Improving aircraft conceptual design - A PHIGS interactive graphics interface for ACSYNT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wampler, S. G.; Myklebust, A.; Jayaram, S.; Gelhausen, P.

1988-01-01

A CAD interface has been created for the 'ACSYNT' aircraft conceptual design code that permits the execution and control of the design process via interactive graphics menus. This CAD interface was coded entirely with the new three-dimensional graphics standard, the Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System. The CAD/ACSYNT system is designed for use by state-of-the-art high-speed imaging work stations. Attention is given to the approaches employed in modeling, data storage, and rendering.

Architectural Large Constructed Environment. Modeling and Interaction Using Dynamic Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiamma, P.

2011-09-01

How to use for the architectural design, the simulation coming from a large size data model? The topic is related to the phase coming usually after the acquisition of the data, during the construction of the model and especially after, when designers must have an interaction with the simulation, in order to develop and verify their idea. In the case of study, the concept of interaction includes the concept of real time "flows". The work develops contents and results that can be part of the large debate about the current connection between "architecture" and "movement". The focus of the work, is to realize a collaborative and participative virtual environment on which different specialist actors, client and final users can share knowledge, targets and constraints to better gain the aimed result. The goal is to have used a dynamic micro simulation digital resource that allows all the actors to explore the model in powerful and realistic way and to have a new type of interaction in a complex architectural scenario. On the one hand, the work represents a base of knowledge that can be implemented more and more; on the other hand the work represents a dealt to understand the large constructed architecture simulation as a way of life, a way of being in time and space. The architectural design before, and the architectural fact after, both happen in a sort of "Spatial Analysis System". The way is open to offer to this "system", knowledge and theories, that can support architectural design work for every application and scale. We think that the presented work represents a dealt to understand the large constructed architecture simulation as a way of life, a way of being in time and space. Architecture like a spatial configuration, that can be reconfigurable too through designing.

The impact of computer display height and desk design on 3D posture during information technology work by young adults.

PubMed

Straker, L; Burgess-Limerick, R; Pollock, C; Murray, K; Netto, K; Coleman, J; Skoss, R

2008-04-01

Computer display height and desk design to allow forearm support are two critical design features of workstations for information technology tasks. However there is currently no 3D description of head and neck posture with different computer display heights and no direct comparison to paper based information technology tasks. There is also inconsistent evidence on the effect of forearm support on posture and no evidence on whether these features interact. This study compared the 3D head, neck and upper limb postures of 18 male and 18 female young adults whilst working with different display and desk design conditions. There was no substantial interaction between display height and desk design. Lower display heights increased head and neck flexion with more spinal asymmetry when working with paper. The curved desk, designed to provide forearm support, increased scapula elevation/protraction and shoulder flexion/abduction.

Theory review and interaction design space of body image and body schema (BIBS) for embodied cognition in virtual reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Xin; Gromala, Diane; Shaw, Chris D.; Williamson, Owen; Iscen, Ozgun E.

2015-03-01

Body image/body schema (BIBS) is within the larger realm of embodied cognition. Its interdisciplinary literature can inspire Virtual Reality (VR) researchers and designers to develop novel ideas and provide them with approaches to human perception and experience. In this paper, we introduced six fundamental ideas in designing interactions in VR, derived from BIBS literature that demonstrates how the mind is embodied. We discuss our own research, ranging from two mature works to a prototype, to support explorations VR interaction design from a BIBS approach. Based on our experiences, we argue that incorporating ideas of embodiment into design practices requires a shift in the perspective or understanding of the human body, perception and experiences, all of which affect interaction design in unique ways. The dynamic, interactive and distributed understanding of cognition guides our approach to interaction design, where the interrelatedness and plasticity of BIBS play a crucial role.

Interactive Computing and Graphics in Undergraduate Digital Signal Processing. Microcomputing Working Paper Series F 84-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onaral, Banu; And Others

This report describes the development of a Drexel University electrical and computer engineering course on digital filter design that used interactive computing and graphics, and was one of three courses in a senior-level sequence on digital signal processing (DSP). Interactive and digital analysis/design routines and the interconnection of these…

Aerostructural interaction in a collaborative MDO environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciampa, Pier Davide; Nagel, Björn

2014-10-01

The work presents an approach for aircraft design and optimization, developed to account for fluid-structure interactions in MDO applications. The approach makes use of a collaborative distributed design environment, and focuses on the influence of multiple physics based aerostructural models, on the overall aircraft synthesis and optimization. The approach is tested for the design of large transportation aircraft.

African American Identity and a Theory for Primary Cultural Instructional Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Michael K.; Columbus, Marco A.

2010-01-01

This article is on the strange confluence of culture, identity, learning, and systemic design. We argue that the work of instructional design is, essentially, work on culture and identity. A person's culture and identity fully and inextricably situate their thought, action, and interaction. For this reason, this inherent situatedness of culture…

Video Interaction Guidance in Collaborative Group Work: Impact on Primary School Pupils' Self-Esteem and Behaviours

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musset, Matthew; Topping, Keith

2017-01-01

Video interaction guidance (VIG) is an increasingly recognised evidence-based intervention. VIG was used to enhance pupil responses during a group work programme. Fifteen primary-aged classes across a range of socio-economic status received regular group work over a year. A mixed methods repeated measures design involved nine experimental classes…

Challenges And Concepts for Design of An Interaction Region With Push-Pull Arrangement of Detectors - An Interface Document

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

Parker, B.; /Brookhaven; Herve, Alain

2011-10-14

Two experimental detectors working in a push-pull mode has been considered for the Interaction Region of the International Linear Collider. The push-pull mode of operation sets specific requirements and challenges for many systems of detector and machine, in particular for the IR magnets, for the cryogenics and alignment system, for beamline shielding, for detector design and overall integration, and so on. These challenges and the identified conceptual solutions discussed in the paper intend to form a draft of the Interface Document which will be developed further in the nearest future. The authors of the present paper include the organizers andmore » conveners of working groups of the workshop on engineering design of interaction region IRENG07, the leaders of the IR Integration within Global Design Effort Beam Delivery System, and the representatives from each detector concept submitting the Letters Of Intent.« less

Examining ecological validity in social interaction: problems of visual fidelity, gaze, and social potential.

PubMed

Reader, Arran T; Holmes, Nicholas P

2016-01-01

Social interaction is an essential part of the human experience, and much work has been done to study it. However, several common approaches to examining social interactions in psychological research may inadvertently either unnaturally constrain the observed behaviour by causing it to deviate from naturalistic performance, or introduce unwanted sources of variance. In particular, these sources are the differences between naturalistic and experimental behaviour that occur from changes in visual fidelity (quality of the observed stimuli), gaze (whether it is controlled for in the stimuli), and social potential (potential for the stimuli to provide actual interaction). We expand on these possible sources of extraneous variance and why they may be important. We review the ways in which experimenters have developed novel designs to remove these sources of extraneous variance. New experimental designs using a 'two-person' approach are argued to be one of the most effective ways to develop more ecologically valid measures of social interaction, and we suggest that future work on social interaction should use these designs wherever possible.

Shared Cognition Facilitated by Teacher Use of Interactive Whiteboard Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redman, Christine; Vincent, John Terence

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine questioning opportunities afforded by interactive whiteboards (IWBs) by highlighting pedagogical decisions enacted by teachers to ensure that they work with the wider affordances of the device. Design/Methodology/Approach: Three primary/elementary teachers participated in a study designed to…

Degrees of connectivity: Systems model for upstream risk assessment and mitigation.

PubMed

Gambatese, John; AlOmari, Kasim

2016-08-01

There is growing recognition that in order to further improve safety performance, attention needs to be given beyond the immediate working conditions and worker actions. A systems approach to construction safety enables considering: multiple project elements simultaneously; connections between different elements; and all system elements affected by safety risk. This paper describes recent and current research to conceptualize a typical building project in terms of connections between workers, activities, and design elements, and to verify and analyze impacts of the design and worker interactions on worker safety. Prior research provides the basis for a network tying the design elements, construction activities, and work crews on a typical building project together along with the extent of interaction between each of the system elements in terms of safety. In conjunction with this systems approach, the researchers propose a concept for viewing and managing construction safety through four different types of connections, or "degrees of connectivity," between the different workers, activities, and design elements in the system. The degrees of connectivity are defined as: interacting with the design element during its construction (DoC #1); interacting with the design element in its final form to attach another component to it (DoC #2) or by working in the vicinity of it (DoC #3); and indirectly interacting with the design element through another worker (DoC #4). To support and verify the presence of the concept in practice, the researchers conducted a survey of construction personnel. The survey results confirm that the four different degrees of connectivity are present and felt during construction operations, and indicate that attention should be given to all design elements, activities, and workers to which a worker is "connected". According to the survey respondents, DoC's #1 and #2 are recognized as the most widely present on construction sites. Eighty percent of the respondents believe that the design element has a moderate or greater impact on worker safety while it is being constructed. These initial research steps provide the starting point for continuing study that aims to develop and demonstrate the degrees of connectivity concept linking workers and design elements, with the goal of understanding how to design a project and work operations in order to improve safety during construction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WWC Review of the Report "Does Working Memory Moderate the Effects of Fraction Intervention? An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

2014-01-01

The 2013 study, "Does Working Memory Moderate the Effects of Fraction Intervention? An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction," examined the impacts of the fluency and conceptual versions of "Fraction Face-Off!," a math instruction program designed to improve knowledge of fractions and decimals in fourth-graders at risk for low…

Designing Interactions for Learning: Physicality, Interactivity, and Interface Effects in Digital Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Daniel L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study is to better understand the role of physicality, interactivity, and interface effects in learning with digital content. Drawing on work in cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and multimedia learning, the study argues that interfaces that promote physical interaction can provide "conceptual leverage"…

Roles for Agent Assistants in Field Science: Understanding Personal Projects and Collaboration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.

2003-01-01

A human-centered approach to computer systems design involves reframing analysis in terms of the people interacting with each other. The primary concern is not how people can interact with computers, but how shall we design work systems (facilities, tools, roles, and procedures) to help people pursue their personal projects, as they work independently and collaboratively? Two case studies provide empirical requirements. First, an analysis of astronaut interactions with CapCom on Earth during one traverse of Apollo 17 shows what kind of information was conveyed and what might be automated today. A variety of agent and robotic technologies are proposed that deal with recurrent problems in communication and coordination during the analyzed traverse. Second, an analysis of biologists and a geologist working at Haughton Crater in the High Canadian Arctic reveals how work interactions between people involve independent personal projects, sensitively coordinated for mutual benefit. In both cases, an agent or robotic system's role would be to assist people, rather than collaborating, because today's computer systems lack the identity and purpose that consciousness provides.

Understanding and Designing for Interactional Privacy Needs within Social Networking Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisniewski, Pamela J.

2012-01-01

"Interpersonal boundary regulation" is a way to optimize social interactions when sharing and connecting through Social Networking Sites (SNSs). The theoretical foundation of much of my research comes from Altman's work on privacy management in the physical world. Altman believed that "we should attempt to design responsive…

Why E-Business Must Evolve beyond Market Orientation: Applying Human Interaction Models to Computer-Mediated Corporate Communications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Kevin McCullough

2001-01-01

Considers the design of corporate communications for electronic business and discusses the increasing importance of corporate interaction as companies work in virtual environments. Compares sociological and psychological theories of human interaction and relationship formation with organizational interaction theories of corporate relationship…

Students' experiences with interactivity and learning in a high school physics multimedia distance learning course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villarreal-Stewart, Irene

The purpose guiding this research has been to learn about and describe the phenomena of interactivity from the learners' perspectives and to learn which of the interactivity affordances and practices were actually used by students and why in the process of learning physics using an interactive multimedia distance learning course system. The bigger purpose behind learning about and describing interactivity has been to gain knowledge and perspective for its instructional design to benefit the learner, the school as curriculum implementer, and instructional media designers to create better products. Qualitative methodology in the interpretivist tradition was used, that is, in-depth interviews and on-site observations, to gain understanding of interactivity from the learners' perspective and to gain understanding of the student learning context impacting and shaping the students' interactivity experiences. NVivo was used to sort, organize and index data. All data were read on three levels: literally, interpretively, and reflexively; and were read comparatively to other perspectives to get descriptions and interpretations that were holistic to the implementation and had potential insight to improve practice for instructional designers, teachers, administrators, specifically to improve the learning experience for students. Site-Specific Findings: Students watched videos, resisted using phone and e-mail, and worked math problems to demonstrate learning, which resulted in very little interactivity, virtually no dialogue about physics, no physical activity, one-way communication, multifaceted dissatisfaction, student need for teacher involvement in the learning enterprise, student appreciation for interactivity, and expressed desire for a real, live teacher. I also found that some students did experience the system as interactive, did experience learner control and self-directed learning, and despite dissatisfaction, liked and appreciated the course. Wider Applications: Interactivity, a design element, requires scaffolding and nurturing in implementation. The variable and changing context of implementation suggests the requirement for its consideration in design work. The study suggests that during implementation the integrity of design as a whole and flexibility within the design are important continuing considerations. Recommendations. (1) implementation supervision by the school district, (2) use of a language and activity-based theory of learning and teaching and (3) dialogic inquiry (Wells, 1999) to continue learning about interactivity.

Modeling and Simulation for Mission Operations Work System Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sierhuis, Maarten; Clancey, William J.; Seah, Chin; Trimble, Jay P.; Sims, Michael H.

2003-01-01

Work System analysis and design is complex and non-deterministic. In this paper we describe Brahms, a multiagent modeling and simulation environment for designing complex interactions in human-machine systems. Brahms was originally conceived as a business process design tool that simulates work practices, including social systems of work. We describe our modeling and simulation method for mission operations work systems design, based on a research case study in which we used Brahms to design mission operations for a proposed discovery mission to the Moon. We then describe the results of an actual method application project-the Brahms Mars Exploration Rover. Space mission operations are similar to operations of traditional organizations; we show that the application of Brahms for space mission operations design is relevant and transferable to other types of business processes in organizations.

