyses, and its ability to perform some tasks cheaper and faster to support ISS program needs, are the basis for the TTA activities.

The Relations between Television Exposure and Executive Function in Chinese Preschoolers: The Moderated Role of Parental Mediation Behaviors

PubMed Central

Yang, Xiaohui; Chen, Zhe; Wang, Zhenhong; Zhu, Liqi

2017-01-01

The present study examined the relations between preschoolers’ television exposure and executive functions (EF). One hundred and nineteen 3- to 6-year-old children and their parents participated. Parents filled in a questionnaire regarding children’s television viewing time, television content and parental mediation behaviors about their child’s television viewing. The children were asked to finish six EF tasks, including the backward digit span task, the spatial span task, the boy–girl Stroop, the Simon task, the flanker task and the Tower of Hanoi task that assessed working memory, inhibition and planning, respectively. Children’s vocabulary was tested using Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and included as control variables in addition to socioeconomic status of the participated families. The results showed that television viewing time and child-directed educational programs were positively associated with EF. In addition, television content fully mediated the effect of television viewing time on EF and parental restrictive approach strategies moderated the effect of television viewing time on EF. PMID:29089912

A biologically based model for the integration of sensory-motor contingencies in rules and plans: a prefrontal cortex based extension of the Distributed Adaptive Control architecture.

PubMed

Duff, Armin; Fibla, Marti Sanchez; Verschure, Paul F M J

2011-06-30

Intelligence depends on the ability of the brain to acquire and apply rules and representations. At the neuronal level these properties have been shown to critically depend on the prefrontal cortex. Here we present, in the context of the Distributed Adaptive Control architecture (DAC), a biologically based model for flexible control and planning based on key physiological properties of the prefrontal cortex, i.e. reward modulated sustained activity and plasticity of lateral connectivity. We test the model in a series of pertinent tasks, including multiple T-mazes and the Tower of London that are standard experimental tasks to assess flexible control and planning. We show that the model is both able to acquire and express rules that capture the properties of the task and to quickly adapt to changes. Further, we demonstrate that this biomimetic self-contained cognitive architecture generalizes to planning. In addition, we analyze the extended DAC architecture, called DAC 6, as a model that can be applied for the creation of intelligent and psychologically believable synthetic agents. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH) program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fayette, Daniel F.; Speicher, Patricia; Stoklosa, Mark J.; Evans, Jillian V.; Evans, John W.; Gentile, Mike; Pagel, Chuck A.; Hakim, Edward

1993-08-01

A joint military-commercial effort to evaluate multichip module (MCM) structures is discussed. The program, Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH), has been designed to identify the failure mechanisms that are possible in MCM structures. The RELTECH test vehicles, technical assessment task, product evaluation plan, reliability modeling task, accelerated and environmental testing, and post-test physical analysis and failure analysis are described. The information obtained through RELTECH can be used to address standardization issues, through development of cost effective qualification and appropriate screening criteria, for inclusion into a commercial specification and the MIL-H-38534 general specification for hybrid microcircuits.

Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH) program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fayette, Daniel F.; Speicher, Patricia; Stoklosa, Mark J.; Evans, Jillian V.; Evans, John W.; Gentile, Mike; Pagel, Chuck A.; Hakim, Edward

1993-01-01

A joint military-commercial effort to evaluate multichip module (MCM) structures is discussed. The program, Reliability Technology to Achieve Insertion of Advanced Packaging (RELTECH), has been designed to identify the failure mechanisms that are possible in MCM structures. The RELTECH test vehicles, technical assessment task, product evaluation plan, reliability modeling task, accelerated and environmental testing, and post-test physical analysis and failure analysis are described. The information obtained through RELTECH can be used to address standardization issues, through development of cost effective qualification and appropriate screening criteria, for inclusion into a commercial specification and the MIL-H-38534 general specification for hybrid microcircuits.

Task planning and control synthesis for robotic manipulation in space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanderson, A. C.; Peshkin, M. A.; Homem-De-mello, L. S.

1987-01-01

Space-based robotic systems for diagnosis, repair and assembly of systems will require new techniques of planning and manipulation to accomplish these complex tasks. Results of work in assembly task representation, discrete task planning, and control synthesis which provide a design environment for flexible assembly systems in manufacturing applications, and which extend to planning of manipulatiuon operations in unstructured environments are summarized. Assembly planning is carried out using the AND/OR graph representation which encompasses all possible partial orders of operations and may be used to plan assembly sequences. Discrete task planning uses the configuration map which facilitates search over a space of discrete operations parameters in sequential operations in order to achieve required goals in the space of bounded configuration sets.

The Task Is Not Enough: Processing Approaches to Task-Based Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skehan, Peter; Xiaoyue, Bei; Qian, Li; Wang, Zhan

2012-01-01

This article reports on three research studies, all of which concern second language task performance. The first focuses on planning, and compares on-line and strategic planning as well as task repetition. The second study examines the role of familiarity on task performance, and compares this with conventional strategic planning. The third study…

[Executive dysfunctions in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].

PubMed

Rodriguez-Jiménez, R; Cubillo, A; Jiménez-Arriero, M A; Ponce, G; Aragüés-Figuero, M; Palomo, T

Several different follow-up studies have shown that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can persist into adulthood. To review the findings in adults with ADHD related to alterations in the executive functions. Research conducted among children with ADHD has revealed the existence of alterations in different tasks that evaluate the executive functions, such as the planning test, sustained attention tasks, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency and working memory tasks, as well as several inhibition response tasks. In adults with ADHD, despite the lower number of reports in the literature and the methodological shortcomings that exist in some studies, analogous results have also been described with respect to executive functioning, namely, disorders affecting inhibition response, the capacity for planning, difficulties in cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency, and problems with working memory, which include aspects of spatial working memory, logical or visual memory. The findings we have available at present enable us to confirm the persistence of executive dysfunctions in adult patients with ADHD that are similar to those observed in children with ADHD.

Job Knowledge Test Design: A Cognitively-Oriented Approach. Institute Report No. 241.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuBois, David; And Others

Selected cognitive science methods were used to modify existing test development procedures so that the modified procedures could in turn be used to improve the usefulness of job knowledge tests as a proxy for hands-on performance. A plan-goal graph representation was used to capture the knowledge content and goal structure of the task of using a…

ORANGES evaluation test plans : analysis of before data collected for the US DOT sponsored evaluation of the ORANGES electronic payment systems field operational test

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-10-02

This document is one of a series of working papers that report on progress for the US DOT evaluation for Phase I of the ORANGES field operational test. Each working paper corresponds to a Phase I task. At the conclusion of Phase I, these documents wi...

Effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognition, task enjoyment and creative thinking in healthy volunteers

PubMed Central

Müller, U.; Rowe, J.B.; Rittman, T.; Lewis, C.; Robbins, T.W.; Sahakian, B.J.

2013-01-01

Background Modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancing drug, has previously been shown to improve performance of healthy volunteers as well as patients with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, mainly in tests of executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognitive functions in healthy volunteers, with a particular focus on variations of cognitive load, measures of motivational factors and the effects on creative problem-solving. Methods A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel design study evaluated the effect of 200 mg of modafinil (N = 32) or placebo (N = 32) in non-sleep deprived healthy volunteers. Non-verbal tests of divergent and convergent thinking were used to measure creativity. A new measure of task motivation was used, together with more levels of difficulty on neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB battery. Results Improvements under modafinil were seen on spatial working memory, planning and decision making at the most difficult levels, as well as visual pattern recognition memory following delay. Subjective ratings of enjoyment of task performance were significantly greater under modafinil compared with placebo, but mood ratings overall were not affected. The effects of modafinil on creativity were inconsistent and did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Modafinil reliably enhanced task enjoyment and performance on several cognitive tests of planning and working memory, but did not improve paired associates learning. The findings confirm that modafinil can enhance aspects of highly demanding cognitive performance in non-sleep deprived individuals. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Cognitive Enhancers’. PMID:22820554

Effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognition, task enjoyment and creative thinking in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Müller, U; Rowe, J B; Rittman, T; Lewis, C; Robbins, T W; Sahakian, B J

2013-01-01

Modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancing drug, has previously been shown to improve performance of healthy volunteers as well as patients with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, mainly in tests of executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognitive functions in healthy volunteers, with a particular focus on variations of cognitive load, measures of motivational factors and the effects on creative problem-solving. A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel design study evaluated the effect of 200 mg of modafinil (N = 32) or placebo (N = 32) in non-sleep deprived healthy volunteers. Non-verbal tests of divergent and convergent thinking were used to measure creativity. A new measure of task motivation was used, together with more levels of difficulty on neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB battery. Improvements under modafinil were seen on spatial working memory, planning and decision making at the most difficult levels, as well as visual pattern recognition memory following delay. Subjective ratings of enjoyment of task performance were significantly greater under modafinil compared with placebo, but mood ratings overall were not affected. The effects of modafinil on creativity were inconsistent and did not reach statistical significance. Modafinil reliably enhanced task enjoyment and performance on several cognitive tests of planning and working memory, but did not improve paired associates learning. The findings confirm that modafinil can enhance aspects of highly demanding cognitive performance in non-sleep deprived individuals. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quarterly Performance/Technical Report of the National Marrow Donor Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-31

Implemented the Business to Business ( B2B ) Gateway and Business Services to support : • Incoming HLA typing results incorporating HLA Nomenclature changes...maintenance was performed. IIA.3.2 Task 2: Critical Facility and Staff Related Functions Period 6 Activity: • Business Continuity Planning: o Continued...department development of appropriate detailed tasks to be tested at a remote (non-NMDP controlled) location for the 2010 Business Continuity

The cooking task: making a meal of executive functions

PubMed Central

Doherty, T. A.; Barker, L. A.; Denniss, R.; Jalil, A.; Beer, M. D.

2015-01-01

Current standardized neuropsychological tests may fail to accurately capture real-world executive deficits. We developed a computer-based Cooking Task (CT) assessment of executive functions and trialed the measure with a normative group before use with a head-injured population. Forty-six participants completed the computerized CT and subtests from standardized neuropsychological tasks, including the Tower and Sorting Tests of executive function from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and the Cambridge prospective memory test (CAMPROMPT), in order to examine whether standardized executive function tasks, predicted performance on measurement indices from the CT. Findings showed that verbal comprehension, rule detection and prospective memory contributed to measures of prospective planning accuracy and strategy implementation of the CT. Results also showed that functions necessary for cooking efficacy differ as an effect of task demands (difficulty levels). Performance on rule detection, strategy implementation and flexible thinking executive function measures contributed to accuracy on the CT. These findings raise questions about the functions captured by present standardized tasks particularly at varying levels of difficulty and during dual-task performance. Our preliminary findings also indicate that CT measures can effectively distinguish between executive function and Full Scale IQ abilities. Results of the present study indicate that the CT shows promise as an ecologically valid measure of executive function for future use with a head-injured population and indexes selective executive function’s captured by standardized tests. PMID:25717294

The cooking task: making a meal of executive functions.

PubMed

Doherty, T A; Barker, L A; Denniss, R; Jalil, A; Beer, M D

2015-01-01

Current standardized neuropsychological tests may fail to accurately capture real-world executive deficits. We developed a computer-based Cooking Task (CT) assessment of executive functions and trialed the measure with a normative group before use with a head-injured population. Forty-six participants completed the computerized CT and subtests from standardized neuropsychological tasks, including the Tower and Sorting Tests of executive function from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and the Cambridge prospective memory test (CAMPROMPT), in order to examine whether standardized executive function tasks, predicted performance on measurement indices from the CT. Findings showed that verbal comprehension, rule detection and prospective memory contributed to measures of prospective planning accuracy and strategy implementation of the CT. Results also showed that functions necessary for cooking efficacy differ as an effect of task demands (difficulty levels). Performance on rule detection, strategy implementation and flexible thinking executive function measures contributed to accuracy on the CT. These findings raise questions about the functions captured by present standardized tasks particularly at varying levels of difficulty and during dual-task performance. Our preliminary findings also indicate that CT measures can effectively distinguish between executive function and Full Scale IQ abilities. Results of the present study indicate that the CT shows promise as an ecologically valid measure of executive function for future use with a head-injured population and indexes selective executive function's captured by standardized tests.

Role of working memory, inhibition, and fluid intelligence in the performance of the Tower of London task.

PubMed

D'Antuono, Giovanni; La Torre, Francesca Romana; Marin, Dario; Antonucci, Gabriella; Piccardi, Laura; Guariglia, Cecilia

2017-01-01

We investigated the relationship between verbal and visuo-spatial measures of working memory, inhibition, fluid intelligence and the performance on the Tower of London (ToL) task in a large sample of 830 healthy participants aged between 18 and 71 years. We found that fluid intelligence and visuo-spatial working memory accounted for a significant variance in the ToL task, while performances on verbal working memory and on the Stroop Test were not predictive for performance on the ToL. The present results confirm that fluid intelligence has a fundamental role on planning tests, but also show that visuo-spatial working memory plays a crucial role in ToL performance.

Ubiquitous Robotic Technology for Smart Manufacturing System.

PubMed

Wang, Wenshan; Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Liyu; Qiu, Qiang; Cao, Qixin

2016-01-01

As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifically, a component based framework is proposed in order to enable the communication and cooperation of the heterogeneous robotic devices. Further, compared to the service robotic domain, the smart manufacturing systems are often in larger size. So a hierarchical planning method was implemented to improve the planning efficiency. A test bed of smart factory is developed. It demonstrates that the proposed framework is suitable for industrial domain, and the hierarchical planning method is able to solve large problems intractable with flat methods.

Ubiquitous Robotic Technology for Smart Manufacturing System

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Liyu; Qiu, Qiang; Cao, Qixin

2016-01-01

As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifically, a component based framework is proposed in order to enable the communication and cooperation of the heterogeneous robotic devices. Further, compared to the service robotic domain, the smart manufacturing systems are often in larger size. So a hierarchical planning method was implemented to improve the planning efficiency. A test bed of smart factory is developed. It demonstrates that the proposed framework is suitable for industrial domain, and the hierarchical planning method is able to solve large problems intractable with flat methods. PMID:27446206

Verification of Dosimetric Commissioning Accuracy of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Delivery using Task Group-119 Guidelines.

PubMed

Kaviarasu, Karunakaran; Nambi Raj, N Arunai; Hamid, Misba; Giri Babu, A Ananda; Sreenivas, Lingampally; Murthy, Kammari Krishna

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to verify the accuracy of the commissioning of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) based on the recommendation of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 119 (TG-119). TG-119 proposes a set of clinical test cases to verify the accuracy of IMRT planning and delivery system. For these test cases, we generated two sets of treatment plans, the first plan using 7-9 IMRT fields and a second plan utilizing two-arc VMAT technique for both 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams. The template plans of TG-119 were optimized and calculated by Varian Eclipse Treatment Planning System (version 13.5). Dose prescription and planning objectives were set according to the TG-119 goals. The point dose (mean dose to the contoured chamber volume) at the specified positions/locations was measured using compact (CC-13) ion chamber. The composite planar dose was measured with IMatriXX Evaluation 2D array with OmniPro IMRT Software (version 1.7b). The per-field relative gamma was measured using electronic portal imaging device in a way similar to the routine pretreatment patient-specific quality assurance. Our planning results are compared with the TG-119 data. Point dose and fluence comparison data where within the acceptable confident limit. From the obtained data in this study, we conclude that the commissioning of IMRT and VMAT delivery were found within the limits of TG-119.

Verification of Dosimetric Commissioning Accuracy of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Delivery using Task Group-119 Guidelines

PubMed Central

Kaviarasu, Karunakaran; Nambi Raj, N. Arunai; Hamid, Misba; Giri Babu, A. Ananda; Sreenivas, Lingampally; Murthy, Kammari Krishna

2017-01-01

Aim: The purpose of this study is to verify the accuracy of the commissioning of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) based on the recommendation of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 119 (TG-119). Materials and Methods: TG-119 proposes a set of clinical test cases to verify the accuracy of IMRT planning and delivery system. For these test cases, we generated two sets of treatment plans, the first plan using 7–9 IMRT fields and a second plan utilizing two-arc VMAT technique for both 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams. The template plans of TG-119 were optimized and calculated by Varian Eclipse Treatment Planning System (version 13.5). Dose prescription and planning objectives were set according to the TG-119 goals. The point dose (mean dose to the contoured chamber volume) at the specified positions/locations was measured using compact (CC-13) ion chamber. The composite planar dose was measured with IMatriXX Evaluation 2D array with OmniPro IMRT Software (version 1.7b). The per-field relative gamma was measured using electronic portal imaging device in a way similar to the routine pretreatment patient-specific quality assurance. Results: Our planning results are compared with the TG-119 data. Point dose and fluence comparison data where within the acceptable confident limit. Conclusion: From the obtained data in this study, we conclude that the commissioning of IMRT and VMAT delivery were found within the limits of TG-119. PMID:29296041

Yield Model Development (YMD) implementation plan for fiscal years 1981 and 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

A plan is described for supporting USDA crop production forecasting and estimation by (1) testing, evaluating, and selecting crop yield models for application testing; (2) identifying areas of feasible research for improvement of models; and (3) conducting research to modify existing models and to develop new crop yield assessment methods. Tasks to be performed for each of these efforts are described as well as for project management and support. The responsibilities of USDA, USDC, USDI, and NASA are delineated as well as problem areas to be addressed.

Planning Following Stroke: A Relational Complexity Approach Using the Tower of London

PubMed Central

Andrews, Glenda; Halford, Graeme S.; Chappell, Mark; Maujean, Annick; Shum, David H. K.

2014-01-01

Planning on the 4-disk version of the Tower of London (TOL4) was examined in stroke patients and unimpaired controls. Overall TOL4 solution scores indicated impaired planning in the frontal stroke but not non-frontal stroke patients. Consistent with the claim that processing the relations between current states, intermediate states, and goal states is a key process in planning, the domain-general relational complexity metric was a good indicator of the experienced difficulty of TOL4 problems. The relational complexity metric shared variance with task-specific metrics of moves to solution and search depth. Frontal stroke patients showed impaired planning compared to controls on problems at all three complexity levels, but at only two of the three levels of moves to solution, search depth and goal ambiguity. Non-frontal stroke patients showed impaired planning only on the most difficult quaternary-relational and high search depth problems. An independent measure of relational processing (viz., Latin square task) predicted TOL4 solution scores after controlling for stroke status and location, and executive processing (Trail Making Test). The findings suggest that planning involves a domain-general capacity for relational processing that depends on the frontal brain regions. PMID:25566042

Does user-centred design affect the efficiency, usability and safety of CPOE order sets?

PubMed

Chan, Julie; Shojania, Kaveh G; Easty, Anthony C; Etchells, Edward E

2011-05-01

Application of user-centred design principles to Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems may improve task efficiency, usability or safety, but there is limited evaluative research of its impact on CPOE systems. We evaluated the task efficiency, usability, and safety of three order set formats: our hospital's planned CPOE order sets (CPOE Test), computer order sets based on user-centred design principles (User Centred Design), and existing pre-printed paper order sets (Paper). 27 staff physicians, residents and medical students. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, an academic hospital in Toronto, Canada. Methods Participants completed four simulated order set tasks with three order set formats (two CPOE Test tasks, one User Centred Design, and one Paper). Order of presentation of order set formats and tasks was randomized. Users received individual training for the CPOE Test format only. Completion time (efficiency), requests for assistance (usability), and errors in the submitted orders (safety). 27 study participants completed 108 order sets. Mean task times were: User Centred Design format 273 s, Paper format 293 s (p=0.73 compared to UCD format), and CPOE Test format 637 s (p<0.0001 compared to UCD format). Users requested assistance in 31% of the CPOE Test format tasks, whereas no assistance was needed for the other formats (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in number of errors between formats. The User Centred Design format was more efficient and usable than the CPOE Test format even though training was provided for the latter. We conclude that application of user-centred design principles can enhance task efficiency and usability, increasing the likelihood of successful implementation.

Does user-centred design affect the efficiency, usability and safety of CPOE order sets?

PubMed Central

Chan, Julie; Shojania, Kaveh G; Easty, Anthony C

2011-01-01

Background Application of user-centred design principles to Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems may improve task efficiency, usability or safety, but there is limited evaluative research of its impact on CPOE systems. Objective We evaluated the task efficiency, usability, and safety of three order set formats: our hospital's planned CPOE order sets (CPOE Test), computer order sets based on user-centred design principles (User Centred Design), and existing pre-printed paper order sets (Paper). Participants 27staff physicians, residents and medical students. Setting Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, an academic hospital in Toronto, Canada. Methods Participants completed four simulated order set tasks with three order set formats (two CPOE Test tasks, one User Centred Design, and one Paper). Order of presentation of order set formats and tasks was randomized. Users received individual training for the CPOE Test format only. Main Measures Completion time (efficiency), requests for assistance (usability), and errors in the submitted orders (safety). Results 27 study participants completed 108 order sets. Mean task times were: User Centred Design format 273 s, Paper format 293 s (p=0.73 compared to UCD format), and CPOE Test format 637 s (p<0.0001 compared to UCD format). Users requested assistance in 31% of the CPOE Test format tasks, whereas no assistance was needed for the other formats (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in number of errors between formats. Conclusions The User Centred Design format was more efficient and usable than the CPOE Test format even though training was provided for the latter. We conclude that application of user-centred design principles can enhance task efficiency and usability, increasing the likelihood of successful implementation. PMID:21486886

Multi-AUV autonomous task planning based on the scroll time domain quantum bee colony optimization algorithm in uncertain environment

PubMed Central

Zhang, Rubo; Yang, Yu

2017-01-01

Research on distributed task planning model for multi-autonomous underwater vehicle (MAUV). A scroll time domain quantum artificial bee colony (STDQABC) optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the multi-AUV optimal task planning scheme. In the uncertain marine environment, the rolling time domain control technique is used to realize a numerical optimization in a narrowed time range. Rolling time domain control is one of the better task planning techniques, which can greatly reduce the computational workload and realize the tradeoff between AUV dynamics, environment and cost. Finally, a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate the distributed task planning performance of the scroll time domain quantum bee colony optimization algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate that the STDQABC algorithm converges faster than the QABC and ABC algorithms in terms of both iterations and running time. The STDQABC algorithm can effectively improve MAUV distributed tasking planning performance, complete the task goal and get the approximate optimal solution. PMID:29186166

Multi-AUV autonomous task planning based on the scroll time domain quantum bee colony optimization algorithm in uncertain environment.

PubMed

Li, Jianjun; Zhang, Rubo; Yang, Yu

2017-01-01

Research on distributed task planning model for multi-autonomous underwater vehicle (MAUV). A scroll time domain quantum artificial bee colony (STDQABC) optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the multi-AUV optimal task planning scheme. In the uncertain marine environment, the rolling time domain control technique is used to realize a numerical optimization in a narrowed time range. Rolling time domain control is one of the better task planning techniques, which can greatly reduce the computational workload and realize the tradeoff between AUV dynamics, environment and cost. Finally, a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate the distributed task planning performance of the scroll time domain quantum bee colony optimization algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate that the STDQABC algorithm converges faster than the QABC and ABC algorithms in terms of both iterations and running time. The STDQABC algorithm can effectively improve MAUV distributed tasking planning performance, complete the task goal and get the approximate optimal solution.

A study on the effect of varying sequence of lab performance skills on lab performance of high school physics students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bournia-Petrou, Ethel A.

The main goal of this investigation was to study how student rank in class, student gender and skill sequence affect high school students' performance on the lab skills involved in a laboratory-based inquiry task in physics. The focus of the investigation was the effect of skill sequence as determined by the particular task. The skills considered were: Hypothesis, Procedure, Planning, Data, Graph, Calculations and Conclusion. Three physics lab tasks based on the simple pendulum concept were administered to 282 Regents physics high school students. The reliability of the designed tasks was high. Student performance was evaluated on individual student written responses and a scoring rubric. The tasks had high discrimination power and were of moderate difficulty (65%). It was found that, student performance was weak on Conclusion (42%), Hypothesis (48%), and Procedure (51%), where the numbers in parentheses represent the mean as a percentage of the maximum possible score. Student performance was strong on Calculations (91%), Data (82%), Graph (74%) and Plan (68%). Out of all seven skills, Procedure had the strongest correlation (.73) with the overall task performance. Correlation analysis revealed some strong relationships among the seven skills which were grouped in two distinct clusters: Hypothesis, Procedure and Plan belong to one, and Data, Graph, Calculations, and Conclusion belong to the other. This distinction may indicate different mental processes at play within each skill cluster. The effect of student rank was not statistically significant according to the MANOVA results due to the large variation of rank levels among the participating schools. The effect of gender was significant on the entire test because of performance differences on Calculations and Graph, where male students performed better than female students. Skill sequence had a significant effect on the skills of Procedure, Plan, Data and Conclusion. Students are rather weak in proposing a sensible, detailed procedure for the inquiry task which involves the "novel" concept. However they perform better on Procedure and Plan, if the "novel" task is not preceded by another, which explicitly offers step-by-step procedure instructions. It was concluded that the format of detailed, structured instructions often adopted by many commercial and school-developed lab books and conventional lab practices, fails to prepare students to propose a successful, detailed procedure when faced with a slightly "novel", lab-based inquiry task. Student performance on Data collection was higher in the tasks that involved the more familiar experimental arrangement than in the tasks using the slightly "novel" equipment. Student performance on Conclusion was better in tasks where they had to collect the Data themselves than in tasks, where all relevant Data information was given to them.

Children's planning performance in the Zoo Map task (BADS-C): Is it driven by general cognitive ability, executive functioning, or prospection?

PubMed

Ballhausen, Nicola; Mahy, Caitlin E V; Hering, Alexandra; Voigt, Babett; Schnitzspahn, Katharina M; Lagner, Prune; Ihle, Andreas; Kliegel, Matthias

2017-01-01

A minimal amount of research has examined the cognitive predictors of children's performance in naturalistic, errand-type planning tasks such as the Zoo Map task of the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome for Children (BADS-C). Thus, the current study examined prospection (i.e., the ability to remember to carry out a future intention), executive functioning, and intelligence markers as predictors of performance in this widely used naturalistic planning task in 56 children aged 7- to 12-years-old. Measures of planning, prospection, inhibition, crystallized intelligence, and fluid intelligence were collected in an individual differences study. Regression analyses showed that prospection (rather than traditional measures of intelligence or inhibition) predicted planning, suggesting that naturalistic planning tasks such as the Zoo Map task may rely on future-oriented cognitive processes rather than executive problem solving or general knowledge.

Development of a Work Control System for Propulsion Testing at NASA Stennis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Messer, Elizabeth A.

2005-01-01

In 1996 Stennis Space Center was given management authority for all Propulsion Testing for NASA. Over the next few years several research and development (R&D) test facilities were completed and brought up to full operation in what is known as the E-Complex Test Facility at Stennis Space Center. To construct, activate and operate these test facilities, a manual paper-based work control system was created. After utilizing this paper-based work control system for approximately three years, it became apparent that the research and development test area needed a better method to execute, monitor, and report on tasks required to further propulsion testing. The paper based system did not provide the engineers adequate visibility into work tasks or the tracking of testing or hardware discrepancies. This system also restricted the engineer s ability to utilize and access past knowledge and experiences given the severe schedule limitations for most R&D propulsion testing projects. Therefore a system was developed to meet the growing need of Test Operations called the Propulsion Test Directorate (PTD) Work Control System. This system is used to plan, perform, and track tasks that support testing and also to capture lessons learned while doing so.

Overview of an Advanced Hypersonic Structural Concept Test Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, Craig A.; Hudson, Larry D.; Piazza, Anthony

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of hypersonics M&S advanced structural concepts development and experimental methods. The discussion on concepts development includes the background, task objectives, test plan, and current status of the C/SiC Ruddervator Subcomponent Test Article (RSTA). The discussion of experimental methods examines instrumentation needs, sensors of interest, and examples of ongoing efforts in the development of extreme environment sensors.

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control - Task 3 Full-scale Test Results

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

Gary Blythe

2007-05-01

This Topical Report summarizes progress on Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42309, 'Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive'. The objective of the project is to demonstrate the use of a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) additive, Degussa Corporation's TMT-15, to prevent the reemission of elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) in flue gas exiting wet FGD systems on coal-fired boilers. Furthermore, the project intends to demonstrate whether the additive can be used to precipitate most of the mercury (Hg) removed in the wet FGD system as a fine TMT salt that can be separated from the FGD liquor and bulk solid byproducts for separate disposal.more » The project is conducting pilot- and full-scale tests of the TMT-15 additive in wet FGD absorbers. The tests are intended to determine required additive dosages to prevent Hg{sup 0} reemissions and to separate mercury from the normal FGD byproducts for three coal types: Texas lignite/Power River Basin (PRB) coal blend, high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal, and low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal. The project team consists of URS Group, Inc., EPRI, TXU Generation Company LP, Southern Company, and Degussa Corporation. TXU Generation has provided the Texas lignite/PRB cofired test site for pilot FGD tests, Monticello Steam Electric Station Unit 3. Southern Company is providing the low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal host site for wet scrubbing tests, as well as the pilot- and full-scale jet bubbling reactor (JBR) FGD systems to be tested. IPL, an AES company, provided the high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal full-scale FGD test site and cost sharing. Degussa Corporation is providing the TMT-15 additive and technical support to the test program as cost sharing. The project is being conducted in six tasks. Of the six project tasks, Task 1 involves project planning and Task 6 involves management and reporting. The other four tasks involve field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. The four tasks include: Task 2 - Pilot Additive Testing in Texas Lignite Flue Gas; Task 3 - Full-scale FGD Additive Testing in High-sulfur Eastern Bituminous Flue Gas; Task 4 - Pilot Wet Scrubber Additive Tests at Plant Yates; and Task 5 - Full-scale Additive Tests at Plant Yates. The pilot-scale tests were completed in 2005 and have been previously reported. This topical report presents the results from the Task 3 full-scale additive tests, conducted at IPL's Petersburg Station Unit 2. The Task 5 full-scale additive tests will be conducted later in calendar year 2007.« less

THE APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR COST-EFFECTIVE CARBON SEQUESTRATION

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

Bill Stanley; Sandra Brown; Ellen Hawes

2002-09-01

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research projects is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects,more » providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: advanced videography testing; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.« less

Concurrent planning and execution for a walking robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmons, Reid

1990-07-01

The Planetary Rover project is developing the Ambler, a novel legged robot, and an autonomous software system for walking the Ambler over rough terrain. As part of the project, we have developed a system that integrates perception, planning, and real-time control to navigate a single leg of the robot through complex obstacle courses. The system is integrated using the Task Control Architecture (TCA), a general-purpose set of utilities for building and controlling distributed mobile robot systems. The walking system, as originally implemented, utilized a sequential sense-plan-act control cycle. This report describes efforts to improve the performance of the system by concurrently planning and executing steps. Concurrency was achieved by modifying the existing sequential system to utilize TCA features such as resource management, monitors, temporal constraints, and hierarchical task trees. Performance was increased in excess of 30 percent with only a relatively modest effort to convert and test the system. The results lend support to the utility of using TCA to develop complex mobile robot systems.

The Differential Effects of Collaborative vs. Individual Prewriting Planning on Computer-Mediated L2 Writing: Transferability of Task-Based Linguistic Skills in Focus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amiryousefi, Mohammad

2017-01-01

The current study aimed at investigating the effects of three types of prewriting planning conditions, namely teacher-monitored collaborative planning (TMCP), student-led collaborative planning (SLCP), and individual planning (IP) on EFL learners' computer-mediated L2 written production and learning transfer from a pedagogic task to a new task of…

The Development of the Mealings, Demuth, Dillon, and Buchholz Classroom Speech Perception Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mealings, Kiri T.; Demuth, Katherine; Buchholz, Jörg; Dillon, Harvey

2015-01-01

Purpose: Open-plan classroom styles are increasingly being adopted in Australia despite evidence that their high intrusive noise levels adversely affect learning. The aim of this study was to develop a new Australian speech perception task (the Mealings, Demuth, Dillon, and Buchholz Classroom Speech Perception Test) and use it in an open-plan…

[Effects of planning and executive functions on young children's script change strategy: A developmental perspective].

PubMed

Yanaoka, Kaichi

2016-02-01

This research examined the effects of planning and executive functions on young children's (ages 3-to 5-years) strategies in changing scripts. Young children (N = 77) performed a script task (doll task), three executive function tasks (DCCS, red/blue task, and nine box task), a planning task, and a receptive vocabulary task. In the doll task, young children first enacted a "changing clothes" script, and then faced a situation in which some elements of the script were inappropriate. They needed to enact a script by compensating inappropriate items for the other-script items or by changing to the other script in advance. The results showed that shifting, a factor of executive function, had a positive influence on whether young children could compensate inappropriate items. In addition, planning was also an important factor that helped children to change to the other script in advance. These findings suggest that shifting and planning play different roles in using the two strategies appropriately when young children enact scripts in unexpected situations.

Artificial intelligence for the CTA Observatory scheduler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colomé, Josep; Colomer, Pau; Campreciós, Jordi; Coiffard, Thierry; de Oña, Emma; Pedaletti, Giovanna; Torres, Diego F.; Garcia-Piquer, Alvaro

2014-08-01

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project will be the next generation ground-based very high energy gamma-ray instrument. The success of the precursor projects (i.e., HESS, MAGIC, VERITAS) motivated the construction of this large infrastructure that is included in the roadmap of the ESFRI projects since 2008. CTA is planned to start the construction phase in 2015 and will consist of two arrays of Cherenkov telescopes operated as a proposal-driven open observatory. Two sites are foreseen at the southern and northern hemispheres. The CTA observatory will handle several observation modes and will have to operate tens of telescopes with a highly efficient and reliable control. Thus, the CTA planning tool is a key element in the control layer for the optimization of the observatory time. The main purpose of the scheduler for CTA is the allocation of multiple tasks to one single array or to multiple sub-arrays of telescopes, while maximizing the scientific return of the facility and minimizing the operational costs. The scheduler considers long- and short-term varying conditions to optimize the prioritization of tasks. A short-term scheduler provides the system with the capability to adapt, in almost real-time, the selected task to the varying execution constraints (i.e., Targets of Opportunity, health or status of the system components, environment conditions). The scheduling procedure ensures that long-term planning decisions are correctly transferred to the short-term prioritization process for a suitable selection of the next task to execute on the array. In this contribution we present the constraints to CTA task scheduling that helped classifying it as a Flexible Job-Shop Problem case and finding its optimal solution based on Artificial Intelligence techniques. We describe the scheduler prototype that uses a Guarded Discrete Stochastic Neural Network (GDSN), for an easy representation of the possible long- and short-term planning solutions, and Constraint Propagation techniques. A simulation platform, an analysis tool and different test case scenarios for CTA were developed to test the performance of the scheduler and are also described.

The Effects of Pre-Task, On-Line, and Both Pre-Task and On-Line Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy--The Case of Iranian EFL Learners' Written Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piri, Faramarz; Barati, Hossein; Ketabi, Saeed

2012-01-01

Previous studies on the effect of planning on language production have revealed that planning does have a positive effect on language performance in terms of fluency, complexity, and accuracy. The present study was an attempt to investigate the effects of pre-task, on-line, and both pre-task and on-line planning on fluency, accuracy, and…

Science, policy, and stakeholders: developing a consensus science plan for Amchitka Island, Aleutians, Alaska.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Kosson, David S; Powers, Charles W; Friedlander, Barry; Eichelberger, John; Barnes, David; Duffy, Lawrence K; Jewett, Stephen C; Volz, Conrad D

2005-05-01

With the ending of the Cold War, the US Department of Energy is responsible for the remediation of radioactive waste and disposal of land no longer needed for nuclear material production or related national security missions. The task of characterizing the hazards and risks from radionuclides is necessary for assuring the protection of health of humans and the environment. This is a particularly daunting task for those sites that had underground testing of nuclear weapons, where the radioactive contamination is currently inaccessible. Herein we report on the development of a Science Plan to characterize the physical and biological marine environment around Amchitka Island in the Aleutian chain of Alaska, where three underground nuclear tests were conducted (1965-1971). Information on the ecology, geology, and current radionuclide levels in biota, water, and sediment is necessary for evaluating possible current contamination and to serve as a baseline for developing a plan to ensure human and ecosystem health in perpetuity. Other information required includes identifying the location of the salt water/fresh water interface where migration to the ocean might occur in the future and determining groundwater recharge balances, as well as assessing other physical/geological features of Amchitka near the test sites. The Science Plan is needed to address the confusing and conflicting information available to the public about radionuclide risks from underground nuclear blasts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the potential for volcanic or seismic activity to disrupt shot cavities or accelerate migration of radionuclides into the sea. Developing a Science Plan involved agreement among regulators and other stakeholders, assignment of the task to the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, and development of a consensus Science Plan that dealt with contentious scientific issues. Involvement of the regulators (State of Alaska), resource trustees (U S Fish and Wildlife Service), representatives of the Aleut and Pribilof Island communities, and other stakeholders was essential for plan development and approval, although this created tensions because of the different objectives of each group. The complicated process of developing a Science Plan involved iterations and interactions with multiple agencies and organizations, scientists in several disciplines, regulators, and the participation of Aleut people in their home communities, as well as the general public. The importance of including all parties in all phases of the development of the Science Plan was critical to its acceptance by a broad range of regulators, agencies, resource trustees, Aleutian/Pribilof communities, and other stakeholders.

The K-8 Aeronautics Internet Testbook: Project Plan-Year 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pallis, Jani Macari

1997-01-01

The Project Plan - Year 3 includes: the major tasks and milestones, the assignment of tasks, and the key personnel assigned to each task, a description of the milestone and major task, and the deliverables for the project. Milestones have project numbers ending in "0.0", such as "25.0.0 Phase III Development". Major tasks under that milestone begin with the same first number such as, "25.0.1 Develop Future Of Aeronautics". The assignment of tasks included in the Year 3 project plan contains the names of the key personnel responsible for the task and others participating on the task. Although the PI has the overall and ultimately responsible for all the tasks and milestones, the name of the first individual on a task or milestone is the person responsible for that task. Other names listed under that task will be participating on the task. Since there are two individuals at Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. with the name "J. Pallis", the principal investigator, Jani Macari Pallis is designated as PI in the Project Plan and James Pallis is designated as J. Pallis.

Purchasing oncology services. Kerr L. White Institute/American Cancer Society Task Force on Purchasing Oncology Services.

PubMed

Cangialose, C B; Blair, A E; Borchardt, J S; Ades, T B; Bennett, C L; Dickersin, K; Gesme, D H; Henderson, I C; McGinnis, L S; Mooney, K; Mortenson, L E; Sperduto, P; Winkenwerder, W; Ballard, D J

2000-06-15

A multidisciplinary panel representing various stakeholders in the health care delivery and oncology services marketplace was convened to develop specific criteria for healthcare purchasers to consider when evaluating the structures and processes of health plans. These rank ordered criteria also can be used by oncologic service providers and health plan designers as a yardstick for the services they offer. A multidisciplinary 31-member Task Force was assembled by the Kerr L. White Institute and the American Cancer Society in March 1997. Task Force members were selected for their ability to offer expert insight as purchasers, suppliers, policymakers, consumers, or stakeholders in the health care marketplace. A preference-weighted majority voting rule was used to identify the three most important recommendations of the 10 that were generated through a modified Delphi technique. To test the practicality of the top three recommendations, leaders of large managed care organizations (MCOs) were surveyed; the results of this survey then were compared with the results of the Task Force survey. The three most important recommendations from the Task Force were that health plans provide access to: 1) comprehensive cancer care, 2) preventive and screening services, and 3) second opinions and treatment options supported by scientific evidence. The difference between the responses of the Task Force and the MCOs was that MCOs placed the highest importance on evidence-based decision-making, with their next three rankings coinciding with those identified by the Task Force. The value of these summary recommendations will be realized through their use by both purchasers and suppliers to influence the structure and content of the delivery of oncologic services.

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control - Task 5 Full-Scale Test Results

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

Gary Blythe; MariJon Owens

2007-12-01

This Topical Report summarizes progress on Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42309, 'Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive'. The objective of the project is to demonstrate the use of two flue gas desulfurization (FGD) additives, Evonik Degussa Corporation's TMT-15 and Nalco Company's Nalco 8034, to prevent the re-emission of elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) in flue gas exiting wet FGD systems on coal-fired boilers. Furthermore, the project intends to demonstrate whether the additive can be used to precipitate most of the mercury (Hg) removed in the wet FGD system as a fine salt that can be separated from the FGD liquor and bulkmore » solid byproducts for separate disposal. The project is conducting pilot- and full-scale tests of the additives in wet FGD absorbers. The tests are intended to determine required additive dosages to prevent Hg{sup 0} re-emissions and to separate mercury from the normal FGD byproducts for three coal types: Texas lignite/Powder River Basin (PRB) coal blend, high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal, and low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal. The project team consists of URS Group, Inc., EPRI, Luminant Power (was TXU Generation Company LP), Southern Company, IPL (an AES company), Evonik Degussa Corporation and the Nalco Company. Luminant Power has provided the Texas lignite/PRB co-fired test site for pilot FGD tests and cost sharing. Southern Company has provided the low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal host site for wet scrubbing tests, as well as the pilot- and full-scale jet bubbling reactor (JBR) FGD systems tested. IPL provided the high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal full-scale FGD test site and cost sharing. Evonik Degussa Corporation is providing the TMT-15 additive, and the Nalco Company is providing the Nalco 8034 additive. Both companies are also supplying technical support to the test program as in-kind cost sharing. The project is being conducted in six tasks. Of the six project tasks, Task 1 involves project planning and Task 6 involves management and reporting. The other four tasks involve field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. The four tasks include: Task 2 - Pilot Additive Testing in Texas Lignite Flue Gas; Task 3 - Full-scale FGD Additive Testing in High-sulfur Eastern Bituminous Flue Gas; Task 4 - Pilot Wet Scrubber Additive Tests at Plant Yates; and Task 5 - Full-scale Additive Tests at Plant Yates. The pilot-scale tests and the full-scale test using high-sulfur coal were completed in 2005 and 2006 and have been previously reported. This topical report presents the results from the Task 5 full-scale additive tests, conducted at Southern Company's Plant Yates Unit 1. Both additives were tested there.« less

Planning and Enacting Mathematical Tasks of High Cognitive Demand in the Primary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgius, Kelly

2013-01-01

This study offers an examination of two primary-grades teachers as they learn to transfer knowledge from professional development into their classrooms. I engaged in planning sessions with each teacher to help plan tasks of high cognitive demand, including anticipating and planning for classroom discourse that would occur around the task. A…

Planning to break unwanted habits: habit strength moderates implementation intention effects on behaviour change.

PubMed

Webb, Thomas L; Sheeran, Paschal; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

2009-09-01

Implementation intention formation promotes effective goal striving and goal attainment. However, little research has investigated whether implementation intentions promote behaviour change when people possess strong antagonistic habits. Experiment 1 developed relatively habitual responses that, after a task switch, had a detrimental impact on task performance. Forming an if-then plan reduced the negative impact of habit on performance. However, the effect of forming implementation intentions was smaller among participants who possessed strong habits as compared to participants who had weaker habits. Experiment 2 provided a field test of the role of habit strength in moderating the relationship between implementation intentions and behaviour in the context of smoking. Implementation intentions reduced smoking among participants with weak or moderate smoking habits, but not among participants with strong smoking habits. In summary, habit strength moderates the effectiveness of if-then plan formation in breaking unwanted habits.

Adaptation and validation of the Tower of London test of planning and problem solving in people with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Masson, J D; Dagnan, D; Evans, J

2010-05-01

There is a need for validated, standardised tools for the assessment of executive functions in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). This study examines the validity of a test of planning and problem solving (Tower of London) with adults with ID. Participants completed an adapted version of the Tower of London (ToL) while day-centre staff completed adaptive function (Adaptive Behaviour Scale - Residential and Community: Second Edition, modified version) and dysexecutive function (DEX-Independent Rater) questionnaires for each participant. Correlation analyses of test and questionnaire variables were undertaken. The adapted ToL has a robust structure and shows significant associations with independent living skills, challenging behaviour and behaviours related to dysexecutive function. The adapted ToL is a valid test for use with people with ID. However, there is also a need to develop other ecologically valid tools based on everyday planning tasks undertaken by people with ID.