RADIK: An Interactive Graphics and Text Editor.

DTIC Science & Technology

RADIK is an interactive graphics and text editing system designed for use with an ADAGE AGT/10 graphics computer, either in a stand-alone mode, or in...designing RADIK . A brief summary of results and applications is presented and implementation of RADIK is proposed. Assembly language computer programs developed during the work are appended for reference. (Author)

Interactional Psychology and Organizational Behavior.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

effect and then argue, per- suasively, that situations control behavior. The fact that actual experimental treatments are typically non -representative of...Interactional psychology organizational design organization theory person x situation interaction work socialization person-environment interaction...and methodological underpinnings of situ- ationism, and (2) the presentation of the interactionist perspective. For purposes of the present paper

An Attempt To Design Synchronous Collaborative Learning Environments for Peer Dyads on the World Wide Web.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Fong-Lok; Liang, Steven; Chan, Tak-Wai

1999-01-01

Describes the design, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of three synchronous distributed learning prototype systems: Co-Working System, Working Along System, and Hybrid System. Each supports a particular style of interaction, referred to a socio-activity learning model, between members of student dyads (pairs). All systems were…

Four principles for user interface design of computerised clinical decision support systems.

PubMed

Kanstrup, Anne Marie; Christiansen, Marion Berg; Nøhr, Christian

2011-01-01

The paper presents results from a design research project of a user interface (UI) for a Computerised Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS). The ambition has been to design Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that can minimise medication errors. Through an iterative design process a digital prototype for prescription of medicine has been developed. This paper presents results from the formative evaluation of the prototype conducted in a simulation laboratory with ten participating physicians. Data from the simulation is analysed by use of theory on how users perceive information. The conclusion is a model, which sum up four principles of interaction for design of CDSS. The four principles for design of user interfaces for CDSS are summarised as four A's: All in one, At a glance, At hand and Attention. The model emphasises integration of all four interaction principles in the design of user interfaces for CDSS, i.e. the model is an integrated model which we suggest as a guide for interaction design when working with preventing medication errors.

Interaction effect of work excitement and work frustration on the professional commitment of nurses in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chang, Yuan-Ping; Wang, Hsiu-Hung; Huang, Shan; Wang, Huang-I

2014-03-01

The current shortage of professional nurses in Taiwan both undermines hospital quality of care and raises hospitals' human resource management costs. Few studies have concurrently investigated the interaction effect between professional commitment and, respectively, the positive and negative work attitudes of nurses. Results of this investigation may help improve strategies designed to raise nurse retention rates. This study used the interaction effects of work excitement and work frustration to assess their influence on the professional commitment of nurses. This study was conducted at one hospital in southern Taiwan and used a cross-sectional design with self-administrated questionnaires. Seven hundred thirty-five nurses completed and submitted valid questionnaires (valid response rate: 68.5%). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the reliability and validity of the three measurement models of work excitement, work frustration, and professional commitment. Correlation and hierarchical regression analysis verified the direct and interaction effects with the correlations among the three measured variables. Work frustration was higher than work excitement among participants (M = 2.72, SD = 0.71 vs. M = 2.26, SD = 0.62). The mean participant score for professional commitment was 2.72 (SD = 0.45) on a 4-point Likert scale. There was a significant and positive correlation between work excitement and professional commitment and a significant and negative correlation between work frustration and professional commitment. High work frustration had a negative effect on professional commitment, whereas high work excitement had a higher positive effect on professional commitment. The two-way interaction between work excitement and frustration was statistically significant in explaining the effects of professional commitment (p < .01). Nurses often work in conditions that are highly frustrating. Although work excitement has been shown as having a greater influence on professional commitment when nurses experienced the dual work affects simultaneously, work frustration significantly reduces the professional commitment effect of nurses. This study suggests that managers should not only construct a positive and exciting work environment but also work to mitigate the causes of work frustration to promote professional commitment and retention among nurses.

PERIGRAMMA--A System for the Support of People with Cognitive or Movement Impairments Working in Secretarial Positions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Destounis, Panagiotis; Garofalakis, John; Kondilis, Theodore; Mavritsakis, George; Rigou, Maria; Sirmakessis, Spiros; Tzimas, John

In spite of the growing interest in interaction design, there remains a large user population that needs special interest: users with special needs. These users can dramatically benefit from software that better responds to their interaction needs, not to mention the fact that designing software that takes into account the special needs of such…

Multimedia Learning in an Interactive Self-Explaining Environment: What Works in the Design of Agent-Based Microworlds?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayer, Richard E.; Dow, Gayle T.; Mayer, Sarah

2003-01-01

Students learned about electric motors by asking questions and receiving answers from an on-screen pedagogical agent named Dr. Phyz who stood next to an on-screen drawing of an electric motor. Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning and yield principles for the design of interactive multimedia learning environments.…

CAD/CAM approach to improving industry productivity gathers momentum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fulton, R. E.

1982-01-01

Recent results and planning for the NASA/industry Integrated Programs for Aerospace-Vehicle Design (IPAD) program for improving productivity with CAD/CAM methods are outlined. The industrial group work is being mainly done by Boeing, and progress has been made in defining the designer work environment, developing requirements and a preliminary design for a future CAD/CAM system, and developing CAD/CAM technology. The work environment was defined by conducting a detailed study of a reference design process, and key software elements for a CAD/CAM system have been defined, specifically for interactive design or experiment control processes. Further work is proceeding on executive, data management, geometry and graphics, and general utility software, and dynamic aspects of the programs being developed are outlined

David Goldwasser | NREL

Science.gov Websites

. Prior to joining NREL, David worked in architectural design, 3D modeling, and interactive media. He consulted for Google on 3D modeling tools and worked in Colorado on sustainable architecture projects

Soft-rigid interaction mechanism towards a lobster-inspired hybrid actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yaohui; Wan, Fang; Wu, Tong; Song, Chaoyang

2018-01-01

Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) are intrinsically light-weight, compliant and therefore ideal to directly interact with humans and be implemented into wearable robotic devices. However, they also pose new challenges in describing and sensing their continuous deformation. In this paper, we propose a hybrid actuator design with bio-inspirations from the lobsters, which can generate reconfigurable bending movements through the internal soft chamber interacting with the external rigid shells. This design with joint and link structures enables us to exactly track its bending configurations that previously posed a significant challenge to soft robots. Analytic models are developed to illustrate the soft-rigid interaction mechanism with experimental validation. A robotic glove using hybrid actuators to assist grasping is assembled to illustrate their potentials in safe human-robot interactions. Considering all the design merits, our work presents a practical approach to the design of next-generation robots capable of achieving both good accuracy and compliance.

Working Collectively to Design Online Teacher Education Curriculum: How Do Teacher Educators Manage to Do It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milewski, Amanda; Gürsel, Umut; Herbst, Patricio

2017-01-01

This paper is part of a three-year inquiry that supports and investigates the work of groups of mathematics teacher educators using technological tools to design and implement multimedia practice-based teacher education curriculum materials. This paper describes the kinds of activities, interactions, and tools used by mathematics teacher educators…

DHM and serious games: a case-study oil and gas laboratories.

PubMed

Santos, V; Zamberlan, M; Streit, P; Oliveira, J; Guimarães, C; Pastura, F; Cid, G

2012-01-01

The aim in this paper is to present a research on the application of serious games for the design of laboratories in the oil and gas industries. The focus is in human virtual representation acquired from 3D scanning, human interaction, workspace layout and equipment designed considering ergonomics standards. The laboratory studies were simulated in Unity3D platform, which allows the users to control the DHM1 on the dynamic virtual scenario, in order to simulate work activities. This methodology can change the design process by improving the level of interaction between final users, managers and human factor teams. That helps to better visualize future work settings and improve the level of participation between all stakeholders.

The "Right Kind of Telling": Knowledge Building in the Academic Design Studio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cennamo, Katherine; Brandt, Carol

2012-01-01

Studio-based instruction, as traditionally enacted in design disciplines such as architecture, product design, graphic design, and the like, consists of dedicated desk space for each student, extended time blocks allocated to studio classes, and classroom interactions characterized by independent and group work on design problems supplemented by…

Agent Interaction with Human Systems in Complex Environments: Requirements for Automating the Function of CapCom in Apollo 17

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.

2003-01-01

A human-centered approach to computer systems design involves reframing analysis in terms of people interacting with each other, not only human-machine interaction. The primary concern is not how people can interact with computers, but how shall we design computers to help people work together? An analysis of astronaut interactions with CapCom on Earth during one traverse of Apollo 17 shows what kind of information was conveyed and what might be automated today. A variety of agent and robotic technologies are proposed that deal with recurrent problems in communication and coordination during the analyzed traverse.

Feel the Fear: Learning Graphic Design in Affective Places and Online Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nottingham, Anitra

2017-01-01

This article explores the idea of pedagogic affect in both onsite and online graphic design learning spaces, and speculates on the role that this affect plays in the formation of the design student. I argue that embodied design knowledge is built by interactions with design professionals, activities that mimic the daily work of designers, and…

NASA's MERBoard: An Interactive Collaborative Workspace Platform. Chapter 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay; Wales, Roxana; Gossweiler, Rich

2003-01-01

This chapter describes the ongoing process by which a multidisciplinary group at NASA's Ames Research Center is designing and implementing a large interactive work surface called the MERBoard Collaborative Workspace. A MERBoard system involves several distributed, large, touch-enabled, plasma display systems with custom MERBoard software. A centralized server and database back the system. We are continually tuning MERBoard to support over two hundred scientists and engineers during the surface operations of the Mars Exploration Rover Missions. These scientists and engineers come from various disciplines and are working both in small and large groups over a span of space and time. We describe the multidisciplinary, human-centered process by which this h4ERBoard system is being designed, the usage patterns and social interactions that we have observed, and issues we are currently facing.

Linear-hall sensor based force detecting unit for lower limb exoskeleton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongwu; Zhu, Yanhe; Zhao, Jie; Wang, Tianshuo; Zhang, Zongwei

2018-04-01

This paper describes a knee-joint human-machine interaction force sensor for lower-limb force-assistance exoskeleton. The structure is designed based on hall sensor and series elastic actuator (SEA) structure. The work we have done includes the structure design, the parameter determination and dynamic simulation. By converting the force signal into macro displacement and output voltage, we completed the measurement of man-machine interaction force. And it is proved by experiments that the design is simple, stable and low-cost.

Driver responses to differing urban work zone configurations.

PubMed

Morgan, J F; Duley, A R; Hancock, P A

2010-05-01

This study reports the results of a simulator-based assessment of driver response to two different urban highway work zone configurations. One configuration represented an existing design which was contrasted with a second configuration that presented a reduced taper length prototype work zone design. Twenty-one drivers navigated the two different work zones in two different conditions, one with and one without a lead vehicle; in this case a bus. Measures of driver speed, braking, travel path, and collision frequency were recorded. Drivers navigated significantly closer to the boundary of the work area in the reduced taper length design. This proximity effect was moderated by the significant interaction between lead vehicle and taper length and such interactive effects were also observed for driver speed at the end of the work zone and the number of collisions observed within the work zone itself. These results suggest that reduced taper length poses an increase in risk to both drivers and work zone personnel, primarily when driver anticipation is reduced by foreshortened viewing distances. Increase in such risk is to a degree offset by the reduction of overall exposure to the work zone that a foreshortened taper creates. The benefits and limitations to a simulation-based approach to the assessment and prediction of driver behavior in different work zone configurations are also discussed. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information Presentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holden, Kritina L.; Thompson, Shelby G.; Sandor, Aniko; McCann, Robert S.; Kaiser, Mary K.; Adelstein, Barnard D.; Begault, Durand R.; Beutter, Brent R.; Stone, Leland S.; Godfroy, Martine

2009-01-01

The goal of the Information Presentation Directed Research Project (DRP) is to address design questions related to the presentation of information to the crew. In addition to addressing display design issues associated with information formatting, style, layout, and interaction, the Information Presentation DRP is also working toward understanding the effects of extreme environments encountered in space travel on information processing. Work is also in progress to refine human factors-based design tools, such as human performance modeling, that will supplement traditional design techniques and help ensure that optimal information design is accomplished in the most cost-efficient manner. The major areas of work, or subtasks, within the Information Presentation DRP for FY10 are: 1) Displays, 2) Controls, 3) Procedures and Fault Management, and 4) Human Performance Modeling. The poster will highlight completed and planned work for each subtask.

Beyond information access: Support for complex cognitive activities in public health informatics tools.

PubMed

Sedig, Kamran; Parsons, Paul; Dittmer, Mark; Ola, Oluwakemi

2012-01-01

Public health professionals work with a variety of information sources to carry out their everyday activities. In recent years, interactive computational tools have become deeply embedded in such activities. Unlike the early days of computational tool use, the potential of tools nowadays is not limited to simply providing access to information; rather, they can act as powerful mediators of human-information discourse, enabling rich interaction with public health information. If public health informatics tools are designed and used properly, they can facilitate, enhance, and support the performance of complex cognitive activities that are essential to public health informatics, such as problem solving, forecasting, sense-making, and planning. However, the effective design and evaluation of public health informatics tools requires an understanding of the cognitive and perceptual issues pertaining to how humans work and think with information to perform such activities. This paper draws on research that has examined some of the relevant issues, including interaction design, complex cognition, and visual representations, to offer some human-centered design and evaluation considerations for public health informatics tools.