Aging Study Of EPDM O-Ring Material For The H1616 Shipping Package - Three Year Status

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

Stefek, T.; Daugherty, W.; Skidmore, E.

This is a 3-year status report for tasks carried out per Task Technical Plan SRNL-STI-2011-00506. A series of tasks/experiments were performed at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to monitor the aging performance of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) O-rings used in the H1616 shipping package. The test data provide a technical basis to extend the annual maintenance of the H1616 shipping package to three years and to predict the life of the EPDM O-rings at the bounding service conditions.

Space station common module power system network topology and hardware development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, D. M.

1985-01-01

Candidate power system newtork topologies for the space station common module are defined and developed and the necessary hardware for test and evaluation is provided. Martin Marietta's approach to performing the proposed program is presented. Performance of the tasks described will assure systematic development and evaluation of program results, and will provide the necessary management tools, visibility, and control techniques for performance assessment. The plan is submitted in accordance with the data requirements given and includes a comprehensive task logic flow diagram, time phased manpower requirements, a program milestone schedule, and detailed descriptions of each program task.

Runtime support for data parallel tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haines, Matthew; Hess, Bryan; Mehrotra, Piyush; Vanrosendale, John; Zima, Hans

1994-01-01

We have recently introduced a set of Fortran language extensions that allow for integrated support of task and data parallelism, and provide for shared data abstractions (SDA's) as a method for communications and synchronization among these tasks. In this paper we discuss the design and implementation issues of the runtime system necessary to support these extensions, and discuss the underlying requirements for such a system. To test the feasibility of this approach, we implement a prototype of the runtime system and use this to support an abstract multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) problem for aircraft design. We give initial results and discuss future plans.

The Usability of Online Geographic Virtual Reality for Urban Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S.; Moore, A. B.

2013-08-01

Virtual reality (VR) technology is starting to become widely and freely available (for example the online OpenSimulator tool), with potential for use in 3D urban planning and design tasks but still needing rigorous assessment to establish this. A previous study consulted with a small group of urban professionals, who concluded in a satisfaction usability test that online VR had potential value as a usable 3D communication and remote marketing tool but acknowledged that visual quality and geographic accuracy were obstacles to overcome. This research takes the investigation a significant step further to also examine the usability aspects of efficiency (how quickly tasks are completed) and effectiveness (how successfully tasks are completed), relating to OpenSimulator in an urban planning situation. The comparative study pits a three-dimensional VR model (with increased graphic fidelity and geographic content to address the feedback of the previous study) of a subdivision design (in a Dunedin suburb) against 3D models built with GIS (ArcGIS) and CAD (BricsCAD) tools, two types of software environment well established in urban professional practice. Urban professionals participated in the study by attempting to perform timed tasks correctly in each of the environments before being asked questions about the technologies involved and their perceived importance to their professional work. The results reinforce the positive feedback for VR of the previous study, with the graphical and geographic data issues being somewhat addressed (though participants stressed the need for accurate and precise object and terrain modification capabilities in VR). Ease-ofuse and associated fastest task completion speed were significant positive outcomes to emerge from the comparison with GIS and CAD, pointing to a strong future for VR in an urban planning context.

Cognitive Deficits Underlying Error Behavior on a Naturalistic Task after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Hendry, Kathryn; Ownsworth, Tamara; Beadle, Elizabeth; Chevignard, Mathilde P.; Fleming, Jennifer; Griffin, Janelle; Shum, David H. K.

2016-01-01

People with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often make errors on everyday tasks that compromise their safety and independence. Such errors potentially arise from the breakdown or failure of multiple cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate cognitive deficits underlying error behavior on a home-based version of the Cooking Task (HBCT) following TBI. Participants included 45 adults (9 females, 36 males) with severe TBI aged 18–64 years (M = 37.91, SD = 13.43). Participants were administered the HBCT in their home kitchens, with audiovisual recordings taken to enable scoring of total errors and error subtypes (Omissions, Additions, Estimations, Substitutions, Commentary/Questions, Dangerous Behavior, Goal Achievement). Participants also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests, including the Trail Making Test, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, Digit Span, Zoo Map test, Modified Stroop Test, and Hayling Sentence Completion Test. After controlling for cooking experience, greater Omissions and Estimation errors, lack of goal achievement, and longer completion time were significantly associated with poorer attention, memory, and executive functioning. These findings indicate that errors on naturalistic tasks arise from deficits in multiple cognitive domains. Assessment of error behavior in a real life setting provides insight into individuals' functional abilities which can guide rehabilitation planning and lifestyle support. PMID:27790099

Consensus guidelines: improving the delivery of clinical preventive services.

PubMed

Ayres, Cynthia G; Griffith, Hurdis M

2008-01-01

Medical directors from the largest competing health plans in the state came together in a noncompetitive way to collaborate on improving the delivery of clinical preventive service (CPS) among their provider base. They identified one consistent set of CPS guidelines based on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, the health plan consensus guidelines (HPCG), that they could endorse as priority for guideline implementation. The purposes of this study were to assess clinicians' knowledge and use of CPS recommendations as a guide to delivering preventive care services to their patients and, most importantly, to test the effectiveness of providing the HPCG to clinicians in an effort to increase knowledge and use of CPS guidelines. Within-subjects repeated-measures design was used. We hypothesized an increase in clinician's knowledge and use of CPS after the provision of the HPCG. Survey methodology, including two surveys that assessed clinicians' knowledge and use of CPS in practice, was used. Health plan clinician databases were obtained from the health plans that participated in the development of the HPCG. Health plan clinicians directly involved in delivering preventive services were invited to participate in the study. Final sample included 163 clinicians. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients were determined to examine the relationships between clinician's knowledge and clinician's use of CPS guidelines. Differences between knowledge and use of CPS before and after HPCG were examined by t tests. No difference was found in the familiarity with U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines before and after receipt of HPCG. However, clinician's use increased significantly. A consistent set of CPS guidelines provided by competing health plans can improve the delivery of CPS among contracted health plan clinicians. This approach provides a template for competing health plans nationwide to come to consensus on guidelines that support clinicians in the delivery of CPS ().

The visual standards for the selection and retention of astronauts, part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, M. J.; Levene, J. R.; Heath, G. G.

1972-01-01

In preparation for the various studies planned for assessing visual capabilities and tasks in order to set vision standards for astronauts, the following pieces of equipment have been assembled and tested: a spectacle obstruction measuring device, a biometric glare susceptibility tester, a variable vergence amplitude testing device, an eye movement recorder, a lunar illumination simulation chamber, a night myopia testing apparatus, and retinal adaption measuring devices.

TANK 18-F AND 19-F TANK FILL GROUT SCALE UP TEST SUMMARY

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

Stefanko, D.; Langton, C.

2012-01-03

High-level waste (HLW) tanks 18-F and 19-F have been isolated from FTF facilities. To complete operational closure the tanks will be filled with grout for the purpose of: (1) physically stabilizing the tanks, (2) limiting/eliminating vertical pathways to residual waste, (3) entombing waste removal equipment, (4) discouraging future intrusion, and (5) providing an alkaline, chemical reducing environment within the closure boundary to control speciation and solubility of select radionuclides. This report documents the results of a four cubic yard bulk fill scale up test on the grout formulation recommended for filling Tanks 18-F and 19-F. Details of the scale upmore » test are provided in a Test Plan. The work was authorized under a Technical Task Request (TTR), HLE-TTR-2011-008, and was performed according to Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP), SRNL-RP-2011-00587. The bulk fill scale up test described in this report was intended to demonstrate proportioning, mixing, and transportation, of material produced in a full scale ready mix concrete batch plant. In addition, the material produced for the scale up test was characterized with respect to fresh properties, thermal properties, and compressive strength as a function of curing time.« less

Investigating the Effects of Planning on L2 Text Chat Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Hsiu-Chen

2012-01-01

Over the last decade, a small body of SLA research has examined the effects of task planning on L2 production. This research has revealed positive results concerning the effect of pre-task and online planning on oral and written production. However, no studies to date have investigated the joint effects of pre-task and online planning. In…

Goal striving strategies and effort mobilization: When implementation intentions reduce effort-related cardiac activity during task performance.

PubMed

Freydefont, Laure; Gollwitzer, Peter M; Oettingen, Gabriele

2016-09-01

Two experiments investigate the influence of goal and implementation intentions on effort mobilization during task performance. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of setting goals and making plans on performance, the effects of goals and plans on effort-related cardiac activity and especially the cardiac preejection period (PEP) during goal striving have not yet been addressed. According to the Motivational Intensity Theory, participants should increase effort mobilization proportionally to task difficulty as long as success is possible and justified. Forming goals and making plans should allow for reduced effort mobilization when participants perform an easy task. However, when the task is difficult, goals and plans should differ in their effect on effort mobilization. Participants who set goals should disengage, whereas participants who made if-then plans should stay in the field showing high effort mobilization during task performance. As expected, using an easy task in Experiment 1, we observed a lower cardiac PEP in both the implementation intention and the goal intention condition than in the control condition. In Experiment 2, we varied task difficulty and demonstrated that while participants with a mere goal intention disengaged from difficult tasks, participants with an implementation intention increased effort mobilization proportionally with task difficulty. These findings demonstrate the influence of goal striving strategies (i.e., mere goals vs. if-then plans) on effort mobilization during task performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solving fatigue-related problems with cardiac arrest survivors living in the community.

PubMed

Kim, Young Joo; Rogers, Joan C; Raina, Ketki D; Callaway, Clifton W; Rittenberger, Jon C; Leibold, Mary Lou; Holm, Margo B

2017-09-01

The aim was to describe fatigue-related problems reported by post-cardiac arrest adults with chronic fatigue and energy conservation strategies generated using an Energy Conservation plus Problem Solving Therapy intervention. Following an introduction to the intervention process outlined in a Participant Workbook, participants engaged in the telephone intervention by identifying one to two fatigue-related problems. They then brainstormed with the interventionist to identify potential strategies to reduce fatigue, tested them, and either modified the strategies or moved to the next problem over three to five sessions. Eighteen cardiac arrest survivors with chronic fatigue identified instrumental activities of daily living and leisure activities as fatigue-related activities more frequently than basic activities of daily living. Energy Conservation strategies used most frequently were: plan ahead, pace yourself, delegate to others, and simplify the task. Post-cardiac arrest adults living in the community with chronic fatigue can return to previous daily activities by using energy conservation strategies such as planning ahead, pacing tasks, delegating tasks, and simplifying tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of executive dysfunction in cocaine, heroin and alcohol users enrolled in therapeutic communities.

PubMed

Fernández-Serrano, María José; Pérez-García, Miguel; Perales, José C; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2010-01-10

Many studies have observed relevant executive alterations in polysubstance users but no data have been generated in terms of prevalence of these alterations. Studies of the prevalence of neuropsychological impairment can be useful in the design and implementations of interventional programs for substance abusers. The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of neuropsychological impairment in different components of executive functions in polysubstance users enrolled in therapeutic communities. Moreover, we estimated the effect size of the differences in the executive performance between polysubstance users and non substance users in order to know which neuropsychological tasks can be useful to detect alterations in the executive functions. Study results showed a high prevalence of executive function impairment in polysubstance users. Working memory was the component with the highest impairment proportion, followed by fluency, shifting, planning, multi-tasking and interference. Comparisons between user groups showed very similar executive impairment prevalence for all the analyzed executive components. The best discriminating task between users and controls was Arithmetic (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, WAIS-III). Moreover FAS and Ruff Figural Fluency Test was discriminating for fluency, Category Test for shifting, Stroop Colour-Word Interference Test for interference, Zoo Map (Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome, BADS) for planning and Six Elements (BADS) for multi-tasking. The existence of significant prevalence of executive impairment in polysubstance users reveals the need to redirect the actuation policies in the field of drug-dependency towards the creation of treatments addressed at the executive deficits of the participants, which in turn would facilitate the individuals' compliance and final rehabilitation.

Hong Kong Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong Kong Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching, 1995

1995-01-01

This serial presents articles, reports, and conference reports on various topics concerned with language-related areas, including general linguistics, teaching methodology, curriculum development, testing, evaluation, educational technology, language planning, and bilingual education. Articles in this volume are: (1) "Task Difficulty From the…

2005 8th Annual Systems Engineering Conference. Volume 1, Tuesday

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-27

Services NCES Discovery Services Federated Search Denotes interface Service NCCP Oktoberfest 2004 101 Task: Global Strike Mission Planning NCCP Oktoberfest...Enterprise Service Management Security Services NCES Discovery Services Federated Search Service Test, cert and accreditation needs to be focused on small

Design, fabrication, test, qualification and price analysis for third generation design solar cell modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

An updated program plan is presented showing the task descriptions depicting the work, progress, achievements, and the cause of any deviations from the original plan (SC-1), and how this impacted on the original schedule of the program. In addition there is an update documenting all design alterations made during the pre-production phase and a complete up to date set of engineering and manufacturing documentation (CM-1). The purpose of the work in the original plan was to explore, design, develop, test, and deliver 1000 watts of prototype flat plate, photovoltaic modules appropriate for use in applications in the 20 to 500 kilowatt range and which show potential for meeting the 1986 cost goals.

SPF Full-scale emissions test method development status ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a non-technical presentation that is intended to inform ASTM task group members about our intended approach to full-scale emissions testing that includes the application of spray foam in an environmental chamber. The presentation describes the approach to emissions characterization, types of measurement systems employed, and expected outcomes from the planned tests. Purpose of this presentation is to update the ASTM D22.05 work group regarding status of our full-scale emissions test method development.

The Effects of Guided vs. Unguided Pressured Planning on EFL Learners' Writing Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohammadnia, Zhila; Ayaz, Parisa

2015-01-01

Task-based planning can be conceptualized as the opportunity to work out task performance before the actual performance. It allows learners to process the content and language of their planned production at a deeper and more meaningful level. In the face of the wide range of research conducted on the effects of pre-task planning on L2 production,…

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning: Summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keitz, J. F.

1982-01-01

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This summary report discusses the results of each of the four major tasks of the study. Task 1 compared airline flight plans based on operational forecasts to plans based on the verifying analyses and found that average fuel savings of 1.2 to 2.5 percent are possible with improved forecasts. Task 2 consisted of similar comparisons but used a model developed for the FAA by SRI International that simulated the impact of ATc diversions on the flight plans. While parts of Task 2 confirm the Task I findings, inconsistency with other data and the known impact of ATC suggests that other Task 2 findings are the result of errors in the model. Task 3 compares segment weather data from operational flight plans with the weather actually observed by the aircraft and finds the average error could result in fuel burn penalties (or savings) of up to 3.6 percent for the average 8747 flight. In Task 4 an in-depth analysis of the weather forecast for the 33 days included in the study finds that significant errors exist on 15 days. Wind speeds in the area of maximum winds are underestimated by 20 to 50 kts., a finding confirmed in the other three tasks.

Effects of Task Planning and Rhetorical Mode of Writing on Lexical Complexity, Syntactic Complexity, and Overall Writing Quality of EFL Writers' Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Mine; Yesilyurt, Savas

2017-01-01

Based on Robinson's Triadic Componential Framework and the definition of task planning by Ellis (2005), this study was carried out to find out the effects of task planning and rhetorical mode on lexical and syntactic complexity, and overall writing quality of writing production of EFL learners. Following a repeated-measures design, the present…

Master plan nurse duty roster using the 0-1 goal programming technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Wan Rosmanira; Jenal, Ruzzakiah

2013-04-01

The scheduling of nurses is particularly challenging because of the nature of the work which is around the clock. In addition, inefficient duty roster can have an effect on the nurses well being as well as their job satisfaction. In nurse scheduling problem (NSP), nurses are generally allocated to periods of work over a specified time horizon. A typical length of the schedule varies from a few weeks to a month. The schedule will be consistently rebuilt after the specified time period and will result in a time-consuming task for the administrative staff involved. Moreover, the task becomes overwhelming when the staff needs to consider the previous duty rosters in order to maintain the quality of schedules. Therefore, this study suggests the development of a master plan for a nurse duty roster for approximately one year. The master plan starts with the development of a blue print for the nurse duty roster using a 0-1 goal programming technique. The appropriate working period for this blue print is formulated based on the number of night shifts and the number of required nurses for night shift per schedule. Subsequently, the blue print is repeated to complete the annual nurse duty roster. These newly developed procedures were then tested on several data sets. The test results found that the master plan has successfully distributed the annual workload evenly among nurses. In addition, the master plan allows nurses to arrange their career and social activities in advance.

Asymptotically Optimal Motion Planning for Learned Tasks Using Time-Dependent Cost Maps

PubMed Central

Bowen, Chris; Ye, Gu; Alterovitz, Ron

2015-01-01

In unstructured environments in people’s homes and workspaces, robots executing a task may need to avoid obstacles while satisfying task motion constraints, e.g., keeping a plate of food level to avoid spills or properly orienting a finger to push a button. We introduce a sampling-based method for computing motion plans that are collision-free and minimize a cost metric that encodes task motion constraints. Our time-dependent cost metric, learned from a set of demonstrations, encodes features of a task’s motion that are consistent across the demonstrations and, hence, are likely required to successfully execute the task. Our sampling-based motion planner uses the learned cost metric to compute plans that simultaneously avoid obstacles and satisfy task constraints. The motion planner is asymptotically optimal and minimizes the Mahalanobis distance between the planned trajectory and the distribution of demonstrations in a feature space parameterized by the locations of task-relevant objects. The motion planner also leverages the distribution of the demonstrations to significantly reduce plan computation time. We demonstrate the method’s effectiveness and speed using a small humanoid robot performing tasks requiring both obstacle avoidance and satisfaction of learned task constraints. Note to Practitioners Motivated by the desire to enable robots to autonomously operate in cluttered home and workplace environments, this paper presents an approach for intuitively training a robot in a manner that enables it to repeat the task in novel scenarios and in the presence of unforeseen obstacles in the environment. Based on user-provided demonstrations of the task, our method learns features of the task that are consistent across the demonstrations and that we expect should be repeated by the robot when performing the task. We next present an efficient algorithm for planning robot motions to perform the task based on the learned features while avoiding obstacles. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our motion planner for scenarios requiring transferring a powder and pushing a button in environments with obstacles, and we plan to extend our results to more complex tasks in the future. PMID:26279642

APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR COST-EFFECTIVE CARBON

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

Bill Stanley; Sandra Brown; Ellen Hawes

2003-09-01

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects,more » providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The research described in this report occurred between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: advanced videography testing; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.« less

ISDP salt batch #2 supernate qualification

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

Peters, T. B.; Nash, C. A.; Fink, S. D.

2009-01-05

This report covers the laboratory testing and analyses of the second Integrated Salt Disposition Project (ISDP) salt supernate samples, performed in support of initial radioactive operations of Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and Modular Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU). Major goals of this work include characterizing Tank 22H supernate, characterizing Tank 41H supernate, verifying actinide and strontium adsorption with a standard laboratory-scale test using monosodium titanate (MST) and filtration, and checking cesium mass transfer behavior for the MCU solvent performance when contacted with the liquid produced from MST contact. This study also includes characterization of a post-blend Tank 49H sample asmore » part of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluation (NCSE). This work was specified by Task Technical Request and by Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP). In addition, a sampling plan will be written to guide analytical future work. Safety and environmental aspects of the work were documented in a Hazard Assessment Package.« less

Age-related changes in event-cued visual and auditory prospective memory proper.

PubMed

Uttl, Bob

2006-06-01

We rely upon prospective memory proper (ProMP) to bring back to awareness previously formed plans and intentions at the right place and time, and to enable us to act upon those plans and intentions. To examine age-related changes in ProMP, younger and older participants made decisions about simple stimuli (ongoing task) and at the same time were required to respond to a ProM cue, either a picture (visually cued ProM test) or a sound (auditorily cued ProM test), embedded in a simultaneously presented series of similar stimuli (either pictures or sounds). The cue display size or loudness increased across trials until a response was made. The cue size and cue loudness at the time of response indexed ProMP. The main results showed that both visual and auditory ProMP declined with age, and that such declines were mediated by age declines in sensory functions (visual acuity and hearing level), processing resources, working memory, intelligence, and ongoing task resource allocation.

Potential roles for EVA and telerobotics in a unified worksite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akin, David; Howard, Russel D.

1993-02-01

Although telerobotics and extravehicular activity (EVA) are often portrayed as competitive approaches to space operations, ongoing research in the Space Systems Laboratory (SSL) has demonstrated the utility of cooperative roles in an integrated EVA/telerobotic work site. Working in the neutral buoyancy simulation environment, tests were performed on interactive roles or EVA subjects and telerobots in structural assembly and satellite servicing tasks. In the most elaborate of these tests to date, EVA subjects were assisted by the SSL's Beam Assembly Teleoperator (BAT) in several servicing tasks planned for Hubble Space Telescope, using the high-fidelity crew training article in the NASA Marshall Neutral Buoyancy Simulator. These tests revealed several shortcomings in the design of BAT for satellite servicing and demonstrated the utility of a free-flying or RMS-mounted telerobot for providing EVA crew assistance. This paper documents the past tests, including the use of free-flying telerobots to effect the rescue of a simulated incapacitated EVA subject, and details planned future efforts in this area, including the testing of a new telerobotic system optimized for the satellite servicing role, the development of dedicated telerobotic devices designed specifically for assisting EVA crew, and conceptual approaches to advanced EVA/telerobotic operations such as the Astronaut Operations Vehicle.

Task planning with uncertainty for robotic systems. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cao, Tiehua

1993-01-01

In a practical robotic system, it is important to represent and plan sequences of operations and to be able to choose an efficient sequence from them for a specific task. During the generation and execution of task plans, different kinds of uncertainty may occur and erroneous states need to be handled to ensure the efficiency and reliability of the system. An approach to task representation, planning, and error recovery for robotic systems is demonstrated. Our approach to task planning is based on an AND/OR net representation, which is then mapped to a Petri net representation of all feasible geometric states and associated feasibility criteria for net transitions. Task decomposition of robotic assembly plans based on this representation is performed on the Petri net for robotic assembly tasks, and the inheritance of properties of liveness, safeness, and reversibility at all levels of decomposition are explored. This approach provides a framework for robust execution of tasks through the properties of traceability and viability. Uncertainty in robotic systems are modeled by local fuzzy variables, fuzzy marking variables, and global fuzzy variables which are incorporated in fuzzy Petri nets. Analysis of properties and reasoning about uncertainty are investigated using fuzzy reasoning structures built into the net. Two applications of fuzzy Petri nets, robot task sequence planning and sensor-based error recovery, are explored. In the first application, the search space for feasible and complete task sequences with correct precedence relationships is reduced via the use of global fuzzy variables in reasoning about subgoals. In the second application, sensory verification operations are modeled by mutually exclusive transitions to reason about local and global fuzzy variables on-line and automatically select a retry or an alternative error recovery sequence when errors occur. Task sequencing and task execution with error recovery capability for one and multiple soft components in robotic systems are investigated.

Neural processes mediating the preparation and release of focal motor output are suppressed or absent during imagined movement

PubMed Central

Eagles, Jeremy S.; Carlsen, Anthony N.

2016-01-01

Movements that are executed or imagined activate a similar subset of cortical regions, but the extent to which this activity represents functionally equivalent neural processes is unclear. During preparation for an executed movement, presentation of a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) evokes a premature release of the planned movement with the spatial and temporal features of the tasks essentially intact. If imagined movement incorporates the same preparatory processes as executed movement, then a SAS should release the planned movement during preparation. This hypothesis was tested using an instructed-delay cueing paradigm during which subjects were required to rapidly release a handheld weight while maintaining the posture of the arm or to perform first-person imagery of the same task while holding the weight. In a subset of trials, a SAS was presented at 1500, 500, or 200 ms prior to the release cue. Task-appropriate preparation during executed and imagined movements was confirmed by electroencephalographic recording of a contingent negative variation waveform. During preparation for executed movement, a SAS often resulted in premature release of the weight with the probability of release progressively increasing from 24 % at −1500 ms to 80 % at −200 ms. In contrast, the SAS rarely (<2 % of trials) triggered a release of the weight during imagined movement. However, the SAS frequently evoked the planned postural response (suppression of bicep brachii muscle activity) irrespective of the task or timing of stimulation (even during periods of postural hold without preparation). These findings provide evidence that neural processes mediating the preparation and release of the focal motor task (release of the weight) are markedly attenuated or absent during imagined movement and that postural and focal components of the task are prepared independently. PMID:25744055

Prefrontal cortex dysfunction and 'Jumping to Conclusions': bias or deficit?

PubMed

Lunt, Laura; Bramham, Jessica; Morris, Robin G; Bullock, Peter R; Selway, Richard P; Xenitidis, Kiriakos; David, Anthony S

2012-03-01

The 'beads task' is used to measure the cognitive basis of delusions, namely the 'Jumping to Conclusions' (JTC) reasoning bias. However, it is not clear whether the task merely taps executive dysfunction - known to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia - such as planning and resistance to impulse. To study this, 19 individuals with neurosurgical excisions to the prefrontal cortex, 21 unmedicated adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and 25 healthy controls completed two conditions of the beads task, in addition to tests of memory and executive function as well as control tests of probabilistic reasoning ability. The results indicated that the prefrontal lobe group (in particular, those with left-sided lesions) demonstrated a JTC bias relative to the ADHD and control groups. Further exploratory analyses indicated that JTC on the beads task was associated with poorer performance in certain executive domains. The results are discussed in terms of the executive demands of the beads task and possible implications for the model of psychotic delusions based on the JTC bias. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Ways of thinking: from crows to children and back again.

PubMed

Clayton, Nicola S

2015-01-01

This article reviews some of the recent work on the remarkable cognitive capacities of food-caching corvids. The focus will be on their ability to think about other minds and other times, and tool-using tests of physical problem solving. Research on developmental cognition suggests that young children do not pass similar tests until they are at least four years of age in the case of the social cognition experiments, and eight years of age in the case of the tasks that tap into physical cognition. This developmental trajectory seems surprising. Intuitively, one might have thought that the social and planning tasks required more complex forms of cognitive process, namely Mental Time Travel and Theory of Mind. Perhaps the fact that children pass these tasks earlier than the physical problem-solving tasks is a reflection of cultural influences. Future research will hope to identify these cognitive milestones by starting to develop tasks that might go some way towards understanding the mechanisms underlying these abilities in both children and corvids, to explore similarities and differences in their ways of thinking.

Differences in executive functioning between violent and non-violent offenders.

PubMed

Meijers, J; Harte, J M; Meynen, G; Cuijpers, P

2017-07-01

A growing body of neuropsychological and neurobiological research shows a relationship between functioning of the prefrontal cortex and criminal and violent behaviour. The prefrontal cortex is crucial for executive functions such as inhibition, attention, working memory, set-shifting and planning. A deficit in these functions - a prefrontal deficit - may result in antisocial, impulsive or even aggressive behaviour. While several meta-analyses show large effect sizes for the relationship between a prefrontal deficit, executive dysfunction and criminality, there are few studies investigating differences in executive functions between violent and non-violent offenders. Considering the relevance of identifying risk factors for violent offending, the current study explores whether a distinction between violent and non-violent offenders can be made using an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Male remand prisoners (N = 130) in Penitentiary Institution Amsterdam Over-Amstel were administered an extensive neuropsychological test battery (Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery; CANTAB) measuring response inhibition, planning, attention, set-shifting, working memory and impulsivity/reward sensitivity. Violent offenders performed significantly worse on the stop-signal task (partial correlation r = 0.205, p = 0.024), a task measuring response inhibition. No further differences were found between violent and non-violent offenders. Explorative analyses revealed a significant relationship between recidivism and planning (partial correlation r = -0.209, p = 0.016). Violent offenders show worse response inhibition compared to non-violent offenders, suggesting a more pronounced prefrontal deficit in violent offenders than in non-violent offenders.

Biomass power for rural development. Technical progress report, January 1--March 31, 1998

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

Neuhauser, E.

Brief progress reports are presented on the following tasks: design packages for retrofits at the Dunkirk Station; fuel supply and site development plans; major equipment guarantees and project risk sharing; power production commitment; power plant site plan, construction and environmental permits; and experimental strategies for system evaluation. The paper then discusses in more detail the following: feedstock development efforts; clone-site testing and genetic studies; and efforts at outreach, extension and technology transfer.

Historical Report Atomic Bomb Tests Able and Baker (Operation Crossroads). Volume 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1946-07-25

was obvious that the Bur- eau of Medicine and Surgery representative to the Task Force, Capt. G. M. Lyon (MC), must be responsible not only for the...Reboarding and Inspection Plan of the operation by detailed planning of its own activities. 1 See Annex X, App. Ill: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery...substitute for personnel, with the expectation that the use of these animals would reveal in- formation applicable to the protection and treatment

Reasoning and planning in dynamic domains: An experiment with a mobile robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgeff, M. P.; Lansky, A. L.; Schoppers, M. J.

1987-01-01

Progress made toward having an autonomous mobile robot reason and plan complex tasks in real-world environments is described. To cope with the dynamic and uncertain nature of the world, researchers use a highly reactive system to which is attributed attitudes of belief, desire, and intention. Because these attitudes are explicitly represented, they can be manipulated and reasoned about, resulting in complex goal-directed and reflective behaviors. Unlike most planning systems, the plans or intentions formed by the system need only be partly elaborated before it decides to act. This allows the system to avoid overly strong expectations about the environment, overly constrained plans of action, and other forms of over-commitment common to previous planners. In addition, the system is continuously reactive and has the ability to change its goals and intentions as situations warrant. Thus, while the system architecture allows for reasoning about means and ends in much the same way as traditional planners, it also posseses the reactivity required for survival in complex real-world domains. The system was tested using SRI's autonomous robot (Flakey) in a scenario involving navigation and the performance of an emergency task in a space station scenario.

Yield model development project implementation plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A.

1982-01-01

Tasks remaining to be completed are summarized for the following major project elements: (1) evaluation of crop yield models; (2) crop yield model research and development; (3) data acquisition processing, and storage; (4) related yield research: defining spectral and/or remote sensing data requirements; developing input for driving and testing crop growth/yield models; real time testing of wheat plant process models) and (5) project management and support.

A Tool that Can be Effective in the Self-Regulated Learning of Pre-Service Teachers: The Mind Map

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanriseven, Isil

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of task planning with mind maps on the self-regulation strategies and motivational beliefs of pre-service teachers. A quasi-experimental design, with a pre-test and post-test control group, was applied in the research. The research group comprised of 60 pre-service teachers taking "Teaching…

Western U.S.-Canada crossborder case study : activity 2 : task D : conduct regional and local trucking case studies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

This report presents the test plan for conducting the Technical Capability Analysis for the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) evaluation of the San Diego Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative Demonstration. The ICM proje...

Efficient Symbolic Task Planning for Multiple Mobile Robots

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-13

Efficient Symbolic Task Planning for Multiple Mobile Robots Yuqian Jiang December 13, 2016 Abstract Symbolic task planning enables a robot to make...high-level deci- sions toward a complex goal by computing a sequence of actions with minimum expected costs. This thesis builds on a single- robot ...time complexity of optimal planning for multiple mobile robots . In this thesis we first investigate the performance of the state-of-the-art solvers of

Transfer of training between distinct motor tasks after stroke: implications for task-specific approaches to upper-extremity neurorehabilitation.

PubMed

Schaefer, Sydney Y; Patterson, Chavelle B; Lang, Catherine E

2013-09-01

Although task-specific training is emerging as a viable approach for recovering motor function after stroke, there is little evidence for whether the effects of such training transfer to other functional motor tasks not directly practiced in therapy. The purpose of the current study was to test whether training on one motor task in individuals with chronic hemiparesis poststroke would transfer to untrained tasks that were either spatiotemporally similar or different. In all, 11 participants with chronic mild to moderate hemiparesis following stroke completed 5 days of supervised massed practice of a feeding task with their affected side. Performance on the feeding task, along with 2 other untrained functional upper-extremity motor tasks (sorting, dressing) was assessed before and after training. Performance of all 3 tasks improved significantly after training exclusively on 1 motor task. The amount of improvement in the untrained tasks was comparable and was not dependent on the degree of similarity to the trained task. Because the number and type of tasks that can be practiced are often limited within standard stroke rehabilitation, results from this study will be useful for designing task-specific training plans to maximize therapy benefits.

Multibody modeling and verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiens, Gloria J.

1989-01-01

A summary of a ten week project on flexible multibody modeling, verification and control is presented. Emphasis was on the need for experimental verification. A literature survey was conducted for gathering information on the existence of experimental work related to flexible multibody systems. The first portion of the assigned task encompassed the modeling aspects of flexible multibodies that can undergo large angular displacements. Research in the area of modeling aspects were also surveyed, with special attention given to the component mode approach. Resulting from this is a research plan on various modeling aspects to be investigated over the next year. The relationship between the large angular displacements, boundary conditions, mode selection, and system modes is of particular interest. The other portion of the assigned task was the generation of a test plan for experimental verification of analytical and/or computer analysis techniques used for flexible multibody systems. Based on current and expected frequency ranges of flexible multibody systems to be used in space applications, an initial test article was selected and designed. A preliminary TREETOPS computer analysis was run to ensure frequency content in the low frequency range, 0.1 to 50 Hz. The initial specifications of experimental measurement and instrumentation components were also generated. Resulting from this effort is the initial multi-phase plan for a Ground Test Facility of Flexible Multibody Systems for Modeling Verification and Control. The plan focusses on the Multibody Modeling and Verification (MMV) Laboratory. General requirements of the Unobtrusive Sensor and Effector (USE) and the Robot Enhancement (RE) laboratories were considered during the laboratory development.

A study of mass data storage technology for rocket engine data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ready, John F.; Benser, Earl T.; Fritz, Bernard S.; Nelson, Scott A.; Stauffer, Donald R.; Volna, William M.

1990-01-01

The results of a nine month study program on mass data storage technology for rocket engine (especially the Space Shuttle Main Engine) health monitoring and control are summarized. The program had the objective of recommending a candidate mass data storage technology development for rocket engine health monitoring and control and of formulating a project plan and specification for that technology development. The work was divided into three major technical tasks: (1) development of requirements; (2) survey of mass data storage technologies; and (3) definition of a project plan and specification for technology development. The first of these tasks reviewed current data storage technology and developed a prioritized set of requirements for the health monitoring and control applications. The second task included a survey of state-of-the-art and newly developing technologies and a matrix-based ranking of the technologies. It culminated in a recommendation of optical disk technology as the best candidate for technology development. The final task defined a proof-of-concept demonstration, including tasks required to develop, test, analyze, and demonstrate the technology advancement, plus an estimate of the level of effort required. The recommended demonstration emphasizes development of an optical disk system which incorporates an order-of-magnitude increase in writing speed above the current state of the art.

Environmental control medical support team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crump, William J.; Kilgore, Melvin V., Jr.

1988-01-01

The activities conducted in support of the Environmental Control and Life Support Team during December 7, 1987 through September 30, 1988 are summarized. The majority of the ongoing support has focused on the ECLSS area. Through a series of initial meetings with the ECLSS team and technical literature review, an initial list of critical topics was developed. Subtasks were then identified or additional related tasks received as action items from the ECLSS group meetings. Although most of the efforts focused on providing MSFC personnel with information regarding specific questions and problems related to ECLSS issues, other efforts regarding identifying an ECLSS Medical Support Team and constructing data bases of technical information were also initiated and completed. The specific tasks are as follows: (1) Provide support to the mechanical design and integration of test systems as related to microbiological concerns; (2) Assist with design of Human Subjects Test Protocols; (3) Interpretation and recommendations pertaining to air/water quality requirements; (4) Assist in determining the design specifications required as related to the Technical Demonstration Program; (5) Develop a data base of all microorganisms recovered from previous subsystem testing; (6) Estimates of health risk of individual microbes to test subjects; (7) Assist with setting limits for safety of test subjects; (8) Health monitoring of test subjects; (9) Assist in the preparation of test plans; (10) Assist in the development of a QA/QC program to assure the validity, accuracy and precision of the analyses; and (11) Assist in developing test plans required for future man in the loop testing.

Task 4 supporting technology. Densification requirements definition and test objectives. Propellant densification requirements definition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lak, Tibor; Weeks, D. P.

1995-01-01

The primary challenge of the X-33 CAN is to build and test a prototype LO2 and LH2 densification ground support equipment (GSE) unit, and perform tank thermodynamic testing within the 15 month phase 1 period. The LO2 and LH2 propellant densification system will be scaled for the IPTD LO2 and LH2 tank configurations. The IPTD tanks were selected for the propellant technology demonstration because of the potential benefits to the phase 1 plan: tanks will be built in time to support thermodynamic testing; minimum cost; minimum schedule risk; future testing at MSFC will build on phase 1 data base; and densification system will be available to support X-33 and RLV engine test at IPTD. The objective of the task 1 effort is to define the preliminary requirements of the propellant densification GSE and tank recirculation system. The key densification system design parameters to be established in Task 1 are: recirculation flow rate; heat exchanger inlet temperature; heat exchanger outlet temperature; maximum heat rejection rate; vent flow rate (GN2 and GH2); densification time; and tank pressure level.

Reliability program requirements for aeronautical and space system contractors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

General reliability program requirements for NASA contracts involving the design, development, fabrication, test, and/or use of aeronautical and space systems including critical ground support equipment are prescribed. The reliability program requirements require (1) thorough planning and effective management of the reliability effort; (2) definition of the major reliability tasks and their place as an integral part of the design and development process; (3) planning and evaluating the reliability of the system and its elements (including effects of software interfaces) through a program of analysis, review, and test; and (4) timely status indication by formal documentation and other reporting to facilitate control of the reliability program.

Development and human factors analysis of an augmented reality interface for multi-robot tele-operation and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sam; Lucas, Nathan P.; Ellis, R. Darin; Pandya, Abhilash

2012-06-01

This paper presents a seamlessly controlled human multi-robot system comprised of ground and aerial robots of semiautonomous nature for source localization tasks. The system combines augmented reality interfaces capabilities with human supervisor's ability to control multiple robots. The role of this human multi-robot interface is to allow an operator to control groups of heterogeneous robots in real time in a collaborative manner. It used advanced path planning algorithms to ensure obstacles are avoided and that the operators are free for higher-level tasks. Each robot knows the environment and obstacles and can automatically generate a collision-free path to any user-selected target. It displayed sensor information from each individual robot directly on the robot in the video view. In addition, a sensor data fused AR view is displayed which helped the users pin point source information or help the operator with the goals of the mission. The paper studies a preliminary Human Factors evaluation of this system in which several interface conditions are tested for source detection tasks. Results show that the novel Augmented Reality multi-robot control (Point-and-Go and Path Planning) reduced mission completion times compared to the traditional joystick control for target detection missions. Usability tests and operator workload analysis are also investigated.

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control

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

Gary Blythe; MariJon Owens

2007-12-31

This document is the final report for DOE-NETL Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42309, 'Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive'. The objective of the project has been to demonstrate the use of two flue gas desulfurization (FGD) additives, Evonik Degussa Corporation's TMT-15 and Nalco Company's Nalco 8034, to prevent the re-emission of elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) in flue gas exiting wet FGD systems on coal-fired boilers. Furthermore, the project was intended to demonstrate whether such additives can be used to precipitate most of the mercury (Hg) removed in the wet FGD system as a fine salt that can be separated from themore » FGD liquor and bulk solid byproducts for separate disposal. The project involved pilot- and full-scale tests of the additives in wet FGD absorbers. The tests were intended to determine required additive dosages to prevent Hg{sup 0} re-emissions and to separate mercury from the normal FGD byproducts for three coal types: Texas lignite/Powder River Basin (PRB) coal blend, high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal, and low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal. The project team consists of URS Group, Inc., EPRI, Luminant Power (was TXU Generation Company LP), Southern Company, IPL (an AES company), Evonik Degussa Corporation and the Nalco Company. Luminant Power provided the Texas lignite/PRB co-fired test site for pilot FGD tests and project cost sharing. Southern Company provided the low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal host site for wet scrubbing tests, the pilot- and full-scale jet bubbling reactor (JBR) FGD systems tested, and project cost sharing. IPL provided the high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal full-scale FGD test site and cost sharing. Evonik Degussa Corporation provided the TMT-15 additive, and the Nalco Company provided the Nalco 8034 additive. Both companies also supplied technical support to the test program as in-kind cost sharing. The project was conducted in six tasks. Of the six tasks, Task 1 involved project planning and Task 6 involved management and reporting. The other four tasks involved field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. These four tasks included: Task 2 - Pilot Additive Testing in Texas Lignite Flue Gas; Task 3 - Full-scale FGD Additive Testing in High-sulfur Eastern Bituminous Flue Gas; Task 4 - Pilot Wet Scrubber Additive Tests at Plant Yates; and Task 5 - Full-scale Additive Tests at Plant Yates. The pilot-scale tests were completed in 2005 and the full-scale test using high-sulfur coal was completed in 2006; only the TMT-15 additive was tested in these efforts. The Task 5 full-scale additive tests conducted at Southern Company's Plant Yates Unit 1 were completed in 2007, and both the TMT-15 and Nalco 8034 additives were tested.« less

Immediate and Sustained Effects of Planning in a Problem-Solving Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaney, Peter F.; Ericsson, K. Anders; Knowles, Martin E.

2004-01-01

In 4 experiments, instructions to plan a task (water jugs) that normally produces little planning altered how participants solved the problems and resulted in enhanced learning and memory. Experiment 1 identified planning strategies that allowed participants to plan full solutions to water jugs problems. Experiment 2 showed that experience with…

Support to NASA's Advanced Space Technology Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Otto; Thomas, John; Lee, Thomas J.

2000-01-01

During the period of May through September 2000, Lee & Associates, LLC completed the following tasks as specified in the purchase order SOW: Assessment of current processes and structure and recommended improvements; Reviewed and commented on restructure options; Participated in closure of the Fastrac Delta Critical Design Review actions; Participated in the Fastrac Test readiness review (TRR) process for test planned at SSC and Rocketdyne; and Participated in the investigation of any anomalies identified during the Fastrac engine test data reviews.

Glass Waste Forms for Oak Ridge Tank Wastes: Fiscal Year 1998 Report for Task Plan SR-16WT-31, Task B

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

Andrews, M.K.

1999-05-10

Using ORNL information on the characterization of the tank waste sludges, SRTC performed extensive bench-scale vitrification studies using simulants. Several glass systems were tested to ensure the optimum glass composition (based on the glass liquidus temperature, viscosity and durability) is determined. This optimum composition will balance waste loading, melt temperature, waste form performance and disposal requirements. By optimizing the glass composition, a cost savings can be realized during vitrification of the waste. The preferred glass formulation was selected from the bench-scale studies and recommended to ORNL for further testing with samples of actual OR waste tank sludges.

Summary of Current and Future MSFC International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Charles D.; Carrasquillo, Robyn L.; Minton-Summers, Silvia

1997-01-01

This paper provides a summary of current work accomplished under technical task agreement (TTA) by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) regarding the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) as well as future planning activities in support of the International Space Station (ISS). Current activities include ECLSS computer model development, component design and development, subsystem integrated system testing, life testing, and government furnished equipment delivered to the ISS program. A long range plan for the MSFC ECLSS test facility is described whereby the current facility would be upgraded to support integrated station ECLSS operations. ECLSS technology development efforts proposed to be performed under the Advanced Engineering Technology Development (AETD) program are also discussed.

Strategic planning for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griner, Carolyn S.

1990-01-01

The concept for utilization and operations planning for the International Space Station Freedom was developed in a NASA Space Station Operations Task Force in 1986. Since that time the concept has been further refined to definitize the process and products required to integrate the needs of the international user community with the operational capabilities of the Station in its evolving configuration. The keystone to the process is the development of individual plans by the partners, with the parameters and formats common to the degree that electronic communications techniques can be effectively utilized, while maintaining the proper level and location of configuration control. The integration, evaluation, and verification of the integrated plan, called the Consolidated Operations and Utilization Plan (COUP), is being tested in a multilateral environment to prove out the parameters, interfaces, and process details necessary to produce the first COUP for Space Station in 1991. This paper will describe the concept, process, and the status of the multilateral test case.