A Standalone Vision Impairments Simulator for Java Swing Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oikonomou, Theofanis; Votis, Konstantinos; Korn, Peter; Tzovaras, Dimitrios; Likothanasis, Spriridon

A lot of work has been done lately in an attempt to assess accessibility. For the case of web rich-client applications several tools exist that simulate how a vision impaired or colour-blind person would perceive this content. In this work we propose a simulation tool for non-web JavaTM Swing applications. Developers and designers face a real challenge when creating software that has to cope with a lot of interaction situations, as well as specific directives for ensuring an accessible interaction. The proposed standalone tool will assist them to explore user-centered design and important accessibility issues for their JavaTM Swing implementations.

Designing Social Media for Informal Learning and Knowledge Maturing in the Digital Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ravenscroft, A.; Schmidt, A.; Cook, J.; Bradley, C.

2012-01-01

This paper presents an original approach to designing social media that support informal learning in the digital workplace. It adapts design-based research to take into account the embeddedness of interactions within digitally mediated work-based contexts. The approach is demonstrated through the design, implementation, and evaluation of software…

Workflow Agents vs. Expert Systems: Problem Solving Methods in Work Systems Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.; Sierhuis, Maarten; Seah, Chin

2009-01-01

During the 1980s, a community of artificial intelligence researchers became interested in formalizing problem solving methods as part of an effort called "second generation expert systems" (2nd GES). How do the motivations and results of this research relate to building tools for the workplace today? We provide an historical review of how the theory of expertise has developed, a progress report on a tool for designing and implementing model-based automation (Brahms), and a concrete example how we apply 2nd GES concepts today in an agent-based system for space flight operations (OCAMS). Brahms incorporates an ontology for modeling work practices, what people are doing in the course of a day, characterized as "activities." OCAMS was developed using a simulation-to-implementation methodology, in which a prototype tool was embedded in a simulation of future work practices. OCAMS uses model-based methods to interactively plan its actions and keep track of the work to be done. The problem solving methods of practice are interactive, employing reasoning for and through action in the real world. Analogously, it is as if a medical expert system were charged not just with interpreting culture results, but actually interacting with a patient. Our perspective shifts from building a "problem solving" (expert) system to building an actor in the world. The reusable components in work system designs include entire "problem solvers" (e.g., a planning subsystem), interoperability frameworks, and workflow agents that use and revise models dynamically in a network of people and tools. Consequently, the research focus shifts so "problem solving methods" include ways of knowing that models do not fit the world, and ways of interacting with other agents and people to gain or verify information and (ultimately) adapt rules and procedures to resolve problematic situations.

Design Considerations for High Energy Electron -- Positron Storage Rings

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Richter, B.

1966-11-01

High energy electron-positron storage rings give a way of making a new attack on the most important problems of elementary particle physics. All of us who have worked in the storage ring field designing, building, or using storage rings know this. The importance of that part of storage ring work concerning tests of quantum electrodynamics and mu meson physics is also generally appreciated by the larger physics community. However, I do not think that most of the physicists working tin the elementary particle physics field realize the importance of the contribution that storage ring experiments can make to our understanding of the strongly interacting particles. I would therefore like to spend the next few minutes discussing the sort of things that one can do with storage rings in the strongly interacting particle field.

Evaluating Course Design Principles for Multimedia Learning Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Bernard; Cong, Chunyu

2010-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report on evaluation studies of principles of course design for interactive multimedia learning materials. Design/methodology/approach: At the Defence Academy of the UK, Cranfield University has worked with military colleagues to produce multimedia learning materials for courses on "Military Knowledge". The…

Occupational stress in human computer interaction.

PubMed

Smith, M J; Conway, F T; Karsh, B T

1999-04-01

There have been a variety of research approaches that have examined the stress issues related to human computer interaction including laboratory studies, cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal case studies and intervention studies. A critical review of these studies indicates that there are important physiological, biochemical, somatic and psychological indicators of stress that are related to work activities where human computer interaction occurs. Many of the stressors of human computer interaction at work are similar to those stressors that have historically been observed in other automated jobs. These include high workload, high work pressure, diminished job control, inadequate employee training to use new technology, monotonous tasks, por supervisory relations, and fear for job security. New stressors have emerged that can be tied primarily to human computer interaction. These include technology breakdowns, technology slowdowns, and electronic performance monitoring. The effects of the stress of human computer interaction in the workplace are increased physiological arousal; somatic complaints, especially of the musculoskeletal system; mood disturbances, particularly anxiety, fear and anger; and diminished quality of working life, such as reduced job satisfaction. Interventions to reduce the stress of computer technology have included improved technology implementation approaches and increased employee participation in implementation. Recommendations for ways to reduce the stress of human computer interaction at work are presented. These include proper ergonomic conditions, increased organizational support, improved job content, proper workload to decrease work pressure, and enhanced opportunities for social support. A model approach to the design of human computer interaction at work that focuses on the system "balance" is proposed.

Interaction in Group Oral Assessment: A Case Study of Higher- and Lower-Scoring Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Zhengdong

2010-01-01

This article examines the interactional work in which two groups of secondary ESL students engaged to achieve and sustain participation in group oral assessment, which is designed to assess a student's interactive communication skills in a school-based assessment context. The in-depth observation of the ways in which participants co-constructed…

POLLUTION PREVENTION IN THE DESIGN OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES USING HIERARCHICAL DESIGN AND SIMULATION

EPA Science Inventory

The design of chemical processes is normally an interactive process of synthesis and analysis. When one also desires or needs to limit the amount of pollution generated by the process the difficulty of the task can increase substantially. In this work, we show how combining hier...

Promoting Resilience in Schools: A View from Occupational Health Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Amanda

2014-01-01

This paper considers teacher resilience from the viewpoint of a discipline concerned with the interactions between work design, management style and employee health and well-being: occupational health psychology. It will be suggested that there are strong parallels between interventions designed to promote resilience and those designed to reduce…

Analysis and optimization of Love wave liquid sensors.

PubMed

Jakoby, B; Vellekoop, M J

1998-01-01

Love wave sensors are highly sensitive microacoustic devices, which are well suited for liquid sensing applications thanks to the shear polarization of the wave. The sensing mechanism thereby relies on the mechanical (or acoustic) interaction of the device with the liquid. The successful utilization of Love wave devices for this purpose requires proper shielding to avoid unwanted electric interaction of the liquid with the wave and the transducers. In this work we describe the effects of this electric interaction and the proper design of a shield to prevent it. We present analysis methods, which illustrate the impact of the interaction and which help to obtain an optimized design of the proposed shield. We also present experimental results for devices that have been fabricated according to these design rules.

Academic and Work-Related Burnout: A Longitudinal Study of Working Undergraduate University Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbraith, Craig S.; Merrill, Gregory B.

2012-01-01

We examined the interaction between academic burnout and work-related burnout for a sample of working undergraduate university students. Using a longitudinal design we found that the factors of burnout (Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Efficacy) change significantly over the semester. In addition, the study suggests there are distinct differences in how…

Participatory design for drug-drug interaction alerts.

PubMed

Luna, Daniel; Otero, Carlos; Almerares, Alfredo; Stanziola, Enrique; Risk, Marcelo; González Bernaldo de Quirós, Fernán

2015-01-01

The utilization of decision support systems, in the point of care, to alert drug-drug interactions has been shown to improve quality of care. Still, the use of these systems has not been as expected, it is believed, because of the difficulties in their knowledge databases; errors in the generation of the alerts and the lack of a suitable design. This study expands on the development of alerts using participatory design techniques based on user centered design process. This work was undertaken in three stages (inquiry, participatory design and usability testing) it showed that the use of these techniques improves satisfaction, effectiveness and efficiency in an alert system for drug-drug interactions, a fact that was evident in specific situations such as the decrease of errors to meet the specified task, the time, the workload optimization and users overall satisfaction in the system.

Emotional responses to work-family conflict: an examination of gender role orientation working men and women.

PubMed

Livingston, Beth A; Judge, Timothy A

2008-01-01

The present study tested the effect of work-family conflict on emotions and the moderating effects of gender role orientation. On the basis of a multilevel design, the authors found that family-interfering-with- work was positively related to guilt, and gender role orientation interacted with both types of conflict (work-interfering-with-family and family-interfering-with-work) to predict guilt. Specifically, in general, traditional individuals experienced more guilt from family-interfering-with-work, and egalitarian individuals experienced more guilt from work-interfering-with-family. Additionally, a higher level interaction indicated that traditional men tended to experience a stronger relationship between family-interfering-with-work and guilt than did egalitarian men or women of either gender role orientation. 2008 APA

Designing clinically useful systems: examples from medicine and dentistry.

PubMed

Koch, S

2003-12-01

Despite promising results in medical informatics research and the development of a large number of different systems, few systems get beyond a prototype state and are really used in practice. Among other factors, the lack of explicit user focus is one main reason. The research projects presented in this paper follow a user-centered system development approach based on extensive work analyses in interdisciplinary working groups, taking into account human cognitive performance. Different medical and health-care specialists, together with researchers in human-computer interaction and medical informatics, specify future clinical work scenarios. Special focus is put on analysis and design of the information and communication flow and on exploration of intuitive visualization and interaction techniques for clinical information. Adequate choice of the technical access device is made depending on the user's work situation. It is the purpose of this paper to apply this method in two different research projects and thereby to show its potential for designing clinically useful systems that do support and not hamper clinical work. These research projects cover IT support for chairside work in dentistry (http://www.dis.uu.se/mdi/research/projects/orquest) and ICT support for home health care of elderly citizens (http://www.medsci.uu.se/mie/project/closecare).

Paraeducators' Perceptions and Experiences Working with Diverse Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheehey, Patricia H.; Wells, Jenny C.; Ogata, Veronica F.

2018-01-01

This investigation explored the interactions between paraeducators and the culturally and linguistically diverse families of their students with disabilities. Paraeducators (n = 117) attending a statewide professional development event responded to a questionnaire designed to explore their interactions with diverse parents and families. Results…

Socio-technical systems and interaction design - 21st century relevance.

PubMed

Maguire, Martin

2014-03-01

This paper focuses on the relationship between the socio-technical system and the user-technology interface. It looks at specific aspects of the organisational context such as multiple user roles, job change, work processes and workflows, technical infrastructure, and the challenges they present for the interaction designer. The implications of trends such as more mobile and flexible working, the use of social media, and the growth of the virtual organisation, are also considered. The paper also reviews rapidly evolving technologies such as pervasive systems and artificial intelligence, and the skills that workers will need to engage with them. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Designing HRD Interventions for Employee-Robot Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heo, Se Jin

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify critical causes of work stress and job satisfaction of nurses, which can contribute to find appropriate organizational supports to help nurses effectively work with a surgical robot. Delphi method was employed to identify the critical stressors and the key causes of job satisfaction of nurses working with…

Traditional Culture into Interactive Arts: The Cases of Lion Dance in Temple Lecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wen-Hui; Chen, Chih-Tung; He, Ming-Yu; Hsu, Tao-I.

The lion dance in Chinese culture is one of profound arts. This work aims to bridge traditional culture and modern multimedia technology and application of network cameras for the interactive tool to design a set of activities to promote the lion as the main body. There consists of the imaging systems and interactive multimedia applications.

The Special Education Teacher as an Instructional Designer. Rational, Content, and Strategy for an Innovative Individualized Course on Instructional Design in Special Education. Working Paper 9.14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thiagarajan, Sivasailam

Provided are the rationale, content and strategy for an introductory course in instructional design for special education teachers. The teacher's need for varied competencies in instructional design, management and interaction are discussed. It is recommended that teacher training include development of such design skills as task analysis, learner…

Working Notes from the 1992 AAAI Workshop on Automating Software Design. Theme: Domain Specific Software Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M. (Editor); Barstow, David; Lowry, Michael R.; Tong, Christopher H.

1992-01-01

The goal of this workshop is to identify different architectural approaches to building domain-specific software design systems and to explore issues unique to domain-specific (vs. general-purpose) software design. Some general issues that cut across the particular software design domain include: (1) knowledge representation, acquisition, and maintenance; (2) specialized software design techniques; and (3) user interaction and user interface.

Creating Your Life's Work Portfolio. An Interactive Career and Life Planning Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1998

Designed for those beginning a working life or with years of experience, this book leads the user through collecting records that document work history and affirm successes. It provides a step-by-step process to help plan one's life's work, make career decisions, and develop plans for new career directions and a structure to learn career planning…

A designed repeat protein as an affinity capture reagent

PubMed Central

Speltz, Elizabeth B.; Brown, Rebecca S.H.; Hajare, Holly S.; Schlieker, Christian; Regan, Lynne

2017-01-01

Repeat proteins are an attractive target for protein engineering and design. We have focused our attention on the design and engineering of one particular class - tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) proteins. In previous work we have shown that the structure and stability of TPR proteins can be manipulated in a rational fashion [Cortajarena 2011; Main 2003]. Building on those studies, we have designed and characterized a number of different peptide-binding TPR modules and we have also assembled these modules into supramolecular arrays [Cortajarena 2009; Cortajarena 2008; Jackrel 2009; Kajander 2007]. Here we focus on the development of one such TPR-peptide interaction for a practical application – affinity purification. We illustrate the general utility of our designed protein interaction. Furthermore, this example highlights how basic research on protein-peptide interactions can lead to the development of novel reagents with important practical applications. PMID:26517897

Holistic Design for Total Product Well Being

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Chris W.; Hamilton, George S.

2004-01-01

Recent hardware development work at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center creates and argument for the use of a holistic design approach as opposed to a piece part design approach. A piece part design approach being one where individual pieces are developed to their finished state having to meet certain interface and human engineering requirements without much consideration to the final product as a whole. A holistic design approach being one where the final product is evaluated early and frequently during the design process, and individual parts are developed with consideration to how they interact a whole,and how they interact with the user and environment. Examples from the development of the Materials Science Research Rack - 1 will illustrate: a design failure due to piece part design; a design save, due to a failure of piece part design, but saved by evaluating the design holistically; and a design success due to a holistic design approach.