AVCS Simulator Test Plan and Design Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelden, Stephen

2001-01-01

Internal document for communication of AVCS direction and documentation of simulator functionality. Discusses methods for AVCS simulation evaluation of pilot functions, implementation strategy of varying functional representation of pilot tasks (by instantiations of a base AVCS to reasonably approximate the interface of various vehicles -- e.g. Altair, GlobalHawk, etc.).

Controlling Uncertainty: A Review of Human Behavior in Complex Dynamic Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osman, Magda

2010-01-01

Complex dynamic control (CDC) tasks are a type of problem-solving environment used for examining many cognitive activities (e.g., attention, control, decision making, hypothesis testing, implicit learning, memory, monitoring, planning, and problem solving). Because of their popularity, there have been many findings from diverse domains of research…

Armored Family of Vehicles (AFV) Automation and Communication. Resource Management Plan (ACRMP). Phase 1. Volume 15.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

The AFV ACRMP is the Task Force Director’s (08) tool to manage command, control, communication (C3) automation system life cycle developments for the...responsibilities, development management, acquisition strategy, testing , life cycle support, technology assessment and work group relationships. ACRMP

On the Inclusion of Externally Controlled Actions in Action Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Jessica Chia-Chin; Knoblich, Gunther; Sebanz, Natalie

2011-01-01

According to ideomotor theories, perceiving action effects produced by others triggers corresponding action representations in the observer. We tested whether this principle extends to actions performed by externally controlled limbs and tools. Participants performed a go-no-go version of a spatial compatibility task in which their own actions…

Sharing Data between Mobile Devices, Connected Vehicles and Infrastructure Task 12 : D2X Hub Prototype Field Test, Evaluation Plan and Results.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-10-25

Sharing Data between Mobile Devices, Connected Vehicles and Infrastructure was a U.S. DOT-sponsored research project to study the integration of mobile devices (such as smartphones) into the Connected Vehicle (CV) environment. Objectives includ...

A mathematical tool to generate complex whole body motor tasks and test hypotheses on underlying motor planning.

PubMed

Tagliabue, Michele; Pedrocchi, Alessandra; Pozzo, Thierry; Ferrigno, Giancarlo

2008-01-01

In spite of the complexity of human motor behavior, difficulties in mathematical modeling have restricted to rather simple movements attempts to identify the motor planning criterion used by the central nervous system. This paper presents a novel-simulation technique able to predict the "desired trajectory" corresponding to a wide range of kinematic and kinetic optimality criteria for tasks involving many degrees of freedom and the coordination between goal achievement and balance maintenance. Employment of proper time discretization, inverse dynamic methods and constrained optimization technique are combined. The application of this simulator to a planar whole body pointing movement shows its effectiveness in managing system nonlinearities and instability as well as in ensuring the anatomo-physiological feasibility of predicted motor plans. In addition, the simulator's capability to simultaneously optimize competing movement aspects represents an interesting opportunity for the motor control community, in which the coexistence of several controlled variables has been hypothesized.

Strategic and Unpressured Within-Task Planning and Their Associations with Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Shaofeng; Fu, Mengxia

2018-01-01

This study investigated the comparative effects of strategic and unpressured within-task planning on second language (L2) Chinese oral production and the role of working memory in mediating the effects of the two types of planning. Twenty-nine L2 Chinese learners at a large New Zealand university performed a narrative task after watching a…

Two criteria for the selection of assembly plans - Maximizing the flexibility of sequencing the assembly tasks and minimizing the assembly time through parallel execution of assembly tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homem De Mello, Luiz S.; Sanderson, Arthur C.

1991-01-01

The authors introduce two criteria for the evaluation and selection of assembly plans. The first criterion is to maximize the number of different sequences in which the assembly tasks can be executed. The second criterion is to minimize the total assembly time through simultaneous execution of assembly tasks. An algorithm that performs a heuristic search for the best assembly plan over the AND/OR graph representation of assembly plans is discussed. Admissible heuristics for each of the two criteria introduced are presented. Some implementation issues that affect the computational efficiency are addressed.

Advanced Signal Processing Methods Applied to Digital Mammography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stauduhar, Richard P.

1997-01-01

The work reported here is on the extension of the earlier proposal of the same title, August 1994-June 1996. The report for that work is also being submitted. The work reported there forms the foundation for this work from January 1997 to September 1997. After the earlier work was completed there were a few items that needed to be completed prior to submission of a new and more comprehensive proposal for further research. Those tasks have been completed and two new proposals have been submitted, one to NASA, and one to Health & Human Services WS). The main purpose of this extension was to refine some of the techniques that lead to automatic large scale evaluation of full mammograms. Progress on each of the proposed tasks follows. Task 1: A multiresolution segmentation of background from breast has been developed and tested. The method is based on the different noise characteristics of the two different fields. The breast field has more power in the lower octaves and the off-breast field behaves similar to a wideband process, where more power is in the high frequency octaves. After the two fields are separated by lowpass filtering, a region labeling routine is used to find the largest contiguous region, the breast. Task 2: A wavelet expansion that can decompose the image without zero padding has been developed. The method preserves all properties of the power-of-two wavelet transform and does not add appreciably to computation time or storage. This work is essential for analysis of the full mammogram, as opposed to selecting sections from the full mammogram. Task 3: A clustering method has been developed based on a simple counting mechanism. No ROC analysis has been performed (and was not proposed), so we cannot finally evaluate this work without further support. Task 4: Further testing of the filter reveals that different wavelet bases do yield slightly different qualitative results. We cannot provide quantitative conclusions about this for all possible bases without further support. Task 5: Better modeling does indeed make an improvement in the detection output. After the proposal ended, we came up with some new theoretical explanations that helps in understanding when the D4 filter should be better. This work is currently in the review process. Task 6: N/A. This no longer applies in view of Tasks 4-5. Task 7: Comprehensive plans for further work have been completed. These plans are the subject of two proposals, one to NASA and one to HHS. These proposals represent plans for a complete evaluation of the methods for identifying normal mammograms, augmented with significant further theoretical work.

Missile and Space Systems Reliability versus Cost Trade-Off Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

F00-1C09 Robert C. Schneider F00-1C09 V . PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AM0 ADDRESS 16 PRGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK BoeingAerosace CmpAnyA CA WORK UNIT...reliability problems, which has the - real bearing on program effectiveness. A well planned and funded reliability effort can prevent or ferret out...failure analysis, and the in- corporation and verification of design corrections to prevent recurrence of failures. 302.2.2 A TMJ test plan shall be

Efficiency in Rule- vs. Plan-Based Movements Is Modulated by Action-Mode.

PubMed

Scheib, Jean P P; Stoll, Sarah; Thürmer, J Lukas; Randerath, Jennifer

2018-01-01

The rule/plan motor cognition (RPMC) paradigm elicits visually indistinguishable motor outputs, resulting from either plan- or rule-based action-selection, using a combination of essentially interchangeable stimuli. Previous implementations of the RPMC paradigm have used pantomimed movements to compare plan- vs. rule-based action-selection. In the present work we attempt to determine the generalizability of previous RPMC findings to real object interaction by use of a grasp-to-rotate task. In the plan task, participants had to use prospective planning to achieve a comfortable post-handle rotation hand posture. The rule task used implementation intentions (if-then rules) leading to the same comfortable end-state. In Experiment A, we compare RPMC performance of 16 healthy participants in pantomime and real object conditions of the experiment, within-subjects. Higher processing efficiency of rule- vs. plan-based action-selection was supported by diffusion model analysis. Results show a significant response-time increase in the pantomime condition compared to the real object condition and a greater response-time advantage of rule-based vs. plan-based actions in the pantomime compared to the real object condition. In Experiment B, 24 healthy participants performed the real object RPMC task in a task switching vs. a blocked condition. Results indicate that plan-based action-selection leads to longer response-times and less efficient information processing than rule-based action-selection in line with previous RPMC findings derived from the pantomime action-mode. Particularly in the task switching mode, responses were faster in the rule compared to the plan task suggesting a modulating influence of cognitive load. Overall, results suggest an advantage of rule-based action-selection over plan-based action-selection; whereby differential mechanisms appear to be involved depending on the action-mode. We propose that cognitive load is a factor that modulates the advantageous effect of implementation intentions in motor cognition on different levels as illustrated by the varying speed advantages and the variation in diffusion parameters per action-mode or condition, respectively.

Analog Testing of Operations Concepts for Mitigation of Communication Latency During Human Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chappell, Steven P.; Abercromby, Andrew F.; Miller, Matthew J.; Halcon, Christopher; Gernhardt, Michael L.

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) is an underwater spaceflight analog that allows a true mission-like operational environment and uses buoyancy effects and added weight to simulate different gravity levels. Three missions were undertaken from 2014-2015, NEEMO's 18-20. All missions were performed at the Aquarius undersea research habitat. During each mission, the effects of varying operations concepts and tasks type and complexity on representative communication latencies associated with Mars missions were studied. METHODS: 12 subjects (4 per mission) were weighed out to simulate near-zero or partial gravity extravehicular activity (EVA) and evaluated different operations concepts for integration and management of a simulated Earth-based science backroom team (SBT) to provide input and direction during exploration activities. Exploration traverses were planned in advance based on precursor data collected. Subjects completed science-related tasks including presampling surveys, geologic-based sampling, and marine-based sampling as a portion of their tasks on saturation dives up to 4 hours in duration that were to simulate extravehicular activity (EVA) on Mars or the moons of Mars. One-way communication latencies, 5 and 10 minutes between space and mission control, were simulated throughout the missions. Objective data included task completion times, total EVA times, crew idle time, translation time, SBT assimilation time (defined as time available for SBT to discuss data/imagery after it has been collected, in addition to the time taken to watch imagery streaming over latency). Subjective data included acceptability, simulation quality, capability assessment ratings, and comments. RESULTS: Precursor data can be used effectively to plan and execute exploration traverse EVAs (plans included detailed location of science sites, high-fidelity imagery of the sites, and directions to landmarks of interest within a site). Operations concepts that allow for presampling surveys enable efficient traverse execution and meaningful Mission Control Center (MCC) interaction across long communication latencies and can be done with minimal crew idle time. Imagery and information from the EVA crew that is transmitted real-time to the intravehicular (IV) crewmember(s) can be used to verify that exploration traverse plans are being executed correctly. That same data can be effectively used by MCC (across comm latency) to provide further instructions to the crew from a SBT on sampling priorities, additional tasks, and changes to the plan. Text / data capabilities are preferred over voice capabilities between MCC and IV when executing exploration traverse plans over communication latency. Autonomous crew planning tools can be effective at modifying existing plans if the objectives and constraints are clearly defined.

Job Knowledge Test Design: A Cognitively-Oriented Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-07-01

protocol analyses and related methods. We employed a plan-goal graph representation to capture the knowledge content and goal structure of the studied task...between job knowledge and hands-on performance from previous studies was .38. For the subset of Marines in this sample who had recently been examined...the job knowledge test provided similar results to conventional, total number correct scoring. Conclusion The evidence provided by this study supports

Gender and practical skill performance in science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lock, Roger

The performance of 18 boys and 18 girls on four problem-solving tasks set in science contexts was compared. The tasks were administered in a one-to-one testing situation and assessments were made by direct observation, questioning, and by using written records. The tasks were valid and reliable, and the samples of boys and girls were matched for ability and curriculum background. Past studies have identified gender differences in performance on science tasks; however, this study found little evidence to support these findings. Few significant differences in performance were found. No gender differences were detected in observation, reporting, or planning skills, and there was no differential performance on the use of scientific language. Girls performed less well in relation to self-reliance, and performance differences on the interpretation skill approached significance with boys' performance superior.

Task-level control for autonomous robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, Reid

1994-01-01

Task-level control refers to the integration and coordination of planning, perception, and real-time control to achieve given high-level goals. Autonomous mobile robots need task-level control to effectively achieve complex tasks in uncertain, dynamic environments. This paper describes the Task Control Architecture (TCA), an implemented system that provides commonly needed constructs for task-level control. Facilities provided by TCA include distributed communication, task decomposition and sequencing, resource management, monitoring and exception handling. TCA supports a design methodology in which robot systems are developed incrementally, starting first with deliberative plans that work in nominal situations, and then layering them with reactive behaviors that monitor plan execution and handle exceptions. To further support this approach, design and analysis tools are under development to provide ways of graphically viewing the system and validating its behavior.

Improvements in manual dexterity relate to improvements in cognitive planning after assisted cycling therapy (ACT) in adolescents with down syndrome.

PubMed

Holzapfel, Simon D; Ringenbach, Shannon D R; Mulvey, Genna M; Sandoval-Menendez, Amber M; Cook, Megan R; Ganger, Rachel O; Bennett, Kristen

2015-01-01

We have previously reported beneficial effects of acute (i.e., single session) Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on manual dexterity and cognitive planning ability in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). In the present study, we report the chronic effects of eight weeks of ACT, voluntary cycling (VC), and no cycling (NC), on the same measures in adolescents with DS. Participants completed 8 weeks of ACT, VC, or NC. Those in the ACT and VC groups completed 30min sessions three times per week on a stationary bicycle. During ACT, the mechanical motor of the bicycle augmented the cadence to a rate which was on average 79% faster than the voluntary cadence. During VC, the participants pedaled at a self-selected rate. Unimanual dexterity scores as measured with the Purdue Pegboard test (PPT) improved significantly more for the ACT and VC groups compared to the NC group. ACT lead to greater improvements than VC and NC in the assembly sub-test, which is a task that requires more advanced temporal and spatial processing. The ACT group improved significantly more than the VC group and non-significantly more than the NC group in cognitive planning ability as measured by the Tower of London test (ToL). There were also significant correlations between the assembly subtest of the PPT and all measures of the ToL. These correlations were stronger during post-testing than pre-testing. Pre-post changes in the combined PPT score and ToL number of correct moves correlated positively in the ACT group. These results support the efficacy of the salutary effects of ACT on global fine motor function and executive function in DS. Additionally, the performance on complex bimanual dexterity tasks appears to be related to the capacity of cognitive planning ability. This research has important implications for persons with movement deficits that affect activities of daily living. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

HIGH PRESSURE COAL COMBUSTION KINETICS PROJECT

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

Chris Guenther; Bill Rogers

2001-09-15

The HPCCK project was initiated with a kickoff meeting held on June 12, 2001 in Morgantown, WV, which was attended by all project participants. SRI's existing g-RCFR reactor was reconfigured to a SRT-RCFR geometry (Task 1.1). This new design is suitable for performing the NBFZ experiments of Task 1.2. It was decided that the SRT-RCFR apparatus could be modified and used for the HPBO experiments. The purchase, assembly, and testing of required instrumentation and hardware is nearly complete (Task 1.1 and 1.2). Initial samples of PBR coal have been shipped from FWC to SRI (Task 1.1). The ECT device formore » coal flow measurements used at FWC will not be used in the SRI apparatus and a screw type feeder has been suggested instead (Task 5.1). NEA has completed a upgrade of an existing Fluent simulator for SRI's RCFR to a version that is suitable for interpreting results from tests in the NBFZ configuration (Task 1.3) this upgrade includes finite-rate submodels for devolatilization, secondary volatiles pyrolysis, volatiles combustion, and char oxidation. Plans for an enhanced version of CBK have been discussed and development of this enhanced version has begun (Task 2.5). A developmental framework for implementing pressure and oxygen effects on ash formation in an ash formation model (Task 3.3) has begun.« less

Cognitive and behavioural deficits associated with the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

PubMed

Meier, Sandra L; Charleston, Alison J; Tippett, Lynette J

2010-11-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease affecting motor neurons, may variably affect cognition and behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that functions associated with orbitomedial prefrontal cortex are affected by evaluating the behavioural and cognitive performance of 18 participants with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis without dementia and 18 healthy, matched controls. We measured Theory of Mind (Faux Pas Task), emotional prosody recognition (Aprosodia Battery), reversal of behaviour in response to changes in reward (Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task), decision making without risk (Holiday Apartment Task) and aberrant behaviour (Neuropsychiatric Inventory). We also assessed dorsolateral prefrontal function, using verbal and written fluency and planning (One-touch Stockings of Cambridge), to determine whether impairments in tasks sensitive to these two prefrontal regions co-occur. The patient group was significantly impaired at identifying social faux pas, recognizing emotions and decision-making, indicating mild, but consistent impairment on most measures sensitive to orbitomedial prefrontal cortex. Significant levels of aberrant behaviour were present in 50% of patients. Patients were also impaired on verbal fluency and planning. Individual subject analyses involved computing classical dissociations between tasks sensitive to different prefrontal regions. These revealed heterogeneous patterns of impaired and spared cognitive abilities: 33% of participants had classical dissociations involving orbitomedial prefrontal tasks, 17% had classical dissociations involving dorsolateral prefrontal tasks, 22% had classical dissociations between tasks of both regions, and 28% had no classical dissociations. These data indicate subtle changes in behaviour, emotional processing, decision-making and altered social awareness, associated with orbitomedial prefrontal cortex, may be present in a significant proportion of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis without dementia, some with no signs of dysfunction in tasks sensitive to other regions of prefrontal cortex. This demonstration of variability in cognitive integrity supports previous research indicating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a heterogeneous disease.

WAG 2 remedial investigation and site investigation site-specific work plan/health and safety checklist for the soil and sediment task. Environmental Restoration Program

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

Holt, V.L.; Burgoa, B.B.

1993-12-01

This document is a site-specific work plan/health and safety checklist (WP/HSC) for a task of the Waste Area Grouping 2 Remedial Investigation and Site Investigation (WAG 2 RI&SI). Title 29 CFR Part 1910.120 requires that a health and safety program plan that includes site- and task-specific information be completed to ensure conformance with health- and safety-related requirements. To meet this requirement, the health and safety program plan for each WAG 2 RI&SI field task must include (1) the general health and safety program plan for all WAG 2 RI&SI field activities and (2) a WP/HSC for that particular field task.more » These two components, along with all applicable referenced procedures, must be kept together at the work site and distributed to field personnel as required. The general health and safety program plan is the Health and Safety Plan for the Remedial Investigation and Site Investigation of Waste Area Grouping 2 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ORNL/ER-169). The WP/HSCs are being issued as supplements to ORNL/ER-169.« less

Risk Factors for Falls in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Alzheimer Disease.

PubMed

Ansai, Juliana Hotta; de Andrade, Larissa Pires; Masse, Fernando Arturo Arriagada; Gonçalves, Jessica; de Medeiros Takahashi, Anielle Cristhine; Vale, Francisco Assis Carvalho; Rebelatto, José Rubens

2017-03-03

Understanding fall risk factors in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD) can help to establish specific plans for prevention of falls. The purpose of this study was to identify fall risk factors in older adults with MCI and mild AD. A prospective study was conducted with community-dwelling older adults (40 MCI; 38 mild AD). The assessments consisted of sociodemographic and health variables, caloric expenditure, functional status, functional mobility (10-m walk test, dual-task test, and transition Timed Up and Go phases), cognitive domains, and depressive symptoms. Falls were recorded for 6 months by a falls calendar and monthly telephone calls. Falls were reported in 52.6% and 51.4% of people with MCI and mild AD, respectively. Among people with MCI, lower functional status, higher time spent on walk and dual task tests, and higher depressive symptom scores were associated with falls. Higher time spent on the dual-task test was independently associated with falls. Among people with mild AD, falls were associated with lower time spent on the walk test and turn-to-sit phase, and a higher visuospatial domain score. Lower time spent on the turn-to-sit phase was identified as an independent predictor of falls. Careful attention should be given to dual-task and turn-to-sit activities when detecting risk of falls among older people with MCI and mild AD.

Association of Dual-Task Gait With Incident Dementia in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Results From the Gait and Brain Study.

PubMed

Montero-Odasso, Manuel M; Sarquis-Adamson, Yanina; Speechley, Mark; Borrie, Michael J; Hachinski, Vladimir C; Wells, Jennie; Riccio, Patricia M; Schapira, Marcelo; Sejdic, Ervin; Camicioli, Richard M; Bartha, Robert; McIlroy, William E; Muir-Hunter, Susan

2017-07-01

Gait performance is affected by neurodegeneration in aging and has the potential to be used as a clinical marker for progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. A dual-task gait test evaluating the cognitive-motor interface may predict dementia progression in older adults with MCI. To determine whether a dual-task gait test is associated with incident dementia in MCI. The Gait and Brain Study is an ongoing prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older adults that enrolled 112 older adults with MCI. Participants were followed up for 6 years, with biannual visits including neurologic, cognitive, and gait assessments. Data were collected from July 2007 to March 2016. Incident all-cause dementia was the main outcome measure, and single- and dual-task gait velocity and dual-task gait costs were the independent variables. A neuropsychological test battery was used to assess cognition. Gait velocity was recorded under single-task and 3 separate dual-task conditions using an electronic walkway. Dual-task gait cost was defined as the percentage change between single- and dual-task gait velocities: ([single-task gait velocity - dual-task gait velocity]/ single-task gait velocity) × 100. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the association between risk of progression to dementia and the independent variables, adjusted for age, sex, education, comorbidities, and cognition. Among 112 study participants with MCI, mean (SD) age was 76.6 (6.9) years, 55 were women (49.1%), and 27 progressed to dementia (24.1%), with an incidence rate of 121 per 1000 person-years. Slow single-task gait velocity (<0.8 m/second) was not associated with progression to dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 3.41; 95% CI, 0.99-11.71; P = .05)while high dual-task gait cost while counting backward (HR, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.57-9.15; P = .003) and naming animals (HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.04-5.59; P = .04) were associated with dementia progression (incidence rate, 155 per 1000 person-years). The models remained robust after adjusting by baseline cognition except for dual-task gait cost when dichotomized. Dual-task gait is associated with progression to dementia in patients with MCI. Dual-task gait testing is easy to administer and may be used by clinicians to decide further biomarker testing, preventive strategies, and follow-up planning in patients with MCI. clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03020381.

Shredded Waste Downdraft Gasifier for Overseas Contingency Operations Waste-to-Energy Conversion

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

results of the proposed experimental test plan and the design of a shredded waste WEC system in Task 5. A. Generators (Left) and Shredded...Shredded Waste 4 8.5 – 27.1 5.1.1.4 Wall Friction Tests In addition to a properly sized outlet, the design of a mass flow vessel must consider...consolidating pressures. 5.1.2.3 Wall Friction Tests In addition to a properly sized outlet, the design of a mass flow vessel must consider the

The Relation between Event Apprehension and Utterance Formulation in Children: Evidence from Linguistic Omissions

PubMed Central

Bunger, Ann; Trueswell, John C.; Papafragou, Anna

2011-01-01

The relation between event apprehension and utterance formulation was examined in children and adults. English-speaking adults and 4-year-olds viewed motion events while their eye movements were monitored. Half of the participants in each age group described each event (Linguistic task), whereas the other half studied the events for an upcoming memory test (Nonlinguistic task). All participants then completed a memory test in which they identified changes to manners of motion and path endpoints in target events. In the Nonlinguistic task, eye movements and memory responses revealed striking similarities across age groups. Adults and preschoolers attended to manner and path endpoints with similar timing, and in the memory test both successfully detected manner and path changes at similar rates. Substantial differences in production emerged between age groups in the Linguistic task: whereas adults usually mentioned both manners and paths in their event descriptions, preschoolers tended to omit one event component or the other. However, eyegaze patterns remained equivalent across the two age groups, with both children and adults allocating more attention to event components that they planned to talk about. Children in the Linguistic task were at chance in the memory test, whereas adults actually showed a memory benefit as compared to the Nonlinguistic task. We conclude that developmental differences in the description of motion events are not due to pure attentional differences between adults and children, but leave open the possibility that they stem from limitations that are solely linguistic in nature or that arise at the interface of attention and language production. PMID:22055989

Determining robot actions for tasks requiring sensor interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Budenske, John; Gini, Maria

1989-01-01

The performance of non-trivial tasks by a mobile robot has been a long term objective of robotic research. One of the major stumbling blocks to this goal is the conversion of the high-level planning goals and commands into the actuator and sensor processing controls. In order for a mobile robot to accomplish a non-trivial task, the task must be described in terms of primitive actions of the robot's actuators. Most non-trivial tasks require the robot to interact with its environment; thus necessitating coordination of sensor processing and actuator control to accomplish the task. The main contention is that the transformation from the high level description of the task to the primitive actions should be performed primarily at execution time, when knowledge about the environment can be obtained through sensors. It is proposed to produce the detailed plan of primitive actions by using a collection of low-level planning components that contain domain specific knowledge and knowledge about the available sensors, actuators, and sensor/actuator processing. This collection will perform signal and control processing as well as serve as a control interface between an actual mobile robot and a high-level planning system. Previous research has shown the usefulness of high-level planning systems to plan the coordination of activities such to achieve a goal, but none have been fully applied to actual mobile robots due to the complexity of interacting with sensors and actuators. This control interface is currently being implemented on a LABMATE mobile robot connected to a SUN workstation and will be developed such to enable the LABMATE to perform non-trivial, sensor-intensive tasks as specified by a planning system.

Familiarity and Personal Experience as Mediators of Recall when Planning for Future Contingencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Stanley B.; Robertson, Theresa E.; Delton, Andrew W.; Lax, Moshe L.

2012-01-01

In this article, we demonstrate that planning tasks enhance recall when the context of planning (a) is self-referential and (b) draws on familiar scenarios represented in episodic memory. Specifically, we show that when planning tasks are sorted according to the degree to which they evoke memories of personally familiar scenarios (e.g., planning a…

A novel computational model to probe visual search deficits during motor performance

PubMed Central

Singh, Tarkeshwar; Fridriksson, Julius; Perry, Christopher M.; Tryon, Sarah C.; Ross, Angela; Fritz, Stacy

2016-01-01

Successful execution of many motor skills relies on well-organized visual search (voluntary eye movements that actively scan the environment for task-relevant information). Although impairments of visual search that result from brain injuries are linked to diminished motor performance, the neural processes that guide visual search within this context remain largely unknown. The first objective of this study was to examine how visual search in healthy adults and stroke survivors is used to guide hand movements during the Trail Making Test (TMT), a neuropsychological task that is a strong predictor of visuomotor and cognitive deficits. Our second objective was to develop a novel computational model to investigate combinatorial interactions between three underlying processes of visual search (spatial planning, working memory, and peripheral visual processing). We predicted that stroke survivors would exhibit deficits in integrating the three underlying processes, resulting in deteriorated overall task performance. We found that normal TMT performance is associated with patterns of visual search that primarily rely on spatial planning and/or working memory (but not peripheral visual processing). Our computational model suggested that abnormal TMT performance following stroke is associated with impairments of visual search that are characterized by deficits integrating spatial planning and working memory. This innovative methodology provides a novel framework for studying how the neural processes underlying visual search interact combinatorially to guide motor performance. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Visual search has traditionally been studied in cognitive and perceptual paradigms, but little is known about how it contributes to visuomotor performance. We have developed a novel computational model to examine how three underlying processes of visual search (spatial planning, working memory, and peripheral visual processing) contribute to visual search during a visuomotor task. We show that deficits integrating spatial planning and working memory underlie abnormal performance in stroke survivors with frontoparietal damage. PMID:27733596

Space station human productivity study. Volume 5: Management plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

The 67 Management Plans represent recommended study approaches for resolving 108 of the 305 Issues which were identified. Each study Management Plan is prepared in three formats: Management Plan Overview (lists the subsumed Issues, study background, and related overview information); Study Plan (details the study approach by tasks, lists special needs, and describes expected study products); Schedule-Task Flow (provides a time-lined schedule for the study tasks and resource requirements). The Management Relationships Matrix, included in this volume, shows the data input-output relationships among all recommended studies. A listing is also included which cross-references the unresolved requirements to Issues to management plans. A glossary of all abbreviations utilized is provided.

Effects of dual-task balance training on postural performance in patients with Multiple Sclerosis: a double-blind, randomized controlled pilot trial.

PubMed

Monjezi, Saeideh; Negahban, Hossein; Tajali, Shirin; Yadollahpour, Nava; Majdinasab, Nastaran

2017-02-01

To investigate the effects of dual-task balance training on postural performance in patients with multiple sclerosis as compared with single-task balance training. Double-blind, pretest-posttest, randomized controlled pilot trial. Local Multiple Sclerosis Society. A total of 47 patients were randomly assigned to two equal groups labeled as single-task training and dual-task training groups. All patients received supervised balance training sessions, 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The patients in the single-task group performed balance activities, alone. However, patients in dual-task group practiced balance activities while simultaneously performing cognitive tasks. The 10-Meter Walk Test and Timed Up-and-Go under single-task and dual-task conditions, in addition to Activities-specific Balance Confidence, Berg Balance Scale, and Functional Gait Assessment were assessed pre-, and post intervention and also 6-weeks after the end of intervention. Only 38 patients completed the treatment plan. There was no difference in the amount of improvement seen between the two study groups. In both groups there was a significant effect of time for dual-10 Meter Walk Test (F 1, 36 =11.33, p=0.002) and dual-Timed Up-and-Go (F 1, 36 =14.27, p=0.001) but not for their single-tasks. Moreover, there was a significant effect of time for Activities-specific Balance Confidence, Berg Balance Scale, and Functional Gait Assessment ( P<0.01). This pilot study did not show more benefits from undertaking dual-task training than single-task training. A power analysis showed 71 patients per group would be needed to determine whether there was a clinically relevant difference for dual-task gait speed between the groups.

Properties important to mixing and simulant recommendations for WTP full-scale vessel testing

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

Poirier, M. R.; Martino, C. J.

2015-12-01

Full Scale Vessel Testing (FSVT) is being planned by Bechtel National, Inc., to demonstrate the ability of the standard high solids vessel design (SHSVD) to meet mixing requirements over the range of fluid properties planned for processing in the Pretreatment Facility (PTF) of the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Testing will use simulated waste rather than actual Hanford waste. Therefore, the use of suitable simulants is critical to achieving the goals of the test program. WTP personnel requested the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to assist with development of simulants for use in FSVT. Among the tasks assignedmore » to SRNL was to develop a list of waste properties that are important to pulse-jet mixer (PJM) performance in WTP vessels with elevated concentrations of solids.« less

Transfer of training between distinct motor tasks after stroke: Implications for task- specific approaches to upper extremity neurorehabilitation

PubMed Central

Schaefer, Sydney Y.; Patterson, Chavelle B.; Lang, Catherine E.

2013-01-01

Background Although task-specific training is emerging as a viable approach for recovering motor function after stroke, there is little evidence for whether the effects of such training transfer to other functional motor tasks not directly practiced in therapy. Objective The purpose of the current study was to test whether training on one motor task would transfer to untrained tasks that were either spatiotemporally similar or different in individuals with chronic hemiparesis post-stroke. Methods Eleven participants with chronic mild-to-moderate hemiparesis following stroke completed five days of supervised massed practice of a feeding task with their affected side. Performance on the feeding task, along with two other untrained functional upper extremity motor tasks (sorting, dressing) was assessed before and after training. Results Performance of all three tasks improved significantly after training exclusively on one motor task. The amount of improvement in the untrained tasks was comparable, and was not dependent on the degree of similarity to the trained task. Conclusions Because the number and type of tasks that can be practiced are often limited within standard stroke rehabilitation, results from this study will be useful for designing task-specific training plans to maximize therapy benefits. PMID:23549521

Supporting Real-Time Operations and Execution through Timeline and Scheduling Aids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marquez, Jessica J.; Pyrzak, Guy; Hashemi, Sam; Ahmed, Samia; McMillin, Kevin Edward; Medwid, Joseph Daniel; Chen, Diana; Hurtle, Esten

2013-01-01

Since 2003, the NASA Ames Research Center has been actively involved in researching and advancing the state-of-the-art of planning and scheduling tools for NASA mission operations. Our planning toolkit SPIFe (Scheduling and Planning Interface for Exploration) has supported a variety of missions and field tests, scheduling activities for Mars rovers as well as crew on-board International Space Station and NASA earth analogs. The scheduled plan is the integration of all the activities for the day/s. In turn, the agents (rovers, landers, spaceships, crew) execute from this schedule while the mission support team members (e.g., flight controllers) follow the schedule during execution. Over the last couple of years, our team has begun to research and validate methods that will better support users during realtime operations and execution of scheduled activities. Our team utilizes human-computer interaction principles to research user needs, identify workflow processes, prototype software aids, and user test these. This paper discusses three specific prototypes developed and user tested to support real-time operations: Score Mobile, Playbook, and Mobile Assistant for Task Execution (MATE).

Discharge Planning Revisited: What Do Social Workers Actually Do in Discharge Planning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kadushin, Goldie; Kulys, Regina

1993-01-01

Interviewed 80 social workers in 36 acute care hospitals concerning amount of time they spent on and importance of 73 discharge planning tasks. Findings suggest that discharge planning comprises primarily concrete resource provision with counseling component focused on decision making. Time spent on tasks was influenced by prospective payment…

Still Not Enough Time in the Day: Media Specialists, Program Planning and Time Management, Part II

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Mary Ann; Waldrip, Andrea

2004-01-01

The ways in which one can keep the library media plan on track in the face of the realistic challenges faced by media are discussed. A system for prioritizing tasks, both planned goal-related tasks and tasks that walk in the door in varying degrees of emergency status and by need of more time management strategies could be used. [For Part I, see…

The Effects of Simultaneous Use of Careful Online Planning and Task Repetition on Accuracy, Complexity, and Fluency in EFL Learners' Oral Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad; Tavakoli, Mansoor

2011-01-01

This article reports on a study that was primarily aimed at investigating the effects of simultaneous use of careful online planning and task repetition on accuracy, complexity, and fluency in the oral production of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The effects of four planning and task repetition conditions (i.e. careful online…

Planning Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual Children: Role of Verbal Mediation.

PubMed

Gangopadhyay, Ishanti; McDonald, Margarethe; Ellis Weismer, Susan; Kaushanskaya, Margarita

2018-01-01

We examined the role of verbal mediation in planning performance of English-Spanish-speaking bilingual children and monolingual English-speaking children, between the ages of 9 and 12 years. To measure planning, children were administered the Tower of London (ToL) task. In a dual-task paradigm, children completed ToL problems under three conditions: with no secondary task (baseline), with articulatory suppression, and with non-verbal motor suppression. Analyses revealed generally shorter planning times for bilinguals than monolinguals but both groups performed similarly on number of moves and execution times. Additionally, bilingual children were more efficient at planning throughout the duration of the task while monolingual children showed significant gains with more practice. Children's planning times under articulatory suppression were significantly shorter than under motor suppression as well as the baseline condition, and there was no difference in planning times between monolingual and bilingual children during articulatory suppression. These results demonstrate that bilingualism influences performance on a complex EF measure like planning, and that these effects are not related to verbal mediation.

Planning Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual Children: Role of Verbal Mediation

PubMed Central

Gangopadhyay, Ishanti; McDonald, Margarethe; Ellis Weismer, Susan; Kaushanskaya, Margarita

2018-01-01

We examined the role of verbal mediation in planning performance of English–Spanish-speaking bilingual children and monolingual English-speaking children, between the ages of 9 and 12 years. To measure planning, children were administered the Tower of London (ToL) task. In a dual-task paradigm, children completed ToL problems under three conditions: with no secondary task (baseline), with articulatory suppression, and with non-verbal motor suppression. Analyses revealed generally shorter planning times for bilinguals than monolinguals but both groups performed similarly on number of moves and execution times. Additionally, bilingual children were more efficient at planning throughout the duration of the task while monolingual children showed significant gains with more practice. Children’s planning times under articulatory suppression were significantly shorter than under motor suppression as well as the baseline condition, and there was no difference in planning times between monolingual and bilingual children during articulatory suppression. These results demonstrate that bilingualism influences performance on a complex EF measure like planning, and that these effects are not related to verbal mediation. PMID:29593620

Looking ahead? Computerized maze task performance by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella), and human children (Homo sapiens).

PubMed

Beran, Michael J; Parrish, Audrey E; Futch, Sara E; Evans, Theodore A; Perdue, Bonnie M

2015-05-01

Human and nonhuman primates are not mentally constrained to the present. They can remember the past and-at least to an extent-anticipate the future. Anticipation of the future ranges from long-term prospection such as planning for retirement to more short-term future-oriented cognition such as planning a route through a maze. Here we tested a great ape species (chimpanzees), an Old World monkey species (rhesus macaques), a New World monkey species (capuchin monkeys), and human children on a computerized maze task. All subjects had to move a cursor through a maze to reach a goal at the bottom of the screen. For best performance on the task, subjects had to "plan ahead" to the end of the maze to move the cursor in the correct direction, avoid traps, and reverse directions if necessary. Mazes varied in difficulty. Chimpanzees were better than both monkey species, and monkeys showed a particular deficit when moving away from the goal or changing directions was required. Children showed a similar pattern to monkeys regarding the effects of reversals and moves away from the goal, but their overall performance in terms of correct maze completion was similar to the chimpanzees. The results highlight similarities as well as differences in planning across species and the role that inhibitory control may play in future-oriented cognition in primates. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, Sarah K.; French, R. A.; Nall, M. E.; Muery, K. G.

2009-01-01

The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (LMMP) has been created to manage the development of a suite of lunar mapping and modeling products that support the Constellation Program (CxP) and other lunar exploration activities, including the planning, design, development, test and operations associated with lunar sortie missions, crewed and robotic operations on the surface, and the establishment of a lunar outpost. The information provided through LMMP will assist CxP in: planning tasks in the areas of landing site evaluation and selection, design and placement of landers and other stationary assets, design of rovers and other mobile assets, developing terrain-relative navigation (TRN) capabilities, and assessment and planning of science traverses.

Validation of the maximum allowable amounts of recycled binder, RAP, and RAS using accelerated pavement testing - interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

This report summarizes the work conducted on Project 0-6682 up to August 31, 2013. The report is : organized in five chapters corresponding to separate tasks in the project work plan, as follows: : Chapter 1 presents the summary of the findings f...

Encouraging Creativity in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starke, Kathryn

2012-01-01

Creativity isn't formally assessed or evaluated on tests or report cards, so teachers rarely plan lessons that encourage it. In fact, many teachers unintentionally stifle children's creativity when they cut off student's oral responses or stop them from adding more to their work so that they can bring the class back to the task at hand. Instead,…

The Hawaii English Project: Brave New Venture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nunes, Shiho

1967-01-01

The Hawaii English Project, the first major developmental task of the Hawaii Curriculum Center sponsored jointly by the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Department of Education, was set up to prepare and test an English curriculum (K-12) and to develop a plan for the curriculum's establishment throughout the state. At the center of the…

On the Relation Between Memory and Metamemory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barclay, Craig R.

Twenty kindergarten children, 5 to 6 years of age, were presented a free recall task in which half of the subjects were asked to generate a "plan of attack" for remembering before experiencing a study-test sequence. The materials were three different sets of 12 pictures each. In each set, three different conceptual categories were represented…

A System to Enable the Blind to Work Independently on the Center Lathe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guha, Sujoy K.; Anand, Sneh

1980-01-01

A study has shown that with suitable accessories to machines and appropriate work planning, totally blind machinists can perform varied tasks on a lathe independently. Based on the results of the study, simple accessories have been designed and tested for use with the center lathe. (Author/PHR)

Off to the Duck Races: Planning for Inquiry in STEM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephan, Michelle

2016-01-01

Although most tasks that STEM professionals engage in--like identifying problems, making models, and testing those models--involve inquiry, many STEM classes still rely on direct instruction. Stephan argues that even as new resources for active learning are being developed for STEM instruction, many teachers aren't using these resources and tasks…

Evaluation of scheduling techniques for payload activity planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bullington, Stanley F.

1991-01-01

Two tasks related to payload activity planning and scheduling were performed. The first task involved making a comparison of space mission activity scheduling problems with production scheduling problems. The second task consisted of a statistical analysis of the output of runs of the Experiment Scheduling Program (ESP). Details of the work which was performed on these two tasks are presented.

Guide to DCP Study Close-Out: Milestones and Tasks | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

This guide assists Consortium Lead Organization (CLO) planning for DCP study close-out. Study close-out tasks are organized under milestones, which help mark progress toward completion of the close-out process. Once tasks associated with a milestone are underway, planning for the next milestone may begin. Click on a milestone to view the associated close-out tasks. |

The Combined Effects of Online Planning and Task Structure on Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency of L2 Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Javad Ahmadian, Mohammad; Tavakoli, Mansoor; Vahid Dastjerdi, Hossein

2015-01-01

This study investigates the combined effects of task-based careful online planning and the storyline structure of a task on second language performance (complexity, accuracy and fluency). Sixty intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 15). Participants were asked to perform two tasks with different degrees of storyline…

Development of Live-working Robot for Power Transmission Lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yu; Liu, Xiaqing; Ren, Chengxian; Li, Jinliang; Li, Hui

2017-07-01

Dream-I, the first reconfigurable live-working robot for power transmission lines successfully developed in China, has the functions of autonomous walking on lines and accurately positioning. This paper firstly described operation task and object of the robot; then designed a general platform, an insulator replacement end and a drainage plate bolt fastening end of the robot, presented a control system of the robot, and performed simulation analysis on operation plan of the robot; and finally completed electrical field withstand voltage tests in a high voltage hall as well as online test and trial on actual lines. Experimental results show that by replacing ends of manipulators, the robot can fulfill operation tasks of live replacement of suspension insulators and live drainage plate bolt fastening.

Future thinking improves prospective memory performance and plan enactment in older adults.

PubMed

Altgassen, Mareike; Rendell, Peter G; Bernhard, Anka; Henry, Julie D; Bailey, Phoebe E; Phillips, Louise H; Kliegel, Matthias

2015-01-01

Efficient intention formation might improve prospective memory by reducing the need for resource-demanding strategic processes during the delayed performance interval. The present study set out to test this assumption and provides the first empirical assessment of whether imagining a future action improves prospective memory performance equivalently at different stages of the adult lifespan. Thus, younger (n = 40) and older (n = 40) adults were asked to complete the Dresden Breakfast Task, which required them to prepare breakfast in accordance with a set of rules and time restrictions. All participants began by generating a plan for later enactment; however, after making this plan, half of the participants were required to imagine themselves completing the task in the future (future thinking condition), while the other half received standard instructions (control condition). As expected, overall younger adults outperformed older adults. Moreover, both older and younger adults benefited equally from future thinking instructions, as reflected in a higher proportion of prospective memory responses and more accurate plan execution. Thus, for both younger and older adults, imagining the specific visual-spatial context in which an intention will later be executed may serve as an easy-to-implement strategy that enhances prospective memory function in everyday life.

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

Rosenthal, A

Southwest Technology Development Institute (SWTDI), an independent, university-based research institute, has been the operator of the Southwest Region Photovoltaic Experiment Station (SWRES) for almost 30 years. The overarching mission of SWTDI is to position PV systems and solar technologies to become cost-effective, major sources of energy for the United States. Embedded in SWTDI's general mission has been the more-focused mission of the SWRES: to provide value added technical support to the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) to effectively and efficiently meet the R&D needs and targets specified in the SETP Multi-Year Technical Plan. : The DOE/SETP goals of growingmore » U.S. PV manufacturing into giga-watt capacities and seeing tera-watt-hours of solar energy production in the U.S. require an infrastructure that is under development. The staff of the SWRES has supported DOE/SETP through a coherent, integrated program to address infrastructural needs inhibiting wide-scale PV deployment in three major technical categories: specialized engineering services, workforce development, and deployment facilitation. The SWRES contract underwent three major revisions during its five year period-of- performance, but all tasks and deliverables fell within the following task areas: Task 1: PV Systems Assistance Center 1. Develop a Comprehensive multi-year plan 2. Provide technical workforce development materials and workshops for PV stakeholder groups including university, professional installers, inspectors, state energy offices, Federal agencies 3. Serve on the NABCEP exam committee 4. Provide on-demand technical PV system design reviews for U.S. PV stakeholders 5. Provide PV system field testing and instrumentation, technical outreach (including extensive support for the DOE Market Transformation program) Task 2: Design-for-Manufacture PV Systems 1. Develop and install 18 kW parking carport (cost share) and PV-thermal carport (Albuquerque) deriving and publishing lessons learned Task 3: PV Codes and Standards 1. Serve as the national lead for development and preparation of all proposals (related to PV) to the National Electrical Code 2. Participate in the Standards Technical Panels for modules (UL1703) and inverters (UL1741) Task 4: Assess Inverter Long Term Reliability 1. Install and monitor identical inverters at SWRES and SERES 2. Operate and monitor all inverters for 5 years, characterizing all failures and performance trends Task 5: Test and Evaluation Support for Solar America Initiative 1. Provide test and evaluation services to the National Laboratories for stage gate and progress measurements of SAI TPP winners« less

A new adaptive videogame for training attention and executive functions: design principles and initial validation.