Vision and Embodied Knowing: The Making of Floral Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gåfvels, Camilla

2016-01-01

This article focuses on assessment actions in floristry education, addressing how interaction with flowers influences and mediates vocational knowing. Using video recordings from floristry education for adults, the article explores the interaction between teacher and student when assessing on-going work and performance as a way to frame the…

Threads of Mission Success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gavin, Thomas R.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the many parts of the JPL mission planning process that the project manager has to work with. Some of them are: NASA & JPL's institutional requirements, the mission systems design requirements, the science interactions, the technical interactions, financial requirements, verification and validation, safety and mission assurance, and independent assessment, review and reporting.

Building Collaborative Learning Opportunities between Future Veterinary and Design Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magallanes, Fernando; Stoskopf, Michael K.; Royal, Kenneth D.

2015-01-01

Positive inter-professional collaborations and interactions facilitate the effectiveness of veterinarians working on professional teams addressing a wide range of societal challenges. The need for these interactions extend far beyond the different medical professions, which is the limit of many discussions of inter-professional relations for…

Uncovering the Layers of Design Processes of a Global Undergraduate Engineering Course: An Interactional Ethnographic Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Jenna (Ji Eun)

This dissertation presents an ethnographic study of an instructor's design logic and thinking underlying a global, multi-country undergraduate engineering design course. The study analyzed how, in what ways, and for what purposes, he continually defined and reformulated what counted as (Heap, 1991) "new" learning opportunities and outcomes for engineering design thinking in the 21st century, through his interactions with globally distributed groups of students and teaching teams (i.e., US, India, Israel, China and South Korea). By examining what was discursively made present to students in moment-by-moment and over-time, I identified the processes and practices that members of the class needed to know, understand, produce and engage in (Heath & Street, 2008) to develop their capacities to work in intercultural contexts on local design problems. Discourse analysis guided by an Interactional Ethnographic logic-in-use (Birdwhistell, 1977), grounded in a social construction of knowledge perspective (i.e., Green, Skukauskaite, and Baker, 2012; Castanheira, Crawford, Dixon and Green, 2001), framed the ways in which I examined the work of participants, what they oriented to and were held accountable for, and how what counted as this "new" instructional approach was socially constructed (Heap, 1991; Bloome & Egan-Robertson, 1993, Castanheira et al, 2001). This inquiry process required consideration of multimodal texts available to students in different technology-enabled educational contexts, public (re)presentations of this developing program as well as the construction of transcripts. From this perspective, texts were spoken, written and/or published works (Bakhtin, 1986) constructed by key actors (the designer, the support team, a teaching assistant and students). The analyses made visible how the instructor's discourse focused students on taking a problem-oriented approach to resolving challenges in working interculturally on a common task (e.g., the design thinking project). Three inter-related challenges that impacted the collaborative work and opportunities for learning for students were identified that influenced how the course was designed. The first involved the instructor's desire to engage each participating campus site in face-to-face opportunities from their national sites. The second related to the necessity to address the unique institutional and socio-national contexts of each institution. And, the third, led to the need for the instructor to adapt the planned program to address unanticipated differences in participation due to the holidays in each country. The present study demonstrates how designing a global course created unanticipated challenges not only for students but also for the instructor, a factor not considered in discussions of innovative design initiatives in higher education. Additionally, this study makes visible how undertaking an Interactional Ethnographic approach, grounded in discourse analysis, makes possible an iterative, recursive and abductive process for constructing warranted understandings of new and emerging curricular design processes in particular interdisciplinary and intercultural (global) contexts.

Development and test of a model for designing interactive CD-ROMs for teaching nursing skills.

PubMed

Jeffries, P R

2000-01-01

The use of interactive multimedia is well documented in the education literature as a medium for learning. Many schools of nursing and healthcare agencies purchase commercially-made CD-ROM products, and, in other cases, educators develop their own. Since nurses are increasingly designing CD-ROMs, they must be aware of the instructional design needed to develop comprehensive and effective CD-ROMs that do not compromise the quality of education. This article describes a process for developing and testing an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM on oral medication administration, using an instructional design model based on Chickering and Gamson's Principles of Good Practices in Education. Results from testing the model are reported. The findings can be used to guide the work of nurse educators who are interested in developing educational software.

Affective Education Handbook for Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odum, Nancy L.; And Others

Designed to introduce the vocational teacher to activities through which peer interaction promotes the understanding of self and others in a working environment, this handbook provides activities that focus on attitudes, interests, and values development. The first topic, work habits, deals with absenteeism, coffee break abuse, communication…

A SPECT system simulator built on the SolidWorksTM 3D design package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Furenlid, Lars R.

2014-09-01

We have developed a GPU-accelerated SPECT system simulator that integrates into instrument-design work flow [1]. This simulator includes a gamma-ray tracing module that can rapidly propagate gamma-ray photons through arbitrary apertures modeled by SolidWorksTM-created stereolithography (.STL) representations with a full com- plement of physics cross sections [2, 3]. This software also contains a scintillation detector simulation module that can model a scintillation detector with arbitrary scintillation crystal shape and light-sensor arrangement. The gamma-ray tracing module enables us to efficiently model aperture and detector crystals in SolidWorksTM and save them as STL file format, then load the STL-format model into this module to generate list-mode results of interacted gamma-ray photon information (interaction positions and energies) inside the detector crystals. The Monte-Carlo scintillation detector simulation module enables us to simulate how scintillation photons get reflected, refracted and absorbed inside a scintillation detector, which contributes to more accurate simulation of a SPECT system.

Family Interaction under Stress: Emotional Spillover from Work Stress to Family Life for Parents of Kindergartners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulz, Marc S.

This study was designed to enhance understanding of individuals' and couples' emotional regulation processes, and the psychological mechanisms that connect work and family spheres for men and women. Forty-three couples and their eldest child participated in this study. On three consecutive days the parents completed several measures of work stress…

An Ambient Awareness Tool for Supporting Supervised Collaborative Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alavi, H. S.; Dillenbourg, P.

2012-01-01

We describe an ambient awareness tool, named "Lantern", designed for supporting the learning process in recitation sections, (i.e., when students work in small teams on the exercise sets with the help of tutors). Each team is provided with an interactive lamp that displays their work status: the exercise they are working on, if they have…

Zolotopia: A New Classic for Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Janet

2007-01-01

While working on a graphic design job at FAO Schwartz, entrepreneurs Sandra Higashi and Byron Glaser recognized a need for something new in toys. The result was the birth of Zolo, an innovative, interactive toy, designed and produced by Higashi and Glaser and distributed by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The initial idea for Zolo…

Toehold-mediated internal control to probe the near-field interaction between the metallic nanoparticle and the fluorophore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ang, Y. S.; Yung, L. Y. L.

2014-10-01

Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are known to alter the emission of vicinal fluorophores through the near-field interaction, leading to either fluorescence quenching or enhancement. Much ambiguity remains in the experimental outcome of such a near-field interaction, particularly for bulk colloidal solution. It is hypothesized that the strong far-field interference from the inner filter effect of the MNPs could mask the true near-field MNP-fluorophore interaction significantly. Thus, in this work, a reliable internal control capable of decoupling the near-field interaction from far-field interference is established by the use of the DNA toehold concept to mediate the in situ assembly and disassembly of the MNP-fluorophore conjugate. A model gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-Cy3 system is used to investigate our proposed toehold-mediated internal control system. The maximum fluorescence enhancement is obtained for large-sized AuNP (58 nm) separated from Cy3 at an intermediate distance of 6.8 nm, while fluorescence quenching is observed for smaller-sized AuNP (11 nm and 23 nm), which is in agreement with the theoretical values reported in the literature. This work shows that the toehold-mediated internal control design can serve as a central system for evaluating the near-field interaction of other MNP-fluorophore combinations and facilitate the rational design of specific MNP-fluorophore systems for various applications.Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are known to alter the emission of vicinal fluorophores through the near-field interaction, leading to either fluorescence quenching or enhancement. Much ambiguity remains in the experimental outcome of such a near-field interaction, particularly for bulk colloidal solution. It is hypothesized that the strong far-field interference from the inner filter effect of the MNPs could mask the true near-field MNP-fluorophore interaction significantly. Thus, in this work, a reliable internal control capable of decoupling the near-field interaction from far-field interference is established by the use of the DNA toehold concept to mediate the in situ assembly and disassembly of the MNP-fluorophore conjugate. A model gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-Cy3 system is used to investigate our proposed toehold-mediated internal control system. The maximum fluorescence enhancement is obtained for large-sized AuNP (58 nm) separated from Cy3 at an intermediate distance of 6.8 nm, while fluorescence quenching is observed for smaller-sized AuNP (11 nm and 23 nm), which is in agreement with the theoretical values reported in the literature. This work shows that the toehold-mediated internal control design can serve as a central system for evaluating the near-field interaction of other MNP-fluorophore combinations and facilitate the rational design of specific MNP-fluorophore systems for various applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: DNA sequences, size distribution analysis, photobleaching background and optical characterization. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr03643c

Using team cognitive work analysis to reveal healthcare team interactions in a birthing unit.

PubMed

Ashoori, Maryam; Burns, Catherine M; d'Entremont, Barbara; Momtahan, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) as an analytical approach for examining complex sociotechnical systems has shown success in modelling the work of single operators. The CWA approach incorporates social and team interactions, but a more explicit analysis of team aspects can reveal more information for systems design. In this paper, Team CWA is explored to understand teamwork within a birthing unit at a hospital. Team CWA models are derived from theories and models of teamwork and leverage the existing CWA approaches to analyse team interactions. Team CWA is explained and contrasted with prior approaches to CWA. Team CWA does not replace CWA, but supplements traditional CWA to more easily reveal team information. As a result, Team CWA may be a useful approach to enhance CWA in complex environments where effective teamwork is required. This paper looks at ways of analysing cognitive work in healthcare teams. Team Cognitive Work Analysis, when used to supplement traditional Cognitive Work Analysis, revealed more team information than traditional Cognitive Work Analysis. Team Cognitive Work Analysis should be considered when studying teams.

Using team cognitive work analysis to reveal healthcare team interactions in a birthing unit

PubMed Central

Ashoori, Maryam; Burns, Catherine M.; d'Entremont, Barbara; Momtahan, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) as an analytical approach for examining complex sociotechnical systems has shown success in modelling the work of single operators. The CWA approach incorporates social and team interactions, but a more explicit analysis of team aspects can reveal more information for systems design. In this paper, Team CWA is explored to understand teamwork within a birthing unit at a hospital. Team CWA models are derived from theories and models of teamworkand leverage the existing CWA approaches to analyse team interactions. Team CWA is explained and contrasted with prior approaches to CWA. Team CWA does not replace CWA, but supplements traditional CWA to more easily reveal team information. As a result, Team CWA may be a useful approach to enhance CWA in complex environments where effective teamwork is required. Practitioner Summary: This paper looks at ways of analysing cognitive work in healthcare teams. Team Cognitive Work Analysis, when used to supplement traditional Cognitive Work Analysis, revealed more team information than traditional Cognitive Work Analysis. Team Cognitive Work Analysis should be considered when studying teams PMID:24837514

NASA@Work

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.

2014-01-01

NASA@work is an agency-wide website designed to increase innovation and access to ideas and knowledge from within the NASA community. Individuals (challenge owners) post their specific problem or "challenge." Anyone in the community (solvers) can contribute to the interactive discussions and submit proposed solutions with the opportunity to win an award.

Space Station Freedom coupling tasks: An evaluation of their telerobotic and EVA compatibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampaio, Carlos E.; Bierschwale, John M.; Fleming, Terence F.; Stuart, Mark A.

1993-01-01

Of the couplings included in this study, several design components were found to be of interest. With respect to the operation of the couplings, the various concepts resulted in differing reactions from the four subjects who participated in this study. The purpose of this study was not to conceive the final coupling design. Rather, it was intended as a step along an interactive process. The newly modified coupling will be included in a series of further controlled, as well as subjective, evaluations. This part of the ongoing work in the Remote Operator Interaction Laboratory (ROIL) designed to enhance the overall interface by improving design at both the teleoperator and telerobot ends of the system.

The Children's Interaction Matrix: Intermediate Form, Primary Form. Preliminary Manual. Research Edition 1975.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drummond, Robert J.; And Others

The Children's Interaction Matrix, Intermediate and Primary Forms, are designed to identify the preferred work and content styles of children in group situations. These factors aid the researcher, teacher, and counselor in understanding the individual's preferred mode of behavior in groups as well as indicating the students' reaction to group…

The Blake Interaction Model for Task Force Program Development in Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake, Duane L.

The Blake Interaction Model presented in this manual is designed to eliminate three problems which usually confront a task force charged with the responsibility of program development in a conference setting: (1) how to involve simultaneously several work groups in the productive capacity developing solutions for several separate problems; (2) how…

Snapshots of Interactive Multimedia at Work Across the Curriculum in Deaf Education: Implications for Public Address Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parton, Becky Sue

2006-01-01

A review of the literature yields many intriguing applications of interactive multimedia technology that can be seen through a series of "snapshots" describing current projects and initiatives for deaf education. The five main categories chosen to represent these activities are: instructional design, communication bridges, skill development…

Secondary Implementation of Interactive Engagement Teaching Techniques: Choices and Challenges in a Gulf Arab Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hitt, G. W.; Isakovic, A. F.; Fawwaz, O.; Bawa'aneh, M. S.; El-Kork, N.; Makkiyil, S.; Qattan, I. A.

2014-01-01

We report on efforts to design the "Collaborative Workshop Physics" (CWP) instructional strategy to deliver the first interactive engagement (IE) physics course at Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KU), United Arab Emirates (UAE). To our knowledge, this work reports the first calculus-based, introductory mechanics…

State College Scavenger: Evaluating the Perspectives of Mobile Computing Interactions within Community Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Blaine

2013-01-01

This work focuses on the impact of mobile computing on individuals' perspectives of places within their community. A technological intervention is designed and deployed to augment the user experience of visiting different locations around town, physically exploring them while also interacting with an online tool. The tool-supported activity serves…

Application of Semantic Approaches and Interactive Virtual Technology to Improve Teaching Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jou, Min; Liu, Chi-Chia

2012-01-01

This article describes an implementation of interactive virtual environments that have been designed for supporting the education of technical skills in material processing technology. The developed web-based systems provide the capability to train students in the technical skills of material processing technology without the need to work on…

Speech Development of Autistic Children by Interactive Computer Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahman, Mustafizur; Ferdous, S. M.; Ahmed, Syed Ishtiaque; Anwar, Anika

2011-01-01

Purpose: Speech disorder is one of the most common problems found with autistic children. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the introduction of computer-based interactive games along with the traditional therapies in order to help improve the speech of autistic children. Design/methodology/approach: From analysis of the works of Ivar…

Exposure enriched outcome dependent designs for longitudinal studies of gene-environment interaction.

PubMed

Sun, Zhichao; Mukherjee, Bhramar; Estes, Jason P; Vokonas, Pantel S; Park, Sung Kyun

2017-08-15

Joint effects of genetic and environmental factors have been increasingly recognized in the development of many complex human diseases. Despite the popularity of case-control and case-only designs, longitudinal cohort studies that can capture time-varying outcome and exposure information have long been recommended for gene-environment (G × E) interactions. To date, literature on sampling designs for longitudinal studies of G × E interaction is quite limited. We therefore consider designs that can prioritize a subsample of the existing cohort for retrospective genotyping on the basis of currently available outcome, exposure, and covariate data. In this work, we propose stratified sampling based on summaries of individual exposures and outcome trajectories and develop a full conditional likelihood approach for estimation that adjusts for the biased sample. We compare the performance of our proposed design and analysis with combinations of different sampling designs and estimation approaches via simulation. We observe that the full conditional likelihood provides improved estimates for the G × E interaction and joint exposure effects over uncorrected complete-case analysis, and the exposure enriched outcome trajectory dependent design outperforms other designs in terms of estimation efficiency and power for detection of the G × E interaction. We also illustrate our design and analysis using data from the Normative Aging Study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study initiated by the Veterans Administration in 1963. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relationship between Workplace Spatial Settings and Occupant-Perceived Support for Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hua, Ying; Loftness, Vivian; Heerwagen, Judith H.; Powell, Kevin M.

2011-01-01

The increasingly collaborative nature of knowledge-based work requires workplaces to support both dynamic interactions and concentrated work, both of which are critical for collaboration performance. Given the prevalence of open-plan settings, this requirement has created new challenges for workplace design. Therefore, an understanding of the…

OFMspert: An architecture for an operator's associate that evolves to an intelligent tutor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Christine M.

1991-01-01

With the emergence of new technology for both human-computer interaction and knowledge-based systems, a range of opportunities exist which enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of controllers of high-risk engineering systems. The design of an architecture for an operator's associate is described. This associate is a stand-alone model-based system designed to interact with operators of complex dynamic systems, such as airplanes, manned space systems, and satellite ground control systems in ways comparable to that of a human assistant. The operator function model expert system (OFMspert) architecture and the design and empirical validation of OFMspert's understanding component are described. The design and validation of OFMspert's interactive and control components are also described. A description of current work in which OFMspert provides the foundation in the development of an intelligent tutor that evolves to an assistant, as operator expertise evolves from novice to expert, is provided.

Guiding without feeling guided: Implicit scaffolding through interactive simulation design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Ariel; Podolefsky, Noah; Perkins, Katherine

2013-01-01

While PhET interactive simulations (sims) were historically designed for college students, they are used at lower grade levels, and we are currently developing sims targeted at middle school (MS). In studying how MS students interact with and learn from these sims, we have been extracting insights about design for the middle-grade-levels and across K-16. This collection of work has highlighted the importance of implicit scaffolding, a design framework that reduces the amount of explicit instruction needed to facilitate learning. We present a case study of redesigning a sim - Energy Skate Park (ESP) - for effective use in MS. We conducted think-aloud interviews with MS students to identify successful features, sources of confusion or unproductive distraction, as well as features inconsistent with gradeappropriate learning goals. Drawing on these data and the principle of implicit scaffolding, we developed Energy Skate Park Basics (ESPB). Interviews on ESPB demonstrate increased usability and learning for MS students.

Three-dimensional unsteady flow calculations in an advanced gas generator turbine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rangwalla, Akil A.

1993-01-01

This paper deals with the application of a three-dimensional, unsteady Navier-Stokes code for predicting the unsteady flow in a single stage of an advanced gas generator turbine. The numerical method solves the three-dimensional thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations, using a system of overlaid grids, which allow for relative motion between the rotor and stator airfoils. Results in the form of time averaged pressures and pressure amplitudes on the airfoil surfaces will be shown. In addition, instantaneous contours of pressure, Mach number, etc. will be presented in order to provide a greater understanding of the inviscid as well as the viscous aspects of the flowfield. Also, relevant secondary flow features such as cross-plane velocity vectors and total pressure contours will be presented. Prior work in two-dimensions has indicated that for the advanced designs, the unsteady interactions can play a significant role in turbine performance. These interactions affect not only the stage efficiency but can substantially alter the time-averaged features of the flow. This work is a natural extension of the work done in two-dimensions and hopes to address some of the issues raised by the two-dimensional calculations. These calculations are being performed as an integral part of an actual design process and demonstrate the value of unsteady rotor-stator interaction calculations in the design of turbomachines.

Designing Alternatives: Design Thinking as a Mediating Learning Strategy to Bridge Science and the Humanities for Leadership Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clegorne, Nicholas A.; Mastrogiovanni, Jason M. M.

2015-01-01

Drawing on the work of educational anti-consumerists such as David F. Noble (2002) as well as design theory (Cross, 2006; Dorst, 2011; Farrell & Hooker, 2013) and adaptive leadership (Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009), these authors frame the complex interactions involving teaching and learning along a spectrum bracketed by training on one…

The James Webb Space Telescope RealWorld-InWorld Design Challenge: Involving Professionals in a Virtual Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masetti, Margaret; Bowers, S.

2011-01-01

Students around the country are becoming experts on the James Webb Space Telescope by designing solutions to two of the design challenges presented by this complex mission. RealWorld-InWorld has two parts; the first (the Real World portion) has high-school students working face to face in their classroom as engineers and scientists. The InWorld phase starts December 15, 2010 as interested teachers and their teams of high school students register to move their work into a 3D multi-user virtual world environment. At the start of this phase, college students from all over the country choose a registered team to lead InWorld. Each InWorld team is also assigned an engineer or scientist mentor. In this virtual world setting, each team refines their design solutions and creates a 3D model of the Webb telescope. InWorld teams will use 21st century tools to collaborate and build in the virtual world environment. Each team will learn, not only from their own team members, but will have the opportunity to interact with James Webb Space Telescope researchers through the virtual world setting, which allows for synchronous interactions. Halfway through the challenge, design solutions will be critiqued and a mystery problem will be introduced for each team. The top five teams will be invited to present their work during a synchronous Education Forum April 14, 2011. The top team will earn scholarships and technology. This is an excellent opportunity for professionals in both astronomy and associated engineering disciplines to become involved with a unique educational program. Besides the chance to mentor a group of interested students, there are many opportunities to interact with the students as a guest, via chats and presentations.

Work-Based Social Interactions, Perceived Stress, and Workload Incongruence as Antecedents of Athletic Trainer Burnout

PubMed Central

DeFreese, J. D.; Mihalik, Jason P.

2016-01-01

Context Burnout is an important psychological health concern for working professionals. Understanding how psychological stress and markers of workload contribute to athletic trainers' (ATs') perceptions of burnout is highly valuable. Both positive (social support) and negative social interactions should be considered when examining relationships among markers of ATs' health and wellbeing. Objective To examine the potential effects of social interactions on the relationships between (1) burnout and perceived stress and (2) burnout and workload incongruence in ATs. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Participating ATs completed a computer-based survey during the fall sports season. Patients or Other Participants Responding participants were ATs randomly sampled from the National Athletic Trainers' Association membership (N = 154; men = 78, women = 76; age = 36.8 ± 9.5 years). Main Outcome Measure(s) Participants completed self-report assessments (Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Social Exchanges, Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey) via a secure e-mail link. Workload incongruence was calculated by subtracting anticipated work hours from actual current work hours (6.0 ± 9.6 hours). We used hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine hypothesized relationships among study variables. Results Social interactions did not affect the relationships between burnout and perceived stress or workload incongruence at the global or dimensional level. However, perceived stress (β = .47, P < .001), workload incongruence (β = .12, P < .05), and social support (β = −.25, P < .001) predicted global AT burnout. Negative social interactions trended toward significance (β = .12, P = .055). Our findings suggest that stress perceptions and social support drive the dimensional AT burnout experience, whereas workload incongruence (emotional exhaustion) and negative social interactions (depersonalization) were linked to specific burnout dimensions. Conclusions Social interactions and markers of stress and workload should be considered when seeking to understand ATs' experiences with burnout and to design workplace interventions. PMID:26765513

Self-assembly kinetics of microscale components: A parametric evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carballo, Jose M.

The goal of the present work is to develop, and evaluate a parametric model of a basic microscale Self-Assembly (SA) interaction that provides scaling predictions of process rates as a function of key process variables. At the microscale, assembly by "grasp and release" is generally challenging. Recent research efforts have proposed adapting nanoscale self-assembly (SA) processes to the microscale. SA offers the potential for reduced equipment cost and increased throughput by harnessing attractive forces (most commonly, capillary) to spontaneously assemble components. However, there are challenges for implementing microscale SA as a commercial process. The existing lack of design tools prevents simple process optimization. Previous efforts have characterized a specific aspect of the SA process. However, the existing microscale SA models do not characterize the inter-component interactions. All existing models have simplified the outcome of SA interactions as an experimentally-derived value specific to a particular configuration, instead of evaluating it outcome as a function of component level parameters (such as speed, geometry, bonding energy and direction). The present study parameterizes the outcome of interactions, and evaluates the effect of key parameters. The present work closes the gap between existing microscale SA models to add a key piece towards a complete design tool for general microscale SA process modeling. First, this work proposes a simple model for defining the probability of assembly of basic SA interactions. A basic SA interaction is defined as the event where a single part arrives on an assembly site. The model describes the probability of assembly as a function of kinetic energy, binding energy, orientation and incidence angle for the component and the assembly site. Secondly, an experimental SA system was designed, and implemented to create individual SA interactions while controlling process parameters independently. SA experiments measured the outcome of SA interactions, while studying the independent effects of each parameter. As a first step towards a complete scaling model, experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of part geometry and part travel direction under low kinetic energy conditions. Experimental results show minimal dependence of assembly yield on the incidence angle of the parts, and significant effects induced by changes in part geometry. The results from this work indicate that SA could be modeled as an energy-based process due to the small path dependence effects. Assembly probability is linearly related to the orientation probability. The proportionality constant is based on the area fraction of the sites with an amplification factor. This amplification factor accounts for the ability of capillary forces to align parts with only very small areas of contact when they have a low kinetic energy. Results provide unprecedented insight about SA interactions. The present study is a key step towards completing a basic model of a general SA process. Moreover, the outcome from this work can complement existing SA process models, in order to create a complete design tool for microscale SA systems. In addition to SA experiments, Monte Carlo simulations of experimental part-site interactions were conducted. This study confirmed that a major contributor to experimental variation is the stochastic nature of experimental SA interactions and the limited sample size of the experiments. Furthermore, the simulations serve as a tool for defining an optimum sampling strategy to minimize the uncertainty in future SA experiments.

Electron work function-a promising guiding parameter for material design.

PubMed

Lu, Hao; Liu, Ziran; Yan, Xianguo; Li, Dongyang; Parent, Leo; Tian, Harry

2016-04-14

Using nickel added X70 steel as a sample material, we demonstrate that electron work function (EWF), which largely reflects the electron behavior of materials, could be used as a guide parameter for material modification or design. Adding Ni having a higher electron work function to X70 steel brings more "free" electrons to the steel, leading to increased overall work function, accompanied with enhanced e(-)-nuclei interactions or higher atomic bond strength. Young's modulus and hardness increase correspondingly. However, the free electron density and work function decrease as the Ni content is continuously increased, accompanied with the formation of a second phase, FeNi3, which is softer with a lower work function. The decrease in the overall work function corresponds to deterioration of the mechanical strength of the steel. It is expected that EWF, a simple but fundamental parameter, may lead to new methodologies or supplementary approaches for metallic materials design or tailoring on a feasible electronic base.

Electron work function–a promising guiding parameter for material design

PubMed Central

Lu, Hao; Liu, Ziran; Yan, Xianguo; Li, Dongyang; Parent, Leo; Tian, Harry

2016-01-01

Using nickel added X70 steel as a sample material, we demonstrate that electron work function (EWF), which largely reflects the electron behavior of materials, could be used as a guide parameter for material modification or design. Adding Ni having a higher electron work function to X70 steel brings more “free” electrons to the steel, leading to increased overall work function, accompanied with enhanced e−–nuclei interactions or higher atomic bond strength. Young’s modulus and hardness increase correspondingly. However, the free electron density and work function decrease as the Ni content is continuously increased, accompanied with the formation of a second phase, FeNi3, which is softer with a lower work function. The decrease in the overall work function corresponds to deterioration of the mechanical strength of the steel. It is expected that EWF, a simple but fundamental parameter, may lead to new methodologies or supplementary approaches for metallic materials design or tailoring on a feasible electronic base. PMID:27074974

Information needs for making clinical recommendations about potential drug-drug interactions: a synthesis of literature review and interviews.