PubMed

Montani, Veronica; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2014-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that action videogames could enhance a variety of cognitive skills and more specifically attention skills. The aim of this study was to develop a novel adaptive videogame to support the rehabilitation of the most common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI), that is the impairment of attention and executive functions. TBI patients can be affected by psychomotor slowness and by difficulties in dealing with distraction, maintain a cognitive set for a long time, processing different simultaneously presented stimuli, and planning purposeful behavior. Accordingly, we designed a videogame that was specifically conceived to activate those functions. Playing involves visuospatial planning and selective attention, active maintenance of the cognitive set representing the goal, and error monitoring. Moreover, different game trials require to alternate between two tasks (i.e., task switching) or to perform the two tasks simultaneously (i.e., divided attention/dual-tasking). The videogame is controlled by a multidimensional adaptive algorithm that calibrates task difficulty on-line based on a model of user performance that is updated on a trial-by-trial basis. We report simulations of user performance designed to test the adaptive game as well as a validation study with healthy participants engaged in a training protocol. The results confirmed the involvement of the cognitive abilities that the game is supposed to enhance and suggested that training improved attentional control during play.

Neuronal responses to target onset in oculomotor and somatomotor parietal circuits differ markedly in a choice task.

PubMed

Kubanek, J; Wang, C; Snyder, L H

2013-11-01

We often look at and sometimes reach for visible targets. Looking at a target is fast and relatively easy. By comparison, reaching for an object is slower and is associated with a larger cost. We hypothesized that, as a result of these differences, abrupt visual onsets may drive the circuits involved in saccade planning more directly and with less intermediate regulation than the circuits involved in reach planning. To test this hypothesis, we recorded discharge activity of neurons in the parietal oculomotor system (area LIP) and in the parietal somatomotor system (area PRR) while monkeys performed a visually guided movement task and a choice task. We found that in the visually guided movement task LIP neurons show a prominent transient response to target onset. PRR neurons also show a transient response, although this response is reduced in amplitude, is delayed, and has a slower rise time compared with LIP. A more striking difference is observed in the choice task. The transient response of PRR neurons is almost completely abolished and replaced with a slow buildup of activity, while the LIP response is merely delayed and reduced in amplitude. Our findings suggest that the oculomotor system is more closely and obligatorily coupled to the visual system, whereas the somatomotor system operates in a more discriminating manner.

A new adaptive videogame for training attention and executive functions: design principles and initial validation

PubMed Central

Montani, Veronica; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2014-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that action videogames could enhance a variety of cognitive skills and more specifically attention skills. The aim of this study was to develop a novel adaptive videogame to support the rehabilitation of the most common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI), that is the impairment of attention and executive functions. TBI patients can be affected by psychomotor slowness and by difficulties in dealing with distraction, maintain a cognitive set for a long time, processing different simultaneously presented stimuli, and planning purposeful behavior. Accordingly, we designed a videogame that was specifically conceived to activate those functions. Playing involves visuospatial planning and selective attention, active maintenance of the cognitive set representing the goal, and error monitoring. Moreover, different game trials require to alternate between two tasks (i.e., task switching) or to perform the two tasks simultaneously (i.e., divided attention/dual-tasking). The videogame is controlled by a multidimensional adaptive algorithm that calibrates task difficulty on-line based on a model of user performance that is updated on a trial-by-trial basis. We report simulations of user performance designed to test the adaptive game as well as a validation study with healthy participants engaged in a training protocol. The results confirmed the involvement of the cognitive abilities that the game is supposed to enhance and suggested that training improved attentional control during play. PMID:24860529

Constraints on grip selection in hemiparetic cerebral palsy: effects of lesional side, end-point accuracy, and context.

PubMed

Steenbergen, Bert; Meulenbroek, Ruud G J; Rosenbaum, David A

2004-04-01

This study was concerned with selection criteria used for grip planning in adolescents with left or right hemiparetic cerebral palsy. In the first experiment, we asked participants to pick up a pencil and place the tip in a pre-defined target region. We varied the size of the target to test the hypothesis that increased end-point precision demands would favour the use of a grip that affords end-state comfort. In the second experiment, we studied grip planning in three task contexts that were chosen to let us test the hypothesis that a more functional task context would likewise promote the end-state comfort effect. When movements were performed with the impaired hand, we found that participants with right hemiparesis (i.e., left brain damage) aimed for postural comfort at the start rather than at the end of the object-manipulation phase in both experiments. By contrast, participants with left hemiparesis (i.e., right brain damage) did not favour a particular selection criterion with the impaired hand in the first experiment, but aimed for postural comfort at the start in the second experiment. When movements were performed with the unimpaired hand, grip selection criteria again differed for right and left hemiparetic participants. Participants with right hemiparesis did not favour a particular selection criterion with the unimpaired hand in the first experiment and only showed the end-state comfort effect in the most functional tasks of the second experiment. By contrast, participants with left hemiparesis showed the end-state comfort effect in all conditions of both experiments. These data suggest that the left hemisphere plays a special role in action planning, as has been recognized before, and that one of the deficits accompanying left brain damage is a deficit in forward movement planning, which has not been recognized before. Our findings have both theoretical and clinical implications.

Cognitive impairment in patients clinically recovered from central nervous system depressant drug overdose.

PubMed

Dassanayake, Tharaka L; Michie, Patricia T; Jones, Alison; Carter, Gregory; Mallard, Trevor; Whyte, Ian

2012-08-01

Central nervous system depressant drugs (CNS-Ds) are known to impair cognitive functions. Overdose of these drugs is common, and most of the hospital-treated patients are discharged within 24 to 48 hours. No previous studies have examined whether they have residual impairment at the time of discharge. Our aim was to evaluate whether patients with CNS-D overdose are impaired in cognitive domains important in daily activities at that time. We compared visuomotor skills (Trail-Making Test A and Choice Reaction Time), executive functions (viz attentional set-shifting: Trail-Making Test B; and planning: Stockings of Cambridge Task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery), working memory (Letter-Number Sequencing), and impulsivity and decision making (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Information Sampling) in 107 patients with CNS-D overdose (benzodiazepines, opioids, or antipsychotics) with a control group of 68 with non-CNS-D overdose (acetaminophen, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) on discharge from hospital. Outcome measures were adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates in multivariate regression models. Compared with the controls, patients in the CNS-D group were significantly impaired in all domains: they had prolonged Trail-Making completion times and reaction times, poorer working memory and planning and were more impulsive in decision making. Their Stockings of Cambridge Task performance was comparable to that of the control group for simple problems but worsened with increasing task complexity. The results show that patients with CNS-D overdose could be impaired in multiple cognitive domains underlying everyday functioning even at the time they are deemed medically fit to be discharged. Such impairments could adversely affect social and professional lives of this relatively young population during the immediate postdischarge period.

Efficiency in Rule- vs. Plan-Based Movements Is Modulated by Action-Mode

PubMed Central

Scheib, Jean P. P.; Stoll, Sarah; Thürmer, J. Lukas; Randerath, Jennifer

2018-01-01

The rule/plan motor cognition (RPMC) paradigm elicits visually indistinguishable motor outputs, resulting from either plan- or rule-based action-selection, using a combination of essentially interchangeable stimuli. Previous implementations of the RPMC paradigm have used pantomimed movements to compare plan- vs. rule-based action-selection. In the present work we attempt to determine the generalizability of previous RPMC findings to real object interaction by use of a grasp-to-rotate task. In the plan task, participants had to use prospective planning to achieve a comfortable post-handle rotation hand posture. The rule task used implementation intentions (if-then rules) leading to the same comfortable end-state. In Experiment A, we compare RPMC performance of 16 healthy participants in pantomime and real object conditions of the experiment, within-subjects. Higher processing efficiency of rule- vs. plan-based action-selection was supported by diffusion model analysis. Results show a significant response-time increase in the pantomime condition compared to the real object condition and a greater response-time advantage of rule-based vs. plan-based actions in the pantomime compared to the real object condition. In Experiment B, 24 healthy participants performed the real object RPMC task in a task switching vs. a blocked condition. Results indicate that plan-based action-selection leads to longer response-times and less efficient information processing than rule-based action-selection in line with previous RPMC findings derived from the pantomime action-mode. Particularly in the task switching mode, responses were faster in the rule compared to the plan task suggesting a modulating influence of cognitive load. Overall, results suggest an advantage of rule-based action-selection over plan-based action-selection; whereby differential mechanisms appear to be involved depending on the action-mode. We propose that cognitive load is a factor that modulates the advantageous effect of implementation intentions in motor cognition on different levels as illustrated by the varying speed advantages and the variation in diffusion parameters per action-mode or condition, respectively. PMID:29593612

Executive functions in becoming writing readers and reading writers: note taking and report writing in third and fifth graders.

PubMed

Altemeier, Leah; Jones, Janine; Abbott, Robert D; Berninger, Virginia W

2006-01-01

Results are reported for a study of 2 separate processes of report writing-taking notes while reading source material and composing a report from those notes-and related individual differences in executive functions involved in integrating reading and writing during these writing activities. Third graders (n = 122) and 5th graders (n = 106; overall, 127 girls and 114 boys) completed two reading-writing tasks-read paragraph (mock science text)-write notes and use notes to generate written report, a reading comprehension test, a written expression test, four tests of executive functions (inhibition, verbal fluency, planning, switching attention), and a working memory test. For the read-take notes task, the same combination of variables was best (explained the most variance and each variable added unique variance) for 3rd graders and 5th graders: Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) Reading Comprehension, Process Assessment of the Learner Test for Reading and Writing (PAL) Copy Task B, WIAT-II Written Expression, and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Inhibition. For the use notes to write report task, the best combinations of variables depended on grade level: For 3rd graders, WIAT-II Reading Comprehension, WIAT-II Written Expression, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency, and Tower of Hanoi; for 5th graders, WIAT-II Reading Comprehension, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency, WIAT-II Written Expression, and PAL Alphabet Task. These results add to prior research findings that executive functions contribute to the writing development of elementary-grade students and additionally support the hypothesis that executive functions play a role in developing reading-writing connections.

Effects of Pretask Modeling on Attention to Form and Question Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, YouJin

2013-01-01

Over the last two decades, a growing body of research has shown positive impacts for task planning in task-based instruction (e.g., Ellis, 2005; Foster & Skehan, 1996). However, what learners plan during pretask planning, and whether any specific planning strategies are more beneficial in encouraging learners to attend to linguistic forms and…

Executive Functioning in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Orellana, Gricel; Slachevsky, Andrea

2013-01-01

The executive function (EF) is a set of abilities, which allows us to invoke voluntary control of our behavioral responses. These functions enable human beings to develop and carry out plans, make up analogies, obey social rules, solve problems, adapt to unexpected circumstances, do many tasks simultaneously, and locate episodes in time and place. EF includes divided attention and sustained attention, working memory (WM), set-shifting, flexibility, planning, and the regulation of goal directed behavior and can be defined as a brain function underlying the human faculty to act or think not only in reaction to external events but also in relation with internal goals and states. EF is mostly associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). Besides EF, PFC is involved in self-regulation of behavior, i.e., the ability to regulate behavior according to internal goals and constraints, particularly in less structured situations. Self-regulation of behavior is subtended by ventral medial/orbital PFC. Impairment of EF is one of the most commonly observed deficits in schizophrenia through the various disease stages. Impairment in tasks measuring conceptualization, planning, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, ability to solve complex problems, and WM occur in schizophrenia. Disorders detected by executive tests are consistent with evidence from functional neuroimaging, which have shown PFC dysfunction in patients while performing these kinds of tasks. Schizophrenics also exhibit deficit in odor identifying, decision-making, and self-regulation of behavior suggesting dysfunction of the orbital PFC. However, impairment in executive tests is explained by dysfunction of prefronto-striato-thalamic, prefronto-parietal, and prefronto-temporal neural networks mainly. Disorders in EFs may be considered central facts with respect to schizophrenia and it has been suggested that negative symptoms may be explained by that executive dysfunction. PMID:23805107

Advanced automation for in-space vehicle processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sklar, Michael; Wegerif, D.

1990-01-01

The primary objective of this 3-year planned study is to assure that the fully evolved Space Station Freedom (SSF) can support automated processing of exploratory mission vehicles. Current study assessments show that required extravehicular activity (EVA) and to some extent intravehicular activity (IVA) manpower requirements for required processing tasks far exceeds the available manpower. Furthermore, many processing tasks are either hazardous operations or they exceed EVA capability. Thus, automation is essential for SSF transportation node functionality. Here, advanced automation represents the replacement of human performed tasks beyond the planned baseline automated tasks. Both physical tasks such as manipulation, assembly and actuation, and cognitive tasks such as visual inspection, monitoring and diagnosis, and task planning are considered. During this first year of activity both the Phobos/Gateway Mars Expedition and Lunar Evolution missions proposed by the Office of Exploration have been evaluated. A methodology for choosing optimal tasks to be automated has been developed. Processing tasks for both missions have been ranked on the basis of automation potential. The underlying concept in evaluating and describing processing tasks has been the use of a common set of 'Primitive' task descriptions. Primitive or standard tasks have been developed both for manual or crew processing and automated machine processing.

The Association between Obesity and Cognitive Function in Otherwise Healthy Premenopausal Arab Women.

PubMed

Farooq, Abdulaziz; Gibson, Ann-Marie; J Reilly, John; Gaoua, Nadia

2018-01-01

To examine the association between obesity and cognitive function in healthy premenopausal women. From a cohort of 220 women, 98 were randomly selected that provided complete data. Body composition was examined by dual-energy X-ray scan. All participants completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to assess cognitive performance in three domains: attention, memory, and planning executive function. The Reaction Time (RTI) test was used to assess motor and mental response speeds; the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) test was used to assess planning executive function. For memory assessment, the Delayed Match to Sample (DMS), Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM), and Spatial Span (SSP) tests were used to assess forced choice recognition memory, visual pattern recognition memory, and working memory capacity, respectively. 36 (36.7%) were morbidly obese, 22 (22.4%) obese, and 23 (23.5%) overweight. Performance on RTI and SOC planning ability were not associated with body mass index (BMI). DMS mean time to correct response, when stimulus is visible or immediately hidden (0 ms delay), was higher by 785 ± 302 ms (milliseconds) ( p =0.011) and 587 ± 259 ms ( p =0.026) in morbidly obese women compared to normal weight women. Memory span length was significantly lower in overweight (5.5 ± 1.3, p =0.008) and obese women (5.6 ± 1.6, p =0.007) compared to normal weight (6.7 ± 0.9). DEXA-assessed body fat (%) showed similar associations as BMI, and latency to correct response on DMS and PRM was positively correlated with percentage of body fat, but not with VO 2 max. In otherwise healthy premenopausal women, obesity did not impact accuracy on cognitive tasks related to attention, memory, or planning executive function, but morbid obesity was associated with higher latency to correct response on memory-specific tasks and lower memory span length.

A Human-in-the-Loop Evaluation of Multi-Sector Planning in Mixed Equipage Airspace (MSP III)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Nancy; Prevot, Tom; Kessell, Angela; Homola, Jeff; Lee, Hwasoo; Mercer, Joey; Brasil, Connie; Mainini, Matt; Lee, Paul

2011-01-01

A human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation was conducted in May 2010 to determine the feasibility and value 01 conducting multi-sector planning (MSP) operations in a mixed equipage environment. Aircraft were categorized as equipped or unequipped based on the presence or absence of an air-ground data communications (Data Comm) capability for receiving auto-loadable clearances and transfer of communication messages from the air navigation service provider (ANSP). The purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility and possible benefits of introducing multi-sector planning in a mixed equipage context, or whether Data Comm equipage was required for MSP operations. Each test scenario presented one of three different equipage levels to the controllers (10%, 50% or 90% equipped aircraft), so that the operational impact of different equipage levels could be observed. Operational feasibility assessment addressed two related questions: (1) are MSP operations feasible for unequipped aircraft, and (2) are they feasible in a mixed equipage context. Similarly, two categories of potential benefits were explored: (1) system performance improvements (e.g., throughput, workload) associated with MSP at different equipage levels, and (2) the possibility of providing differential service for equipage through MSP operations. Tool requirements (for both planning and controller stations), as well as planning and coordination procedures - within facility (traffic management unit/operational area) and within sector (R-Side/D-Side) - were two other topics addressed in the study. Overall, results suggested that MSP operations were feasible in a mixed equipage environment and that the tools were effective with both equipped and unequipped aircraft. Using the MSP tools, traffic management coordinators were able to manage controller task load, effectively balancing throughput with complexity and controller task load at each of the three equipage levels tested.

EMMA: The expert system for munition maintenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mullins, Barry E.

1988-01-01

Expert Missile Maintenance Aid (EMMA) is a first attempt to enhance maintenance of the tactical munition at the field and depot level by using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The ultimate goal of EMMA is to help a novice maintenance technician isolate and diagnose electronic, electromechanical, and mechanical equipment faults to the board/chassis level more quickly and consistently than the best human expert using the best currently available automatic test equipment (ATE). To this end, EMMA augments existing ATE with an expert system that captures the knowledge of design and maintenance experts. The EMMA program is described, including the evaluation of field-level expert system prototypes, the description of several study tasks performed during EMMA, and future plans for a follow-on program. This paper will briefly address several study tasks performed during EMMA. The paper concludes with a discussion of future plans for a follow-on program and other areas of concern.

Reliability of Task-Based fMRI for Preoperative Planning: A Test-Retest Study in Brain Tumor Patients and Healthy Controls

PubMed Central

Morrison, Melanie A.; Churchill, Nathan W.; Cusimano, Michael D.; Schweizer, Tom A.; Das, Sunit; Graham, Simon J.

2016-01-01

Background Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) continues to develop as a clinical tool for patients with brain cancer, offering data that may directly influence surgical decisions. Unfortunately, routine integration of preoperative fMRI has been limited by concerns about reliability. Many pertinent studies have been undertaken involving healthy controls, but work involving brain tumor patients has been limited. To develop fMRI fully as a clinical tool, it will be critical to examine these reliability issues among patients with brain tumors. The present work is the first to extensively characterize differences in activation map quality between brain tumor patients and healthy controls, including the effects of tumor grade and the chosen behavioral testing paradigm on reliability outcomes. Method Test-retest data were collected for a group of low-grade (n = 6) and high-grade glioma (n = 6) patients, and for matched healthy controls (n = 12), who performed motor and language tasks during a single fMRI session. Reliability was characterized by the spatial overlap and displacement of brain activity clusters, BOLD signal stability, and the laterality index. Significance testing was performed to assess differences in reliability between the patients and controls, and low-grade and high-grade patients; as well as between different fMRI testing paradigms. Results There were few significant differences in fMRI reliability measures between patients and controls. Reliability was significantly lower when comparing high-grade tumor patients to controls, or to low-grade tumor patients. The motor task produced more reliable activation patterns than the language tasks, as did the rhyming task in comparison to the phonemic fluency task. Conclusion In low-grade glioma patients, fMRI data are as reliable as healthy control subjects. For high-grade glioma patients, further investigation is required to determine the underlying causes of reduced reliability. To maximize reliability outcomes, testing paradigms should be carefully selected to generate robust activation patterns. PMID:26894279

EVIDENCE FOR MOTOR PLANNING IN MONKEYS: RHESUS MACAQUES SELECT EFFICIENT GRIPS WHEN TRANSPORTING SPOONS

PubMed Central

Nelson, Eliza L.; Berthier, Neil E.; Metevier, Christina M.; Novak, Melinda A.

2014-01-01

McCarty and colleagues (1999) developed the elevated spoon task to measure motor planning in human infants. In this task, a spoon containing food was placed on an elevated apparatus that supported both ends of the spoon. The handle was oriented to the left or right on different trials. We presented naïve adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with the elevated spoon problem, and observed how monkeys learned the affordances of spoons over sessions. Strikingly, monkeys developed two different strategies for efficient spoon transport in just 12 to 36 trials. In subsequent testing with a novel double bowl spoon approximately 1 year later, monkeys demonstrated that they were attending to the baited spoon bowl and continued to select efficient grips for transporting the spoon. Monkey data were contrasted with previous studies in human infants using a perception-action perspective in an effort to understand the fundamentals of tool use and motor planning that may be common in the development of these abilities across species and their origins in human behavior. PMID:21676101

Space Construction Automated Fabrication Experiment Definition Study (SCAFEDS), part 3. Volume 2: Study results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The detailed results of all part 3 study tasks are presented. Selected analysis was performed on the beam builder conceptual design. The functions of the beam builder and a ground test beam builder were defined. Jig and fixture concepts were developed and the developmental plans of the beam builder were expounded.

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…

Development of a Software Tool to Automate ADCO Flight Controller Console Planning Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Mark G.

2011-01-01

This independent study project covers the development of the International Space Station (ISS) Attitude Determination and Control Officer (ADCO) Planning Exchange APEX Tool. The primary goal of the tool is to streamline existing manual and time-intensive planning tools into a more automated, user-friendly application that interfaces with existing products and allows the ADCO to produce accurate products and timelines more effectively. This paper will survey the current ISS attitude planning process and its associated requirements, goals, documentation and software tools and how a software tool could simplify and automate many of the planning actions which occur at the ADCO console. The project will be covered from inception through the initial prototype delivery in November 2011 and will include development of design requirements and software as well as design verification and testing.

Impulsivity and the 5-HTTLPR Polymorphism in a Non-Clinical Sample

PubMed Central

Lage, Guilherme M.; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F.; Matos, Lorena O.; Bastos, Marisa A. R.; Abrantes, Suzana S. C.; Corrêa, Humberto

2011-01-01

Background Impulsivity has been associated with serotonergic system functions. However, few researchers have investigated the relationship between a polymorphism in the promoter of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and the different components of impulsivity in a non-clinical population. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between a polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and the different components of impulsivity in a non-clinical population. Methodology/Principal Findings We administered two neuropsychological tests, the Continuous Performance Task and the Iowa Gambling Task, to 127 healthy participants to measure their levels of motor, attentional and non-planning impulsivity. Then, these participants were grouped by genotype and gender, and their scores on impulsivity measures were compared. There were no significant differences between group scores on attentional, motor and non-planning impulsivity. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that 5-HTTLPR genotype is not significantly associated with subsets of impulsive behavior in a non-clinical sample when measured by neuropsychological tests. These findings are discussed in terms of the sensitivity of neuropsychological tests to detect impulsivity in a non-clinical population and the role of gender and race in the relationship between the 5-HTTLPR and impulsivity. PMID:21386887

MO-F-CAMPUS-T-05: SQL Database Queries to Determine Treatment Planning Resource Usage

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

Fox, C; Gladstone, D

2015-06-15

Purpose: A radiation oncology clinic’s treatment capacity is traditionally thought to be limited by the number of machines in the clinic. As the number of fractions per course decrease and the number of adaptive plans increase, the question of how many treatment plans a clinic can plan becomes increasingly important. This work seeks to lay the ground work for assessing treatment planning resource usage. Methods: Care path templates were created using the Aria 11 care path interface. Care path tasks included key steps in the treatment planning process from the completion of CT simulation through the first radiation treatment. SQLmore » Server Management Studio was used to run SQL queries to extract task completion time stamps along with care path template information and diagnosis codes from the Aria database. 6 months of planning cycles were evaluated. Elapsed time was evaluated in terms of work hours within Monday – Friday, 7am to 5pm. Results: For the 195 validated treatment planning cycles, the average time for planning and MD review was 22.8 hours. Of those cases 33 were categorized as urgent. The average planning time for urgent plans was 5 hours. A strong correlation between diagnosis code and range of elapsed planning time was as well as between elapsed time and select diagnosis codes was observed. It was also observed that tasks were more likely to be completed on the date due than the time that they were due. Follow-up confirmed that most users did not look at the due time. Conclusion: Evaluation of elapsed planning time and other tasks suggest that care paths should be adjusted to allow for different contouring and planning times for certain diagnosis codes and urgent cases. Additional clinic training around task due times vs dates or a structuring of care paths around due dates is also needed.« less

KSC-01pp0249

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

An overhead crane lowers the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello onto a workstand. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

Servicer system demonstration plan and capability development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

An orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV) front end kit is defined which is capable of performing in-situ fluid resupply and modular maintenance of free flying spacecraft based on the integrated orbital servicing system (IOSS) concept. The compatibility of the IOSS to perform gas and fluid umbilical connect and disconnect functions utilizing connect systems currently available or in development is addressed. A series of tasks involving on-orbit servicing and the engineering test unit (ETU) of the on-orbit service were studied. The objective is the advancement of orbital servicing by expanding the Spacecraft Servicing Demonstration Plan (SSDP) to include detail demonstration planning using the Multimission Modular Spacecraft (MMS) and upgrading the ETU control.

Monitored execution of robot plans produced by STRIPS.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fikes, R. E.

1972-01-01

We describe PLANEX1, a plan executor for the Stanford Research Institute robot system. The problem-solving program STRIPS creates a plan consisting of a sequence of actions, and PLANEX1 program carries out the plan by executing the actions. PLANEX1 is designed so that it executes only that portion of the plan necessary for completing the task, reexecutes any portion of the plan that has failed to achieve the desired results, and initiates replanning in situations where the plan can no longer be effective in completing the task. The scenario for an example plan execution is given.

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

Jermoumi, M; Ngwa, W; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Purpose: Use of Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) systems for conducting state-of-the-art image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) research on small animals has become more common over the past years. The purpose of this work is to develop and test the suitability and performance of a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) phantom for the SARRP. Methods: A QA phantom was developed for carrying out daily, monthly and annual QA tasks including imaging, dosimetry and treatment planning system (TPS) performance evaluation of the SARRP. The QA phantom consists of nine (60×60×5 mm3) KV-energy tissue equivalent solid water slabs that can be employed formore » annual dosimetry QA with film. Three of the top slabs are replaceable with ones incorporating Mosfets or OSLDs arranged in a quincunx pattern, or a slab drilled to accommodate an ion chamber insert. These top slabs are designed to facilitate routine daily and monthly QA tasks such as output constancy, isocenter congruency test, treatment planning system (TPS) QA, etc. One slab is designed with inserts for image QA. A prototype of the phantom was applied to test the performance of the imaging, planning and treatment delivery systems. Results: Output constancy test results showed daily variations within 3%. For isocenter congruency test, the phantom could be used to detect 0.3 mm deviations of the CBCT isocenter from the radiation isocenter. Using the Mosfet in phantom as target, the difference between TPS calculations and measurements was within 5%. Image-quality parameters could also be assessed in terms of geometric accuracy, CT number accuracy, linearity, noise and image uniformity, etc. Conclusion: The developed phantom can be employed as a simple tool for comprehensive performance evaluation of the SARRP. The study provides a reference for development of a comprehensive quality assurance program for the SARRP, with proposed tolerances and frequency of required tests.« less

Definition of ground test for verification of large space structure control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaese, John R.

1994-01-01

Under this contract, the Large Space Structure Ground Test Verification (LSSGTV) Facility at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was developed. Planning in coordination with NASA was finalized and implemented. The contract was modified and extended with several increments of funding to procure additional hardware and to continue support for the LSSGTV facility. Additional tasks were defined for the performance of studies in the dynamics, control and simulation of tethered satellites. When the LSSGTV facility development task was completed, support and enhancement activities were funded through a new competitive contract won by LCD. All work related to LSSGTV performed under NAS8-35835 has been completed and documented. No further discussion of these activities will appear in this report. This report summarizes the tether dynamics and control studies performed.

Writer's cramp: increased dorsal premotor activity during intended writing.

PubMed

Delnooz, Cathérine C S; Helmich, Rick C; Medendorp, W P; Van de Warrenburg, Bart P C; Toni, Ivan

2013-03-01

Simple writer's cramp (WC) is a task-specific form of dystonia, characterized by abnormal movements and postures of the hand during writing. It is extremely task-specific, since dystonic symptoms can occur when a patient uses a pencil for writing, but not when it is used for sharpening. Maladaptive plasticity, loss of inhibition, and abnormal sensory processing are important pathophysiological elements of WC. However, it remains unclear how those elements can account for its task-specificity. We used fMRI to isolate cerebral alterations associated with the task-specificity of simple WC. Subjects (13 simple WC patients, 20 matched controls) imagined grasping a pencil to either write with it or sharpen it. On each trial, we manipulated the pencil's position and the number of imagined movements, while monitoring variations in motor output with electromyography. We show that simple WC is characterized by abnormally increased activity in the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) when imagined actions are specifically related to writing. This cerebral effect was independent from the known deficits in dystonia in generating focal motor output and in processing somatosensory feedback. This abnormal activity of the PMd suggests that the task-specific element of simple WC is primarily due to alterations at the planning level, in the computations that transform a desired action outcome into the motor commands leading to that action. These findings open the way for testing the therapeutic value of interventions that take into account the computational substrate of task-specificity in simple WC, e.g. modulations of PMd activity during the planning phase of writing. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hand specific representations in language comprehension.

PubMed

Moody-Triantis, Claire; Humphreys, Gina F; Gennari, Silvia P

2014-01-01

Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand) is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested self-reported right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences-a dominant hand effect. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a) language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b) language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

Noise disturbance in open-plan study environments: a field study on noise sources, student tasks and room acoustic parameters.

PubMed

Braat-Eggen, P Ella; van Heijst, Anne; Hornikx, Maarten; Kohlrausch, Armin

2017-09-01

The aim of this study is to gain more insight in the assessment of noise in open-plan study environments and to reveal correlations between noise disturbance experienced by students and the noise sources they perceive, the tasks they perform and the acoustic parameters of the open-plan study environment they work in. Data were collected in five open-plan study environments at universities in the Netherlands. A questionnaire was used to investigate student tasks, perceived sound sources and their perceived disturbance, and sound measurements were performed to determine the room acoustic parameters. This study shows that 38% of the surveyed students are disturbed by background noise in an open-plan study environment. Students are mostly disturbed by speech when performing complex cognitive tasks like studying for an exam, reading and writing. Significant but weak correlations were found between the room acoustic parameters and noise disturbance of students. Practitioner Summary: A field study was conducted to gain more insight in the assessment of noise in open-plan study environments at universities in the Netherlands. More than one third of the students was disturbed by noise. An interaction effect was found for task type, source type and room acoustic parameters.

Geometric reasoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodbury, R. F.; Oppenheim, I. J.

1987-01-01

Cognitive robot systems are ones in which sensing and representation occur, from which task plans and tactics are determined. Such a robot system accomplishes a task after being told what to do, but determines for itself how to do it. Cognition is required when the work environment is uncontrolled, when contingencies are prevalent, or when task complexity is large; it is useful in any robotic mission. A number of distinguishing features can be associated with cognitive robotics, and one emphasized here is the role of artificial intelligence in knowledge representation and in planning. While space telerobotics may elude some of the problems driving cognitive robotics, it shares many of the same demands, and it can be assumed that capabilities developed for cognitive robotics can be employed advantageously for telerobotics in general. The top level problem is task planning, and it is appropriate to introduce a hierarchical view of control. Presented with certain mission objectives, the system must generate plans (typically) at the strategic, tactical, and reflexive levels. The structure by which knowledge is used to construct and update these plans endows the system with its cognitive attributes, and with the ability to deal with contingencies, changes, unknowns, and so on. Issues of representation and reasoning which are absolutely fundamental to robot manipulation, decisions based upon geometry, are discussed here, not AI task planning per se.

Controlling uncertainty: a review of human behavior in complex dynamic environments.

PubMed

Osman, Magda

2010-01-01

Complex dynamic control (CDC) tasks are a type of problem-solving environment used for examining many cognitive activities (e.g., attention, control, decision making, hypothesis testing, implicit learning, memory, monitoring, planning, and problem solving). Because of their popularity, there have been many findings from diverse domains of research (economics, engineering, ergonomics, human-computer interaction, management, psychology), but they remain largely disconnected from each other. The objective of this article is to review theoretical developments and empirical work on CDC tasks, and to introduce a novel framework (monitoring and control framework) as a tool for integrating theory and findings. The main thesis of the monitoring and control framework is that CDC tasks are characteristically uncertain environments, and subjective judgments of uncertainty guide the way in which monitoring and control behaviors attempt to reduce it. The article concludes by discussing new insights into continuing debates and future directions for research on CDC tasks.

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

Undersea applications of dexterous robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gittleman, Mark M.

1994-01-01

The revolution and application of dexterous robotics in the undersea energy production industry and how this mature technology has affected planned SSF dexterous robotic tasks are examined. Undersea telerobotics, or Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's), have evolved in design and use since the mid-1970s. Originally developed to replace commercial divers for both planned and unplanned tasks, they are now most commonly used to perform planned robotic tasks in all phases of assembly, inspection, and maintenance of undersea structures and installations. To accomplish these tasks, the worksites, the tasks themselves, and the tools are now engineered with both the telerobot's and the diver's capabilities in mind. In many cases, this planning has permitted a reduction in telerobot system complexity and cost. The philosophies and design practices that have resulted in the successful incorporation of telerobotics into the highly competitive and cost conscious offshore production industry have been largely ignored in the space community. Cases where these philosophies have been adopted or may be successfully adopted in the near future are explored.

The Effect of Pre-Task Planning Time on L2 Learners' Narrative Writing Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seyyedi, Keivan; Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed; Orang, Maryam; Nejad, Maryam Sharafi

2013-01-01

Building on Baddeley's cognitive psychology (2007) and Skehan's Limited Attentional Capacity Model (2009), this article reports a study of the effects of pre-task planning time (strategic planning time) on Malaysian English learners' written narratives elicited by means of a picture composition. 50 first-year undergraduate students studying at…

FY 1987 current fiscal year work plan

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

Not Available

This Current Year Work Plan presents a detailed description of the activities to be performed by the Joint Integration Office during FY87. It breaks down the activities into two major work areas: Program Management and Program Analysis. Program Management is performed by the JIO by providing technical planning and guidance for the development of advanced TRU waste management capabilities. This includes equipment/facility design, engineering, construction, and operations. These functions are integrated to allow transition from interim storage to final disposition. JIO tasks include program requirements identification, long-range technical planning, budget development, program planning document preparation, task guidance, task monitoring, informationmore » gathering and task reporting to DOE, interfacing with other agencies and DOE lead programs, integrating public involvement with program efforts, and preparation of program status reports for DOE. Program Analysis is performed by the JIO to support identification and assessment of alternatives, and development of long-term TRU waste program capabilities. This work plan includes: system analyses, requirements analyses, interim and procedure development, legislative and regulatory analyses, dispatch and traffic analyses, and data bases.« less

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keitz, J. F.

1982-01-01

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 2 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 2 compares various catagories of flight plans and flight tracking data produced by a simulation system developed for the Federal Aviation Administrations by SRI International. (Flight tracking data simulate actual flight tracks of all aircraft operating at a given time and provide for rerouting of flights as necessary to resolve traffic conflicts.) The comparisons of flight plans on the forecast to flight plans on the verifying analysis confirm Task 1 findings that wind speeds are generally underestimated. Comparisons involving flight tracking data indicate that actual fuel burn is always higher than planned, in either direction, and even when the same weather data set is used. Since the flight tracking model output results in more diversions than is known to be the case, it was concluded that there is an error in the flight tracking algorithm.

Naturalistic Assessment of Everyday Functioning in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Day Out Task

PubMed Central

Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; McAlister, Courtney; Weakley, Alyssa

2012-01-01

Objective The Day Out Task (DOT), a naturalistic task that requires multitasking in a real-world setting, was used to examine everyday functioning in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Method Thirty-eight participants with MCI and 38 cognitively healthy older adult controls prioritized, organized, initiated and completed a number of subtasks in a campus apartment to prepare for a day out (e.g., determine and gather change for bus, bring a magazine). Participants also completed tests assessing cognitive constructs important in multitasking (i.e., retrospective memory, prospective memory, planning). Results Compared to controls, the MCI group required more time to complete the DOT and demonstrated poorer task accuracy, performing more subtasks incompletely and inaccurately. Despite poorer DOT task accuracy, the MCI and control groups approached completion of the DOT in a similar manner. For the MCI group, retrospective memory was a unique predictor of the number of subtasks left incomplete and inaccurate, while prospective memory was a unique predictor of DOT sequencing. The DOT measures, but not the cognitive tests, were predictive of knowledgeable informant report of everyday functioning. Conclusions These findings suggest that difficulty remembering and keeping track of multiple goals and subgoals may contribute to the poorer performance of individuals with MCI in complex everyday situations. PMID:22846035

Milestone 4: Test plan for Reusable Hydrogen Composite Tank System (RHCTS). Task 3: Composite tank materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, H. S.

1994-01-01

This document is the detailed test plan for the series of tests enumerated in the preceding section. The purpose of this plan is to present the test objectives, test parameters and procedures, expected performance and data analysis plans, criteria for success, test schedules, and related safety provisions and to describe the test articles, test instrumentation, and test facility requirements. Initial testing will be performed to screen four composite materials for suitability for SSTO LH2 tank loads and environmental conditions. The laminates for this testing will be fabricated by fiber placement, which is the manufacturing approach identified as baseline for the tank wall. Even though hand layup will be involved in fabricating many of the internal structural members of the tank, no hand-layup laminates will be evaluated in the screening or subsequent characterization testing. This decision is based on the understanding that mechanical properties measured for hand-layup material should be at least equivalent to properties measured for fiber-placed material, so that the latter should provide no less than a conservative approximation of the former. A single material will be downselected from these screening tests. This material will be subsequently characterized for impact-damage tolerance and durability under conditions of mechanical and thermal cycling, and to establish a preliminary design database to support ongoing analysis. Next, testing will be performed on critical structural elements fabricated from the selected material. Finally, the 8-foot diameter tank article, containing the critical structural features of the full-scale tank, will be fabricated by fiber placement and tested to verify its structural integrity and LH2 containment.

Differences in Writers' Initial Task Representations. Technical Report No. 35.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Linda; And Others

An exploratory study investigated how writers represent their task to themselves before beginning to write. Using data from verbal protocols, the initial plans of 12 writers (5 experts and 7 student writers) who were working on an expository writing task were examined. The protocols were coded for types of planning. Independent measures of the…

Major Events Leading to Establishment of The National Task Bank.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Upjohn (W.E.) Inst. for Employment Research, Washington, DC.

This document describes how the plan for a National Task Bank evolved as part of an effort to encourage State and local public welfare agencies to adopt new approaches to staff planning and utilization. The task bank is an outgrowth of the application of systems approach and functional job analysis to agency management. Individualized data banks…

Movement Planning Reflects Skill Level and Age Changes in Toddlers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yu-ping; Keen, Rachel; Rosander, Kerstin; Von Hofsten, Claes

2010-01-01

Kinematic measures of children's reaching were found to reflect stable differences in skill level for planning for future actions. Thirty-five toddlers (18-21 months) were engaged in building block towers (precise task) and in placing blocks into an open container (imprecise task). Sixteen children were retested on the same tasks a year later.…

Effect of motor imagery in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: fMRI study.

PubMed

Chinier, Eva; N'Guyen, Sylvie; Lignon, Grégoire; Ter Minassian, Aram; Richard, Isabelle; Dinomais, Mickaël

2014-01-01

Motor imagery is considered as a promising therapeutic tool for rehabilitation of motor planning problems in patients with cerebral palsy. However motor planning problems may lead to poor motor imagery ability. The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to examine and compare brain activation following motor imagery tasks in patients with hemiplegic cerebral palsy with left or right early brain lesions. We tested also the influence of the side of imagined hand movement. Twenty patients with clinical hemiplegic cerebral palsy (sixteen males, mean age 12 years and 10 months, aged 6 years 10 months to 20 years 10 months) participated in this study. Using block design, brain activations following motor imagery of a simple opening-closing hand movement performed by either the paretic or nonparetic hand was examined. During motor imagery tasks, patients with early right brain damages activated bilateral fronto-parietal network that comprise most of the nodes of the network well described in healthy subjects. Inversely, in patients with left early brain lesion brain activation following motor imagery tasks was reduced, compared to patients with right brain lesions. We found also a weak influence of the side of imagined hand movement. Decreased activations following motor imagery in patients with right unilateral cerebral palsy highlight the dominance of the left hemisphere during motor imagery tasks. This study gives neuronal substrate to propose motor imagery tasks in unilateral cerebral palsy rehabilitation at least for patients with right brain lesions.

Influencing the occurrence of mind wandering while reading.

PubMed

Kopp, Kristopher; D'Mello, Sidney; Mills, Caitlin

2015-07-01

The current concerns hypothesis suggests that directing attention towards unfulfilled plans of the individual prior to a task would result in more off-task thoughts (or mind wandering). In this experiment, participants were asked to read a scientific text and self-report instances of mind wandering by indicating when they were experiencing task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) or task-related interferences (TRIs). Prior to reading, participants in the individual plans experimental condition were asked to reflect upon their short-term plans by making a "to do" list while participants in a control condition were asked to make a list of the components of an automobile. In support of the current concerns hypothesis, directing attention towards the short-term plans resulted in significantly more TUTs, but not TRIs. Furthermore, participants in the individual plans condition had significantly lower scores on an assessment of reading comprehension, and this relationship was mediated by the frequency of TUTs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rocketdyne Safety Algorithm: Space Shuttle Main Engine Fault Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norman, Arnold M., Jr.

1994-01-01

The Rocketdyne Safety Algorithm (RSA) has been developed to the point of use on the TTBE at MSFC on Task 4 of LeRC contract NAS3-25884. This document contains a description of the work performed, the results of the nominal test of the major anomaly test cases and a table of the resulting cutoff times, a plot of the RSA value vs. time for each anomaly case, a logic flow description of the algorithm, the algorithm code, and a development plan for future efforts.

EPA SPF Insulation Research Update | Science Inventory | US ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a non-technical (no data) presentation that is intended to inform ACC/CPI about our intended approach to full-scale emissions testing that includes the application of spray foam in an environmental chamber. The presentation describes the approach to emissions characterization, types of measurement systems to be employed, and expected outcomes from the planned tests. Purpose of this presentation is to update industry stakeholders (American Chemistry Council, Center for Polyurethanes) on status of the spray polyurethane foam insulation emissions methods development task.

Ingham County Geriatric Medical Care Facility solar water-heating system refurbishments. Final technical report

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

Not Available

The tasks of the refurbishment of a damaged solar water heating system are outlined. The system is a closed loop, 50% glycol antifreeze system consisting of 14 rows of 6 series manifolds each containing 6 solar collectors connected in parallel for a total of 504 modules. The Wyle Laboratories' test report for the Revere Model 132 flat plate collector is appended. A collector test plan and photographs are also appended. Reference CAPE-2834. (LS)

A testbed for the evaluation of computer aids for enroute flight path planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Philip J.; Layton, Chuck; Galdes, Deb; Mccoy, C. E.

1990-01-01

A simulator study of the five airline flight crews engaged in various enroute planning activities has been conducted. Based on a cognitive task analysis of this data, a flight planning workstation has been developed on a Mac II controlling three color monitors. This workstation is being used to study design concepts to support the flight planning activities of dispatchers and flight crews in part-task simulators.

On-the-fly scheduling as a manifestation of partial-order planning and dynamic task values.

PubMed

Hannah, Samuel D; Neal, Andrew

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to develop a computational account of the spontaneous task ordering that occurs within jobs as work unfolds ("on-the-fly task scheduling"). Air traffic control is an example of work in which operators have to schedule their tasks as a partially predictable work flow emerges. To date, little attention has been paid to such on-the-fly scheduling situations. We present a series of discrete-event models fit to conflict resolution decision data collected from experienced controllers operating in a high-fidelity simulation. Our simulations reveal air traffic controllers' scheduling decisions as examples of the partial-order planning approach of Hayes-Roth and Hayes-Roth. The most successful model uses opportunistic first-come-first-served scheduling to select tasks from a queue. Tasks with short deadlines are executed immediately. Tasks with long deadlines are evaluated to assess whether they need to be executed immediately or deferred. On-the-fly task scheduling is computationally tractable despite its surface complexity and understandable as an example of both the partial-order planning strategy and the dynamic-value approach to prioritization.

Lunar-Ultraviolet Telescope Experiment (LUTE) integrated program plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Janice F. (Compiler); Forrest, Larry

1993-01-01

A detailed Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Experiment (LUTE) program plan representing major decisions and tasks leading to those decisions for program execution are presented. The purpose of this task was to develop an integrated plan of project activities for the LUTE project, and to display the plan as an integrated network that shows the project activities, all critical interfaces, and schedules. The integrated network will provide the project manager with a frame work for strategic planning and risk management throughout the life of the project.

FTS evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Provost, David E.

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs on flight telerobotic servicer evolution are presented. Topics covered include: paths for FTS evolution; frequently performed actions; primary task states; EPS radiator panel installation; generic task definitions; path planning; non-contact alignment; contact planning and control; and human operator interface.

75 FR 9816 - Airworthiness Directives; Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (EMBRAER) Model ERJ 170 and ERJ...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-04

... maintenance plan to include repetitive functional tests of the low-stage check valve. For certain other... program to include maintenance Task Number 36-11-02- 002 (Low Stage Bleed Check Valve), specified in... Check Valve) in Section 1 of the EMBRAER 170 Maintenance Review Board Report MRB-1621. Issued in Renton...

Test Review: Abikoff, H., & Gallagher, R. (2009). "Children's Organizational Skills Scales." North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaya, Fatih; Delen, Erhan; Ritter, Nicola L.

2012-01-01

This article presents a review of the Children's Organizational Skills Scales (COSS) which were designed to assess how children organize their time, materials, and actions to accomplish important tasks at home and school. The scale quantifies children's skills in organization, time management, and planning (OTMP). The COSS is a multi-informant…

A Global Space Control Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

ASAT testing and development before significant pushback is enacted. Further, a growing body of literature suggests that space-based intelligence...management process must be the foundation of plan- ning space operations and responses. Second, we must realize that in order to conduct effective space...end state where commanders considering multiple courses of action have a sensor architecture and a tasking, collection, processing , exploitation, and

Hanford Waste End Effector Phase I Test Report

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

Berglin, Eric J.; Hatchell, Brian K.; Mount, Jason C.

This test plan describes the Phase 1 testing program of the Hanford Waste End Effector (HWEE) at the Washington River Protection Solutions’ Cold Test Facility (CTF) using a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)-designed testing setup. This effort fulfills the informational needs for initial assessment of the HWEE to support Hanford single-shell tank A-105 retrieval. This task will install the HWEE on a PNNL-designed robotic gantry system at CTF, install and calibrate instrumentation to measure reaction forces and process parameters, prepare and characterize simulant materials, and implement the test program. The tests will involve retrieval of water, sludge, and hardpan simulantsmore » to determine pumping rate, dilution factors, and screen fouling rate.« less

The neuropsychopharmacology of action inhibition: cross-species translation of the stop-signal and go/no-go tasks.

PubMed

Eagle, Dawn M; Bari, Andrea; Robbins, Trevor W

2008-08-01

The term 'action inhibition' encapsulates the ability to prevent any form of planned physical response. Growing evidence suggests that different 'stages' or even subtypes of action inhibition activate subtly different neuropharmacological and neuroanatomical processes. In this review, we present evidence from two commonly used and apparently similar behavioural tests, the stop-signal task and the go/no-go task, to determine if these have similar neuroanatomical and neurochemical modulation. Whilst performance of the stop-signal and go/no-go tasks is modulated across only subtly different anatomical networks, serotonin (5-HT) is strongly implicated in inhibitory control on the go/no-go but not the stop-signal task, whereas the stop-signal reaction time appears more sensitive to the action of noradrenaline. There is clear neuropharmacological and neuroanatomical evidence that stop-signal and go/no-go tasks represent different forms of action inhibition. This evidence translates with remarkable consistency across species. We discuss the possible implications of this evidence with respect to the development of novel therapeutic treatments for disorders in which inhibitory deficits are prominent and debilitating.

Looking for trouble: revenge-planning and preattentive vigilance for angry facial expressions.

PubMed

Crowe, Sarah E; Wilkowski, Benjamin M

2013-08-01

Revenge-planning refers to individual differences in the tendency to actively seek out hostile confrontations with others. Building on past theory, we hypothesized that revenge-planning would be related to preattentive vigilance for angry facial expressions. By being vigilant for such expressions, individuals could more readily notice and prepare to confront social challenges. We conducted 2 studies to test this prediction. Across studies, results indicated that participants high in revenge-planning had significantly longer color-naming latencies for masked angry expressions presented in a subliminal Stroop task, regardless of whether the expression was presented inside or outside participants' attentional focus. This phenomenon was specific to revenge-planning and did not extend to the related construct of angry rumination. Such results suggest that preattentive vigilance for angry expressions supports a confrontational social style in which a person actively seeks out hostile social encounters. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Mission analysis of photovoltaic solar energy systems. Quarterly progress report, 1 March 1976-31 May 1976

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

Leonard, S.L.; Munjal, P.K.; Rattin, E.J.

1976-06-01

The main emphasis of the activity during the second quarter of this project continued to be on Task 1, Analysis of Near-Term Missions, and on Task 2, Analysis of Major Mid-Term Missions. In addition, considerable progress was also made on Task 6, Comparison of the True Societal Costs of Conventional and Photovoltaic Power Production, and starts were made on Task 3, Review and Updating of the ERDA Technology Implementation Plan, and Task 4, Critical External Issues. As was planned, work on Task 5, Impact of Incentives, was deferred to the second half of the program. Progress is reported. (WHK)

An Overview of the NOAA Drought Task Force

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, S.; Mo, K.; Peters-Lidard, C.; Wood, A.

2012-01-01

The charge of the NOAA Drought Task Force is to coordinate and facilitate the various MAPP-funded research efforts with the overall goal of achieving significant advances in understanding and in the ability to monitor and predict drought over North America. In order to achieve this, the task force has developed a Drought Test-bed that individual research groups can use to test/evaluate methods and ideas. Central to this is a focus on three high profile North American droughts (1998-2004 western US drought, 2006-2007 SE US drought, 2011- current Tex-Mex drought) to facilitate collaboration among projects, including the development of metrics to assess the quality of monitoring and prediction products, and the development of an experimental drought monitoring and prediction system that incorporates and assesses recent advances. This talk will review the progress and plans of the task force, including efforts to help advance official national drought products, and the development of early warning systems by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Coordination with other relevant national and international efforts such as the emerging NMME capabilities and the international effort to develop a Global Drought Information System (GDIS) will be discussed.

Improved silicon nitride for advanced heat engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeh, Hun C.; Fang, Ho T.

1987-01-01

The technology base required to fabricate silicon nitride components with the strength, reliability, and reproducibility necessary for actual heat engine applications is presented. Task 2 was set up to develop test bars with high Weibull slope and greater high temperature strength, and to conduct an initial net shape component fabrication evaluation. Screening experiments were performed in Task 7 on advanced materials and processing for input to Task 2. The technical efforts performed in the second year of a 5-yr program are covered. The first iteration of Task 2 was completed as planned. Two half-replicated, fractional factorial (2 sup 5), statistically designed matrix experiments were conducted. These experiments have identified Denka 9FW Si3N4 as an alternate raw material to GTE SN502 Si3N4 for subsequent process evaluation. A detailed statistical analysis was conducted to correlate processing conditions with as-processed test bar properties. One processing condition produced a material with a 97 ksi average room temperature MOR (100 percent of goal) with 13.2 Weibull slope (83 percent of goal); another condition produced 86 ksi (6 percent over baseline) room temperature strength with a Weibull slope of 20 (125 percent of goal).

Task 2 - Limits for High-Frequency Conducted Susceptibility Testing - CS114 (NRC-HQ-60-14-D-0015)

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

Wood, Richard Thomas; Ewing, Paul D.; Moses, Rebecca J.

2015-09-01

A principal focus of Task 2 under this project was for ORNL to evaluate the basis for susceptibility testing against high-frequency conducted interference and to establish recommendations to resolve concerns about the severity of test limits for the conducted susceptibility (CS) test, CS114, from MIL-STD-461. The primary concern about the test limit has been characterized by the EPRI EMI Working Group in the following terms: Demonstrating compliance with the CS114 test limits recommended in TR-102323 has proven to be problematic, even for components that have been tested to commercial standards and demonstrated proper operation in industrial applications [6]. Specifically, EPRImore » notes that the CS114 limits approved in regulatory documents are significantly higher than those invoked by the US military and similar commercial standards in the frequency range below 200 kHz. For this task, ORNL evaluated the original approach to establishing the test limit, EPRI technical findings from a review of the limit, and the regulatory basis through which the currently approved limits were accepted. Based on this analysis, strategies have been developed regarding changes to the CS114 limit that can resolve the technical concerns raised by the industry. Guided by the principles that reasonable assurance of safety must not be compromised but excessive conservatism should be reduced, recommendations on a suitable basis for a revised limit have been developed and can be incorporated into the planned Revision 2 of RG 1.180.« less

Attention Demands of Spoken Word Planning: A Review

PubMed Central

Roelofs, Ardi; Piai, Vitória

2011-01-01

Attention and language are among the most intensively researched abilities in the cognitive neurosciences, but the relation between these abilities has largely been neglected. There is increasing evidence, however, that linguistic processes, such as those underlying the planning of words, cannot proceed without paying some form of attention. Here, we review evidence that word planning requires some but not full attention. The evidence comes from chronometric studies of word planning in picture naming and word reading under divided attention conditions. It is generally assumed that the central attention demands of a process are indexed by the extent that the process delays the performance of a concurrent unrelated task. The studies measured the speed and accuracy of linguistic and non-linguistic responding as well as eye gaze durations reflecting the allocation of attention. First, empirical evidence indicates that in several task situations, processes up to and including phonological encoding in word planning delay, or are delayed by, the performance of concurrent unrelated non-linguistic tasks. These findings suggest that word planning requires central attention. Second, empirical evidence indicates that conflicts in word planning may be resolved while concurrently performing an unrelated non-linguistic task, making a task decision, or making a go/no-go decision. These findings suggest that word planning does not require full central attention. We outline a computationally implemented theory of attention and word planning, and describe at various points the outcomes of computer simulations that demonstrate the utility of the theory in accounting for the key findings. Finally, we indicate how attention deficits may contribute to impaired language performance, such as in individuals with specific language impairment. PMID:22069393

Arizona Community Colleges: Report of the Task Force on Community College Enrollment Growth Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arizona State Board of Directors for Community Colleges, Phoenix.

The Task Force on Enrollment Growth Planning (TFEGP), authorized in 1992 by the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges (SBDCC) of Arizona, includes representatives from each community college as well as staff from SBDCC office. The Task Force was created to prepare enrollment growth estimates for community colleges through the year 2010;…

The Relationship between Working Memory Capacity and L2 Oral Performance under Task-Based Careful Online Planning Condition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad

2012-01-01

The study reported in this article aimed to investigate the way working memory capacity (WMC) interacts with careful online planning--a task-based implementation variable--to affect second language (L2) speech production. This issue is important to teachers, because it delves into one of the possible task-based implementation variables and thus…

Exploring the Potential of Rehearsal via Automatized Structured Tasks versus Face-to-Face Pair Work to Facilitate Pragmatic and Oral Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sydorenko, Tetyana V.

2011-01-01

Past research has uncovered ways to improve communicative competence, including task-based learner-learner interaction (e.g., R. Ellis, 2003) and task planning (e.g., Mochizuki and Ortega, 2008). Teacher-guided planning particularly increases the benefits of learner-learner interaction (Foster and Skehan, 1999). One component of communicative…

U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Task Force 85. Operation Plan Number 3-44

DTIC Science & Technology

1944-07-27

Potential Targets in Sectors of Responsibility Gril /8thPhib/Al6-3 Serial: 0031(P) DEAN/14- Potential Targets in Se_otors t of Respon- sibility...tags accompany the remains, ANNEX QUEEN MEDICAL PLAN - Page 6 of 8 GrIl /8thPhib/Al6-3 WESTERN NAVAL TASK FORCE, Serial: 0037(P) TASK FORCE EIGHTY-FIVE

Rest requirements and rest management of personnel in shift work

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

Hammell, B.D.; Scheuerle, A.

1995-12-31

A difficulty-weighted shift assignment scheme is proposed for use in prolonged and strenuous field operations such as emergency response, site testing, and short term hazardous waste remediation projects. The purpose of the work rotation plan is to increase productivity, safety, and moral of workers. Job weighting is accomplished by assigning adjustments to the mental and physical intensity of the task, the protective equipment worn, and the climatic conditions. The plan is based on medical studies of sleep deprivation, the effects of rest adjustments, and programs to reduce sleep deprivation and normalize shift schedules.

The influence of small mammal burrowing activity on water storage at the Hanford Site

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

Landeen, D.S.

The amount and rate at which water may penetrate a protective barrier and come into contact with buried radioactive waste is a major concern. Because burrowing animals eventually will reside on the surface of any protective barrier, the effect these burrow systems may have on the loss or retention of water needs to be determined. The first section of this document summarizes the known literature relative to small mammals and the effects that burrowing activities have on water distribution, infiltration, and the overall impact of burrows on the ecosystem. Topics that are summarized include burrow air pressures, airflow, burrow humidity,more » microtopography, mounding, infiltration, climate, soil evaporation, and discussions of large pores relative to water distribution. The second section of this document provides the results of the study that was conducted at the Hanford Site to determine what effect small mammal burrows have on water storage. This Biointrusion task is identified in the Permanent Isolation Surface Barrier Development Plan in support of protective barriers. This particular animal intrusion task is one part of the overall animal intrusion task identified in Animal Intrusion Test Plan.« less

Usage Analysis of a Shared Care Planning System

PubMed Central

Warren, Jim; Gu, Yulong; Humphrey, Gayl

2012-01-01

We examined the content of electronically mediated communications in a trial of shared care planning (SCP) for long-term condition management. Software supports SCP by sharing patient records and care plans among members of the multidisciplinary care team (with patient access). Our analysis focuses on a three-month period with 73 enrolled patients, 149 provider-assigned tasks, 64 clinical notes and 48 care plans with 162 plan elements. Results show that content of notes entries is often related to task assignment and that nurses are the most active users. Directions for refinement of the SCP technology are indicated, including better integration of notes, tasks and care team notifications, as well as the central role of nurses for design use cases. Broader issues are raised about workforce roles and responsibilities for SCP, integrating patient-provider and provider-provider communications, and the centrality of care plans as the key entity in mediation of the care team. PMID:23304370

Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Annual Implementation Work Plan for Fiscal Year 1993.

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

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Northwest Power Planning Council; Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority

1992-09-01

The Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (Program) was developed by the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council) in accordance with Public Law 96-501, the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Act). The purpose of the Program is to guide the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other Federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin. The Annual Implementation World Plan (AIWP) presents BPA`s plans for implementing the Program during fiscal year (FY) 1993. The FY 1993 AIWP emphasizes continuation of 143 ongoing or projecting ongoing Programmore » projects, tasks, or task orders, most of which involve protection, mitigation, or enhancement of anadromous fishery resources. The FY 1993 AIWP also contains three new Program projects or tasks that are planned to start in FY 1993.« less

Pragmatic and executive functions in traumatic brain injury and right brain damage: An exploratory comparative study

PubMed Central

Zimmermann, Nicolle; Gindri, Gigiane; de Oliveira, Camila Rosa; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2011-01-01

Objective To describe the frequency of pragmatic and executive deficits in right brain damaged (RBD) and in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, and to verify possible dissociations between pragmatic and executive functions in these two groups. Methods The sample comprised 7 cases of TBI and 7 cases of RBD. All participants were assessed by means of tasks from the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery and executive functions tests including the Trail Making Test, Hayling Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks, and working memory tasks from the Brazilian Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery NEUPSILIN. Z-score was calculated and a descriptive analysis of frequency of deficits (Z< -1.5) was carried out. Results RBD patients presented with deficits predominantly on conversational and narrative discursive tasks, while TBI patients showed a wider spread pattern of pragmatic deficits. Regarding EF, RBD deficits included predominantly working memory and verbal initiation impairment. On the other hand, TBI individuals again exhibited a general profile of executive dysfunction, affecting mainly working memory, initiation, inhibition, planning and switching. Pragmatic and executive deficits were generally associated upon comparisons of RBD patients and TBI cases, except for two simple dissociations: two post-TBI cases showed executive deficits in the absence of pragmatic deficits. Discussion Pragmatic and executive deficits can be very frequent following TBI or vascular RBD. There seems to be an association between these abilities, indicating that although they can co-occur, a cause-consequence relationship cannot be the only hypothesis. PMID:29213762

Development and Testing of Prototype Commercial Gasifier Sensor

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

Zelepouga, Serguei; Moery, Nathan; Wu, Mengbai

This report presents the results of the sensor development and testing at the Wabash River gasifier. The project work was initiated with modification of the sensor software (Task 2) to enable real time temperature data acquisition, and to process and provide the obtained gasifier temperature information to the gasifier operators. The software modifications were conducted by the North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers. The modified software was tested at the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) combustion laboratory to assess the temperature recognition algorithm accuracy and repeatability. Task 3 was focused on the sensor hardware modifications needed to improve reliability of themore » sensor system. NCSU conducted numerical modeling of the sensor probe’s purging flow. Based on the modeling results the probe purging system was redesigned to prevent carbon particulates deposition on the probe’s sapphire window. The modified design was evaluated and approved by the Wabash representative. The modified gasifier sensor was built and installed at the Wabash River gasifier on May 1 2014. (Task 4) The sensor was tested from the startup of the gasifier on May 5, 2015 until the planned autumn gasifier outage starting in the beginning of October, 2015. (Task 5) The project team successfully demonstrated the Gasifier Sensor system’s ability to monitor gasifier temperature while maintaining unobstructed optical access for six months without any maintenance. The sensor examination upon completion of the trial revealed that the system did not sustain any damage.« less

Planning performance in schizophrenia patients: a meta-analysis of the influence of task difficulty and clinical and sociodemographic variables.

PubMed

Knapp, F; Viechtbauer, W; Leonhart, R; Nitschke, K; Kaller, C P

2017-08-01

Despite a large body of research on planning performance in adult schizophrenia patients, results of individual studies are equivocal, suggesting either no, moderate or severe planning deficits. This meta-analysis therefore aimed to quantify planning deficits in schizophrenia and to examine potential sources of the heterogeneity seen in the literature. The meta-analysis comprised outcomes of planning accuracy of 1377 schizophrenia patients and 1477 healthy controls from 31 different studies which assessed planning performance using tower tasks such as the Tower of London, the Tower of Hanoi and the Stockings of Cambridge. A meta-regression analysis was applied to assess the influence of potential moderator variables (i.e. sociodemographic and clinical variables as well as task difficulty). The findings indeed demonstrated a planning deficit in schizophrenia patients (mean effect size: ; 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.78) that was moderated by task difficulty in terms of the minimum number of moves required for a solution. The results did not reveal any significant relationship between the extent of planning deficits and sociodemographic or clinical variables. The current results provide first meta-analytic evidence for the commonly assumed impairments of planning performance in schizophrenia. Deficits are more likely to become manifest in problem items with higher demands on planning ahead, which may at least partly explain the heterogeneity of previous findings. As only a small fraction of studies reported coherent information on sample characteristics, future meta-analyses would benefit from more systematic reports on those variables.

Default Network Modulation and Large-Scale Network Interactivity in Healthy Young and Old Adults

PubMed Central

Schacter, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

We investigated age-related changes in default, attention, and control network activity and their interactions in young and old adults. Brain activity during autobiographical and visuospatial planning was assessed using multivariate analysis and with intrinsic connectivity networks as regions of interest. In both groups, autobiographical planning engaged the default network while visuospatial planning engaged the attention network, consistent with a competition between the domains of internalized and externalized cognition. The control network was engaged for both planning tasks. In young subjects, the control network coupled with the default network during autobiographical planning and with the attention network during visuospatial planning. In old subjects, default-to-control network coupling was observed during both planning tasks, and old adults failed to deactivate the default network during visuospatial planning. This failure is not indicative of default network dysfunction per se, evidenced by default network engagement during autobiographical planning. Rather, a failure to modulate the default network in old adults is indicative of a lower degree of flexible network interactivity and reduced dynamic range of network modulation to changing task demands. PMID:22128194

Creating a Lunar EVA Work Envelope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, Brand N.; Howard, Robert; Rajulu, Sudhakar; Smitherman, David

2009-01-01

A work envelope has been defined for weightless Extravehicular Activity (EVA) based on the Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), but there is no equivalent for planetary operations. The weightless work envelope is essential for planning all EVA tasks because it determines the location of removable parts, making sure they are within reach and visibility of the suited crew member. In addition, using the envelope positions the structural hard points for foot restraints that allow placing both hands on the job and provides a load path for reacting forces. EVA operations are always constrained by time. Tasks are carefully planned to ensure the crew has enough breathing oxygen, cooling water, and battery power. Planning first involves computers using a virtual work envelope to model tasks, next suited crew members in a simulated environment refine the tasks. For weightless operations, this process is well developed, but planetary EVA is different and no work envelope has been defined. The primary difference between weightless and planetary work envelopes is gravity. It influences anthropometry, horizontal and vertical mobility, and reaction load paths and introduces effort into doing "overhead" work. Additionally, the use of spacesuits other than the EMU, and their impacts on range of motion, must be taken into account. This paper presents the analysis leading to a concept for a planetary EVA work envelope with emphasis on lunar operations. There is some urgency in creating this concept because NASA has begun building and testing development hardware for the lunar surface, including rovers, habitats and cargo off-loading equipment. Just as with microgravity operations, a lunar EVA work envelope is needed to guide designers in the formative stages of the program with the objective of avoiding difficult and costly rework.

Motor planning and execution in left- and right-handed individuals during a bimanual grasping and placing task.

PubMed

Hughes, Charmayne M L; Reissig, Paola; Seegelke, Christian

2011-09-01

The issue of handedness has been the topic of great interest for researchers in a number of scientific domains. It is typically observed that the dominant hand yields numerous behavioral advantages over the non-dominant hand during unimanual tasks, which provides evidence of hemispheric specialization. In contrast to advantages for the dominant hand during motor execution, recent research has demonstrated that the right hand has advantages during motor planning (regardless of handedness), indicating that motor planning is a specialized function of the left hemisphere. In the present study we explored hemispheric advantages in motor planning and execution in left- and right-handed individuals during a bimanual grasping and placing task. Replicating previous findings, both motor planning and execution was influenced by object end-orientation congruency. In addition, although motor planning (i.e., end-state comfort) was not influenced by hand or handedness, motor execution differed between left and right hand, with shorter object transport times observed for the left hand, regardless of handedness. These results demonstrate that the hemispheric advantages often observed in unimanual tasks do not extend to discrete bimanual tasks. We propose that the differences in object transport time between the two hands arise from overt shifting visual fixation between the two hands/objects. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mice plan decision strategies based on previously learned time intervals, locations, and probabilities

PubMed Central

Tosun, Tuğçe; Gür, Ezgi; Balcı, Fuat

2016-01-01

Animals can shape their timed behaviors based on experienced probabilistic relations in a nearly optimal fashion. On the other hand, it is not clear if they adopt these timed decisions by making computations based on previously learnt task parameters (time intervals, locations, and probabilities) or if they gradually develop their decisions based on trial and error. To address this question, we tested mice in the timed-switching task, which required them to anticipate when (after a short or long delay) and at which of the two delay locations a reward would be presented. The probability of short trials differed between test groups in two experiments. Critically, we first trained mice on relevant task parameters by signaling the active trial with a discriminative stimulus and delivered the corresponding reward after the associated delay without any response requirement (without inducing switching behavior). During the test phase, both options were presented simultaneously to characterize the emergence and temporal characteristics of the switching behavior. Mice exhibited timed-switching behavior starting from the first few test trials, and their performance remained stable throughout testing in the majority of the conditions. Furthermore, as the probability of the short trial increased, mice waited longer before switching from the short to long location (experiment 1). These behavioral adjustments were in directions predicted by reward maximization. These results suggest that rather than gradually adjusting their time-dependent choice behavior, mice abruptly adopted temporal decision strategies by directly integrating their previous knowledge of task parameters into their timed behavior, supporting the model-based representational account of temporal risk assessment. PMID:26733674

Evaluation of low-residue soldering for military and commercial applications: A report from the Low-Residue Soldering Task Force

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

Iman, R.L.; Anderson, D.J.; Burress, R.V.

1995-06-01

The LRSTF combined the efforts of industry, military, and government to evaluate low-residue soldering processes for military and commercial applications. These processes were selected for evaluation because they provide a means for the military to support the presidential mandate while producing reliable hardware at a lower cost. This report presents the complete details and results of a testing program conducted by the LRSTF to evaluate low-residue soldering for printed wiring assemblies. A previous informal document provided details of the test plan used in this evaluation. Many of the details of that test plan are contained in this report. The testmore » data are too massive to include in this report, however, these data are available on disk as Excel spreadsheets upon request. The main purpose of low-residue soldering is to eliminate waste streams during the manufacturing process.« less

DEVELOPING A COST EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION FOR PRODUCED WATER AND CREATING A ''NEW'' WATER RESOURCE

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

Glenn Doran

1997-04-28

This report summarizes the status of this project for the quarter January 1, 1997 to March 31, 1997. Phase II has been started and Task 7, Develop Pilot Scale Test Work Plan has been completed. The operational portion of this phase, Task 8 has been initiated with several pieces of pilot equipment already on-site. The start up of the full process train will not occur until the next quarter. The project is slightly behind schedule. A no cost extension was requested and was granted. The anticipated completion date is December 31, 1997. The project is on budget.

Assessment of attention and inhibitory control in rodent developmental neurotoxicity studies.

PubMed

Driscoll, Lori L; Strupp, Barbara J

2015-01-01

In designing screens to assess potential neurotoxicants, the paramount goal is that the selected assessment tools detect dysfunction if it exists. This goal is particularly challenging in the case of cognitive assessments. Cognition is not a unitary phenomenon, and indeed there is growing evidence that different aspects of cognitive functioning are subserved by distinct neural systems. As a result, if a particular neurotoxicant selectively damages certain neural systems but not others, it can impair some cognitive, sensory, or affective functions, but leave many others intact. Accordingly, studies with human subjects use batteries of cognitive tests, cognizant of the fact that no one test is capable of detecting all forms of cognitive dysfunction. In contrast, assessment of cognitive functioning in non-human animal developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) studies typically consists of a single, presumably representative, "learning and memory" task that is expected to detect all potential effects on cognitive functioning. Streamlining the cognitive assessment in these studies saves time and money, but these shortcuts can have serious consequences if the aspect of cognitive functioning that is impaired is not tapped by the single selected task. In particular, executive functioning - a constellation of cognitive functions which enables the organism to focus on multiple streams of information simultaneously, and revise plans as necessary - is poorly assessed in most animal DNT studies. The failure to adequately assess these functions - which include attention, working memory, inhibitory control, and planning - is particularly worrisome in light of evidence that the neural systems that subserve these functions may be uniquely vulnerable to early developmental insults. We illustrate the importance of tapping these areas of functioning in DNT studies by describing the pattern of effects produced by early developmental Pb exposure. Rats exposed to lead (Pb) early in development were tested on a series of automated attention tasks, as well as on a radial arm maze task. The lead-exposed rats were not impaired in this demanding radial arm maze task, despite conditions which tapped the limits of both working and long-term memory. In contrast, the automated tests designed to assess rodent executive functioning revealed selective and functionally important deficits in attention and regulation of emotion or negative affect (produced by committing an error or not receiving an expected reward). This example underscores the importance of including tasks to specifically tap executive functioning in DNT batteries. Such tasks are not only sensitive but can also shed light on the specific nature of the dysfunction, and they can implicate dysfunction of specific neural systems, information which can be used to design therapeutic interventions. Although the use of such tasks increases the time and effort needed to complete the battery, the benefits outweigh the cost, in light of the greater sensitivity of the battery and the more complete characterization of effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rolla West master plan : task 2, I-44 interchange--sub consultant services to HNTB.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

Provide support to HNTB as they complete the following tasks: data collection, alternatives workshop, identification of funding : sources, final plan preparation. A full sub consultant scope of service is attached to this application.

Studies of planning behavior of aircraft pilots in normal, abnormal, and emergency situations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannsen, G.; Rouse, W. B.; Hillmann, K.

1981-01-01

A methodology for the study of human planning behavior in complex dynamic systems is presented and applied to the study of aircraft pilot behavior in normal, abnormal and emergency situations. The method measures the depth of planning, that is the level of detail employed with respect to a specific task, according to responses to a verbal questionnaire, and compares planning depth with variables relating to time, task criticality and the probability of increased task difficulty. In two series of experiments, depth of planning was measured on a five- or ten-point scale during various phases of flight in a HFB-320 simulator under normal flight conditions, abnormal scenarios involving temporary runway closure due to snow removal or temporary CAT-III conditions due to a dense fog, and emergency scenarios involving engine shut-down or hydraulic pressure loss. Results reveal a dichotomy between event-driven and time-driven planning, different effects of automation in abnormal and emergency scenarios and a low correlation between depth of planning and workload or flight performance.

Planning and task management in Parkinson's disease: differential emphasis in dual-task performance.

PubMed

Bialystok, Ellen; Craik, Fergus I M; Stefurak, Taresa

2008-03-01

Seventeen patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease completed a complex computer-based task that involved planning and management while also performing an attention-demanding secondary task. The tasks were performed concurrently, but it was necessary to switch from one to the other. Performance was compared to a group of healthy age-matched control participants and a group of young participants. Parkinson's patients performed better than the age-matched controls on almost all measures and as well as the young controls in many cases. However, the Parkinson's patients achieved this by paying relatively less attention to the secondary task and focusing attention more on the primary task. Thus, Parkinson's patients can apparently improve their performance on some aspects of a multidimensional task by simplifying task demands. This benefit may occur as a consequence of their inflexible exaggerated attention to some aspects of a complex task to the relative neglect of other aspects.

Spatial perseveration error by alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in an A-not-B detour task.

PubMed

Abramson, José Z; Paulina Soto, D; Beatriz Zapata, S; Lloreda, María Victoria Hernández

2018-05-01

Spatial perseveration has been documented for domestic animals such as mules, donkeys, horses and dogs. However, evidence for this spatial cognition behavior among other domestic species is scarce. Alpacas have been domesticated for at least 7000 years yet their cognitive ability has not been officially reported. The present article used an A-not-B detour task to study the spatial problem-solving abilities of alpacas (Vicugna pacos) and to identify the perseveration errors, which refers to a tendency to maintain a learned route, despite having another available path. The study tested 51 alpacas, which had to pass through a gap at one end of a barrier in order to reach a reward. After one, two, three or four repeats (A trials), the gap was moved to the opposite end of the barrier (B trials). In contrast to what has been found in other domestic animals tested with the same task, the present study did not find clear evidence of spatial perseveration. Individuals' performance in the subsequent B trials, following the change of gap location, suggests no error persistence in alpacas. Results suggest that alpacas are more flexible than other domestic animals tested with this same task, which has important implications in planning proper training for experimental designs or productive purposes. These results could contribute toward enhancing alpacas' welfare and our understanding of their cognitive abilities.

Human Factors Evaluations of Two-Dimensional Spacecraft Conceptual Layouts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.; Toups, Larry D.; Rudisill, Marianne

2010-01-01

Much of the human factors work done in support of the NASA Constellation lunar program has been with low fidelity mockups. These volumetric replicas of the future lunar spacecraft allow researchers to insert test subjects from the engineering and astronaut population and evaluate the vehicle design as the test subjects perform simulations of various operational tasks. However, lunar outpost designs must be evaluated without the use of mockups, creating a need for evaluation tools that can be performed on two-dimension conceptual spacecraft layouts, such as floor plans. A tool based on the Cooper- Harper scale was developed and applied to one lunar scenario, enabling engineers to select between two competing floor plan layouts. Keywords: Constellation, human factors, tools, processes, habitat, outpost, Net Habitable Volume, Cooper-Harper.

Power system restoration - A task force report

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

Adibi, M.; Clelland, P.; Fink, L.

1986-01-01

The IEEE PES System Operation Subcommittee has established the Power System Restoration Task Force to: review operating practices, conduct a literature search, prepare relevant glossaries and bibliographies, and promote information exchange through technical papers. This is the first report of the Task Force. The problem of bulk power system restoration following a complete or partial collapse is practically as old as the electric utility industry itself. Many electric utilities have developed over the years system restoration schemes that meet the needs of their particular systems. These plans provide a great deal of insight into how the restorative process is viewedmore » by operating and planning personnel and what concerns and constraints any plan must operate under. The body of the report consists of notes prepared by members of the Task Force. It should not be interred that a complete reporting on Power System Restoration is undertaken here. The intent is to report upon work of the Task Force to date. The report also reviews several different restoration plans and shows their common concerns and constraints.« less

WET-NZ Multi-Mode Wave Energy Converter Advancement Project

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

Kopf, Steven

2013-10-15

The overall objective of the project was to verify the ocean wavelength functionality of the WET-NZ through targeted hydrodynamic testing at wave tank scale and controlled open sea deployment of a 1/2 scale (1:2) experimental device. This objective was accomplished through a series of tasks designed to achieve four specific goals: Wave Tank Testing to Characterize Hydrodynamic Characteristics;  Open-Sea Testing of a New 1:2 Scale Experimental Model;  Synthesis and Analysis to Demonstrate and Confirm TRL5/6 Status;  Market Impact & Competitor Analysis, Business Plan and Commercialization Strategy.

A representation for error detection and recovery in robot task plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyons, D. M.; Vijaykumar, R.; Venkataraman, S. T.

1990-01-01

A general definition is given of the problem of error detection and recovery in robot assembly systems, and a general representation is developed for dealing with the problem. This invariant representation involves a monitoring process which is concurrent, with one monitor per task plan. A plan hierarchy is discussed, showing how diagnosis and recovery can be handled using the representation.

77 FR 3241 - Intent To Hold North Dakota Task Force Meeting as Established by the Missouri River Protection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-23

... duties of the Task Force are to prepare and approve a plan for the use of the funds made available under... of the Task Force are to prepare and approve a plan for the use of the funds made available under... Force Meeting as Established by the Missouri River Protection and Improvement Act of 2000 (Title VII...

Collaborative Radiological Response Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2–89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239–18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release...critical tasks, under specified conditions and performance standards .”33 Aligned with the central objective of Capabilities-Based Planning, the TCL...affect task performance.36 More specifically, measures and performance criteria describe a standard for how well a task must be performed and on

Individual differences in control of language interference in late bilinguals are mainly related to general executive abilities

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Recent research based on comparisons between bilinguals and monolinguals postulates that bilingualism enhances cognitive control functions, because the parallel activation of languages necessitates control of interference. In a novel approach we investigated two groups of bilinguals, distinguished by their susceptibility to cross-language interference, asking whether bilinguals with strong language control abilities ("non-switchers") have an advantage in executive functions (inhibition of irrelevant information, problem solving, planning efficiency, generative fluency and self-monitoring) compared to those bilinguals showing weaker language control abilities ("switchers"). Methods 29 late bilinguals (21 women) were evaluated using various cognitive control neuropsychological tests [e.g., Tower of Hanoi, Ruff Figural Fluency Task, Divided Attention, Go/noGo] tapping executive functions as well as four subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The analysis involved t-tests (two independent samples). Non-switchers (n = 16) were distinguished from switchers (n = 13) by their performance observed in a bilingual picture-naming task. Results The non-switcher group demonstrated a better performance on the Tower of Hanoi and Ruff Figural Fluency task, faster reaction time in a Go/noGo and Divided Attention task, and produced significantly fewer errors in the Tower of Hanoi, Go/noGo, and Divided Attention tasks when compared to the switchers. Non-switchers performed significantly better on two verbal subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Information and Similarity), but not on the Performance subtests (Picture Completion, Block Design). Conclusions The present results suggest that bilinguals with stronger language control have indeed a cognitive advantage in the administered tests involving executive functions, in particular inhibition, self-monitoring, problem solving, and generative fluency, and in two of the intelligence tests. What remains unclear is the direction of the relationship between executive functions and language control abilities. PMID:20180956

Dealing with prospective memory demands while performing an ongoing task: Shared processing, increased on-task focus, or both?

PubMed

Rummel, Jan; Smeekens, Bridget A; Kane, Michael J

2017-07-01

Prospective memory (PM) is the cognitive ability to remember to fulfill intended action plans at the appropriate future moment. Current theories assume that PM fulfillment draws on attentional processes. Accordingly, pending PM intentions interfere with other ongoing tasks to the extent to which both tasks rely on the same processes. How do people manage the competition between PM and ongoing-task demands? Based on research relating mind wandering and attentional control (Kane & McVay, 2012), we argue that people may not only change the way they process ongoing-task stimuli when given a PM intention, but they may also engage in less off-task thinking than they otherwise would. That is, people focus more strongly on the tasks at hand and dedicate considerable conscious thought to the PM goal. We tested this hypothesis by asking subjects to periodically report on their thoughts during prototypical PM (and control) tasks. Task-unrelated thought rates dropped when participants performed an ongoing task while holding a PM intention versus performing the ongoing task alone (Experiment 1), even when PM demands were minimized (Experiment 2) and more so when PM execution was especially rewarded (Experiment 3). Our findings suggest that PM demands not only elicit a cost to ongoing-task processing, but they also induce a stronger on-task focus and promote conscious thoughts about the PM intention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Improving child and adolescent psychiatry education for medical students: an inter-organizational collaborative action plan.

PubMed

Fox, Geraldine S; Stock, Saundra; Briscoe, Gregory W; Beck, Gary L; Horton, Rita; Hunt, Jeffrey I; Liu, Howard Y; Partner Rutter, Ashley; Sexson, Sandra; Schlozman, Steven C; Stubbe, Dorothy E; Stuber, Margaret L

2012-11-01

A new Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Medical Education (CAPME) Task Force, sponsored by the Association for Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP), has created an inter-organizational partnership between child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) educators and medical student educators in psychiatry. This paper outlines the task force design and strategic plan to address the long-standing dearth of CAP training for medical students. The CAPME ADMSEP Task Force, formed in 2010, identified common challenges to teaching CAP among ADMSEP's CAPME Task Force members, utilizing focus-group discussions and a needs-assessment survey. The Task Force was organized into five major sections, with inter-organizational action plans to address identified areas of need, such as portable modules and development of benchmark CAP competencies. The authors predict that all new physicians, regardless of specialty, will be better trained in CAP. Increased exposure may also improve recruitment into this underserved area.

Investigation of automated task learning, decomposition and scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Livingston, David L.; Serpen, Gursel; Masti, Chandrashekar L.

1990-01-01

The details and results of research conducted in the application of neural networks to task planning and decomposition are presented. Task planning and decomposition are operations that humans perform in a reasonably efficient manner. Without the use of good heuristics and usually much human interaction, automatic planners and decomposers generally do not perform well due to the intractable nature of the problems under consideration. The human-like performance of neural networks has shown promise for generating acceptable solutions to intractable problems such as planning and decomposition. This was the primary reasoning behind attempting the study. The basis for the work is the use of state machines to model tasks. State machine models provide a useful means for examining the structure of tasks since many formal techniques have been developed for their analysis and synthesis. It is the approach to integrate the strong algebraic foundations of state machines with the heretofore trial-and-error approach to neural network synthesis.

Integrated propulsion technology demonstrator. Program plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

NASA and Rockwell have embarked on a cooperative agreement to define, develop, fabricate, and operate an integrated propulsion technology demonstrator (IPTD) for the purpose of validating design, process, and technology improvements of launch vehicle propulsion systems. This program, a result of NRA8-11, Task Area 1 A, is jointly funded by both NASA and Rockwell and is sponsored by the Reusable Launch Vehicle office at NASA Marshall Space flight Center. This program plan provides to the joint NASA/Rockwell integrated propulsion technology demonstrator (IPTD) team a description of the activities within tasks / sub tasks and associated schedules required to successfully achieve program objectives. This document also defines the cost elements and manpower allocations for each sub task for purpose of program control. This plan is updated periodically by developing greater depth of direction for outyear tasks as the program matures. Updating is accomplished by adding revisions to existing pages or attaching page revisions to this plan. In either case, revisions will be identified by appropriate highlighting of the change, or specifying a revision page through the use of footnotes on the bottom right of each change page. Authorization for the change is provided by the principal investigators to maintain control of this program plan document and IPTD program activities.

Executive dysfunction in bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Gvirts, H Z; Braw, Y; Harari, H; Lozin, M; Bloch, Y; Fefer, K; Levkovitz, Y

2015-11-01

The boundary between bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder is a controversial one. Despite the importance of the topic, few studies have directly compared these patient groups. The aim of the study was to compare the executive functioning profile of BD and BPD patients. Executive functioning (sustained attention, problem-solving, planning, strategy formation, cognitive flexibility and working memory) was assessed in BD (n=30) and BPD outpatients (n=32) using a computerized assessment battery (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, CANTAB). The groups were compared to one another as well as to healthy controls. BD patients showed deficits in strategy formation and in planning (indicated by longer execution time in the ToL task) in comparison to BPD patients and healthy controls. BPD patients showed deficits in planning (short deliberation time in the ToL task) in comparison to BD patients and in comparison to healthy controls. In comparison to healthy controls, BPD patients displayed deficits in problem-solving. Differences in executive dysfunction between BD and BPD patients suggest that this cognitive dimension may be relevant for the clarification of the boundary between the disorders. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Intention to Work with Individuals with Dual Diagnosis: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior among Students from Various Professions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Shirli

2012-01-01

Providing holistic care to individuals with the dual diagnosis (DD) of intellectual disability and mental illness is a challenging task that requires the work of various health care specialists. The aim of the current study was to examine the intentions of students from various fields to work with individuals with DD. A questionnaire was completed…

Active Reliability Engineering - Technical Concept and Program Plan. A Solid-State Systems Approach to Increased Reliability and Availability in Military Systems.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-05

battle damage. Others are local electrical power and cooling disruptions. Again, a highly critical function is lost if its computer site is destroyed. A...formalized design of the test bed to meet the requirements of the functional description and goals of the program. AMTEC --Z3IT TASKS: 610, 710, 810

Emergency Warning Systems. Part 2. Warning Systems - Evaluation Guidelines.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK AREA A WORK UNIT NUMBERS PRC Voorhees Work Unit 2234G 1500 Planning Research Drive McLean, Virginia 22102 ___ 11. CONTROLLING ...different from Controlling Office) IS. SECURITY CLASS. (of this report) Unclassified 15a. DECLASSIFICATION/DOWNGRADING SCHEDULE 16. DISTRIBUTION...systems that control these warning systems are discussed. Test results of several warning systems are included along with a discussion of sound

A Health Economics Approach to US Value Assessment Frameworks-Summary and Recommendations of the ISPOR Special Task Force Report [7].