PubMed

Romagnoli, Katrina M; Nelson, Scott D; Hines, Lisa; Empey, Philip; Boyce, Richard D; Hochheiser, Harry

2017-02-22

Drug information compendia and drug-drug interaction information databases are critical resources for clinicians and pharmacists working to avoid adverse events due to exposure to potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs). Our goal is to develop information models, annotated data, and search tools that will facilitate the interpretation of PDDI information. To better understand the information needs and work practices of specialists who search and synthesize PDDI evidence for drug information resources, we conducted an inquiry that combined a thematic analysis of published literature with unstructured interviews. Starting from an initial set of relevant articles, we developed search terms and conducted a literature search. Two reviewers conducted a thematic analysis of included articles. Unstructured interviews with drug information experts were conducted and similarly coded. Information needs, work processes, and indicators of potential strengths and weaknesses of information systems were identified. Review of 92 papers and 10 interviews identified 56 categories of information needs related to the interpretation of PDDI information including drug and interaction information; study design; evidence including clinical details, quality and content of reports, and consequences; and potential recommendations. We also identified strengths/weaknesses of PDDI information systems. We identified the kinds of information that might be most effective for summarizing PDDIs. The drug information experts we interviewed had differing goals, suggesting a need for detailed information models and flexible presentations. Several information needs not discussed in previous work were identified, including temporal overlaps in drug administration, biological plausibility of interactions, and assessment of the quality and content of reports. Richly structured depictions of PDDI information may help drug information experts more effectively interpret data and develop recommendations. Effective information models and system designs will be needed to maximize the utility of this information.

Infection control in design and construction work.

PubMed

Collinge, William H

2015-01-01

To clarify how infection control requirements are represented, communicated, and understood in work interactions through the medical facility construction project life cycle. To assist project participants with effective infection control management by highlighting the nature of such requirements and presenting recommendations to aid practice. A 4-year study regarding client requirement representation and use on National Health Service construction projects in the United Kingdom provided empirical evidence of infection control requirement communication and understanding through design and construction work interactions. An analysis of construction project resources (e.g., infection control regulations and room data sheets) was combined with semi-structured interviews with hospital client employees and design and construction professionals to provide valuable insights into the management of infection control issues. Infection control requirements are representationally indistinct but also omnipresent through all phases of the construction project life cycle: Failure to recognize their nature, relevance, and significance can result in delays, stoppages, and redesign work. Construction project resources (e.g., regulatory guidance and room data sheets) can mask or obscure the meaning of infection control issues. A preemptive identification of issues combined with knowledge sharing activities among project stakeholders can enable infection control requirements to be properly understood and addressed. Such initiatives should also reference existing infection control regulatory guidance and advice. © The Author(s) 2015.

Vibration isolation technology: Sensitivity of selected classes of experiments to residual accelerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, J. Iwan D.

1991-01-01

Work was completed on all aspects of the following tasks: order of magnitude estimates; thermo-capillary convection - two-dimensional (fixed planar surface); thermo-capillary convection - three-dimensional and axisymmetric; liquid bridge/floating zone sensitivity; transport in closed containers; interaction: design and development stages; interaction: testing flight hardware; and reporting. Results are included in the Appendices.

Sims for Science: Powerful Tools to Support Inquiry-Based Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, Katherine K.; Loeblein, Patricia J.; Dessau, Kathryn L.

2010-01-01

Since 2002, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado has been working to provide learning tools for students and teachers. The project has developed over 85 interactive simulations--or sims--for teaching and learning science. Although these sims can be used in a variety of ways, they are specifically designed to make…

Real-World Units in the Conceptual Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campillo, Blanca; Pierson, Bo Hyun

2014-01-01

During an eight-week series of investigations, a class of third-grade students learned how interactions between forces are used to advance technology in their world. This five-part forces and interaction unit was led by a guiding question: How does engineering and design work in the world, and how does it affect our lives? As they explored this…

Coding Manual for Continuous Observation of Interactions by Single Subjects in an Academic Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobb, Joseph A.; Hops, Hyman

The manual, designed particularly for work with acting-out or behavior problem students, describes coding procedures used in the observation of continuous classroom interactions between the student and his peers and teacher. Peer and/or teacher behaviors antecedent and consequent to the subject's behavior are identified in the coding process,…

The effect of the serum corona on interactions between a single nano-object and a living cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dror, Yael; Sorkin, Raya; Brand, Guy; Boubriak, Olga; Urban, Jill; Klein, Jacob

2017-04-01

Nanoparticles (NPs) which enter physiological fluids are rapidly coated by proteins, forming a so-called corona which may strongly modify their interaction with tissues and cells relative to the bare NPs. In this work the interactions between a living cell and a nano-object, and in particular the effect on this of the adsorption of serum proteins, are directly examined by measuring the forces arising as an Atomic Force Microscope tip (diameter 20 nm) - simulating a nano-object - approaches and contacts a cell. We find that the presence of a serum protein corona on the tip strongly modifies the interaction as indicated by pronounced increase in the indentation, hysteresis and work of adhesion compared to a bare tip. Classically one expects an AFM tip interacting with a cell surface to be repelled due to cell elastic distortion, offset by tip-cell adhesion, and indeed such a model fits the bare-tip/cell interaction, in agreement with earlier work. However, the force plots obtained with serum-modified tips are very different, indicating that the cell is much more compliant to the approaching tip. The insights obtained in this work may promote better design of NPs for drug delivery and other nano-medical applications.

The effect of the serum corona on interactions between a single nano-object and a living cell

PubMed Central

Dror, Yael; Sorkin, Raya; Brand, Guy; Boubriak, Olga; Urban, Jill; Klein, Jacob

2017-01-01

Nanoparticles (NPs) which enter physiological fluids are rapidly coated by proteins, forming a so-called corona which may strongly modify their interaction with tissues and cells relative to the bare NPs. In this work the interactions between a living cell and a nano-object, and in particular the effect on this of the adsorption of serum proteins, are directly examined by measuring the forces arising as an Atomic Force Microscope tip (diameter 20 nm) - simulating a nano-object - approaches and contacts a cell. We find that the presence of a serum protein corona on the tip strongly modifies the interaction as indicated by pronounced increase in the indentation, hysteresis and work of adhesion compared to a bare tip. Classically one expects an AFM tip interacting with a cell surface to be repelled due to cell elastic distortion, offset by tip-cell adhesion, and indeed such a model fits the bare-tip/cell interaction, in agreement with earlier work. However, the force plots obtained with serum-modified tips are very different, indicating that the cell is much more compliant to the approaching tip. The insights obtained in this work may promote better design of NPs for drug delivery and other nano-medical applications. PMID:28383528

Optimal design method to minimize users' thinking mapping load in human-machine interactions.

PubMed

Huang, Yanqun; Li, Xu; Zhang, Jie

2015-01-01

The discrepancy between human cognition and machine requirements/behaviors usually results in serious mental thinking mapping loads or even disasters in product operating. It is important to help people avoid human-machine interaction confusions and difficulties in today's mental work mastered society. Improving the usability of a product and minimizing user's thinking mapping and interpreting load in human-machine interactions. An optimal human-machine interface design method is introduced, which is based on the purpose of minimizing the mental load in thinking mapping process between users' intentions and affordance of product interface states. By analyzing the users' thinking mapping problem, an operating action model is constructed. According to human natural instincts and acquired knowledge, an expected ideal design with minimized thinking loads is uniquely determined at first. Then, creative alternatives, in terms of the way human obtains operational information, are provided as digital interface states datasets. In the last, using the cluster analysis method, an optimum solution is picked out from alternatives, by calculating the distances between two datasets. Considering multiple factors to minimize users' thinking mapping loads, a solution nearest to the ideal value is found in the human-car interaction design case. The clustering results show its effectiveness in finding an optimum solution to the mental load minimizing problems in human-machine interaction design.

What Matters Most: HealthWorks! Kids' Museum Annual Evaluation Report of Findings, Year 1 of 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudy, Dennis W.

This report presents an evaluation of the HealthWorks! Kids' Museum, an urban education center designed to help children in grades preK-8 understand and make good choices about healthy living and lifestyle choices. It includes an exhibit floor and interactive classroom areas with a program highlighting how body systems work; a game challenging the…

A Study of the Predictive Association between Congruency Measures Based on Work-Emotionality Theory and the Achievement and Satisfaction in Adult Instructional Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lueder, E. J.

The rationale, design, and data collection methods of a study of factors that may influence the effectiveness of adult instructional groups that included interaction are discussed. Two aspects to be considered when studying instructional groups are called work and emotionality. The Work-Emotionality Theory is discussed. Six types of…

Preliminary control/structure interaction study of coupled Space Station Freedom/Assembly Work Platform/orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Sudeep K.; Lindenmoyer, Alan J.

1989-01-01

Results are presented from a preliminary control/structure interaction study of the Space Station, the Assembly Work Platform, and the STS orbiter dynamics coupled with the orbiter and station control systems. The first three Space Station assembly flight configurations and their finite element representations are illustrated. These configurations are compared in terms of control authority in each axis and propellant usage. The control systems design parameters during assembly are computed. Although the rigid body response was acceptable with the orbiter Primary Reaction Control System, the flexible body response showed large structural deflections and loads. It was found that severe control/structure interaction occurred if the stiffness of the Assembly Work Platform was equal to that of the station truss. Also, the response of the orbiter Vernier Reaction Control System to small changes in inertia properties is examined.

Interaction in Balanced Cross Nested Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Paulo; Mexia, João T.; Carvalho, Francisco; Covas, Ricardo

2011-09-01

Commutative Jordan Algebras, CJA, are used in the study of mixed models obtained, through crossing and nesting, from simpler ones. In the study of cross nested models the interaction between nested factors have been systematically discarded. However this can constitutes an artificial simplification of the models. We point out that, when two crossed factors interact, such interaction is symmetric, both factors playing in it equivalent roles, while when two nested factors interact, the interaction is determined by the nesting factor. These interactions will be called interactions with nesting. In this work we present a coherent formulation of the algebraic structure of models enabling the choice of families of interactions between cross and nested factors using binary operations on CJA.

Intelligent Design: Student Perceptions of Teaching and Learning in Large Social Work Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moulding, Nicole Therese

2010-01-01

Research into the effects of large classes demonstrates that students are disadvantaged in terms of higher order learning because interactions between teachers and students occur at lower cognitive levels. This has significance for social work education, with its emphasis on the development of critical thinking and problem solving, both higher…

Understanding Responsive Web Design in Higher Education. ECAR Working Group Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollens, Eric; Rocchio, Rosemary A.; Peterson, Jill Eleanor; Pollack, Brett; Tirpak, Lori; Ward, Christopher Matthew

2014-01-01

This paper is a publication of the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) Mobile Strategy and Application Development (MSAD) Working Group. In higher education, nearly every user interaction that takes place on a desktop or laptop browser is also attempted using phones, tablets, watches, and more. As students, faculty, and staff…

Does Working Memory Moderate the Effects of Fraction Intervention? An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuchs, Lynn S.; Schumacher, Robin F.; Sterba, Sonya K.; Long, Jessica; Namkung, Jessica; Malone, Amelia; Hamlett, Carol L.; Jordan, Nancy C.; Gersten, Russell; Siegler, Robert S.; Changas, Paul

2014-01-01

This study investigated whether individual differences in working memory (WM) moderate effects of 2 variations of intervention designed to improve at-risk 4th graders' fraction knowledge. We also examined the effects of each intervention condition against a business-as-usual control group and assessed whether children's measurement interpretation…

Exploring the Relationships among Creativity, Engineering Knowledge, and Design Team Interaction on Senior Engineering Design Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Badaruddin

2012-01-01

In the 21st century, engineers are expected to be creative and work collaboratively in teams to solve or design new products. Research in the past has shown how creativity and good team communication, together with knowledge, can impact the outcomes in the organization. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among creativity,…

Design and Implementation of a Field Service Program for the Moderately Mentally Handicapped.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachtel, Dolores H.; Smallwood, Wayne N.

A group of 20 middle school students worked to improve the bowling, skating, and swimming skills of 50 moderately mentally handicapped children, while also providing the handicapped children with increased individual interaction, and increased social self-management skills. Assessment instruments were designed to measure the objectives. The…

Real-Time Courseware Design: The LAVAC Video Sequencer[R].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toma, Tony

Teachers have acknowledged the richer learning environment and interactivity of multimedia teaching, its flexibility to different learning styles, and learner control that allows the learner to fully engage in the learning process. However, they still have problems in courseware design because their work is mainly centered on exercises and not on…

Youth as Media Art Designers: Workshops for Creative Coding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peppler, Kylie A.; Kafai, Yasmin B.

2008-01-01

We describe our efforts to bring media arts into design work with the goals to introduce new expressive forms in programming to urban youth. We're presenting the findings from a series of workshops organized together with professional media artists that focused on immersion, interaction, color and perspective using Scratch, a media-rich…

Working Together: The Parent/Professional Partnership. Families as Allies Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelker, Katharin A.

This guide presents materials for use in a workshop designed for a combined audience of parents of children with emotional handicaps and professionals in the mental health and special education fields. The workshop is designed to provide quality interactions between parents and professionals that may affect their attitudes toward each other in a…

Computer-Aided Training for Transport Planners: Experience with the Pluto Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonsall, P. W.