PubMed

Garrison, Louis P; Neumann, Peter J; Willke, Richard J; Basu, Anirban; Danzon, Patricia M; Doshi, Jalpa A; Drummond, Michael F; Lakdawalla, Darius N; Pauly, Mark V; Phelps, Charles E; Ramsey, Scott D; Towse, Adrian; Weinstein, Milton C

2018-02-01

This summary section first lists key points from each of the six sections of the report, followed by six key recommendations. The Special Task Force chose to take a health economics approach to the question of whether a health plan should cover and reimburse a specific technology, beginning with the view that the conventional cost-per-quality-adjusted life-year metric has both strengths as a starting point and recognized limitations. This report calls for the development of a more comprehensive economic evaluation that could include novel elements of value (e.g., insurance value and equity) as part of either an "augmented" cost-effectiveness analysis or a multicriteria decision analysis. Given an aggregation of elements to a measure of value, consistent use of a cost-effectiveness threshold can help ensure the maximization of health gain and well-being for a given budget. These decisions can benefit from the use of deliberative processes. The six recommendations are to: 1) be explicit about decision context and perspective in value assessment frameworks; 2) base health plan coverage and reimbursement decisions on an evaluation of the incremental costs and benefits of health care technologies as is provided by cost-effectiveness analysis; 3) develop value thresholds to serve as one important input to help guide coverage and reimbursement decisions; 4) manage budget constraints and affordability on the basis of cost-effectiveness principles; 5) test and consider using structured deliberative processes for health plan coverage and reimbursement decisions; and 6) explore and test novel elements of benefit to improve value measures that reflect the perspectives of both plan members and patients. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

National facilities study. Volume 5: Space research and development facilities task group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

With the beginnings of the U.S. space program, there was a pressing need to develop facilities that could support the technology research and development, testing, and operations of evolving space systems. Redundancy in facilities that was once and advantage in providing flexibility and schedule accommodation is instead fast becoming a burden on scarce resources. As a result, there is a clear perception in many sectors that the U.S. has many space R&D facilities that are under-utilized and which are no longer cost-effective to maintain. At the same time, it is clear that the U.S. continues to possess many space R&D facilities which are the best -- or among the best -- in the world. In order to remain world class in key areas, careful assessment of current capabilities and planning for new facilities is needed. The National Facility Study (NFS) was initiated in 1992 to develop a comprehensive and integrated long-term plan for future aerospace facilities that meets current and projected government and commercial needs. In order to assess the nation's capability to support space research and development (R&D), a Space R&D Task Group was formed. The Task Group was co-chaired by NASA and DOD. The Task Group formed four major, technologically- and functionally- oriented working groups: Human and Machine Operations; Information and Communications; Propulsion and Power; and Materials, Structures, and Flight Dynamics. In addition to these groups, three supporting working groups were formed: Systems Engineering and Requirements; Strategy and Policy; and Costing Analysis. The Space R&D Task Group examined several hundred facilities against the template of a baseline mission and requirements model (developed in common with the Space Operations Task Group) and a set of excursions from the baseline. The model and excursions are described in Volume 3 of the NFS final report. In addition, as a part of the effort, the group examined key strategic issues associated with space R&D facilities planning for the U.S., and these are discussed in Section 4 of this volume.

Automatic mission planning algorithms for aerial collection of imaging-specific tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sponagle, Paul; Salvaggio, Carl

2017-05-01

The rapid advancement and availability of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has led to many novel exploitation tasks utilizing that utilize this unique aerial imagery data. Collection of this unique data requires novel flight planning to accomplish the task at hand. This work describes novel flight planning to better support structure-from-motion missions to minimize occlusions, autonomous and periodic overflight of reflectance calibration panels to permit more efficient and accurate data collection under varying illumination conditions, and the collection of imagery data to study optical properties such as the bidirectional reflectance distribution function without disturbing the target in sensitive or remote areas of interest. These novel mission planning algorithms will provide scientists with additional tools to meet their future data collection needs.

[Ecological assessment of executive functions in a patient with acquired brain injury].

PubMed

Chevignard, M; Taillefer, C; Picq, C; Pradat-Diehl, P

2008-03-01

Dysexecutive syndrome is one of the most frequent sequel of severe traumatic brain injury. It causes severe disabilities and it is incompletely assessed by the classical "paper and pencil" neuropsychological tests. We developed an ecological assessment conducted in a naturalistic situation, consisting of a cooking task, and we described a classification of errors. This assessment is very sensitive, even to a mild dysexecutive syndrome. To describe the disabilities in activities of daily living of a traumatic brain-injured patient and to demonstrate the sensitivity of an ill-structured ecological assessment. We report a single case study illustrating how the ecological assessment by the cooking task helped better understand and characterize the patient's disabilities. The patient presented severe disabilities in daily life activities, which were well described by his family. His cognitive disorders were mild in the cognitive tests, even those supposed to be more ecological, such as the Six Elements Task or script generation. He exhibited very severe disorders in the cooking task, with a very high number of errors. Moreover, duration of the cooking task was very long; he did not achieve the goal and exhibited dangerous behaviour. The cooking task involves abilities to deal with multitasking, which particularly involve executive functions. The most severe disorders were observed during the patient's interaction with the environment while conducting a complex goal-directed action plan, indicating control disorders. This type of naturalistic assessment provides very useful information to help patients organise their familial, social or professional reintegration.

Advanced Platform Systems Technology study. Volume 4: Technology advancement program plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

An overview study of the major technology definition tasks and subtasks along with their interfaces and interrelationships is presented. Although not specifically indicated in the diagram, iterations were required at many steps to finalize the results. The development of the integrated technology advancement plan was initiated by using the results of the previous two tasks, i.e., the trade studies and the preliminary cost and schedule estimates for the selected technologies. Descriptions for the development of each viable technology advancement was drawn from the trade studies. Additionally, a logic flow diagram depicting the steps in developing each technology element was developed along with descriptions for each of the major elements. Next, major elements of the logic flow diagrams were time phased, and that allowed the definition of a technology development schedule that was consistent with the space station program schedule when possible. Schedules show the major milestone including tests required as described in the logic flow diagrams.

Automated flight path planning for virtual endoscopy.

PubMed

Paik, D S; Beaulieu, C F; Jeffrey, R B; Rubin, G D; Napel, S

1998-05-01

In this paper, a novel technique for rapid and automatic computation of flight paths for guiding virtual endoscopic exploration of three-dimensional medical images is described. While manually planning flight paths is a tedious and time consuming task, our algorithm is automated and fast. Our method for positioning the virtual camera is based on the medial axis transform but is much more computationally efficient. By iteratively correcting a path toward the medial axis, the necessity of evaluating simple point criteria during morphological thinning is eliminated. The virtual camera is also oriented in a stable viewing direction, avoiding sudden twists and turns. We tested our algorithm on volumetric data sets of eight colons, one aorta and one bronchial tree. The algorithm computed the flight paths in several minutes per volume on an inexpensive workstation with minimal computation time added for multiple paths through branching structures (10%-13% per extra path). The results of our algorithm are smooth, centralized paths that aid in the task of navigation in virtual endoscopic exploration of three-dimensional medical images.

Reinforcing Abstinence and Treatment Participation among Offenders in a Drug Diversion Program: Are Vouchers Effective?

PubMed Central

Hall, Elizabeth A.; Prendergast, Michael L.; Roll, John M.; Warda, Umme

2010-01-01

This study assessed a 26-week voucher-based intervention to reinforce abstinence and participation in treatment-related activities among substance-abusing offenders court referred to outpatient treatment under drug diversion legislation (California's Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act). Standard treatment consisted of criminal justice supervision and an evidence-based model for treating stimulant abuse. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups, standard treatment (ST) only, ST plus vouchers for testing negative, ST plus vouchers for performing treatment plan activities, and ST plus vouchers for testing negative and/or performing treatment plan activities. Results indicate that voucher-based reinforcement of negative urines and of treatment plan tasks (using a flat reinforcement schedule) showed no statistically significant effects on measures of retention or drug use relative to the standard treatment protocol. It is likely that criminal justice contingencies had a stronger impact on participants' treatment retention and drug use than the relatively low-value vouchers awarded as part of the treatment protocol. PMID:20463918

Payload crew activity planning integration. Task 2: Inflight operations and training for payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hitz, F. R.

1976-01-01

The primary objectives of the Payload Crew Activity Planning Integration task were to: (1) Determine feasible, cost-effective payload crew activity planning integration methods. (2) Develop an implementation plan and guidelines for payload crew activity plan (CAP) integration between the JSC Orbiter planners and the Payload Centers. Subtask objectives and study activities were defined as: (1) Determine Crew Activity Planning Interfaces. (2) Determine Crew Activity Plan Type and Content. (3) Evaluate Automated Scheduling Tools. (4) Develop a draft Implementation Plan for Crew Activity Planning Integration. The basic guidelines were to develop a plan applicable to the Shuttle operations timeframe, utilize existing center resources and expertise as much as possible, and minimize unnecessary data exchange not directly productive in the development of the end-product timelines.

Measuring information processing in a client with extreme agitation following traumatic brain injury using the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform System of Task Analysis.

PubMed

Nott, Melissa T; Chapparo, Christine

2008-09-01

Agitation following traumatic brain injury is characterised by a heightened state of activity with disorganised information processing that interferes with learning and achieving functional goals. This study aimed to identify information processing problems during task performance of a severely agitated adult using the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis. Second, this study aimed to examine the sensitivity of the PRPP System to changes in task performance over a short period of rehabilitation, and third, to evaluate the guidance provided by the PRPP in directing intervention. A case study research design was employed. The PRPP System of Task Analysis was used to assess changes in task embedded information processing capacity during occupational therapy intervention with a severely agitated adult in a rehabilitation context. Performance is assessed on three selected tasks over a one-month period. Information processing difficulties during task performance can be clearly identified when observing a severely agitated adult following a traumatic brain injury. Processing skills involving attention, sensory processing and planning were most affected at this stage of rehabilitation. These processing difficulties are linked to established descriptions of agitated behaviour. Fluctuations in performance across three tasks of differing processing complexity were evident, leading to hypothesised relationships between task complexity, environment and novelty with information processing errors. Changes in specific information processing capacity over time were evident based on repeated measures using the PRPP System of Task Analysis. This lends preliminary support for its utility as an outcome measure, and raises hypotheses about the type of therapy required to enhance information processing in people with severe agitation. The PRPP System is sensitive to information processing changes in severely agitated adults when used to reassess performance over short intervals and can provide direct guidance to occupational therapy intervention to improve task embedded information processing by categorising errors under four stages of an information processing model: Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform.

HRP Integrated Research Plan Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elliott, Todd

2009-01-01

The charts, that are the totality of this document, presents tasks, duration of the tasks, the start and finish of the tasks, and subtasks. Also presented are PERT charts that display the beginning, external milestones, and end points for the tasks, and sub tasks.

Planning for Large Scale Habitat Restoration in the Socorro Valley, New Mexico

Treesearch

Gina Dello Russo; Yasmeen Najmi

2006-01-01

One initiative for large scale habitat restoration on the Rio Grande in central New Mexico is being led by a nonprofit organization, the Save Our Bosque Task Force. The Task Force has just completed a conceptual restoration plan for a 72-kilometer reach of river. The goals of the plan were to determine the potential for enhanced biological diversity through improved...

Methylphenidate produces selective enhancement of declarative memory consolidation in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Linssen, A M W; Vuurman, E F P M; Sambeth, A; Riedel, W J

2012-06-01

Methylphenidate inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline and is used to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Besides reducing behavioral symptoms, it improves their cognitive function. There are also observations of methylphenidate-induced cognition enhancement in healthy adults, although studies in this area are relatively sparse. We assessed the possible memory-enhancing properties of methylphenidate. In the current study, the possible enhancing effects of three doses of methylphenidate on declarative and working memory, attention, response inhibition and planning were investigated in healthy volunteers. In a double blind placebo-controlled crossover study, 19 healthy young male volunteers were tested after a single dose of placebo or 10, 20 or 40 mg of methylphenidate. Cognitive performance testing included a word learning test as a measure of declarative memory, a spatial working memory test, a set-shifting test, a stop signal test and a computerized version of the Tower of London planning test. Declarative memory consolidation was significantly improved relative to placebo after 20 and 40 mg of methylphenidate. Methylphenidate also improved set shifting and stopped signal task performance but did not affect spatial working memory or planning. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting enhanced declarative memory consolidation after methylphenidate in a dose-related fashion over a dose range that is presumed to reflect a wide range of dopamine reuptake inhibition.

Effects of dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonism on human planning and spatial working memory.

PubMed

Naef, M; Müller, U; Linssen, A; Clark, L; Robbins, T W; Eisenegger, C

2017-04-25

Psychopharmacological studies in humans suggest important roles for dopamine (DA) D2 receptors in human executive functions, such as cognitive planning and spatial working memory (SWM). However, studies that investigate an impairment of such functions using the selective DA D2/3 receptor antagonist sulpiride have yielded inconsistent results, perhaps because relatively low doses were used. We believe we report for the first time, the effects of a higher (800 mg p.o.) single dose of sulpiride as well as of genetic variation in the DA receptor D2 gene (DA receptor D2 Taq1A polymorphism), on planning and working memory. With 78 healthy male volunteers, we apply a between-groups, placebo-controlled design. We measure outcomes in the difficult versions of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery One-Touch Stockings of Cambridge and the self-ordered SWM task. Volunteers in the sulpiride group showed significant impairments in planning accuracy and, for the more difficult problems, in SWM. Sulpiride administration speeded response latencies in the planning task on the most difficult problems. Volunteers with at least one copy of the minor allele (A1+) of the DA receptor D2 Taq1A polymorphism showed better SWM capacity, regardless of whether they received sulpiride or placebo. There were no effects on blood pressure, heart rate or subjective sedation. In sum, a higher single dose of sulpiride impairs SWM and executive planning functions, in a manner independent of the DA receptor D2 Taq1A polymorphism.

Opening

ScienceCinema

Bruning, Oliver

2018-05-23

Overview of the operation and upgrade plans for the machine. Upgrade studies and taskforces. The Chamonix 2010 discussions led to five new task forces: planning for a long shut down in 2012 for splice consolidation; long term consolidation planning for the injector complex; SPS upgrade task force (accelerated program for SPS upgrade); PSB upgrade and its implications for the PS (e.g. radiation etc.); LHC High Luminosity project (investigate planning for ONE upgrade by 2018-2020); Launch of a dedicated study for doubling the beam energy in the LHC->HE-LHC.

Understanding of Student Task Interpretation, Design Planning, and Cognitive Strategies during Engineering Design Activities in Grades 9-12. Final Report. Research in Engineering and Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, Oenardi

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe the task interpretation of students engaged in a design activity and determine the extent to which students translate their understanding of their design task to their planning and cognitive strategies. Twenty-nine students at one Colorado high school participated in this study. Students worked…

Performance on a computerized shopping task significantly predicts real world functioning in persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Laloyaux, Julien; Pellegrini, Nadia; Mourad, Haitham; Bertrand, Hervé; Domken, Marc-André; Van der Linden, Martial; Larøi, Frank

2013-12-15

Persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder often suffer from cognitive impairments. However, little is known concerning how these cognitive deficits impact their real world functioning. We developed a computerized real-life activity task, where participants are required to shop for a list of grocery store items. Twenty one individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and 21 matched healthy controls were administered the computerized shopping task. Moreover, the patient group was assessed with a battery of cognitive tests and clinical scales. Performance on the shopping task significantly differentiated patients and healthy controls for two variables: Total time to complete the shopping task and Mean time spent to consult the shopping list. Moreover, in the patient group, performance on these variables from the shopping task correlated significantly with cognitive functioning (i.e. processing speed, verbal episodic memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition) and with clinical variables including duration of illness and real world functioning. Finally, variables from the shopping task were found to significantly explain 41% of real world functioning of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder. These findings suggest that the shopping task provides a good indication of real world functioning and cognitive functioning of persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration

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

Bill Stanley; Sandra Brown; Patrick Gonzalez

2004-07-10

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects,more » providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The research described in this report occurred between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: remote sensing for carbon analysis; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.« less

Task path planning, scheduling and learning for free-ranging robot systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wakefield, G. Steve

1987-01-01

The development of robotics applications for space operations is often restricted by the limited movement available to guided robots. Free ranging robots can offer greater flexibility than physically guided robots in these applications. Presented here is an object oriented approach to path planning and task scheduling for free-ranging robots that allows the dynamic determination of paths based on the current environment. The system also provides task learning for repetitive jobs. This approach provides a basis for the design of free-ranging robot systems which are adaptable to various environments and tasks.

The disruptive effects of pain on n-back task performance in a large general population sample

PubMed Central

Attridge, Nina; Noonan, Donna; Eccleston, Christopher; Keogh, Edmund

2015-01-01

Abstract Pain captures attention, displaces current concerns, and prioritises escape and repair. This attentional capture can be measured by its effects on general cognition. Studies on induced pain, naturally occurring acute pain, and chronic pain all demonstrate a detrimental effect on specific tasks of attention, especially those that involve working memory. However, studies to date have relied on relatively small samples and/or one type of pain, thus restricting our ability to generalise to wider populations. We investigated the effect of pain on an n-back task in a large heterogeneous sample of 1318 adults. Participants were recruited from the general population and tested through the internet. Despite the heterogeneity of pain conditions, participant characteristics, and testing environments, we found a performance decrement on the n-back task for those with pain, compared with those without pain; there were significantly more false alarms on nontarget trials. Furthermore, we also found an effect of pain intensity; performance was poorer in participants with higher intensity compared with that in those with lower intensity pain. We suggest that the effects of pain on attention found in the laboratory occur in more naturalistic settings. Pain is common in the general population, and such interruption may have important, as yet uninvestigated, consequences for tasks of everyday cognition that involve working memory, such as concentration, reasoning, motor planning, and prospective memory. PMID:26020226

Laboratory testing of candidate robotic applications for space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Purves, R. B.

1987-01-01

Robots have potential for increasing the value of man's presence in space. Some categories with potential benefit are: (1) performing extravehicular tasks like satellite and station servicing, (2) supporting the science mission of the station by manipulating experiment tasks, and (3) performing intravehicular activities which would be boring, tedious, exacting, or otherwise unpleasant for astronauts. An important issue in space robotics is selection of an appropriate level of autonomy. In broad terms three levels of autonomy can be defined: (1) teleoperated - an operator explicitly controls robot movement; (2) telerobotic - an operator controls the robot directly, but by high-level commands, without, for example, detailed control of trajectories; and (3) autonomous - an operator supplies a single high-level command, the robot does all necessary task sequencing and planning to satisfy the command. Researchers chose three projects for their exploration of technology and implementation issues in space robots, one each of the three application areas, each with a different level of autonomy. The projects were: (1) satellite servicing - teleoperated; (2) laboratory assistant - telerobotic; and (3) on-orbit inventory manager - autonomous. These projects are described and some results of testing are summarized.

Mental and Physical Workload, Salivary Stress Biomarkers and Taste Perception: Mars Desert Research Station Expedition

PubMed Central

Rai, Balwant; Kaur, Jasdeep

2012-01-01

Background: Very few studies have been conducted on the effects of simulation of Mars conditions on taste. Aims: This study was planned to find the effects of physical and mental workload on taste sensitivity and salivary stress biomarkers. Materials and Methods: Twelve crew members were selected. Taste reactions and intensity of the taste sensations to quinine sulfate, citric acid, and sucrose were tested before and after mental and physical tasks for one hour. Also, psychological mood states by profile of mood state, salivary, salivary alpha amylase and cortisol, and current stress test scores were measured before and after mental and physical tasks. Results: Average time intensity evaluation showed that after the mental and physical tasks, the perceived duration of bitter, sour, and sweet taste sensations was significantly shortened relative to control group. There were good correlations between average time intensity of sweetness, bitterness, sourness and cortisol levels. Conclusions: Taste alterations due to stress can have an effect on the health and confidence of astronauts in long- term space missions. Thus, this issue remains one of the important issues for future human explorations. PMID:23181230

Planning and Performance in Small Groups: Collective Implementation Intentions Enhance Group Goal Striving.

PubMed

Thürmer, J Lukas; Wieber, Frank; Gollwitzer, Peter M

2017-01-01

There are two key motivators to perform well in a group: making a contribution that (a) is crucial for the group (indispensability) and that (b) the other group members recognize (identifiability). We argue that indispensability promotes setting collective ("We") goals whereas identifiability induces individual ("I") goals. Although both goals may enhance performance, they should align with different strategies. Whereas pursuing collective goals should involve more cooperation, pursuing individual goals should involve less cooperation. Two experiments support this reasoning and show that planning out collective goals with collective implementation intentions (cIIs or "We-plans") relies on cooperation but planning out individual goals with individual implementation intentions (IIs or "I-plans") does not. In Experiment 1, three-member groups first formed a collective or an individual goal and then performed a first round of a physical persistence task. Groups then either formed a respective implementation intention (cII or II) or a control plan and then performed a second round of the task. Although groups with cIIs and IIs performed better on a physical persistence task than respective control groups, only cII groups interacted more cooperatively during task performance. To confirm the causal role of these interaction processes, Experiment 2 used the same persistence task and manipulated whether groups could communicate: When communication was hindered, groups with cIIs but not groups with IIs performed worse. Communication thus qualifies as a process making cIIs effective. The present research offers a psychology of action account to small group performance.

The key to using a learning or skill acquisition plan.

PubMed

Nicholls, Delwyn; Sweet, Linda; Westerway, Sue Campbell; Gibbins, Annie

2014-11-01

A learning plan is a tool to guide the development of knowledge, skills and professional attitudes required for practice. A learning plan is an ideal tool for both supervisors and mentors to guide the process of teaching and learning a medical ultrasound examination. A good learning plan will state the learning goal, identify the learning activities and resources needed to achieve this goal, and highlight the outcome measures, which when achieved indicate the goal has been accomplished. A skill acquisition plan provides a framework for task acquisition and skill stratification; and is an extension of the application of the student learning plan. One unique feature of a skill acquisition plan is it requires the tutor to first undertake a task analysis. The task steps are progressively learnt in sequence, termed scaffolding. The skills to develop and use a learning or skill acquisition plan are also learnt, but are an integral component to the ultrasound tutors skill set. This paper will provide an outline of how to use and apply a learning and skill acquisition plan. We will review how these tools can be personalised to each student and skill teaching environment.

Sticky Plans: Inhibition and Binding during Serial-Task Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayr, Ulrich

2009-01-01

Recent evidence suggests substantial response-time costs associated with lag-2 repetitions of tasks within explicitly controlled task sequences [Koch, I., Philipp, A. M., Gade, M. (2006). Chunking in task sequences modulates task inhibition. "Psychological Science," 17, 346-350; Schneider, D. W. (2007). Task-set inhibition in chunked task…

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

Not Available

Four new aluminophosphate molecular sieves were prepared in test quantities. Chemical modification to increase their catalytic activity is planned. One of these (unmodified), AlPO/sub 4/-11, was tested and found rather inactive for propylene oligomerization. Appendix A reports synthesis work on both Task 1 and Task 2 catalysts. Data from seven tests of propylene oligomerization with several catalysts are reported in Appendix C. Changing from methanol to propylene feed eliminated earlier problems associated with the solid part of methanol reaction products. Tests with UCC-101, a proprietary UCC, large pore molecular sieve of moderate acidity, resulted in reaction products having both gasolinemore » and diesel fractions. Tests with LZ-105-6, similar in properties to Mobil's ZSM-5, resulted in good yield of gasoline range product with very little diesel range product. Feeding water along with the propylene and hydrogen was found to markedly reduce the rate of deactivation of both LZ-105 and UCC-101. Another new UCC proprietary molecular sieve, UCC-104, was active and very selective for the production of gasoline range hydrocarbons (more than 95% selective to C/sub 5//sup +/). At low temperatures, the UCC-104 produces less propane than the LZ-105-6, i.e., the UCC-104 is more selective to liquid product formation than catalysts like ZSM-5. Results of seven Task 2 tests appear in Appendix C. In four runs the catalysts had reasonable activity but were not as selective to liquid products as desired.« less

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keitz, J. F.

1982-01-01

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 1 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 1 compares flight plans based on forecasts with plans based on the verifying analysis from 33 days during the summer and fall of 1979. The comparisons show that: (1) potential fuel savings conservatively estimated to be between 1.2 and 2.5 percent could result from using more timely and accurate weather data in flight planning and route selection; (2) the Suitland forecast generally underestimates wind speeds; and (3) the track selection methodology of many airlines operating on the North Atlantic may not be optimum resulting in their selecting other than the optimum North Atlantic Organized Track about 50 percent of the time.

A Common Foundation of Information and Analytical Capability for AFSPC Decision Making

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-23

System Strategic Master Plan MAPs/MSP CRRAAF TASK FORCE CONOPS MUA Task Weights Engagement Analysis ASIIS Optimization ACEIT COST Analysis...Engangement Architecture Analysis Architecture MUA AFSPC POM S&T Planning Military Utility Analysis ACEIT COST Analysis Joint Capab Integ Develop System

Planning perception and action for cognitive mobile manipulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaschler, Andre; Nogina, Svetlana; Petrick, Ronald P. A.; Knoll, Alois

2013-12-01

We present a general approach to perception and manipulation planning for cognitive mobile manipulators. Rather than hard-coding single purpose robot applications, a robot should be able to reason about its basic skills in order to solve complex problems autonomously. Humans intuitively solve tasks in real-world scenarios by breaking down abstract problems into smaller sub-tasks and use heuristics based on their previous experience. We apply a similar idea for planning perception and manipulation to cognitive mobile robots. Our approach is based on contingent planning and run-time sensing, integrated in our knowledge of volumes" planning framework, called KVP. Using the general-purpose PKS planner, we model information-gathering actions at plan time that have multiple possible outcomes at run time. As a result, perception and sensing arise as necessary preconditions for manipulation, rather than being hard-coded as tasks themselves. We demonstrate the e ectiveness of our approach on two scenarios covering visual and force sensing on a real mobile manipulator.

Default Mode Network Engagement Beyond Self-Referential Internal Mentation.

PubMed

Vatansever, Deniz; Manktelow, Anne; Sahakian, Barbara J; Menon, David K; Stamatakis, Emmanuel A

2018-05-01

The default mode network (DMN) is typically associated with off-task internal mentation, or with goal-oriented tasks that require self-referential processing such as autobiographical planning. However, recent reports suggest a broader involvement of the DMN in higher cognition. In line with this view, we report global connectivity changes that are centered on the main DMN hubs of precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex during a functional magnetic resonance imaging-based visuospatial version of the Tower of London planning task. Importantly, functional connectivity of these regions with the left caudate shows a significant relationship with faster reaction time to correct responses only during the high-demand planning condition, thus offering further evidence for the DMN's engagement during visuospatial planning. The results of this study not only provide robust evidence against the widely held notion of DMN disengagement during goal-oriented, attention-demanding, externally directed tasks but also support its involvement in a broader cognitive context with a memory-related role that extends beyond self-referential, internally directed mentation.

Bisecting or Not Bisecting: This Is the Neglect Question. Line Bisection Performance in the Diagnosis of Neglect in Right Brain-Damaged Patients

PubMed Central

Guariglia, Paola; Matano, Alessandro; Piccardi, Laura

2014-01-01

In the present study we analysed the bisecting behaviour of 287 chronic right brain-damaged patients by taking into account the presence and severity of extrapersonal and/or personal neglect diagnosed with the hemineglect battery. We also analysed right brain-damaged patients who had (or did not have) neglect according to their line bisection performance. Our results showed that performance of the line bisection task correlates with performance of cancellation tasks, reading and perceptual tasks, but not with the presence of personal neglect. Personal neglect seems to be unrelated to line bisection behaviour. Indeed, patients affected by extrapersonal and personal neglect do not show more severe neglect in line bisection than patients with only extrapersonal neglect. Furthermore, we observed that 20.56% of the patients were considered affected or not by neglect on the line bisection task compared with the other spatial tasks of the hemineglect battery. We conclude that using a battery with multiple tests is the only way to guarantee a reliable diagnosis and effectively plan for rehabilitative training. PMID:24937472

When remembering the past suppresses memory for future actions.

PubMed

Utsumi, Kenta; Saito, Satoru

2016-01-01

Remembering planned actions at the correct time in the future is an integral component of prospective cognition. Recent studies on future remembering have led to suggestions that prospective cognition might be based on past experience. To test this hypothesis, we focused on retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF), which usually indicates that remembering past events suppresses memory for related but different past events. The current study assessed RIF in two kinds of event-based prospective memory (PM) tasks using either focal or non-focal cues for ongoing tasks. Participants studied six members from each of eight taxonomic categories and then practiced recalling three of the six members from four of the eight categories using category-stem cues. This retrieval practice suppressed the detection of non-practiced members of the practiced categories during the PM task with non-focal cues (Experiment 1) but not with focal cues (Experiment 2). The results suggest that recall of certain items inhibits the function of the others as PM cues, but only if the PM task does not largely share its processing with the ongoing task.

Profiles of cognitive dysfunction in chronic amphetamine and heroin abusers.

PubMed

Ornstein, T J; Iddon, J L; Baldacchino, A M; Sahakian, B J; London, M; Everitt, B J; Robbins, T W

2000-08-01

Groups of subjects whose primary drug of abuse was amphetamine or heroin were compared, together with age- and IQ-matched control subjects. The study consisted of a neuropsychological test battery which included both conventional tests and also computerised tests of recognition memory, spatial working memory, planning, sequence generation, visual discrimination learning, and attentional set-shifting. Many of these tests have previously been shown to be sensitive to cortical damage (including selective lesions of the temporal or frontal lobes) and to cognitive deficits in dementia, basal ganglia disease, and neuropsychiatric disorder. Qualitative differences, as well as some commonalities, were found in the profile of cognitive impairment between the two groups. The chronic amphetamine abusers were significantly impaired in performance on the extra-dimensional shift task (a core component of the Wisconsin Card Sort Test) whereas in contrast, the heroin abusers were impaired in learning the normally easier intra-dimensional shift component. Both groups were impaired in some of tests of spatial working memory. However, the amphetamine group, unlike the heroin group, were not deficient in an index of strategic performance on this test. The heroin group failed to show significant improvement between two blocks of a sequence generation task after training and additionally exhibited more perseverative behavior on this task. The two groups were profoundly, but equivalently impaired on a test of pattern recognition memory sensitive to temporal lobe dysfunction. These results indicate that chronic drug use may lead to distinct patterns of cognitive impairment that may be associated with dysfunction of different components of cortico-striatal circuitry.

Prospective thinking and decision making in primary school age children.

PubMed

Lombardi, Elisabetta; Di Dio, Cinzia; Castelli, Ilaria; Massaro, Davide; Marchetti, Antonella

2017-06-01

In this study, we seek to widen our understanding of the developmental processes underlying bargaining behaviour in children addressing the concept of prospective thinking. We argue that the emergence of the capacity to think prospectively about future outcomes or behaviours in response to current actions is a required precedent to strategic decision making. To test this idea, we compared 6, 8 and 10 years old children's performance on three tasks: the ultimatum game assessing fairness/inequality aversion, the marshmallow task, an intertemporal choice task evaluating the ability to delay gratification, and the dictator game assessing altruism. The children's socio-demographic and cognitive variables were also evaluated. We hypothesized that development of strategic thinking in the ultimatum game is related to an increased ability to delay gratification - given that both tasks require looking at prospective benefits - and, crucially, not to altruism, which benefits from immediate selfless reward. Our results confirmed our hypothesis suggesting that increased strategic planning with age would also stem from the development of competencies like prospective thinking.

Planning Routes Across Economic Terrains: Maximizing Utility, Following Heuristics

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hang; Maddula, Soumya V.; Maloney, Laurence T.

2010-01-01

We designed an economic task to investigate human planning of routes in landscapes where travel in different kinds of terrain incurs different costs. Participants moved their finger across a touch screen from a starting point to a destination. The screen was divided into distinct kinds of terrain and travel within each kind of terrain imposed a cost proportional to distance traveled. We varied costs and spatial configurations of terrains and participants received fixed bonuses minus the total cost of the routes they chose. We first compared performance to a model maximizing gain. All but one of 12 participants failed to adopt least-cost routes and their failure to do so reduced their winnings by about 30% (median value). We tested in detail whether participants’ choices of routes satisfied three necessary conditions (heuristics) for a route to maximize gain. We report failures of one heuristic for 7 out of 12 participants. Last of all, we modeled human performance with the assumption that participants assign subjective utilities to costs and maximize utility. For 7 out 12 participants, the fitted utility function was an accelerating power function of actual cost and for the remaining 5, a decelerating power function. We discuss connections between utility aggregation in route planning and decision under risk. Our task could be adapted to investigate human strategy and optimality of route planning in full-scale landscapes. PMID:21833269

a Schema for Extraction of Indoor Pedestrian Navigation Grid Network from Floor Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Lei; Song, Yiquan

2016-06-01

The requirement of the indoor navigation related tasks such emergency evacuation calls for efficient solutions for handling data sources. Therefore, the navigation grid extraction from existing floor plans draws attentions. To this, we have to thoroughly analyse the source data, such as Autocad dxf files. Then, we could establish a sounding navigation solution, which firstly complements the basic navigation rectangle boundaries, secondly subdivides these rectangles and finally generates accessible networks with these refined rectangles. Test files are introduced to validate the whole workflow and evaluate the solution performance. In conclusion, we have achieved the preliminary step of forming up accessible network from the navigation grids.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Energy Action Plan

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

Conrad, M. D.; Ness, J. E.

2013-07-01

This document describes the three near-term energy strategies selected by the CNMI Energy Task Force during action planning workshops conducted in March 2013, and outlines the steps being taken to implement those strategies. The three energy strategies selected by the task force are (1) designing a demand-side management program focusing on utility, residential and commercial sectors, (2) developing an outreach and education plan focused on energy conservation in government agencies and businesses, including workplace rules, and (3) exploring waste-to-energy options. The task force also discussed several other medium- and long-term energy strategies that could be explored at a future date.

KSC-01pp0244

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

The lid is off the shipping container with the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello inside. It sits on a transporter inside the Space Station Processing Facility. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

KSC-01pp0245

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

Workers in the Space Station Processing Facility attach an overhead crane to the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello to lift it out of the shipping container. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

KSC-01pp0246

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers help guide the overhead crane as it lifts the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello out of the shipping container. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

KSC-01pp0247

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers help guide the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello as it moves the length of the SSPF toward a workstand. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

KSC-01pp0248

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-03

In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers wait for the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello, suspended by an overhead crane, to move onto a workstand. In the SSPF, Donatello will undergo processing by the payload test team, including integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo. Donatello will be launched on mission STS-130, currently planned for September 2004

[Organization and prerequisites for the delegation of dosimetry tasks].

PubMed

Marchesi, V; Peiffert, D; Le Tallec, P; Aigle, D

2013-10-01

The planning of irradiation treatments is a task of medical physics, based on the appropriate calculations of a dose distribution from radiation beams, virtually set up on a simulation software. This task is at the centre of the chain of treatment preparation: between the contouring phase and the objective definition, which are specialties of the radiation oncologist, and the joint validation of the treatment plan by the physician and the physicist. Historically, this task has been performed by the medical physicist, but can be delegated to other professionals, especially radiation technologists. The evolution of the techniques and procedures tends to a specialization of the skilled workers toward this new work of dosimetry specialist or treatment planning technician. In this paper, the training, relational and organizational aspects will be described to explain how the delegation of the tasks, in the context of treatment plan preparation between professionals can be set up with the highest level of quality and security for the patient treatment and with the respect of legal obligations and requirements of each profession. Copyright © 2013 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Proposal of Constraints Analysis Method Based on Network Model for Task Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomiyama, Tomoe; Sato, Tatsuhiro; Morita, Toyohisa; Sasaki, Toshiro

Deregulation has been accelerating several activities toward reengineering business processes, such as railway through service and modal shift in logistics. Making those activities successful, business entities have to regulate new business rules or know-how (we call them ‘constraints’). According to the new constraints, they need to manage business resources such as instruments, materials, workers and so on. In this paper, we propose a constraint analysis method to define constraints for task planning of the new business processes. To visualize each constraint's influence on planning, we propose a network model which represents allocation relations between tasks and resources. The network can also represent task ordering relations and resource grouping relations. The proposed method formalizes the way of defining constraints manually as repeatedly checking the network structure and finding conflicts between constraints. Being applied to crew scheduling problems shows that the method can adequately represent and define constraints of some task planning problems with the following fundamental features, (1) specifying work pattern to some resources, (2) restricting the number of resources for some works, (3) requiring multiple resources for some works, (4) prior allocation of some resources to some works and (5) considering the workload balance between resources.

NETEX Task 1: a study of the effect of ultrawideband (UWB) emitters on existing narrowband military receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Light, Arthur H.; Griggs, Stephen

2003-07-01

The goal of the DARPA NETEX program is to create a wireless networking technology for the military user that enables robust connectivity in harsh environments and support its integration into new and emerging sensor and communication systems. Phase 1 resulted in a thorough understanding of the effects of UWB system operation on existing military spectrum users based on modeling, simulation, and measurements. DARPA procured UWB emitters and broadband antennas to use as interference sources and contracted with the NAWC AD to provide candidate victim systems from the existing US inventory for testing. Testing was conducted on thirteen systems from October 2002 through March 2003. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of these tests. It will provide a brief definition of UWB emissions as described by the US FCC and describe the generic UWB emitter used for these tests. It will then provide a brief overview of the general test plan and explain how it was adapted to the various systems tested. It will then provide a discussion of the results as they apply to the purpose of the NETEX program. Finally, the paper will look at where NETEX is going after Task 1.

Allocating time to future tasks: the effect of task segmentation on planning fallacy bias.

PubMed

Forsyth, Darryl K; Burt, Christopher D B

2008-06-01

The scheduling component of the time management process was used as a "paradigm" to investigate the allocation of time to future tasks. In three experiments, we compared task time allocation for a single task with the summed time allocations given for each subtask that made up the single task. In all three, we found that allocated time for a single task was significantly smaller than the summed time allocated to the individual subtasks. We refer to this as the segmentation effect. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to give estimates by placing a mark on a time line, and found that giving time allocations in the form of rounded close approximations probably does not account for the segmentation effect. We discuss the results in relation to the basic processes used to allocate time to future tasks and the means by which planning fallacy bias might be reduced.

Preservice Teachers' Learning to Plan Intellectually Challenging Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kang, Hosun

2017-01-01

This study explores how and under which conditions preservice secondary science teachers (PSTs) engage in effective planning practices that incorporate intellectually challenging tasks into lessons. Drawing upon a situative perspective on learning, eight PSTs' trajectories of participation in communities of practice are examined with a focus on…

An expert system for planning and scheduling in a telerobotic environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ntuen, Celestine A.; Park, Eui H.

1991-01-01

A knowledge based approach to assigning tasks to multi-agents working cooperatively in jobs that require a telerobot in the loop was developed. The generality of the approach allows for such a concept to be applied in a nonteleoperational domain. The planning architecture known as the task oriented planner (TOP) uses the principle of flow mechanism and the concept of planning by deliberation to preserve and use knowledge about a particular task. The TOP is an open ended architecture developed with a NEXPERT expert system shell and its knowledge organization allows for indirect consultation at various levels of task abstraction. Considering that a telerobot operates in a hostile and nonstructured environment, task scheduling should respond to environmental changes. A general heuristic was developed for scheduling jobs with the TOP system. The technique is not to optimize a given scheduling criterion as in classical job and/or flow shop problems. For a teleoperation job schedule, criteria are situation dependent. A criterion selection is fuzzily embedded in the task-skill matrix computation. However, goal achievement with minimum expected risk to the human operator is emphasized.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the supplementary motor area (SMA) influences performance on motor tasks.

PubMed

Hupfeld, K E; Ketcham, C J; Schneider, H D

2017-03-01

The supplementary motor area (SMA) is believed to be highly involved in the planning and execution of both simple and complex motor tasks. This study aimed to examine the role of the SMA in planning the movements required to complete reaction time, balance, and pegboard tasks using anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which passes a weak electrical current between two electrodes, in order to modulate neuronal activity. Twenty healthy adults were counterbalanced to receive either tDCS (experimental condition) or no tDCS (control condition) for 3 days. During administration of tDCS, participants performed a balance task significantly faster than controls. After tDCS, subjects significantly improved their simple and choice reaction time. These results demonstrate that the SMA is highly involved in planning and executing fine and gross motor skill tasks and that tDCS is an effective modality for increasing SMA-related performance on these tasks. The findings may be generalizable and therefore indicate implications for future interventions using tDCS as a therapeutic tool.

An exploration of the ecological validity of the Virtual Action Planning-Supermarket (VAP-S) with people with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Aubin, Ginette; Béliveau, Marie-France; Klinger, Evelyne

2018-07-01

People with schizophrenia often have functional limitations that affect their daily activities due to executive function deficits. One way to assess these deficits is through the use of virtual reality programmes that reproduce real-life instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). One such programme is the Virtual Action Planning-Supermarket (VAP-S). This exploratory study aimed to examine the ecological validity of this programme, specifically, how task performance in both virtual and natural environments compares. Case studies were used and involved five participants with schizophrenia, who were familiar with grocery shopping. They were assessed during both the VAP-S shopping task and a real-life grocery shopping task using an observational assessment tool, the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis. The results show that when difficulties were present in the virtual task, difficulties were also observed in the real-life task. For some participants, greater difficulties were observed in the virtual task. These difficulties could be explained by the presence of perceptual deficits and problems remembering the required sequenced actions in the virtual task. In conclusion, performance on the VAP-S by these five participants was generally comparable to the performance in a natural environment.

Examining pre-service science teachers' developing pedagogical design capacity for planning and supporting task-based classroom discussions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Danielle Kristina

Teachers face many challenges as we move forward into the age of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve, Inc., 2013). The NGSS aim to develop a population of scientifically literate and talented students who can participate in the "innovation-driven economy" (p. 1). In order to meet these goals, teachers must provide students with opportunities to engage in science and engineering practices (SEPs) and learn core ideas of these disciplines. This study followed pre-service secondary science teachers as they participated in a secondary science teacher preparation program intended to support the development of their pedagogical design capacity (Brown, 2009) related to planning and supporting whole-class taskbased discussions. Teacher educators in this program designed an intervention that aimed in supporting this development. This study examined a particular dimension of PDC -- specifically, PSTs effective use of resources to plan science lessons in which students engage in a high demand task, participate in SEPs, and discuss their work in a whole-class setting. In order to examine the effectiveness of the intervention, I had to define PDC a priori. I measured PDC by documenting how/whether PSTs engaged in the following instructional planning practices: developing Learning Goals, selecting and/or designing challenging tasks, anticipating student thinking, planning for monitoring student thinking, imagining the discussion storyline, planning questions, and planning marking strategies. Analyses showed a significant difference between baseline lesson plan scores and Instructional Performance scores. These findings suggest these patterns and changes were directly linked to the teacher preparation program. The mean increase in Instructional Performance scores during the course of the teacher preparation year further supports the effect of the teacher preparation coursework. Pre-service teachers with high pedagogical design capacity continually integrated the ambitious planning practices they learned in their coursework. In contrast, pre-service teachers with low pedagogical design capacity appeared to appropriate the vocabulary and language they learned in coursework, but did not integrate these practices at a high level. This study suggests that pre-service teachers who receive intensive instruction on ambitious planning practices for task-based discussion effectively develop the pedagogical design capacity to plan for task-based discussion lessons.

Philosophies Applied in the Selection of Space Suit Joint Range of Motion Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aitchison, Lindsway; Ross, Amy; Matty, Jennifer

2009-01-01

Space suits are the most important tool for astronauts working in harsh space and planetary environments; suits keep crewmembers alive and allow them to perform exploration, construction, and scientific tasks on a routine basis over a period of several months. The efficiency with which the tasks are performed is largely dictated by the mobility features of the space suit. For previous space suit development programs, the mobility requirements were written as pure functional mobility requirements that did not separate joint ranges of motion from the joint torques. The Constellation Space Suit Element has the goal to make more quantitative mobility requirements that focused on the individual components of mobility to enable future suit designers to build and test systems more effectively. This paper details the test planning and selection process for the Constellation space suit pressure garment range of motion requirements.

Association between the Catechol O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val158met Polymorphism and Different Dimensions of Impulsivity

PubMed Central

Malloy-Diniz, Leandro Fernandes; Lage, Guilherme Menezes; Campos, Simone Becho; de Paula, Jonas Jardim; de Souza Costa, Danielle; Romano-Silva, Marco Aurélio; de Miranda, Débora Marques; Correa, Humberto

2013-01-01

Background Impulsivity is a multidimensional construct which has been associated with dopaminergic neurotransmission. Nonetheless, until this moment, few studies addressed the relationship between different types of impulsivity and the single nucleotide polymorphism caused by a substitution of valine (val) with methionine (met) in the 158 codon of the Catechol-o-Methyltransferase gene (COMT-val158met). The present study aimed to investigate the association between val158met COMT polymorphism and impulsive behavior measured by two neuropsychological tests. Methodology/Principal Findings We administered two neuropsychological tests, a Continuous Performance Task and the Iowa Gambling Task were applied to 195 healthy participants to characterize their levels of motor, attentional and non-planning impulsivity. Then, subjects were grouped by genotype, and their scores on impulsivity measures were compared. There were no significant differences between group scores on attentional and motor impulsivity. Those participants who were homozygous for the met allele performed worse in the Iowa Gambling Task than val/val and val/met subjects. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that met allele of val158met COMT polymorphism is associated with poor performance in decision-making/cognitive impulsivity task. The results reinforce the hypothesis that val and met alleles of the val158met polymorphism show functional dissociation and are related to different prefrontal processes. PMID:24039968

Test Plans and Procedures for the Baseline SAF for BDS-D Sites (ModSAF). Volume 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-20

operations editor will no longer editor, appear in the EditorI Area. 64 I ADST/WDL/TR-93-W003271 VOLUME 2 of 2; Ver 1.0I 44200 Repeat steps 44120 thru...The unit operations 44200 to task the orange editor will no longer platoon to Move on the appear in the Editor route labeled "ort. Area. The vehicles

MDR/Omni-band Reconfigurable Terminal: Design Concept

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-09-01

tasks, data bases and major communications flows. Global issues relevant to most of the blocks are then covered. Finally the planned sequence of...and event logger that are detailed in later paragraphs. The BITE(built-in test equipment)/Debugger detail can be found separately in the Global Issues paragraphs...conditions. Every part of the simulator has a BITE/Debugger component, the general description of which is given in Global Issues . Simulator control

NEEMO 18-20: Analog Testing for Mitigation of Communication Latency During Human Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chappell, Steven P.; Beaton, Kara H.; Miller, Matthew J.; Graff, Trevor G.; Abercromby, Andrew F. J.; Gernhardt, Michael L.; Halcon, Christopher

2016-01-01

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) is an underwater spaceflight analog that allows a true mission-like operational environment and uses buoyancy effects and added weight to simulate different gravity levels. Three missions were undertaken from 2014-2015, NEEMO's 18-20. All missions were performed at the Aquarius undersea research habitat. During each mission, the effects of communication latencies on operations concepts, timelines, and tasks were studied. METHODS: Twelve subjects (4 per mission) were weighed out to simulate near-zero or partial gravity extravehicular activity (EVA) and evaluated different operations concepts for integration and management of a simulated Earth-based science team (ST) to provide input and direction during exploration activities. Exploration traverses were preplanned based on precursor data. Subjects completed science-related tasks including pre-sampling surveys, geologic-based sampling, and marine-based sampling as a portion of their tasks on saturation dives up to 4 hours in duration that were designed to simulate extravehicular activity (EVA) on Mars or the moons of Mars. One-way communication latencies, 5 and 10 minutes between space and mission control, were simulated throughout the missions. Objective data included task completion times, total EVA times, crew idle time, translation time, ST assimilation time (defined as time available for ST to discuss data/imagery after data acquisition). Subjective data included acceptability, simulation quality, capability assessment ratings, and comments. RESULTS: Precursor data can be used effectively to plan and execute exploration traverse EVAs (plans included detailed location of science sites, high-fidelity imagery of the sites, and directions to landmarks of interest within a site). Operations concepts that allow for pre-sampling surveys enable efficient traverse execution and meaningful Mission Control Center (MCC) interaction across communication latencies and can be done with minimal crew idle time. Imagery and contextual information from the EVA crew that is transmitted real-time to the intravehicular (IV) crewmember(s) can be used to verify that exploration traverse plans are being executed correctly. That same data can be effectively used by MCC (across comm latency) to provide meaningful feedback and instruction to the crew regarding sampling priorities, additional tasks, and changes to the EVA timeline. Text / data capabilities are preferred over voice capabilities between MCC and IV when executing exploration traverse plans over communication latency.

Psychomotor testing predicts rate of skill acquisition for proficiency-based laparoscopic skills training.

PubMed

Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Korndorffer, James R; Black, F William; Dunne, J Bruce; Sierra, Rafael; Touchard, Cheri L; Rice, David A; Markert, Ronald J; Kastl, Peter R; Scott, Daniel J

2006-08-01

Laparoscopic simulator training translates into improved operative performance. Proficiency-based curricula maximize efficiency by tailoring training to meet the needs of each individual; however, because rates of skill acquisition vary widely, such curricula may be difficult to implement. We hypothesized that psychomotor testing would predict baseline performance and training duration in a proficiency-based laparoscopic simulator curriculum. Residents (R1, n = 20) were enrolled in an IRB-approved prospective study at the beginning of the academic year. All completed the following: a background information survey, a battery of 12 innate ability measures (5 motor, and 7 visual-spatial), and baseline testing on 3 validated simulators (5 videotrainer [VT] tasks, 12 virtual reality [minimally invasive surgical trainer-virtual reality, MIST-VR] tasks, and 2 laparoscopic camera navigation [LCN] tasks). Participants trained to proficiency, and training duration and number of repetitions were recorded. Baseline test scores were correlated to skill acquisition rate. Cutoff scores for each predictive test were calculated based on a receiver operator curve, and their sensitivity and specificity were determined in identifying slow learners. Only the Cards Rotation test correlated with baseline simulator ability on VT and LCN. Curriculum implementation required 347 man-hours (6-person team) and 795,000 dollars of capital equipment. With an attendance rate of 75%, 19 of 20 residents (95%) completed the curriculum by the end of the academic year. To complete training, a median of 12 hours (range, 5.5-21), and 325 repetitions (range, 171-782) were required. Simulator score improvement was 50%. Training duration and repetitions correlated with prior video game and billiard exposure, grooved pegboard, finger tap, map planning, Rey Figure Immediate Recall score, and baseline performance on VT and LCN. The map planning cutoff score proved most specific in identifying slow learners. Proficiency-based laparoscopic simulator training provides improvement in performance and can be effectively implemented as a routine part of resident education, but may require significant resources. Although psychomotor testing may be of limited value in the prediction of baseline laparoscopic performance, its importance may lie in the prediction of the rapidity of skill acquisition. These tests may be useful in optimizing curricular design by allowing the tailoring of training to individual needs.

Graphics simulation and training aids for advanced teleoperation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Won S.; Schenker, Paul S.; Bejczy, Antal K.

1993-01-01

Graphics displays can be of significant aid in accomplishing a teleoperation task throughout all three phases of off-line task analysis and planning, operator training, and online operation. In the first phase, graphics displays provide substantial aid to investigate work cell layout, motion planning with collision detection and with possible redundancy resolution, and planning for camera views. In the second phase, graphics displays can serve as very useful tools for introductory training of operators before training them on actual hardware. In the third phase, graphics displays can be used for previewing planned motions and monitoring actual motions in any desired viewing angle, or, when communication time delay prevails, for providing predictive graphics overlay on the actual camera view of the remote site to show the non-time-delayed consequences of commanded motions in real time. This paper addresses potential space applications of graphics displays in all three operational phases of advanced teleoperation. Possible applications are illustrated with techniques developed and demonstrated in the Advanced Teleoperation Laboratory at JPL. The examples described include task analysis and planning of a simulated Solar Maximum Satellite Repair task, a novel force-reflecting teleoperation simulator for operator training, and preview and predictive displays for on-line operations.

Computerized Tests of Team Performance and Crew Coordination Suitable for Military/Aviation Settings.

PubMed

Lawson, Ben D; Britt, Thomas W; Kelley, Amanda M; Athy, Jeremy R; Legan, Shauna M

2017-08-01

The coordination of team effort on shared tasks is an area of inquiry. A number of tests of team performance in challenging environments have been developed without comparison or standardization. This article provides a systematic review of the most accessible and usable low-to-medium fidelity computerized tests of team performance and determines which are most applicable to military- and aviation-relevant research, such as studies of group command, control, communication, and crew coordination. A search was conducted to identify computerized measures of team performance. In addition to extensive literature searches (DTIC, Psychinfo, PubMed), the authors reached out to team performance researchers at conferences and through electronic communication. Identified were 57 potential tests according to 6 specific selection criteria (e.g., the requirement for automated collection of team performance and coordination processes, the use of military-relevant scenarios). The following seven tests (listed alphabetically) were considered most suitable for military needs: Agent Enabled Decision Group Environment (AEDGE), C3Conflict, the C3 (Command, Control, & Communications) Interactive Task for Identifying Emerging Situations (NeoCITIES), Distributed Dynamic Decision Making (DDD), Duo Wondrous Original Method Basic Awareness/Airmanship Test (DuoWOMBAT), the Leader Development Simulator (LDS), and the Planning Task for Teams (PLATT). Strengths and weaknesses of these tests are described and recommendations offered to help researchers identify the test most suitable for their particular needs. Adoption of a few standard computerized test batteries to study team performance would facilitate the evaluation of interventions intended to enhance group performance in multiple challenging military and aerospace operational environments.Lawson BD, Britt TW, Kelley AM, Athy JR, Legan SM. Computerized tests of team performance and crew coordination suitable for military/aviation settings. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(8):722-729.

Results for the Fourth Quarter Calendar Year 2015 Tank 50H Salt Solution Sample

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

Crawford, C.

In this memorandum, the chemical and radionuclide contaminant results from the Fourth Quarter Calendar Year 2015 (CY15) sample of Tank 50H salt solution are presented in tabulated form. The Fourth Quarter CY15 Tank 50H samples were obtained on October 29, 2015 and received at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) on October 30, 2015. The information from this characterization will be used by Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) & Saltstone Facility Engineering for the transfer of aqueous waste from Tank 50H to the Salt Feed Tank in the Saltstone Production Facility, where the waste will be treated and disposed of inmore » the Saltstone Disposal Facility. This memorandum compares results, where applicable, to Saltstone Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) limits and targets. Data pertaining to the regulatory limits for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals will be documented at a later time per the Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP) for the Tank 50H saltstone task. The chemical and radionuclide contaminant results from the characterization of the Fourth Quarter Calendar Year 2015 (CY15) sampling of Tank 50H were requested by SRR personnel and details of the testing are presented in the SRNL Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan.« less

Study of oxygen gas production phenomenon during stand and discharge in silver-zinc batteries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The effects of a number of cell process and performance variables upon the oxygen evolution rate of silver/silver oxide cathodes are studied to predict and measure the conditions which would result in the production of a minimum of oxygen. The following five tasks comprise the study: the design and fabrication of two pilot test cells to be used for electrode testing; the determination of the sensitivity and accuracy of the test cell; the determination of total volumes and rates of generation by cathodes of standard production procedures; the construction of a sequential test plan; and the construction of a series of positive formation cells in which formation process factors can be controlled.

Development of Computerized Monitoring of Education Plans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, J. Weldon; And Others

The District of Columbia Public Schools initiated a multiyear planning process in 1983. Among other activities, the process calls for the computerized monitoring of the critical tasks of each of the district's major offices. These tasks, defined by the offices, are designed to facilitate the achievement of specific objectives designated in the…

77 FR 58097 - Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Strategic Plan 2013-2017

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-19

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648-XC120 Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Strategic Plan 2013--2017 Correction In notice document 2012-19161, appearing on pages 46730-46732 in the issue of Monday, August 6, 2012, make the following correction: On page...

JT9D engine diagnostics. Task 2: Feasibility study of measuring in-service flight loads. [747 aircraft performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kafka, P. G.; Skibo, M. A.; White, J. L.

1977-01-01

The feasibility of measuring JT9D propulsion system flight inertia loads on a 747 airplane is studied. Flight loads background is discussed including the current status of 747/JT9D loads knowledge. An instrumentation and test plan is formulated for an airline-owned in-service airplane and the Boeing-owned RA001 test airplane. Technical and cost comparisons are made between these two options. An overall technical feasibility evaluation is made and a cost summary presented. Conclusions and recommendations are presented in regard to using existing inertia loads data versus conducting a flight test to measure inertia loads.

A Feasible Approach for an Early Manned Lunar Landing. Part II: Detailed Report of Ad Hoc Task Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleming, William A.

1961-01-01

This report, in two parts, presents a program development plan for attempting a first manned lunar landing in 1967. The two parts consist of a Summary Report and a Detailed Report representing the coordinated output of the Ad Hoc Task Group assigned to the study. The study was started in response to the request for such a study by the Associate Administrator in his memorandum of May 2, 1961 establishing the Ad Hoc Task Group. The purpose of the study was to take a first cut at the tasks associated with the design, development and construction of the equipment and facilities as well as the development of the crews, and to show the time phasing 6f these tasks. Included are the space sciences, life science and advanced technology tasks whose data and results are needed for designing and developing the systems required in carrying out the mission. The plan presented in the two reports does not presume to be a firm plan. Its basic purpose is, by choosing one feasible method, to size up the scope, schedule and cost of the job, discover the main problems, pacing items and major decisions and provide a threshold from which a firm and detailed project development plan can be jointly formulated by the various elements of NASA.

Life sciences payload definition and integration study, task C and D. Volume 2: Payload definition, integration, and planning studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The Life Sciences Payload Definition and Integration Study was composed of four major tasks. Tasks A and B, the laboratory definition phase, were the subject of prior NASA study. The laboratory definition phase included the establishment of research functions, equipment definitions, and conceptual baseline laboratory designs. These baseline laboratories were designated as Maxi-Nom, Mini-30, and Mini-7. The outputs of Tasks A and B were used by the NASA Life Sciences Payload Integration Team to establish guidelines for Tasks C and D, the laboratory integration phase of the study. A brief review of Tasks A and B is presented provide background continuity. The tasks C and D effort is the subject of this report. The Task C effort stressed the integration of the NASA selected laboratory designs with the shuttle sortie module. The Task D effort updated and developed costs that could be used by NASA for preliminary program planning.

Counterfactual cognitive deficit in persons with Parkinson's disease

PubMed Central

McNamara, P; Durso, R; Brown, A; Lynch, A

2003-01-01

Background: Counterfactuals are mental representations of alternatives to past events. Recent research has shown them to be important for other cognitive processes, such as planning, causal reasoning, problem solving, and decision making—all processes independently linked to the frontal lobes. Objective: To test the hypothesis that counterfactual thinking is impaired in some patients with Parkinson's disease and is linked to frontal dysfunction in these patients. Methods. Measures of counterfactual processing and frontal lobe functioning were administered to 24 persons with Parkinson's disease and 15 age matched healthy controls. Results. Patients with Parkinson's disease spontaneously generated significantly fewer counterfactuals than controls despite showing no differences from controls on a semantic fluency test; they also performed at chance levels on a counterfactual inference test, while age matched controls performed above chance levels on this test. Performance on both the counterfactual generation and inference tests correlated significantly with performance on two tests traditionally linked to frontal lobe functioning (Stroop colour–word interference and Tower of London planning tasks) and one test of pragmatic social communication skills. Conclusions: Counterfactual thinking is impaired in Parkinson's disease. This impairment may be related to frontal lobe dysfunction. PMID:12876235

Development of an Experiment High Performance Nozzle Research Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

As proposed in the above OAI/NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) Co-Operative Agreement the objective of the work was to provide consultation and assistance to the NASA GRC GTX Rocket Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) Program Team in planning and developing requirements, scale model concepts, and plans for an experimental nozzle research program. The GTX was one of the launch vehicle concepts being studied as a possible future replacement for the aging NASA Space Shuttle, and was one RBCC element in the ongoing NASA Access to Space R&D Program (Reference 1). The ultimate program objective was the development of an appropriate experimental research program to evaluate and validate proposed nozzle concepts, and thereby result in the optimization of a high performance nozzle for the GTX launch vehicle. Included in this task were the identification of appropriate existing test facilities, development of requirements for new non-existent test rigs and fixtures, develop scale nozzle model concepts, and propose corresponding test plans. Also included were the evaluation of originally proposed and alternate nozzle designs (in-house and contractor), evaluation of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study results, and make recommendations for geometric changes to result in improved nozzle thrust coefficient performance (Cfg).

Working memory and organizational skills problems in ADHD.

PubMed

Kofler, Michael J; Sarver, Dustin E; Harmon, Sherelle L; Moltisanti, Allison; Aduen, Paula A; Soto, Elia F; Ferretti, Nicole

2018-01-01

This study tested model-driven predictions regarding working memory's role in the organizational problems associated with ADHD. Children aged 8-13 (M = 10.33, SD = 1.42) with and without ADHD (N = 103; 39 girls; 73% Caucasian/Non-Hispanic) were assessed on multiple, counterbalanced working memory tasks. Parents and teachers completed norm-referenced measures of organizational problems (Children's Organizational Skills Scale; COSS). Results confirmed large magnitude working memory deficits (d = 1.24) and organizational problems in ADHD (d = 0.85). Bias-corrected, bootstrapped conditional effects models linked impaired working memory with greater parent- and teacher-reported inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and organizational problems. Working memory predicted organization problems across all parent and teacher COSS subscales (R 2  = .19-.23). Approximately 38%-57% of working memory's effect on organization problems was conveyed by working memory's association with inattentive behavior. Unique effects of working memory remained significant for both parent- and teacher-reported task planning, as well as for teacher-reported memory/materials management and overall organization problems. Attention problems uniquely predicted worse organizational skills. Hyperactivity was unrelated to parent-reported organizational skills, but predicted better teacher-reported task planning. Children with ADHD exhibit multisetting, broad-based organizational impairment. These impaired organizational skills are attributable in part to performance deficits secondary to working memory dysfunction, both directly and indirectly via working memory's role in regulating attention. Impaired working memory in ADHD renders it extraordinarily difficult for these children to consistently anticipate, plan, enact, and maintain goal-directed actions. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Test plan. GCPS task 7, subtask 7.1: IHM development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, H. S.

1994-01-01

The overall objective of Task 7 is to identify cost-effective life cycle integrated health management (IHM) approaches for a reusable launch vehicle's primary structure. Acceptable IHM approaches must: eliminate and accommodate faults through robust designs, identify optimum inspection/maintenance periods, automate ground and on-board test and check-out, and accommodate and detect structural faults by providing wide and localized area sensor and test coverage as required. These requirements are elements of our targeted primary structure low cost operations approach using airline-like maintenance by exception philosophies. This development plan will follow an evolutionary path paving the way to the ultimate development of flight-quality production, operations, and vehicle systems. This effort will be focused on maturing the recommended sensor technologies required for localized and wide area health monitoring to a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 and to establish flight ready system design requirements. The following is a brief list of IHM program objectives: design out faults by analyzing material properties, structural geometry, and load and environment variables and identify failure modes and damage tolerance requirements; design in system robustness while meeting performance objectives (weight limitations) of the reusable launch vehicle primary structure; establish structural integrity margins to preclude the need for test and checkout and predict optimum inspection/maintenance periods through life prediction analysis; identify optimum fault protection system concept definitions combining system robustness and integrity margins established above with cost effective health monitoring technologies; and use coupons, panels, and integrated full scale primary structure test articles to identify, evaluate, and characterize the preferred NDE/NDI/IHM sensor technologies that will be a part of the fault protection system.

Longitudinal Analysis of Music Education on Executive Functions in Primary School Children

PubMed Central

Jaschke, Artur C.; Honing, Henkjan; Scherder, Erik J. A.

2018-01-01

Background: Research on the effects of music education on cognitive abilities has generated increasing interest across the scientific community. Nonetheless, longitudinal studies investigating the effects of structured music education on cognitive sub-functions are still rare. Prime candidates for investigating a relationship between academic achievement and music education appear to be executive functions such as planning, working memory, and inhibition. Methods: One hundred and forty-seven primary school children, Mage = 6.4 years, SD = 0.65 were followed for 2.5 years. Participants were randomized into four groups: two music intervention groups, one active visual arts group, and a no arts control group. Neuropsychological tests assessed verbal intelligence and executive functions. Additionally, a national pupil monitor provided data on academic performance. Results: Children in the visual arts group perform better on visuospatial memory tasks as compared to the three other conditions. However, the test scores on inhibition, planning and verbal intelligence increased significantly in the two music groups over time as compared to the visual art and no arts controls. Mediation analysis with executive functions and verbal IQ as mediator for academic performance have shown a possible far transfer effect from executive sub-function to academic performance scores. Discussion: The present results indicate a positive influence of long-term music education on cognitive abilities such as inhibition and planning. Of note, following a two-and-a-half year long visual arts program significantly improves scores on a visuospatial memory task. All results combined, this study supports a far transfer effect from music education to academic achievement mediated by executive sub-functions. PMID:29541017

Longitudinal Analysis of Music Education on Executive Functions in Primary School Children.

PubMed

Jaschke, Artur C; Honing, Henkjan; Scherder, Erik J A

2018-01-01

Background: Research on the effects of music education on cognitive abilities has generated increasing interest across the scientific community. Nonetheless, longitudinal studies investigating the effects of structured music education on cognitive sub-functions are still rare. Prime candidates for investigating a relationship between academic achievement and music education appear to be executive functions such as planning, working memory, and inhibition. Methods: One hundred and forty-seven primary school children, M age = 6.4 years, SD = 0.65 were followed for 2.5 years. Participants were randomized into four groups: two music intervention groups, one active visual arts group, and a no arts control group. Neuropsychological tests assessed verbal intelligence and executive functions. Additionally, a national pupil monitor provided data on academic performance. Results: Children in the visual arts group perform better on visuospatial memory tasks as compared to the three other conditions. However, the test scores on inhibition, planning and verbal intelligence increased significantly in the two music groups over time as compared to the visual art and no arts controls. Mediation analysis with executive functions and verbal IQ as mediator for academic performance have shown a possible far transfer effect from executive sub-function to academic performance scores. Discussion: The present results indicate a positive influence of long-term music education on cognitive abilities such as inhibition and planning. Of note, following a two-and-a-half year long visual arts program significantly improves scores on a visuospatial memory task. All results combined, this study supports a far transfer effect from music education to academic achievement mediated by executive sub-functions.

There and back again: putting the vectorial movement planning hypothesis to a critical test.

PubMed

Kobak, Eva-Maria; Cardoso de Oliveira, Simone

2014-01-01

Based on psychophysical evidence about how learning of visuomotor transformation generalizes, it has been suggested that movements are planned on the basis of movement direction and magnitude, i.e., the vector connecting movement origin and targets. This notion is also known under the term "vectorial planning hypothesis". Previous psychophysical studies, however, have included separate areas of the workspace for training movements and testing the learning. This study eliminates this confounding factor by investigating the transfer of learning from forward to backward movements in a center-out-and-back task, in which the workspace for both movements is completely identical. Visual feedback allowed for learning only during movements towards the target (forward movements) and not while moving back to the origin (backward movements). When subjects learned the visuomotor rotation in forward movements, initial directional errors in backward movements also decreased to some degree. This learning effect in backward movements occurred predominantly when backward movements featured the same movement directions as the ones trained in forward movements (i.e., when opposite targets were presented). This suggests that learning was transferred in a direction specific way, supporting the notion that movement direction is the most prominent parameter used for motor planning.

Design and evaluation of a software prototype for participatory planning of environmental adaptations.

PubMed

Eriksson, J; Ek, A; Johansson, G

2000-03-01

A software prototype to support the planning process for adapting home and work environments for people with physical disabilities was designed and later evaluated. The prototype exploits low-cost three-dimensional (3-D) graphics products in the home computer market. The essential features of the prototype are: interactive rendering with optional hardware acceleration, interactive walk-throughs, direct manipulation tools for moving objects and measuring distances, and import of 3-D-objects from a library. A usability study was conducted, consisting of two test sessions (three weeks apart) and a final interview. The prototype was then tested and evaluated by representatives of future users: five occupational therapist students, and four persons with physical disability, with no previous experience of the prototype. Emphasis in the usability study was placed on the prototype's efficiency and learnability. We found that it is possible to realise a planning tool for environmental adaptations, both regarding usability and technical efficiency. The usability evaluation confirms our findings from previous case studies, regarding the relevance and positive attitude towards this kind of planning tool. Although the prototype was found to be satisfactorily efficient for the basic tasks, the paper presents several suggestions for improvement of future prototype versions.

Power system restoration - A task force report

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

Adibi, M.; Clelland, P.; Link, L.

1987-05-01

The IEEE PES System Operation Subcommittee has established the Power System Restoration Task Force to: review operating practices, conduct a literature search, prepare relevant glossaries and bibliographies, and promote information exchange through technical papers. This is the first report of the Task Force. The problem of bulk power system restoration following a complete or partial collapse is practically as old as the electric utility industry itself. Many electric utilities have developed over the years system restoration schemes that meet the needs of their particular systems. These plans provide a great deal of insight into how the restorative process is viewedmore » by operating and planning personnel and what concerns and constraints any plan must operate under.« less

On-Line Allocation Of Robot Resources To Task Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyons, Damian M.

1989-02-01

In this paper, I present an approach to representing plans that make on-line decisions about resource allocation. An on-line decision is the evaluation of a conditional expression involving sensory information as the plan is being executed. I use a plan representation called 7ZS10'1 1,12that has been especially designed for the domain of robot programming, and in particular, for the problem of on-line decisions. The resource allocation example is based on the robot assembly cell architecture outlined by Venkataraman and Lyons16. I begin by setting forth a definition of on-line decision making and some arguments as to why this form of decision making is important and useful. To set the context for the resource allocation example, I take some care in categorizing the types of on-line decision making and the approaches adopted by other workers so far. In particular, I justify a plan-based approach to the study of on-line decision making. From that, the focus shifts to one type of decision making: on-line allocation of robot resources to task plans. Robot resources are the physical manipulators (grippers, wrists, arms, feeders, etc) that are available to carry out the task. I formulate the assembly cell architecture of Venkataraman and Lyons16 as an R.S plan schema, and show how the on-line allocation specified in that architecture can be implemented. Finally, I show how considering the on-line allocation of logical resources, that is a physical resource plus some model information, can be used as a non-traditional approach to some problems in robot task planning.

TH-AB-201-01: A Feasibility Study of Independent Dose Verification for CyberKnife

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

Sato, A; Noda, T; Keduka, Y

2016-06-15

Purpose: CyberKnife irradiation is composed of tiny-size, multiple and intensity-modulated beams compared to conventional linacs. Few of the publications for Independent dose calculation verification for CyberKnife have been reported. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of independent dose verification for CyberKnife treatment as Secondary check. Methods: The followings were measured: test plans using some static and single beams, clinical plans in a phantom and using patient’s CT. 75 patient plans were collected from several treatment sites of brain, lung, liver and bone. In the test plans and the phantom plans, a pinpoint ion-chamber measurement was performed to assess dosemore » deviation for a treatment planning system (TPS) and an independent verification program of Simple MU Analysis (SMU). In the clinical plans, dose deviation between the SMU and the TPS was performed. Results: In test plan, the dose deviations were 3.3±4.5%, and 4.1±4.4% for the TPS and the SMU, respectively. In the phantom measurements for the clinical plans, the dose deviations were −0.2±3.6% for the TPS and −2.3±4.8% for the SMU. In the clinical plans using the patient’s CT, the dose deviations were −3.0±2.1% (Mean±1SD). The systematic difference was partially derived from inverse square law and penumbra calculation. Conclusion: The independent dose calculation for CyberKnife shows −3.0±4.2% (Mean±2SD) and our study, the confidence limit was achieved within 5% of the tolerance level from AAPM task group 114 for non-IMRT treatment. Thus, it may be feasible to use independent dose calculation verification for CyberKnife treatment as the secondary check. This research is partially supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)« less

Determination of the Proper Rest Time for a Cyclic Mental Task Using ACT-R Architecture.

PubMed

Atashfeshan, Nooshin; Razavi, Hamideh

2017-03-01

Objective Analysis of the effect of mental fatigue on a cognitive task and determination of the right start time for rest breaks in work environments. Background Mental fatigue has been recognized as one of the most important factors influencing individual performance. Subjective and physiological measures are popular methods for analyzing fatigue, but they are restricted to physical experiments. Computational cognitive models are useful for predicting operator performance and can be used for analyzing fatigue in the design phase, particularly in industrial operations and inspections where cognitive tasks are frequent and the effects of mental fatigue are crucial. Method A cyclic mental task is modeled by the ACT-R architecture, and the effect of mental fatigue on response time and error rate is studied. The task includes visual inspections in a production line or control workstation where an operator has to check products' conformity to specifications. Initially, simulated and experimental results are compared using correlation coefficients and paired t test statistics. After validation of the model, the effects are studied by human and simulated results, which are obtained by running 50-minute tests. Results It is revealed that during the last 20 minutes of the tests, the response time increased by 20%, and during the last 12.5 minutes, the error rate increased by 7% on average. Conclusion The proper start time for the rest period can be identified by setting a limit on the error rate or response time. Application The proposed model can be applied early in production planning to decrease the negative effects of mental fatigue by predicting the operator performance. It can also be used for determining the rest breaks in the design phase without an operator in the loop.

Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Construction Cost Reductions through the Use of Virtual Environments - Task 4 Report: Virtual Mockup Maintenance Task Evaluation

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

Timothy Shaw; Anthony Baratta; Vaughn Whisker

2005-02-28

Task 4 report of 3 year DOE NERI-sponsored effort evaluating immersive virtual reality (CAVE) technology for design review, construction planning, and maintenance planning and training for next generation nuclear power plants. Program covers development of full-scale virtual mockups generated from 3D CAD data presented in a CAVE visualization facility. This report focuses on using Full-scale virtual mockups for nuclear power plant training applications.

78 FR 9928 - Food and Drug Administration Drug Shortages Task Force and Strategic Plan; Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0124] Food and Drug Administration Drug Shortages Task Force and Strategic Plan; Request for Comments AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice; request for comments. SUMMARY: To assist the Food...

Considerations for Marketing the Health Education Specialist to Employers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gambescia, Stephen F.; Cottrell, Randall R.; Capwell, Ellen; Auld, M. Elaine; Conley, Kathleen Mullen; Lysoby, Linda; Goldsmith, Malcolm; Smith, Becky

2009-01-01

The Coalition of National Health Education Organizations (CNHEO) established a task force in 2003 to design a marketing plan to promote the health education profession. Task force members decided that before developing a full-scale marketing plan to reach employers, they should learn more about employers' current knowledge and attitudes regarding…

Teachers' Decisions about Mathematics Tasks When Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Peter; Clarke, David; Clarke, Doug; Roche, Anne

2013-01-01

At some stage when planning, teachers make decisions about the mathematics tasks they will pose and how they will structure lessons. It seems, though, that these decisions are complex, and that this complexity has been underestimated by curriculum developers and teacher educators. The following is a report of data collection that simulated some of…

Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration

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

Bill Stanley; Patrick Gonzalez; Sandra Brown

2005-10-01

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects,more » providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas reductions. The research described in this report occurred between April 1st , 2005 and June 30th, 2005. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: emerging technologies for remote sensing of terrestrial carbon; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.« less

Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration

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

Bill Stanley; Patrick Gonzalez; Sandra Brown

2006-01-01

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects,more » providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas reductions. The research described in this report occurred between April 1st , 2005 and June 30th, 2005. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: emerging technologies for remote sensing of terrestrial carbon; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.« less

Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance: Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning.

PubMed

Chevalier, Nicolas; James, Tiffany D; Wiebe, Sandra A; Nelson, Jennifer Mize; Espy, Kimberly Andrews

2014-07-01

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter than subsequent item recall durations, whereas it was systematically longer during elementary school and in adults. Although children mostly approached the task reactively at preschool, they proactively planned response sequences with increasing efficiency from age 7 on, like adults. These findings clarify the nature of the changes in executive control that support working memory performance with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of GIS Technology for Town Planning Tasks Solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiyashko, G. A.

2017-11-01

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

SmartStaff: A Support Concept for Staff Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-11-01

facilitated time management and decreased the ambiguities of the plans presented. However, the quality of the final plan did not improve. Team decision making, Team Planning, Group Support Systems, Task Group Staff

An evaluation of end-point trajectory planning during skilled kicking.

PubMed

Ford, Paul; Hodges, Nicola J; Mark Williams, A

2009-01-01

There is evidence that actions are planned by anticipation of their external effects, with the strength of this effect being dependent on the amount of prior practice. In Experiment 1, skilled soccer players performed a kicking task under four conditions: planning in terms of an external action effect (i.e., ball trajectory) or in terms of body movements, either with or without visual error feedback. When feedback was withheld, a ball focus resulted in more accurate outcomes than a body focus. When visual feedback was allowed, there was no difference between these two conditions. In Experiment 2, both skilled and novice soccer players were tested with the addition of a control condition and in the absence of visual feedback. For both groups there was evidence that a ball focus was more beneficial for performance than a body focus, particularly in terms of movement kinematics where correlations across the joints were generally higher for body rather than ball planning. Most skilled participants reported that ball planning felt more normal than body planning. These experiments provide some evidence that actions are planned in terms of their external action effects, supporting the common-coding hypothesis of action planning.

Test Plan - Solids Accumulation Scouting Studies

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

Duignan, M. R.; Steeper, T. J.; Steimke, J. L.

This plan documents the highlights of the Solids Accumulations Scouting Studies test; a project, from Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), that began on February 1, 2012. During the last 12 weeks considerable progress has been made to design and plan methods that will be used to estimate the concentration and distribution of heavy fissile solids in accumulated solids in the Hanford double-shell tank (DST) 241-AW-105 (AW-105), which is the primary goal of this task. This DST will be one of the several waste feed delivery staging tanks designated to feed the Pretreatment Facility (PTF) of the Waste Treatment and Immobilizationmore » Plant (WTP). Note that over the length of the waste feed delivery mission AW-105 is currently identified as having the most fill empty cycles of any DST feed tanks, which is the reason for modeling this particular tank. At SRNL an existing test facility, the Mixing Demonstration Tank, which will be modified for the present work, will use stainless steel particles in a simulant that represents Hanford waste to perform mock staging tanks transfers that will allow solids to accumulate in the tank heel. The concentration and location of the mock fissile particles will be measured in these scoping studies to produce information that will be used to better plan larger scaled tests. Included in these studies is a secondary goal of developing measurement methods to accomplish the primary goal. These methods will be evaluated for use in the larger scale experiments. Included in this plan are the several pretest activities that will validate the measurement techniques that are currently in various phases of construction. Aspects of each technique, e.g., particle separations, volume determinations, topographical mapping, and core sampling, have been tested in bench-top trials, as discussed herein, but the actual equipment to be employed during the full test will need evaluation after fabrication and integration into the test facility.« less

The BBN (Bolt Beranek and Newman) Knowledge Acquisition Project. Phase 1. Functional Description; Test Plan.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-01

Computers . " Symbolics. Inc. 8. Carnegie Group. Inc KnoiledgeCraft Carnegie Group, Inc.. 1985. .- 9. Moser, Margaret, An Overviev of NIKL. Section of BBN...ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS I0. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK BBN Laboratories Inc. AREAAWoRIUNTNUMER_ 10 Moulton St. Cambridge, MA 02238 It...knowledge representation, expert systems; strategic computing , . A 20 ABSTRACT (Contnue an r rerse ide If neceaesary and Identify by block number) This

Space station System Engineering and Integration (SE and I). Volume 2: Study results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

A summary of significant study results that are products of the Phase B conceptual design task are contained. Major elements are addressed. Study results applicable to each major element or area of design are summarized and included where appropriate. Areas addressed include: system engineering and integration; customer accommodations; test and program verification; product assurance; conceptual design; operations and planning; technical and management information system (TMIS); and advanced development.

Developing Memory Reconsolidation Blockers as Novel PTSD Treatments

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

freezing in a Pavlovian cue- conditioned fear task in rats. In Stage II, we will evaluate the ability of candidate drugs to reverse fear conditioning ...disorder (PTSD). The underlying theory is that candidate drugs , when given following the reactivation of a conditioned fear response in animals, or a...traumatic memory in humans, will reduce the strength of the conditioned response or traumatic memory. We plan to test such drugs , either alone or in

Guidelines for Research Planning and Design in Task Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-09-01

Personnel and Training Research Programs Psychological Sciences Division Office of Naval Research Contract No. N00014-74-A-0436-0001 NR 151-370...Programs Psychological Sciences Division Office of Naval Research Contract No. N00014-74-A-0436-0001 NR 151-370 Approved for public release...for ways in which the hypothesis can be tested . There are 11 several ways to do this and they are often used jointly. 1* Review of the Literature

Avionics Simulation, Development and Software Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

During this reporting period, all technical responsibilities were accomplished as planned. A close working relationship was maintained with personnel of the MSFC Avionics Department Software Group (ED14), the MSFC EXPRESS Project Office (FD31), and the Huntsville Boeing Company. Accomplishments included: performing special tasks; supporting Software Review Board (SRB), Avionics Test Bed (ATB), and EXPRESS Software Control Panel (ESCP) activities; participating in technical meetings; and coordinating issues between the Boeing Company and the MSFC Project Office.

AI in manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, John E.; Minato, Rick; Smith, David M.; Loftin, R. B.; Savely, Robert T.

1991-10-01

AI techniques are shown to have been useful in such aerospace industry tasks as vehicle configuration layouts, process planning, tool design, numerically-controlled programming of tools, production scheduling, and equipment testing and diagnosis. Accounts are given of illustrative experiences at the production facilities of three major aerospace defense contractors. Also discussed is NASA's autonomous Intelligent Computer-Aided Training System, for such ambitious manned programs as Space Station Freedom, which employs five different modules to constitute its job-independent training architecture.

The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on L2 Oral Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levkina, Mayya; Gilabert, Roger

2012-01-01

This paper examines the impact of task complexity on L2 production. The study increases task complexity by progressively removing pre-task planning time and increasing the number of elements. The combined effects of manipulating these two variables of task complexity simultaneously are also analyzed. Using a repeated measures design, 42…

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

Swift, Ralph

Idaho`s Model Watershed Project was established as part of the Northwest Power Planning Council`s plan for salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. The Council`s charge was simply stated and came without strings. The tasks were to identify actions within the watershed that are planned or needed for salmon habitat, and establish a procedure for implementing habitat-improvement measures. The Council gave the responsibility of developing this project to the Idaho Soil Conservation Commission. This Model Watershed Plan is intended to be a dynamic plan that helps address these two tasks. It is not intended to be the final say onmore » either. It is also not meant to establish laws, policies, or regulations for the agencies, groups, or individuals who participated in the plan development.« less

Development of Thermoacoustic Sensors for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors

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

Heibel, Michael D.; Carvajal, Jorge V.; Ferroni, Paolo

This Final Report refers to the project “Development of Thermoacoustic Sensors for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor Systems”, which was led by Westinghouse Electric Company (Westinghouse) and carried out in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and University of Pittsburgh. Thermo-acoustic Power Sensors (TAPS) are self-powered, wireless sensors envisioned for measuring key parameters, such as local temperature and neutron flux, in a nuclear reactor core. This project was intended to specifically investigate their applicability to Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR). TAPS are non-invasive (wireless) and passive (self-powered) devices. The passivity derives from their ability to use conditions that “naturally” exist in a nuclearmore » reactor, such as gamma and neutron flux, as power sources. They generate oscillating pressure waves (i.e., sound waves) which, with a frequency and amplitude dependent upon these conditions, can travel through the core and associated structures, and reach the outside of the reactor vessel where a properly designed network of receivers can detect and interpret them. These receivers require a very small amount of power which, during loss of power events, can be provided for example by harvesting gamma radiation energy, thus resulting in a monitoring system that can function both during normal operation and during loss of power events. The project aimed at TAPS development through a series of tasks which are listed and briefly discussed as follows. TASK 1 – Sensor hardware design Subtask 1a: Assessment of sensor applications to SFRs Subtask 1b: Development of sensor functional requirements Subtask 1c: Definition of sensor hardware design specifications Task description: TAPS design was informed by considerations on their application (Subtask 1a), both the ultimate one in an SFR and the actual one in the ANL testing facilities that was intended to be used in support of the project. Considerations were made to identify optimum sensor design features that optimize the sensor size, materials, and output signal, for installation inside an SFR core. These considerations led to the development of Functional Requirements (Subtask 1b) and Design Requirements (Subtask 1c). TASK 2 – Sensor Hardware Manufacture Subtask 2a: Sensor hardware construction drawing development Subtask 2b: Sensor manufacture and assembly Task description: TAPS technical drawings were developed (Subtask 2a) using the Design Requirements established under Task 1. Subsequently, in spite of some problems which ultimately caused the program to be delayed, TAPS manufacturing was completed based on drawings (Subtask 2b). TASK 3 – Development of TAPS Signal Measurement System and TAPS Testing in Water Subtask 3a: Design, assembly and testing of signal measurement system, and TAPS testing in water Subtask 3b: Signal prediction-correction methodology development Task description: An assessment was performed on the techniques that can potentially be used to detect the signals emitted by the TAPS, e.g. a fiber-optic based acoustic signal measurement system, a laser vibrometer system, or an accelerometer-based system. The most suited technology, i.e. the accelerometer-based system, was developed further, and tested in water (Subtask 3a). Moreover, efforts were made to develop the methodology required to determine the actual system temperature and neutron flux distribution using differences between the measured and predicted TAPS responses (Subtask 3b). TASK 4 – Sensor System Testing in Sodium Subtask 4a: Test plan development Subtask 4b: Design, assembly and testing in small-scale sodium facility Subtask 4c: Design, assembly and testing in large-scale sodium and structures facility Task description: Upon proper test plan development (Subtask 4a), the fabricated TAPS was planned to be tested in sodium, by using two sodium facilities at ANL having different size and different purpose. The Under Sodium Viewing (USV) small-scale facility was intended to be used to investigate the effect of sodium on the sensor and its performance (Subtask 4b). The Mechanism Engineering Test Loop (METL) large-scale facility was instead intended to be used to assess the additional effect of prototypical SFR structures, such as fuel assembly mockup or parts of the core restrain structure, on sensor performance (Subtask 4c). As discussed in Section 3.2.2.7, unexpected issues during the TAPS manufacturing process resulted in some activities being delayed, with the TAPS and USV facility developed to the point to be ready for testing in sodium, however without the possibility to actually perform such testing (including the testing in METL) due to the end of the program’s performance period. Overall, through the development and testing (in water only) of two TAPS devices (a First-Generation TAPS followed by an optimized Second-Generation TAPS), the project confirmed the capability of this technology to generate acoustic signals proportional to temperature, which can be detected through a network of accelerometers identified as the best-suited type of receivers for acoustic signal detection. Moreover, the project also developed a computational model to predict the characteristics of the acoustic signals being generated, which combines thermal analysis of the TAPS with Finite Element Modeling (FEM)-aided acoustic characterization of the system. This model was benchmarked against experimental data collected during the project and, although general agreement was obtained, some limitations of the modeling methods were identified, which require additional development. Additional testing is needed in order to assess the effect, on TAPS operation and performance, of environmental changes resulting from the transition from water to liquid sodium. Such testing, which is suggested to be performed in the future, should look specifically at 1) both the effect resulting from the different thermoacoustic behavior of sodium (relative to water) and the effects of higher temperature on TAPS performance, and 2) the performance of the sensor-receiver system when multiple TAPS are used simultaneously and prototypical reactor structures are positioned in the testing environment. The latter testing is needed to assess the effects that potential signal attenuation/ distortion phenomena, as well as potential interference between signals emitted simultaneously, have on the performance of the technology for ultimate application in a nuclear reactor.« less

Patient-specific Monte Carlo-based dose-kernel approach for inverse planning in afterloading brachytherapy.