1995-01-01

Describes the PLUTO model, an interactive computer program designed for use in education and training of city planners and engineers. Emphasizes four issues: (1) the balance between realism and simplification; (2) the design of the user interface; (3) comparative advantages of group and solo working; and (4) factors affecting the decision to…

Evaluating Design Enhancements to the Tablet Arm Chair in Language Instruction Classes at UNC Chapel Hill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henshaw, Robert Griffith; Reubens, Andrea

2014-01-01

Higher education institutions are increasingly interested in cost-effective classroom furniture solutions that support diverse teaching methods by facilitating movement between lecture and interactive instructional methods such as small group work. Several furniture manufacturers are exploring designs based on the traditional tablet arm chair. A…

AnswerPro: Designing to Motivate Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AlSugair, Balsam; Hopkins, Gail; FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Brailsford, Tim

2014-01-01

This paper describes the design and initial testing of AnswerPro, a mobile academic peer support system for school pupils aged 11-16 years. AnswerPro is a mobile optimised web application that enables pupils to seek support with school work from knowledgeable peers on various subjects. This paper presents research findings from the project, and in…

Design of the optical backscatter diagnostic for laser plasma interaction measurements on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moody, J. D.; Datte, P.; Ng, E.; Maitland, K.; Hsing, W.; MacGowan, B. J.; Froula, D. H.; Neumayer, P.; Sutter, L.; Meezan, N.; Glenzer, S. H.; Kirkwood, R. K.; Divol, L.; Andrews, S.; Jackson, J.; MacKinnon, A.; Jovanovic, I.; Beeler, R.; Bertolini, L.; Landon, M.; Alvarez, S.; Lee, T.; Watts, P.

2007-11-01

We describe the design of the backscatter diagnostic for NIF laser-plasma interaction (LPI) studies. It will initially be used to validate the 280 eV point design hohlraum and select phase plates for the ignition experiments. Backscatter measurements are planned for two separate groups of 4 beams (a quad). One quad is 30^o from the hohlraum axis and the other at 50^o. The backscatter measurement utilizes 2 instruments for each beam quad. The full aperture backscatter system (FABS) measures light backscattered into the final focus lens of each beam in the quad. The near backscatter imager (NBI) measures light backscattered outside of the beam quad. Both instruments must work in conjunction to provide spectrally and temporally resolved backscatter power. We describe the design of the diagnostic and its capabilities as well as plans for calibrating it and analyzing the resulting data. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48.

Interface, information, interaction: a narrative review of design and functional requirements for clinical decision support.

PubMed

Miller, Kristen; Mosby, Danielle; Capan, Muge; Kowalski, Rebecca; Ratwani, Raj; Noaiseh, Yaman; Kraft, Rachel; Schwartz, Sanford; Weintraub, William S; Arnold, Ryan

2018-05-01

Provider acceptance and associated patient outcomes are widely discussed in the evaluation of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs), but critical design criteria for tools have generally been overlooked. The objective of this work is to inform electronic health record alert optimization and clinical practice workflow by identifying, compiling, and reporting design recommendations for CDSS to support the efficient, effective, and timely delivery of high-quality care. A narrative review was conducted from 2000 to 2016 in PubMed and The Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society to identify papers that discussed/recommended design features of CDSSs that are associated with the success of these systems. Fourteen papers were included as meeting the criteria and were found to have a total of 42 unique recommendations; 11 were classified as interface features, 10 as information features, and 21 as interaction features. Features are defined and described, providing actionable guidance that can be applied to CDSS development and policy. To our knowledge, no reviews have been completed that discuss/recommend design features of CDSS at this scale, and thus we found that this was important for the body of literature. The recommendations identified in this narrative review will help to optimize design, organization, management, presentation, and utilization of information through presentation, content, and function. The designation of 3 categories (interface, information, and interaction) should be further evaluated to determine the critical importance of the categories. Future work will determine how to prioritize them with limited resources for designers and developers in order to maximize the clinical utility of CDSS. This review will expand the field of knowledge and provide a novel organization structure to identify key recommendations for CDSS.

Physics and Its Interfaces with Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Ricardo N.; Andricopulo, Adriano D.

2013-08-01

Medicinal chemistry is a multidisciplinary subject that integrates knowledge from a variety of fields of science, including, but not limited to, chemistry, biology, and physics. The area of drug design involves the cooperative work of scientists with a diverse range of backgrounds and technical skills, trying to tackle complex problems using an integration of approaches and methods. One important contribution to this field comes from physics through studies that attempt to identify and quantify the molecular interactions between small molecules (drugs) and biological targets (receptors), such as the forces that govern the interactions, the thermodynamics of the drug-receptor interactions, and so on. In this context, the interfaces of physics, medicinal chemistry, and drug design are of vital importance for the development of drugs that not only have the right chemistry but also the right intermolecular properties to interact at the macromolecular level, providing useful information about the principles and molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic action of drugs. This article highlights some of the most important connections between physics and medicinal chemistry in the design of new drugs.

Tinkering self-efficacy and team interaction on freshman engineering design teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, Arlisa Labrie

This study utilizes Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as a framework to examine the development of tinkering skills white working on a freshman engineering design team. The four sources of self-efficacy were analyzed in the context of tinkering within the design team. The research question, 'Does tinkering self-efficacy change for female students during the Freshman Engineering Design class while working on mixed sex teams?', was addressed using quantitative data collection and field observations. Approximately 41 students enrolled in a freshman engineering design class at a public university in the southwest participated by providing self-reports about their tinkering involvement during each design project. In addition, three mixed-sex student teams were observed while working to complete the course design projects. An observation protocol based on Bandura's sources of self efficacy, was used to document tinkering interactions within the three observed teams. The results revealed that Bandura's sources of self-efficacy influenced tinkering involvement. The self-efficacy source, performance accomplishment measured through prior tinkering experience, was the most influential on tinkering involvement. Unlike Bandura's ranking of influence, verbal persuasion was shown to correlate with more tinkering behaviors than the observation of others. The number of females on a team had no impact on tinkering involvement. Tinkering involvement did not change as students progressed from one project to another. However, the competitive nature of the design project appeared to have a negative impact on tinkering involvement and the division of tasks within the team. In addition, a difference was found in the female students' perception of their tinkering involvement and observation of their tinkering involvement. The findings suggest that effective implementation of teamwork including teamwork preparation, more emphasis on the design process and the elimination of competition between teams are necessary to create a more equitable learning environment.

A SPECT system simulator built on the SolidWorks TM 3D-Design package.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Furenlid, Lars R

2014-08-17

We have developed a GPU-accelerated SPECT system simulator that integrates into instrument-design workflow [1]. This simulator includes a gamma-ray tracing module that can rapidly propagate gamma-ray photons through arbitrary apertures modeled by SolidWorks TM -created stereolithography (.STL) representations with a full complement of physics cross sections [2, 3]. This software also contains a scintillation detector simulation module that can model a scintillation detector with arbitrary scintillation crystal shape and light-sensor arrangement. The gamma-ray tracing module enables us to efficiently model aperture and detector crystals in SolidWorks TM and save them as STL file format, then load the STL-format model into this module to generate list-mode results of interacted gamma-ray photon information (interaction positions and energies) inside the detector crystals. The Monte-Carlo scintillation detector simulation module enables us to simulate how scintillation photons get reflected, refracted and absorbed inside a scintillation detector, which contributes to more accurate simulation of a SPECT system.

Design and Mechanical Stability Analysis of the Interaction Region for the Inverse Compton Scattering Gamma-Ray Source Using Finite Element Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khizhanok, Andrei

Development of a compact source of high-spectral brilliance and high impulse frequency gamma rays has been in scope of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for quite some time. Main goal of the project is to develop a setup to support gamma rays detection test and gamma ray spectroscopy. Potential applications include but not limited to nuclear astrophysics, nuclear medicine, oncology ('gamma knife'). Present work covers multiple interconnected stages of development of the interaction region to ensure high levels of structural strength and vibrational resistance. Inverse Compton scattering is a complex phenomenon, in which charged particle transfers a part of its energy to a photon. It requires extreme precision as the interaction point is estimated to be 20 microm. The slightest deflection of the mirrors will reduce effectiveness of conversion by orders of magnitude. For acceptable conversion efficiency laser cavity also must have >1000 finesse value, which requires a trade-off between size, mechanical stability, complexity, and price of the setup. This work focuses on advantages and weak points of different designs of interaction regions as well as in-depth description of analyses performed. This includes laser cavity amplification and finesse estimates, natural frequency mapping, harmonic analysis. Structural analysis is required as interaction must occur under high vacuum conditions.

The Energy Forum of Sri Lanka: Working toward appropriate expertise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieusma, Dean

Taking my cue from the knowledge base and practices comprising appropriate technology development, and building on politics of expertise scholarship, this dissertation develops the concept of appropriate expertise: the combination of social and technical competences required to address marginalization through technological interventions. The dissertation asks what appropriate expertise looks like "on the ground" in the context of development as practiced by an exceptional group of technology designers from the Energy Forum of Sri Lanka: What design goals did they strive toward? What challenges did they face? What strategies did they employ? In an effort to answer these questions, the dissertation looks at how these designers interacted across a range of contexts with a broad spectrum of people and institutions, each with its own expertise to draw upon. In particular, it looks at how they situated their work in a highly contoured field of social power, where different types of expertise were used as resources for reinforcing or resisting existing power relations. I use the concept relations of expertise to denote the structure of expert interactions across multiple contexts of activity. Although this concept links to broad political-economic conditions that order varied expert practices, my analytic focus is at a different level: the situated experiences of expert practitioners. By starting with ground-level practices and understandings, I argue that creating new relations of expertise---that is, changing the nature of the interactions among experts and between experts and those they work with---is the key way my informants worked to legitimate marginalized perspectives and thereby empower marginalized social groups around technology-development practices. Appropriate expertise enables the creation of appropriate technologies, but it does more. It enables the creation of new relations of expertise, both through inspiring new forms of interpersonal interaction surrounding technology development and through incremental modification of existing decision-making structures to allow a more diverse group stakeholders to come together around technology decision making in the context of development.

TIGER: A graphically interactive grid system for turbomachinery applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shih, Ming-Hsin; Soni, Bharat K.

1992-01-01

Numerical grid generation algorithm associated with the flow field about turbomachinery geometries is presented. Graphical user interface is developed with FORMS Library to create an interactive, user-friendly working environment. This customized algorithm reduces the man-hours required to generate a grid associated with turbomachinery geometry, as compared to the use of general-purpose grid generation softwares. Bezier curves are utilized both interactively and automatically to accomplish grid line smoothness and orthogonality. Graphical User Interactions are provided in the algorithm, allowing the user to design and manipulate the grid lines with a mouse.

Behavioural science at work for Canada: National Research Council laboratories.

PubMed

Veitch, Jennifer A

2007-03-01

The National Research Council is Canada's principal research and development agency. Its 20 institutes are structured to address interdisciplinary problems for industrial sectors, and to provide the necessary scientific infrastructure, such as the national science library. Behavioural scientists are active in five institutes: Biological Sciences, Biodiagnostics, Aerospace, Information Technology, and Construction. Research topics include basic cellular neuroscience, brain function, human factors in the cockpit, human-computer interaction, emergency evacuation, and indoor environment effects on occupants. Working in collaboration with NRC colleagues and with researchers from universities and industry, NRC behavioural scientists develop knowledge, designs, and applications that put technology to work for people, designed with people in mind.

Hubble Space Telescope Design Engineering Knowledgebase (HSTDEK)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannes, James D.; Everetts, Clark

1989-01-01

The research covered here pays specific attention to the development of tools to assist knowledge engineers in acquiring knowledge and to assist other technical, engineering, and management personnel in automatically performing knowledge capture as part of their everyday work without adding any extra work to what they already do. Requirements for data products, the knowledge base, and methods for mapping knowledge in the documents onto the knowledge representations are discussed, as are some of the difficulties of capturing in the knowledge base the structure of the design process itself, along with a model of the system designed. The capture of knowledge describing the interactions of different components is also discussed briefly.

"Less Clicking, More Watching": Results from the User-Centered Design of a Multi-Institutional Web Site for Art and Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vergo, John; Karat, Clare-Marie; Karat, John; Pinhanez, Claudio; Arora, Renee; Cofino, Thomas; Riecken, Doug; Podlaseck, Mark

This paper summarizes a 10-month long research project conducted at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center aimed at developing the design concept of a multi-institutional art and culture web site. The work followed a user-centered design (UCD) approach, where interaction with prototypes and feedback from potential users of the web site were sought…

Working Memory Capacity and Disfluency Effect: An Aptitude-Treatment-Interaction Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehmann, Janina; Goussios, Christina; Seufert, Tina

2016-01-01

According to Cognitive Load Theory, learning material should be designed in a way to decrease unnecessary demands on working memory (WM). However, recent research has shown that additional demands on WM caused by less legible texts lead to better learning outcomes. This so-called disfluency effect can be assumed as a metacognitive regulation…

Preparing Students for Work in the 21st Century. Guidebook 7. Schools That Work: The Research Advantage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Columbia Univ., New York, NY. Inst. on Education and the Economy.

A series of eight videoconferences was designed to help educational professionals improve schools by applying knowledge gained from research. During the videoconference programs, which are transmitted by satellite to facilities with receiving capacity, viewers can interact by telephone with the program presenters. Each program covers a specific…

Study and Labour Market Effects of Graduate Students' Interaction with Work Organisations during Education: A Cohort Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thune, Taran; Støren, Liv Anne

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an empirically based discussion of how cooperation between higher education institutions and work organisations (WOs) can increase graduate learning experiences and employability. Design/methodology/approach: Data are based on an electronic and mail-based graduate survey among Norwegian master's…

Rethinking Human-Centered Computing: Finding the Customer and Negotiated Interactions at the Airport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wales, Roxana; O'Neill, John; Mirmalek, Zara

2003-01-01

The breakdown in the air transportation system over the past several years raises an interesting question for researchers: How can we help improve the reliability of airline operations? In offering some answers to this question, we make a statement about Huuman-Centered Computing (HCC). First we offer the definition that HCC is a multi-disciplinary research and design methodology focused on supporting humans as they use technology by including cognitive and social systems, computational tools and the physical environment in the analysis of organizational systems. We suggest that a key element in understanding organizational systems is that there are external cognitive and social systems (customers) as well as internal cognitive and social systems (employees) and that they interact dynamically to impact the organization and its work. The design of human-centered intelligent systems must take this outside-inside dynamic into account. In the past, the design of intelligent systems has focused on supporting the work and improvisation requirements of employees but has often assumed that customer requirements are implicitly satisfied by employee requirements. Taking a customer-centric perspective provides a different lens for understanding this outside-inside dynamic, the work of the organization and the requirements of both customers and employees In this article we will: 1) Demonstrate how the use of ethnographic methods revealed the important outside-inside dynamic in an airline, specifically the consequential relationship between external customer requirements and perspectives and internal organizational processes and perspectives as they came together in a changing environment; 2) Describe how taking a customer centric perspective identifies places where the impact of the outside-inside dynamic is most critical and requires technology that can be adaptive; 3) Define and discuss the place of negotiated interactions in airline operations, identifying how these interactions between customers and airline employees provided new insights into design problems in the airline system; 4) Show how taking a customer-centric perspective influences the HCC design of an airline system and make recommendations for new architectures and intelligent devices that will enable airline systems to adapt flexibly to delay situations, supporting both customers and airline employees.