PubMed

D'Amours, Michel; Pouliot, Jean; Dagnault, Anne; Verhaegen, Frank; Beaulieu, Luc

2011-12-01

Brachytherapy planning software relies on the Task Group report 43 dosimetry formalism. This formalism, based on a water approximation, neglects various heterogeneous materials present during treatment. Various studies have suggested that these heterogeneities should be taken into account to improve the treatment quality. The present study sought to demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating Monte Carlo (MC) dosimetry within an inverse planning algorithm to improve the dose conformity and increase the treatment quality. The method was based on precalculated dose kernels in full patient geometries, representing the dose distribution of a brachytherapy source at a single dwell position using MC simulations and the Geant4 toolkit. These dose kernels are used by the inverse planning by simulated annealing tool to produce a fast MC-based plan. A test was performed for an interstitial brachytherapy breast treatment using two different high-dose-rate brachytherapy sources: the microSelectron iridium-192 source and the electronic brachytherapy source Axxent operating at 50 kVp. A research version of the inverse planning by simulated annealing algorithm was combined with MC to provide a method to fully account for the heterogeneities in dose optimization, using the MC method. The effect of the water approximation was found to depend on photon energy, with greater dose attenuation for the lower energies of the Axxent source compared with iridium-192. For the latter, an underdosage of 5.1% for the dose received by 90% of the clinical target volume was found. A new method to optimize afterloading brachytherapy plans that uses MC dosimetric information was developed. Including computed tomography-based information in MC dosimetry in the inverse planning process was shown to take into account the full range of scatter and heterogeneity conditions. This led to significant dose differences compared with the Task Group report 43 approach for the Axxent source. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Habitual control of goal selection in humans

PubMed Central

Cushman, Fiery; Morris, Adam

2015-01-01

Humans choose actions based on both habit and planning. Habitual control is computationally frugal but adapts slowly to novel circumstances, whereas planning is computationally expensive but can adapt swiftly. Current research emphasizes the competition between habits and plans for behavioral control, yet many complex tasks instead favor their integration. We consider a hierarchical architecture that exploits the computational efficiency of habitual control to select goals while preserving the flexibility of planning to achieve those goals. We formalize this mechanism in a reinforcement learning setting, illustrate its costs and benefits, and experimentally demonstrate its spontaneous application in a sequential decision-making task. PMID:26460050

Effects of Information Visualization on Older Adults' Decision-Making Performance in a Medicare Plan Selection Task: A Comparative Usability Study.

PubMed

Price, Margaux M; Crumley-Branyon, Jessica J; Leidheiser, William R; Pak, Richard

2016-06-01

Technology gains have improved tools for evaluating complex tasks by providing environmental supports (ES) that increase ease of use and improve performance outcomes through the use of information visualizations (info-vis). Complex info-vis emphasize the need to understand individual differences in abilities of target users, the key cognitive abilities needed to execute a decision task, and the graphical elements that can serve as the most effective ES. Older adults may be one such target user group that would benefit from increased ES to mitigate specific declines in cognitive abilities. For example, choosing a prescription drug plan is a necessary and complex task that can impact quality of life if the wrong choice is made. The decision to enroll in one plan over another can involve comparing over 15 plans across many categories. Within this context, the large amount of complex information and reduced working memory capacity puts older adults' decision making at a disadvantage. An intentionally designed ES, such as an info-vis that reduces working memory demand, may assist older adults in making the most effective decision among many options. The objective of this study is to examine whether the use of an info-vis can lower working memory demands and positively affect complex decision-making performance of older adults in the context of choosing a Medicare prescription drug plan. Participants performed a computerized decision-making task in the context of finding the best health care plan. Data included quantitative decision-making performance indicators and surveys examining previous history with purchasing insurance. Participants used a colored info-vis ES or a table (no ES) to perform the decision task. Task difficulty was manipulated by increasing the number of selection criteria used to make an accurate decision. A repeated measures analysis was performed to examine differences between the two table designs. Twenty-three older adults between the ages of 66 and 80 completed the study. There was a main effect for accuracy such that older adults made more accurate decisions in the color info-vis condition than the table condition. In the low difficulty condition, participants were more successful at choosing the correct answer when the question was about the gap coverage attribute in the info-vis condition. Participants also made significantly faster decisions in the info-vis condition than in the table condition. Reducing the working memory demand of the task through the use of an ES can improve decision accuracy, especially when selection criteria is only focused on a single attribute of the insurance plan.

Neurophysiological Modulations of Non-Verbal and Verbal Dual-Tasks Interference during Word Planning.

PubMed

Fargier, Raphaël; Laganaro, Marina

2016-01-01

Running a concurrent task while speaking clearly interferes with speech planning, but whether verbal vs. non-verbal tasks interfere with the same processes is virtually unknown. We investigated the neural dynamics of dual-task interference on word production using event-related potentials (ERPs) with either tones or syllables as concurrent stimuli. Participants produced words from pictures in three conditions: without distractors, while passively listening to distractors and during a distractor detection task. Production latencies increased for tasks with higher attentional demand and were longer for syllables relative to tones. ERP analyses revealed common modulations by dual-task for verbal and non-verbal stimuli around 240 ms, likely corresponding to lexical selection. Modulations starting around 350 ms prior to vocal onset were only observed when verbal stimuli were involved. These later modulations, likely reflecting interference with phonological-phonetic encoding, were observed only when overlap between tasks was maximal and the same underlying neural circuits were engaged (cross-talk).

Task 4 supporting technology. Part 2: Detailed test plan for thermal seals. Thermal seals evaluation, improvement and test. CAN8-1, Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), advanced technology demonstrator: X-33. Leading edge and seals thermal protection system technology demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogenson, P. A.; Lu, Tina

1995-01-01

The objective is to develop the advanced thermal seals to a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6 to support the rapid turnaround time and low maintenance requirements of the X-33 and the future reusable launch vehicle (RLV). This program is divided into three subtasks: (1) orbiter thermal seals operation history review; (2) material, process, and design improvement; and (3) fabrication and evaluation of the advanced thermal seals.

LST CGM Generator and Viewer Final Report CRADA No. TSB-1558-98

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

Vickers, Don; Larson, Don

The purpose of this project was to jointly develop and test a software plug-in that would convert native Pro /ENGINEER digital engineering drawings to Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) format. If it was not feasible to convert the Pro/ENGINEER files, we planned to develop and test a similar conversion of native AutoCAD engineering drawings to CGM. CGM viewer plug-ins were developed as needed. There were four main tasks in this project: 1. Requirements for CGM Plug-in 2. Product Evaluation 3. Product Development Feasibility Study 4. Developing a "Plug-In" Application.

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

Mandapaka, A; Ghebremedhin, A; Farley, D

Purpose: To develop the methodology to evaluate the clinical performance of a Phase II Proton CT scanner Methods: Range errors on the order of 3%-5% constitute a major uncertainty in current charged particle treatment planning based on Hounsfield Unit (HU)-relative stopping power (RSP) calibration curves. Within our proton CT collaboration, we previously developed and built a Phase I proton CT scanner that provided a sensitive area of 9 cm (axial) × 18 cm (in-plane). This scanner served to get initial experience with this new treatment planning tool and to incorporate lessons learned into the next generation design. A Phase IImore » scanner was recently completed and is now undergoing initial performance testing. It will increase the proton acquisition rate and provide a larger detection area of 9 cm x 36 cm. We are now designing a comprehensive evaluation program to test the image quality, imaging dose, and range uncertainty associated with this scanner. The testing will be performed along the lines of AAPM TG 66. Results: In our discussion of the evaluation protocol we identified the following priorities. The image quality of proton CT images, in particular spatial resolution and low-density contrast discrimination, will be evaluated with the Catphan600 phantom. Initial testing showed that the Catphan uniformity phantom did not provide sufficient uniformity; it was thus replaced by a cylindrical water phantom. The imaging dose will be tested with a Catphan dose module, and compared to a typical cone beam CT dose for comparable image quality. Lastly, we developed a dedicated dosimetry range phantom based on the CIRS pediatric head phantom HN715. Conclusion: A formal evaluation of proton CT as a new tool for proton treatment planning is an important task. The availability of the new Phase II proton CT scanner will allow us to perform this task. This research is supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the NIH under award number R01EB013118. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.« less

Planning sentences while doing other things at the same time: effects of concurrent verbal and visuospatial working memory load.

PubMed

Klaus, Jana; Mädebach, Andreas; Oppermann, Frank; Jescheniak, Jörg D

2017-04-01

This study investigated to what extent advance planning during sentence production is affected by a concurrent cognitive load. In two picture-word interference experiments in which participants produced subject-verb-object sentences while ignoring auditory distractor words, we assessed advance planning at a phonological (lexeme) and at an abstract-lexical (lemma) level under visuospatial or verbal working memory (WM) load. At the phonological level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated before speech onset with concurrent visuospatial WM load, but only subject nouns were found to be activated with concurrent verbal WM load, indicating a reduced planning scope as a function of type of WM load (Experiment 1). By contrast, at the abstract-lexical level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated regardless of type of concurrent load (Experiment 2). In both experiments, sentence planning had a more detrimental effect on concurrent verbal WM task performance than on concurrent visuospatial WM task performance. Overall, our results suggest that advance planning at the phonological level is more affected by a concurrently performed verbal WM task than advance planning at the abstract-lexical level. Also, they indicate an overlap of resources allocated to phonological planning in speech production and verbal WM.

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

PubMed

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

2015-09-01

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

Quantifying the impact of cross coverage on physician's workload and performance in radiation oncology.

PubMed

Mosaly, Prithima R; Mazur, Lukasz M; Jones, Ellen L; Hoyle, Lesley; Zagar, Timothy; Chera, Bhishamjit S; Marks, Lawrence B

2013-01-01

To quantitatively assess the difference in workload and performance of radiation oncology physicians during radiation therapy treatment planning tasks under the conditions of "cross coverage" versus planning a patient with whom they were familiar. Eight physicians (3 experienced faculty physicians and 5 physician residents) performed 2 cases. The first case represented a "cross-coverage" scenario where the physicians had no prior information about the case to be planned. The second exposure represented a "regular-coverage" scenario where the physicians were familiar with the patient case to be planned. Each case involved 3 tasks to be completed systematically. Workload was assessed both subjectively (perceived) using National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and objectively (physiological) throughout the task using eye data (via monitoring pupil size and blink rate). Performance of each task and the case was measured using completion time. Subjective willingness to approve or disapprove the generated plan was obtained after completion of the case only. Forty-eight perceived and 48 physiological workload assessments were obtained. Overall, results revealed a significant increase in perceived workload (high NASA-TLX score) and decrease in performance (longer completion time and reduced approval rate) during cross coverage. There were nonsignificant increases in pupil diameter and decreases in the blink rate during cross-coverage versus regular-coverage scenario. In both cross-coverage and regular-coverage scenarios the level of experience did not affect workload and performance. The cross-coverage scenario significantly increases perceived workload and degrades performance versus regular coverage. Hence, to improve patient safety, efforts must be made to develop policies, standard operating procedures, and usability improvements to electronic medical record and treatment planning systems for "easier" information processing to deal with cross coverage, while recognizing strengths and limitations of human performance. Published by Elsevier Inc.

ISOLOK VALVE ACCEPTANCE TESTING FOR DWPF SME SAMPLING PROCESS

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

Edwards, T.; Hera, K.; Coleman, C.

2011-12-05

Evaluation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Chemical Process Cell (CPC) cycle time identified several opportunities to improve the CPC processing time. Of the opportunities, a focus area related to optimizing the equipment and efficiency of the sample turnaround time for DWPF Analytical Laboratory was identified. The Mechanical Systems & Custom Equipment Development (MS&CED) Section of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) evaluated the possibility of using an Isolok{reg_sign} sampling valve as an alternative to the Hydragard{reg_sign} valve for taking process samples. Previous viability testing was conducted with favorable results using the Isolok sampler and reported in SRNL-STI-2010-00749 (1).more » This task has the potential to improve operability, reduce maintenance time and decrease CPC cycle time. This report summarizes the results from acceptance testing which was requested in Task Technical Request (TTR) HLW-DWPF-TTR-2010-0036 (2) and which was conducted as outlined in Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP) SRNL-RP-2011-00145 (3). The Isolok to be tested is the same model which was tested, qualified, and installed in the Sludge Receipt Adjustment Tank (SRAT) sample system. RW-0333P QA requirements apply to this task. This task was to qualify the Isolok sampler for use in the DWPF Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) sampling process. The Hydragard, which is the current baseline sampling method, was used for comparison to the Isolok sampling data. The Isolok sampler is an air powered grab sampler used to 'pull' a sample volume from a process line. The operation of the sampler is shown in Figure 1. The image on the left shows the Isolok's spool extended into the process line and the image on the right shows the sampler retracted and then dispensing the liquid into the sampling container. To determine tank homogeneity, a Coliwasa sampler was used to grab samples at a high and low location within the mixing tank. Data from the two locations were compared to determine if the contents of the tank were well mixed. The Coliwasa sampler is a tube with a stopper at the bottom and is designed to obtain grab samples from specific locations within the drum contents. A position paper (4) was issued to address the prototypic flow loop issues and simulant selections. A statistically designed plan (5) was issued to address the total number of samples each sampler needed to pull, to provide the random order in which samples were pulled and to group samples for elemental analysis. The TTR required that the Isolok sampler perform as well as the Hydragard sampler during these tests to ensure the acceptability of the Isolok sampler for use in the DWPF sampling cells. Procedure No.L9.4-5015 was used to document the sample parameters and process steps. Completed procedures are located in R&D Engineering job folder 23269.« less

Sequential responding and planning in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

PubMed

Beran, Michael J; Parrish, Audrey E

2012-11-01

Previous experiments have assessed planning during sequential responding to computer generated stimuli by Old World nonhuman primates including chimpanzees and rhesus macaques. However, no such assessment has been made with a New World primate species. Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are an interesting test case for assessing the distribution of cognitive processes in the Order Primates because they sometimes show proficiency in tasks also mastered by apes and Old World monkeys, but in other cases fail to match the proficiency of those other species. In two experiments, eight capuchin monkeys selected five arbitrary stimuli in distinct locations on a computer monitor in a learned sequence. In Experiment 1, shift trials occurred in which the second and third stimuli were transposed when the first stimulus was selected by the animal. In Experiment 2, mask trials occurred in which all remaining stimuli were masked after the monkey selected the first stimulus. Monkeys made more mistakes on trials in which the locations of the second and third stimuli were interchanged than on trials in which locations were not interchanged, suggesting they had already planned to select a location that no longer contained the correct stimulus. When mask trials occurred, monkeys performed at levels significantly better than chance, but their performance exceeded chance levels only for the first and the second selections on a trial. These data indicate that capuchin monkeys performed very similarly to chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys and appeared to plan their selection sequences during the computerized task, but only to a limited degree.

Improving the students’ skills in developing geometry learning by building the character of academic atmosphere in Study Program of Elementary School Teacher Universitas Negeri Semarang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugraheni, N.; Wahyuningsih

2018-03-01

The purposes of this study for knowing how to improve the character of academic atmosphere to improve the ability in designing geometry learning on Study Program of Elementary School TeacherUniversitas Negeri Semarang students. This research is a classroom action research conducted in two cycles and each cycle consists of two meetings. Each cycle consists of planning, execution, observation, and evaluation. The subjects of this study are lecturers of geometry and students who take geometry course. The technique in collecting data is using test and non-test techniques. The data analysis is done in quantitative and qualitative descriptive analysis. The result of research shows that the lecturers’ activity is in good category and student activity is on very good category. While the students’ learning outcomes are in good category. From the field notes, students are able to perform independent and structured tasks with their full responsibility, hard work, and diligence. It shows that the character of academic atmosphere has increased. It is suggested that a set of task bills so that prerequisites have been owned by the students. Structured tasks should be given to see the students’ ability.

Effects of task repetition but no transfer of inhibitory control training in healthy adults.

PubMed

Talanow, Tobias; Ettinger, Ulrich

2018-06-01

Executive functions (EFs) comprise the updating, shifting and inhibition dimensions. According to the Unity and Diversity Model, the inhibition dimension is fully accounted for by a general EFs factor. This suggests that training of inhibition should transfer, in part, to updating and shifting. Therefore, we tested the effectiveness of a three-week inhibition training (high-conflict Stroop task) and explored near transfer effects to an untrained inhibition task (antisaccade task) and far transfer effects to untrained tasks demanding task-set shifting (number-letter-task), working memory updating (n-back task) and planning abilities (Stockings of Cambridge task). We employed a randomized pretest/treatment/posttest study design in n = 102 healthy young adults, assigned to an intensive Stroop training (n = 38), an active control condition (n = 34) or no training intervention (n = 30). In the Stroop training group, Stroop performance improved with practice, while performance in the active control group remained unchanged. The Stroop training group showed improvements in overall Stroop task performance from pretest to posttest, but we observed neither near nor far transfer effects. Additionally, specifically stronger gains on incongruent Stroop trials compared to congruent trials were observed in the Stroop training group when color bar trials were excluded from the pretest-posttest-analysis. Generally, there were substantial improvements from pretest to posttest independent of training condition in all transfer tasks. In sum, our data do not support the existence of transfer effects from inhibition training in healthy young adults. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Affordable Development and Demonstration of a Small NTR Engine and Stage: How Small is Big Enough?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borowski, S. K.; Sefcik, R. J.; Fittje, J. E.; McCurdy, D. R.; Qualls, A. L.; Schnitzler, B. G.; Werner, J.; Weitzberg, A.; Joyner, C. R.

2015-01-01

In FY11, NASA formulated a plan for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) development that included Foundational Technology Development followed by system-level Technology Demonstrations The ongoing NTP project, funded by NASAs Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program, is focused on Foundational Technology Development and includes 5 key task activities:(1) Fuel element fabrication and non-nuclear validation testing of heritage fuel options;(2) Engine conceptual design;(3) Mission analysis and engine requirements definition;(4) Identification of affordable options for ground testing; and(5) Formulation of an affordable and sustainable NTP development program Performance parameters for Point of Departure designs for a small criticality-limited and full size 25 klbf-class engine were developed during FYs 13-14 using heritage fuel element designs for both RoverNERVA Graphite Composite (GC) and Ceramic Metal (Cermet) fuel forms To focus the fuel development effort and maximize use of its resources, the AES program decided, in FY14, that a leader-follower down selection between GC and cermet fuel was required An Independent Review Panel (IRP) was convened by NASA and tasked with reviewing the available fuel data and making a recommendation to NASA. In February 2015, the IRP recommended and the AES program endorsed GC as the leader fuel In FY14, a preliminary development schedule DDTE plan was produced by GRC, DOE industry for the AES program. Assumptions, considerations and key task activities are presented here Two small (7.5 and 16.5 klbf) engine sizes were considered for ground and flight technology demonstration within a 10-year timeframe; their ability to support future human exploration missions was also examined and a recommendation on a preferred size is provided.

Space station thermal control surfaces. Volume 1: Interim report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maag, C. R.; Millard, J. M.

1978-01-01

The U.S. space program goals for long-duration manned missions place particular demands on thermal-control systems. The objective of this program is to develop plans which are based on the present thermal-control technology, and which will keep pace with the other space program elements. The program tasks are as follows: (1) requirements analysis, with the objectives to define the thermal-control-surface requirements for both space station and 25 kW power module, to analyze the missions, and to determine the thermal-control-surface technology needed to satisfy both sets of requirements; (2) technology assessment, with the objectives to perform a literature/industry survey on thermal-control surfaces, to compare current technology with the requirements developed in the first task, and to determine what technology advancements are required for both the space station and the 25 kW power module; and (3) program planning that defines new initiative and/or program augmentation for development and testing areas required to provide the proper environment control for the space station and the 25 kW power module.

Self-Regulatory Private Speech Relates to Children's Recall and Organization of Autobiographical Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Namlah, Abdulrahman S.; Meins, Elizabeth; Fernyhough, Charles

2012-01-01

We investigated relations between 4- and 7-year-olds' (N=58) autobiographical memory and their use of self-regulatory private speech in a non-mnemonic context (a cognitive planning task). Children's use of self-regulatory private speech during the planning task was associated with longer autobiographical narratives which included specific rather…

Impact of Teachers' Planned Questions on Opportunities for Students to Reason Mathematically in Whole-Class Discussions around Mathematical Problem-Solving Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enoch, Sarah Elizabeth

2013-01-01

While professional developers have been encouraging teachers to plan for discourse around problem solving tasks as a way to orchestrate mathematically productive discourse (Stein, Engle, Smith, & Hughes, 2008; Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver, 2009) no research has been conducted explicitly examining the relationship between the plans…

Effectiveness of Science Tasks and Plans for Siberian Scholars.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchuk, G. I.

1972-01-01

Science and Technology research plans formulated for the Siberian Department of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences are analyzed in this article to illustrate the tasks of scholars, workers, and engineering and technical personnel in the fulfillment of the 24th party congress resolutions The hypothesis of developing Siberia and the Far East up to the…

A Marketing and Distributive Education Curriculum Development Plan with Student Learning Objectives. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Blaine R.

This project was conducted to design marketing and distributive education (MDE) student learning objectives and an MDE curriculum development plan. The objectives of this project were met through the following procedures: (1) basic MDE task research was identified; (2) a task force of two MDE teacher coordinators and the project director grouped…

Planning and Managing Learning Tasks and Activities. Advances in Research on Teaching. Volume 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brophy, Jere, Ed.

This publication is the third volume in the "Advanced in Research on Teaching" series, which has been established to provide state-of-the-art conceptualization and analysis of the processes involved in functioning as a classroom teacher. This volume focuses on the planning and managing of learning tasks and activities, in particular,…

A College Marketing Plan That's Working: Final Report. CASE Certification Program in Executive Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noll, Gayle

In response to a 3% decline in fall 1977 enrollments, Odessa College developed and implemented a comprehensive marketing program. After initial planning, a marketing task force and nine mini-task forces were created to deal with the topics of community economic markets, community cultural markets, student retention, student recruitment techniques,…

Hazardous waste management at the local level; The Anchorage, Alaska experience

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

Wigglesworth, D.

1989-07-01

The need to manage hazardous wastes in the municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, has become increasingly evident in recent years. A task force, representing a broad cross-section of the community, was appointed by the mayor to develop a waste management plan that would address community concerns. Between 1984 and 1986, the Anchorage Hazardous Waste Task Force, supported by municipal staff, local consultants and volunteers from the community developed a plan emphasizing local responsibility and pollution prevention, using management capabilities and technical assistance. This paper describes the development of a non-regulatory hazardous waste management program in Anchorage, Alaska. Plan elements, program fundingmore » and the key role of the local Hazardous Waste Task Force are discussed.« less

a Study of Co-Planing Technology of Spaceborne, Airborne and Ground Remote Sensing Detecting Resource, Driven by Disaster Emergency Task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, F.; Chen, H.; Tu, K.; Wen, Q.; He, J.; Gu, X.; Wang, Z.

2018-04-01

Facing the monitoring needs of emergency responses to major disasters, combining the disaster information acquired at the first time after the disaster and the dynamic simulation result of the disaster chain evolution process, the overall plan for coordinated planning of spaceborne, airborne and ground observation resources have been designed. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of major disaster observation tasks, the key technologies of spaceborne, airborne and ground collaborative observation project are studied. For different disaster response levels, the corresponding workflow tasks are designed. On the basis of satisfying different types of disaster monitoring demands, the existing multi-satellite collaborative observation planning algorithms are compared, analyzed, and optimized.

Hypersonic Vehicle Propulsion System Simplified Model Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stueber, Thomas J.; Raitano, Paul; Le, Dzu K.; Ouzts, Peter

2007-01-01

This document addresses the modeling task plan for the hypersonic GN&C GRC team members. The overall propulsion system modeling task plan is a multi-step process and the task plan identified in this document addresses the first steps (short term modeling goals). The procedures and tools produced from this effort will be useful for creating simplified dynamic models applicable to a hypersonic vehicle propulsion system. The document continues with the GRC short term modeling goal. Next, a general description of the desired simplified model is presented along with simulations that are available to varying degrees. The simulations may be available in electronic form (FORTRAN, CFD, MatLab,...) or in paper form in published documents. Finally, roadmaps outlining possible avenues towards realizing simplified model are presented.

Integration of task level planning and diagnosis for an intelligent robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Amy W.

1992-01-01

A satellite floating space is diagnosed with a telerobot attached performing maintenance or replacement tasks. This research included three objectives. The first objective was to generate intelligent path planning for a robot to move around a satellite. The second objective was to diagnose possible faulty scenarios in the satellite. The third objective included two tasks. The first task was to combine intelligent path planning with diagnosis. The second task was to build an interface between the combined intelligent system with Robosim. The ability of a robot to deal with unexpected scenarios is particularly important in space since the situation could be different from time to time so that the telerobot must be capable of detecting that the situation has changed and the necessity may exist to alter its behavior based on the new situation. The feature of allowing human-in-the-loop is also very important in space. In some extreme cases, the situation is beyond the capability of a robot so our research project allows the human to override the decision of a robot.

Skill Learning and Skill Transfer Mediated by Cooperative Haptic Interaction.

PubMed

Avila Mireles, Edwin Johnatan; Zenzeri, Jacopo; Squeri, Valentina; Morasso, Pietro; De Santis, Dalia

2017-07-01

It is known that physical coupling between two subjects may be advantageous in joint tasks. However, little is known about how two people mutually exchange information to exploit the coupling. Therefore, we adopted a reversed, novel perspective to the standard one that focuses on the ability of physically coupled subjects to adapt to cooperative contexts that require negotiating a common plan: we investigated how training in pairs on a novel task affects the development of motor skills of each of the interacting partners. The task involved reaching movements in an unstable dynamic environment using a bilateral non-linear elastic tool that could be used bimanually or dyadically. The main result is that training with an expert leads to the greatest performance in the joint task. However, the performance in the individual test is strongly affected by the initial skill level of the partner. Moreover, practicing with a peer rather than an expert appears to be more advantageous for a naive; and motor skills can be transferred to a bimanual context, after training with an expert, only if the non-expert subject had prior experience of the dynamics of the novel task.

Summary document of tasks performed on the Shuttle-C/NLS contract

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

During FY92, USBI performed many programmatic related tasks. These programmatic tasks have been categorized as follows: (1) acquisition; (2) project engineering/program planning; and (3) cost. The reports associated with these tasks follow in paragraphs 1.1.1 through 1.3.3. Proceeding each task report is a brief description of the contents contained within.

Renewable Energy Development in Hermosa Beach, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, K.

2016-12-01

The City of Hermosa Beach, California, with the support of the AGU's TEX program, is exploring the potential for renewable energy generation inside the City, as part of the implementation of the City's 2015 Municipal Carbon Neutral Plan. Task 1: Estimate the technical potential of existing and future technologies Given the City's characteristics, this task will identify feasible technologies: wind, solar, tidal/wave, wastewater biogas, landfill biogas, microscale anaerobic digestion (AD), and complementary energy storage. Some options may be open to the City acting alone, but others will require working with municipal partners and private entities that provide services to Hermosa Beach (e.g., wastewater treatment). Energy storage is a means to integrate intermittent renewable energy output. Task 2: Review transaction types and pathways In this task, feasible technologies will be further examined in terms of municipal ordinances and contractual paths: (a) power purchase agreements (PPAs) with developers, under which the City would purchase energy or storage services directly; (b) leases with developers, under which the City would rent sites (e.g., municipal rooftops) to developers; (c) ordinances related to permitting, under which the City would reduce regulatory barriers to entry for developers; (d) pilot projects, under which the City would engage with developers to test new technologies such as wind/wave/microscale AD (pursuant to PPAs and/or leases); and (e) existing projects, under which the City would work with current wastewater and landfill contractors to understand (i) current plans to develop renewable energy, and (ii) opportunities for the City to work with such contractors to promote renewable energy. Task 3: Estimate costs by technology Finally, the last task will gather existing information about the costs, both current and projected, of the feasible technologies, including (i) overnight construction cost (capital); (ii) integration costs (e.g., charges from Edison and energy storage); (iii) costs that may be avoided due to promotion of renewable energy; and (iv) comparisons of projected annual nominal costs (in $/MWh and net present values).

Development and Testing of Geo-Processing Models for the Automatic Generation of Remediation Plan and Navigation Data to Use in Industrial Disaster Remediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, G.; Lénárt, C.; Solymosi, J.

2015-08-01

This paper introduces research done on the automatic preparation of remediation plans and navigation data for the precise guidance of heavy machinery in clean-up work after an industrial disaster. The input test data consists of a pollution extent shapefile derived from the processing of hyperspectral aerial survey data from the Kolontár red mud disaster. Three algorithms were developed and the respective scripts were written in Python. The first model aims at drawing a parcel clean-up plan. The model tests four different parcel orientations (0, 90, 45 and 135 degree) and keeps the plan where clean-up parcels are less numerous considering it is an optimal spatial configuration. The second model drifts the clean-up parcel of a work plan both vertically and horizontally following a grid pattern with sampling distance of a fifth of a parcel width and keep the most optimal drifted version; here also with the belief to reduce the final number of parcel features. The last model aims at drawing a navigation line in the middle of each clean-up parcel. The models work efficiently and achieve automatic optimized plan generation (parcels and navigation lines). Applying the first model we demonstrated that depending on the size and geometry of the features of the contaminated area layer, the number of clean-up parcels generated by the model varies in a range of 4% to 38% from plan to plan. Such a significant variation with the resulting feature numbers shows that the optimal orientation identification can result in saving work, time and money in remediation. The various tests demonstrated that the model gains efficiency when 1/ the individual features of contaminated area present a significant orientation with their geometry (features are long), 2/ the size of pollution extent features becomes closer to the size of the parcels (scale effect). The second model shows only 1% difference with the variation of feature number; so this last is less interesting for planning optimization applications. Last model rather simply fulfils the task it was designed for by drawing navigation lines.

Task variation versus task repetition for people with profound developmental disabilities: an assessment of preferences.

PubMed

Lancioni, G E; O'Reilly, M F; Campodonico, F; Mantini, M

1998-01-01

An assessment of preferences between task variation and task repetition with four adults with profound developmental disabilities was implemented. After participants were exposed to both task variation and task repetition conditions, they were allowed to choose between them. Results showed that all participants had strong preferences; three preferred task variation and one task repetition. Aspects of the assessment and use of assessment data for planning daily work conditions were discussed.

Disorganized behavior on Link's cube test is sensitive to right hemispheric frontal lobe damage in stroke patients

PubMed Central

Kopp, Bruno; Rösser, Nina; Tabeling, Sandra; Stürenburg, Hans Jörg; de Haan, Bianca; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Wessel, Karl

2014-01-01

One of Luria's favorite neuropsychological tasks for challenging frontal lobe functions was Link's cube test (LCT). The LCT is a cube construction task in which the subject must assemble 27 small cubes into one large cube in such a manner that only the painted surfaces of the small cubes are visible. We computed two new LCT composite scores, the constructive plan composite score, reflecting the capability to envisage a cubical-shaped volume, and the behavioral (dis-) organization composite score, reflecting the goal-directedness of cube construction. Voxel-based lesion-behavior mapping (VLBM) was used to test the relationship between performance on the LCT and brain injury in a sample of stroke patients with right hemisphere damage (N = 32), concentrated in the frontal lobe. We observed a relationship between the measure of behavioral (dis-) organization on the LCT and right frontal lesions. Further work in a larger sample, including left frontal lobe damage and with more power to detect effects of right posterior brain injury, is necessary to determine whether this observation is specific for right frontal lesions. PMID:24596552

75 FR 57987 - Evaluation of the Groundwater Task Force Report: Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-23

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2010-0302] Evaluation of the Groundwater Task Force Report... Task Force (GTF) in March 2010 to determine whether past, current, and planned actions should be... recommendations made in the Liquid Radioactive Release Lessons Learned Task Force Final Report dated September 1...

Development and evaluation of an instantaneous atmospheric corrosion rate monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansfeld, F.; Jeanjaquet, S. L.; Kendig, M. W.; Roe, D. K.

1985-06-01

A research program was carried out in which a new instantaneous atmospheric corrosion rate monitor (ACRM) was developed and evaluated, and equipment was constructed which will allow the use of many sensors in an economical way in outdoor exposures. In the first task, the ACRM was developed and tested in flow chambers in which relative humidity and gaseous and particulate pollutant levels can be controlled. Diurnal cycles and periods of rain were simulated. The effects of aerosols were studied. A computerized system was used for collection, storage, and analysis of the electrochemical data. In the second task, a relatively inexpensive electronics system for control of the ACRM and measurement of atmospheric corrosion rates was designed and built. In the third task, calibration of deterioration rates of various metallic and nonmetallic materials with the response of the ACRMs attached to these materials was carried out under controlled environmental conditions using the system developed in the second task. A Quality Assurance project plan was prepared with inputs from the Rockwell International Environmental Monitoring and Service Center and Quality Assurance System audits were performed.

An independent race model involving an abort and re-plan strategy explains reach redirecting movements during planning and execution.

PubMed

Venkataramani, PrasannaVenkhatesh; Gopal, Atul; Murthy, Aditya

2018-03-01

Although race models have been extensively used to study inhibitory control, the mechanisms that enable change of reach plans in the context of race models remain unexplored. We used a redirect task in which targets occasionally changed their locations to study the control of reaching movements during movement planning and execution phases. We tested nine different race model architectures that could explain the redirect behavior of reaching movements. We show that an independent GO-STOP-GO model that reflects a plan-abort-re-plan strategy involving non-interacting elements successfully explained the various behavioral measures such as the compensation function and the pattern of error response reaction times. By extending the same race model to the execution phase, we could explain the extent and the pattern of hypometric trials. Interestingly, the race model also provided evidence that redirecting a movement during planning and execution shared the same inhibitory mechanism. Taken together, this study demonstrates the applicability of an independent race model to understand the computational mechanisms underlying the control of reach movements. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

MO-F-16A-01: Implementation of MPPG TPS Verification Tests On Various Accelerators

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

Smilowitz, J; Bredfeldt, J; Geurts, M

2014-06-15

Purpose: To demonstrate the implementation of the Medical Physics Practice Guideline (MPPG) for dose calculation and beam parameters verification of treatment planning systems (TPS). Methods: We implemented the draft TPS MPPG for three linacs: Varian Trilogy, TomoHDA and Elekta Infinity. Static and modulated test plans were created. The static fields are different than used in commissioning. Data was collected using ion chambers and diodes in a scanning water tank, Delta4 phantom and a custom phantom. MatLab and Microsoft Excel were used to create analysis tools to compare reference DICOM dose with scan data. This custom code allowed for the interpolation,more » registration and gamma analysis of arbitrary dose profiles. It will be provided as open source code. IMRT fields were validated with Delta4 registration and comparison tools. The time for each task was recorded. Results: The tests confirmed the strengths, and revealed some limitations, of our TPS. The agreement between calculated and measured dose was reported for all beams. For static fields, percent depth dose and profiles were analyzed with criteria in the draft MPPG. The results reveal areas of slight mismatch with the model (MLC leaf penumbra, buildup region.) For TomoTherapy, the IMRT plan 2%/2 mm gamma analysis revealed poorest agreement in the low dose regions. For one static test plan for all 10MV Trilogy photon beams, the plan generation, scan queue creation, data collection, data analysis and report took 2 hours, excluding tank setup. Conclusions: We have demonstrated the implementation feasibility of the TPS MPPG. This exercise generated an open source tool for dose comparisons between scan data and DICOM dose data. An easily reproducible and efficient infrastructure with streamlined data collection was created for repeatable robust testing of the TPS. The tests revealed minor discrepancies in our models and areas for improvement that are being investigated.« less

Automating a Detailed Cognitive Task Analysis for Structuring Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-08-01

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

Amphetamine Challenge: A Marker of Brain Function that Mediates Risk for Drug and Alcohol Abuse

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

drugs. We record the effects of the drug on their mood , and select a group of people who experience strong, positive feelings from the drug...in other research projects), we identified the task parameters that would reliably elicit in young adults (i.e., in the age range we planned to test...manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Tellegen, A. (1985). Structure of mood and personality and their relevance to assessing anxiety

UPWP Unified Planning Work Program

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-05-01

The Unified Plannrng Work Program (UPWP) iS the planning document that guides the MPO staff in fulfilling its planning responstbilities for the upcoming year. Comprised of tasks that can be changed as the planning needs change. It is intended to serv...

Second-order motor planning in children: insights from a cup-manipulation-task.

PubMed

Wunsch, Kathrin; Weiss, Daniel J; Schack, Thomas; Weigelt, Matthias

2015-07-01

The present study examined the development of anticipatory motor planning in an object manipulation task that has been used to successfully demonstrate motor planning in non-human primates (Weiss et al. in Psychol Sci 18:1063-1068, 2007). Seventy-five participants from four different age groups participated in a cup-manipulation task. One group was preschool children (average age of 5.1 years), two groups were primary school children (7.7 and 9.8 years old respectively) and the final group was comprised of adults. The experimental task entailed reaching for a plastic cup that was vertically suspended in an apparatus in either upright or inverted orientation, removing the cup by its stem and then retrieving a small toy from the inside of the cup. When the cup was inverted in the apparatus, evidence for anticipatory motor planning could be achieved by initially gripping the stem using an inverted (thumb-down) grip posture. We found that when the cup was in upright orientation, all participants reached for the cup using an upright grip (i.e., thumb-up posture). However, when the cup was inverted in the apparatus, only adults consistently used an inverted grasping posture, though the percentage of inverted grips among participants did increase with age. These results suggest a protracted development for anticipatory motor planning abilities in children. Surprisingly, the performance of adults on this task more closely resembles the performance of several nonhuman primate species as opposed to children even at approximately 10 years of age. We discuss how morphological constraints on flexibility may help account for these findings.

Electromyography and Mechanomyography Signals During Swallowing in Healthy Adults and Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Constantinescu, Gabriela; Hodgetts, William; Scott, Dylan; Kuffel, Kristina; King, Ben; Brodt, Chris; Rieger, Jana

2017-02-01

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is used as an adjuvant to dysphagia therapy to demonstrate the activity of submental muscles during swallowing exercises. Mechanomyography (MMG) has been suggested as a potential superior alternative to sEMG; however, this advantage is not confirmed for signal acquired from submental muscles. This study compared the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained from sEMG and MMG sensors during swallowing tasks, in healthy participants and those with a history of head and neck cancer (HNC), a population with altered anatomy and a high incidence of dysphagia. Twenty-two healthy adults and 10 adults with a history of HNC participated in this study. sEMG and MMG signals were acquired during dry, thin liquid, effortful, and Mendelsohn maneuver swallows. SNR was compared between the two sensors using repeated measures ANOVAs and subsequent planned pairwise comparisons. Test-retest measures were collected on 20 % of participants. In healthy participants, MMG SNR was higher than that of sEMG for dry [t(21) = -3.02, p = 0.007] and thin liquid swallows [t(21) = -4.24, p < 0.001]. Although a significant difference for sensor was found in HNC participants F(1,9) = 5.54, p = 0.043, planned pairwise comparisons by task revealed no statistically significant difference between the two sensors. sEMG also showed much better test-retest reliability than MMG. Biofeedback provided as an adjuvant to dysphagia therapy in patients with HNC should employ sEMG technology, as this sensor type yielded better SNR and overall test-retest reliability. Poor MMG test-retest reliability was noted in both healthy and HNC participants and may have been related to differences in sensor application.

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

Bush, K; Freeman, J; Zavalkovskiy, B

Purpose: Situated 20 miles from 5 major fault lines in California’s Bay Area, Stanford Universityhas a critical need for IT infrastructure planning to handle the high probability devastating earthquakes. Recently, a multi-million dollar project has been underway to overhaul Stanford’s radiation oncology information systems, maximizing planning system performance and providing true disaster recovery abilities. An overview of the project will be given with particular focus on lessons learned throughout the build. Methods: In this implementation, two isolated external datacenters provide geographical redundancy to Stanford’s main campus datacenter. Real-time mirroring is made of all data stored to our serial attached networkmore » (SAN) storage. In each datacenter, hardware/software virtualization was heavily implemented to maximize server efficiency and provide a robust mechanism to seamlessly migrate users in the event of an earthquake. System performance is routinely assessed through the use of virtualized data robots, able to log in to the system at scheduled times, perform routine planning tasks and report timing results to a performance dashboard. A substantial dose calculation framework (608 CPU cores) has been constructed as part of the implementation. Results: Migration to a virtualized server environment with a high performance SAN has resulted in up to a 45% speed up of common treatment planning tasks. Switching to a 608 core DCF has resulted in a 280% speed increase in dose calculations. Server tuning was found to further improved read/write performance by 20%. Disaster recovery tests are carried out quarterly and, although successful, remain time consuming to perform and verify functionality. Conclusion: Achieving true disaster recovery capabilities is possible through server virtualization, support from skilled IT staff and leadership. Substantial performance improvements are also achievable through careful tuning of server resources and disk read/write operations. Developing a streamlined method to comprehensively test failover is a key requirement to the system’s success.« less

A Roadmap to School Improvement: A Strategic Plan for Educational Technology in Missouri. The Report of the Missouri Technology Task Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Missouri School Boards Association, Columbia.

The strategic plan for educational technology was developed by the Missouri Technology Task Force to assist state and local authorities in the creative application and appropriate integration of all technologies to achieve the broad educational goals for elementary and secondary Missouri schools. The specific goals and objectives of the plan…

Contribution of Reactive and Proactive Control to Children's Working Memory Performance: Insight from Item Recall Durations in Response Sequence Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chevalier, Nicolas; James, Tiffany D.; Wiebe, Sandra A.; Nelson, Jennifer Mize; Espy, Kimberly Andrews

2014-01-01

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names.…

Phonological and Executive Working Memory in L2 Task-Based Speech Planning and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Zhisheng

2016-01-01

The present study sets out to explore the distinctive roles played by two working memory (WM) components in various aspects of L2 task-based speech planning and performance. A group of 40 post-intermediate proficiency level Chinese EFL learners took part in the empirical study. Following the tenets and basic principles of the…

Implementing the Science Assessment Standards: Developing and validating a set of laboratory assessment tasks in high school biology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Gouranga Chandra

Very often a number of factors, especially time, space and money, deter many science educators from using inquiry-based, hands-on, laboratory practical tasks as alternative assessment instruments in science. A shortage of valid inquiry-based laboratory tasks for high school biology has been cited. Driven by this need, this study addressed the following three research questions: (1) How can laboratory-based performance tasks be designed and developed that are doable by students for whom they are designed/written? (2) Do student responses to the laboratory-based performance tasks validly represent at least some of the intended process skills that new biology learning goals want students to acquire? (3) Are the laboratory-based performance tasks psychometrically consistent as individual tasks and as a set? To answer these questions, three tasks were used from the six biology tasks initially designed and developed by an iterative process of trial testing. Analyses of data from 224 students showed that performance-based laboratory tasks that are doable by all students require careful and iterative process of development. Although the students demonstrated more skill in performing than planning and reasoning, their performances at the item level were very poor for some items. Possible reasons for the poor performances have been discussed and suggestions on how to remediate the deficiencies have been made. Empirical evidences for validity and reliability of the instrument have been presented both from the classical and the modern validity criteria point of view. Limitations of the study have been identified. Finally implications of the study and directions for further research have been discussed.

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keitz, J. F.

1982-01-01

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 3 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 3 compares flight plans developed on the Suitland forecast with actual data observed by the aircraft (and averaged over 10 degree segments). The results show that the average difference between the forecast and observed wind speed is 9 kts. without considering direction, and the average difference in the component of the forecast wind parallel to the direction of the observed wind is 13 kts. - both indicating that the Suitland forecast underestimates the wind speeds. The Root Mean Square (RMS) vector error is 30.1 kts. The average absolute difference in direction between the forecast and observed wind is 26 degrees and the temperature difference is 3 degree Centigrade. These results indicate that the forecast model as well as the verifying analysis used to develop comparison flight plans in Tasks 1 and 2 is a limiting factor and that the average potential fuel savings or penalty are up to 3.6 percent depending on the direction of flight.

Route planning with transportation network maps: an eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Grison, Elise; Gyselinck, Valérie; Burkhardt, Jean-Marie; Wiener, Jan Malte

2017-09-01

Planning routes using transportation network maps is a common task that has received little attention in the literature. Here, we present a novel eye-tracking paradigm to investigate psychological processes and mechanisms involved in such a route planning. In the experiment, participants were first presented with an origin and destination pair before we presented them with fictitious public transportation maps. Their task was to find the connecting route that required the minimum number of transfers. Based on participants' gaze behaviour, each trial was split into two phases: (1) the search for origin and destination phase, i.e., the initial phase of the trial until participants gazed at both origin and destination at least once and (2) the route planning and selection phase. Comparisons of other eye-tracking measures between these phases and the time to complete them, which depended on the complexity of the planning task, suggest that these two phases are indeed distinct and supported by different cognitive processes. For example, participants spent more time attending the centre of the map during the initial search phase, before directing their attention to connecting stations, where transitions between lines were possible. Our results provide novel insights into the psychological processes involved in route planning from maps. The findings are discussed in relation to the current theories of route planning.