Large space antennas: A systems analysis case history

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keafer, Lloyd S. (Compiler); Lovelace, U. M. (Compiler)

1987-01-01

The value of systems analysis and engineering is aptly demonstrated by the work on Large Space Antennas (LSA) by the NASA Langley Spacecraft Analysis Branch. This work was accomplished over the last half-decade by augmenting traditional system engineering, analysis, and design techniques with computer-aided engineering (CAE) techniques using the Langley-developed Interactive Design and Evaluation of Advanced Spacecraft (IDEAS) system. This report chronicles the research highlights and special systems analyses that focused the LSA work on deployable truss antennas. It notes developmental trends toward greater use of CAE techniques in their design and analysis. A look to the future envisions the application of improved systems analysis capabilities to advanced space systems such as an advanced space station or to lunar and Martian missions and human habitats.

Journalism Meets Interaction Design: An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Teaching Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angus, Daniel; Doherty, Skye

2015-01-01

As the media industry moves to a post-industrial model, there is a need for journalists--current and future--to have a deeper understanding of the ways that technology impacts their work and how best to produce journalism for mobile and networked devices. This article examines a teaching initiative designed to introduce journalism students to…

Antecedent Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with ASD: What Works, for Whom, and under What Conditions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledford, Jennifer R.; King, Seth; Harbin, Emilee R.; Zimmerman, Kathleen N.

2018-01-01

Social skills interventions designed to increase pro-social interactions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders are critical, but the relative effectiveness of these interventions is not well understood. More than 250 single-case design studies in 113 articles were reviewed and described in terms of participants, settings, arrangements,…

Climate Change Professional Development: Design, Implementation, and Initial Outcomes on Teacher Learning, Practice, and Student Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, Nicole A.; Mouza, Chrystalla; Drewes, Andrea

2016-01-01

In this work, we present the design, implementation, and initial outcomes of the Climate Academy, a hybrid professional development program delivered through a combination of face-to-face and online interactions, intended to prepare formal and informal science teachers (grades 5-16) in teaching about climate change. The Climate Academy was…

The Virtual Teaching Artist: An Aesthetic Approach to Designing a Museum Podcast

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toth, John

2011-01-01

A podcast refers to an interactive audio-visual presentation. In this article, the author focuses on four instructional design strategies he used in the podcast that had the greatest impact on his students' aesthetic experience with the work of art. The first strategy was developing questions that encourage personal connections that lead to an…

Work process and task-based design of intelligent assistance systems in German textile industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löhrer, M.; Ziesen, N.; Altepost, A.; Saggiomo, M.; Gloy, Y. S.

2017-10-01

The mid-sized embossed German textile industry must face social challenges e.g. demographic change or technical changing processes. Interaction with intelligent systems (on machines) and increasing automation changes processes, working structures and employees’ tasks on all levels. Work contents are getting more complex, resulting in the necessity for diversified and enhanced competencies. Mobile devices like tablets or smartphones are increasingly finding their way into the workplace. Employees who grew up with new forms of media have certain advantages regarding the usage of modern technologies compared to older employees. Therefore, it is necessary to design new systems which help to adapt the competencies of both younger and older employees to new automated production processes in the digital work environment. The key to successful integration of technical assistance systems is user-orientated design and development that includes concepts for competency development under consideration of, e.g., ethical and legal aspects.

Designing pH induced fold switch in proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baruah, Anupaul; Biswas, Parbati

2015-05-01

This work investigates the computational design of a pH induced protein fold switch based on a self-consistent mean-field approach by identifying the ensemble averaged characteristics of sequences that encode a fold switch. The primary challenge to balance the alternative sets of interactions present in both target structures is overcome by simultaneously optimizing two foldability criteria corresponding to two target structures. The change in pH is modeled by altering the residual charge on the amino acids. The energy landscape of the fold switch protein is found to be double funneled. The fold switch sequences stabilize the interactions of the sites with similar relative surface accessibility in both target structures. Fold switch sequences have low sequence complexity and hence lower sequence entropy. The pH induced fold switch is mediated by attractive electrostatic interactions rather than hydrophobic-hydrophobic contacts. This study may provide valuable insights to the design of fold switch proteins.

Merlot Design

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

Ahern, S D

2003-06-10

We describe Merlot, a system for delivery of digital imagery over high speed networks. We describe various use cases, the client/server interaction, and the image and network codecs. We also describe some possible applications using Merlot and future work.

Modeling Tools for Propulsion Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics on the Internet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muss, J. A.; Johnson, C. W.; Gotchy, M. B.

2000-01-01

The existing RocketWeb(TradeMark) Internet Analysis System (httr)://www.iohnsonrockets.com/rocketweb) provides an integrated set of advanced analysis tools that can be securely accessed over the Internet. Since these tools consist of both batch and interactive analysis codes, the system includes convenient methods for creating input files and evaluating the resulting data. The RocketWeb(TradeMark) system also contains many features that permit data sharing which, when further developed, will facilitate real-time, geographically diverse, collaborative engineering within a designated work group. Adding work group management functionality while simultaneously extending and integrating the system's set of design and analysis tools will create a system providing rigorous, controlled design development, reducing design cycle time and cost.

Development of a systems theoretical procedure for evaluation of the work organization of the cockpit crew of a civil transport airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fricke, M.; Vees, C.

1983-01-01

To achieve optimum design for the man machine interface with aircraft, a description of the interaction and work organization of the cockpit crew is needed. The development of system procedure to evaluate the work organization of pilots while structuring the work process is examined. Statistical data are needed to simulate sequences of pilot actions on the computer. Investigations of computer simulation and applicability for evaluation of crew concepts are discussed.

A comparative study of occupancy and patient care quality in four different types of intensive care units in a children's hospital.

PubMed

Smith, Thomas J

2012-01-01

This paper reports a comparative study of occupancy and patient care quality in four types of intensive care units in a children's hospital,: an Infant Care Center (ICC), a Medical/Surgical (Med/Surg) unit, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), each featuring a mix of multi-bed and private room (PR) patient care environments. The project is prompted by interest by the project sponsor in a pre-occupancy analysis, before the units are upgraded to exclusive PR designs. Methods comprised, for each unit: (1) observations of ergonomic design features; (2) task activity analyses of job performance of selected staff; and (3) use of a survey to collect perceptions by unit nursing and house staff (HS) of indicators of occupancy and patient care quality. (1) the five most common task activities are interaction with patients, charting, and interaction with equipment, co-workers and family members; (2) job satisfaction, patient care, work environment, job, patient care team interaction, and general occupancy quality rankings by ICC and/or NICU respondents are significantly higher than those by other staff respondents; and (3) ergonomic design shortcomings noted are excess noise, problems with equipment, and work environment, job-related health, and patient care quality issues.

Feasibility study of an Integrated Program for Aerospace-vehicle Design (IPAD) system. Volume 4: Design of the IPAD system. Part 1: IPAD system design requirements, phase 1, task 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrocq, C. A.; Hurley, M. J.

1973-01-01

System requirements, software elements, and hardware equipment required for an IPAD system are defined. An IPAD conceptual design was evolved, a potential user survey was conducted, and work loads for various types of interactive terminals were projected. Various features of major host computing systems were compared, and target systems were selected in order to identify the various elements of software required.

Mechanical design of DNA nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro, Carlos E.; Su, Hai-Jun; Marras, Alexander E.; Zhou, Lifeng; Johnson, Joshua

2015-03-01

Structural DNA nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging field that has demonstrated great potential for applications such as single molecule sensing, drug delivery, and templating molecular components. As the applications of DNA nanotechnology expand, a consideration of their mechanical behavior is becoming essential to understand how these structures will respond to physical interactions. This review considers three major avenues of recent progress in this area: (1) measuring and designing mechanical properties of DNA nanostructures, (2) designing complex nanostructures based on imposed mechanical stresses, and (3) designing and controlling structurally dynamic nanostructures. This work has laid the foundation for mechanically active nanomachines that can generate, transmit, and respond to physical cues in molecular systems.Structural DNA nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging field that has demonstrated great potential for applications such as single molecule sensing, drug delivery, and templating molecular components. As the applications of DNA nanotechnology expand, a consideration of their mechanical behavior is becoming essential to understand how these structures will respond to physical interactions. This review considers three major avenues of recent progress in this area: (1) measuring and designing mechanical properties of DNA nanostructures, (2) designing complex nanostructures based on imposed mechanical stresses, and (3) designing and controlling structurally dynamic nanostructures. This work has laid the foundation for mechanically active nanomachines that can generate, transmit, and respond to physical cues in molecular systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr07153k

Hypersonic transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

A hypersonic transport aircraft design project was selected as a result of interactions with NASA Lewis Research Center personnel and fits the Presidential concept of the Orient Express. The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) and an undergraduate student worked at the NASA Lewis Research Center during the 1986 summer conducting a literature survey, and relevant literature and useful software were collected. The computer software was implemented in the Computer Aided Design Laboratory of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. In addition to the lectures by the three instructors, a series of guest lectures was conducted. The first of these lectures 'Anywhere in the World in Two Hours' was delivered by R. Luidens of NASA Lewis Center. In addition, videotaped copies of relevant seminars obtained from NASA Lewis were also featured. The first assignment was to individually research and develop the mission requirements and to discuss the findings with the class. The class in consultation with the instructors then developed a set of unified mission requirements. Then the class was divided into three design groups (1) Aerodynamics Group, (2) Propulsion Group, and (3) Structures and Thermal Analyses Group. The groups worked on their respective design areas and interacted with each other to finally come up with an integrated conceptual design. The three faculty members and the GTA acted as the resource persons for the three groups and aided in the integration of the individual group designs into the final design of a hypersonic aircraft.

Communication And Respect for people with Dementia: Student learning - A novel practical experience of undergraduate students interacting with people with dementia in care homes (innovative practice).

PubMed

Wood, Julia Helen; Alushi, Ledia; Hammond, John A

2017-02-01

We designed an educational programme for multiple disciplines to improve healthcare students' preparedness to work with people with dementia. It consisted of class-based sessions followed by a volunteer experience interacting with persons with dementia in care homes. This paper discusses the value and impact of this innovative experience.

The Pathway Active Learning Environment: An interactive web-based tool for physics education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Christopher Matthew

The work described here represents an effort to design, construct, and test an interactive online multimedia learning environment that can provide physics instruction to students in their homes. The system was designed with one-on-one human tutoring in mind as the mode of instruction. The system uses an original combination of a video-based tutor that incorporates natural language processing video-centered lessons and additional illustrative multimedia. Our Synthetic Interview (SI) tutor provides pre-recorded video answers from expert physics instructors in response to students' typed natural language questions. Our lessons cover Newton's laws and provide a context for the tutoring interaction to occur, connect physics ideas to real-world behavior of mechanical systems, and allow for quantitative testing of physics. Additional multimedia can be used to supplement the SI tutors' explanations and illustrate the physics of interest. The system is targeted at students of algebra-based and concept-based physics at the college and high school level. The system logs queries to the SI tutor, responses to lesson questions and several other interactions with the system, tagging those interactions with a username and timestamp. We have provided several groups of students with access to our system under several different conditions ranging from the controlled conditions of our interview facility to the naturalistic conditions of use at home. In total nearly two-hundred students have accessed the system. To gain insight into the ways students might use the system and understand the utility of its various components we analyzed qualitative interview data collected with 22 algebra-based physics students who worked with our system in our interview facility. We also performed a descriptive analysis of data from the system's log of user interactions. Finally we explored the use of machine learning to explore the possibility of using automated assessment to augment the interactive capabilities of the system as well as to identify productive and unproductive use patterns. This work establishes a proof-of-concept level demonstration of the feasibility of deploying this type of system. The impact of this work and the possibility of future research efforts are discussed in the context of Internet technologies that are changing rapidly.

Launch Control Network Engineer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Medeiros, Samantha

2017-01-01

The Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) is being built at the Kennedy Space Center in order to successfully launch NASA’s revolutionary vehicle that allows humans to explore further into space than ever before. During my internship, I worked with the Network, Firewall, and Hardware teams that are all contributing to the huge SCCS network project effort. I learned the SCCS network design and the several concepts that are running in the background. I also updated and designed documentation for physical networks that are part of SCCS. This includes being able to assist and build physical installations as well as configurations. I worked with the network design for vehicle telemetry interfaces to the Launch Control System (LCS); this allows the interface to interact with other systems at other NASA locations. This network design includes the Space Launch System (SLS), Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), and the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). I worked on the network design and implementation in the Customer Avionics Interface Development and Analysis (CAIDA) lab.

Participatory Design With Seniors: Design of Future Services and Iterative Refinements of Interactive eHealth Services for Old Citizens

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is an increasing social isolation among the elderly today. This will be an even larger issue in the future with growing numbers of elderly and less resources, for example, in terms of economy and staff. Loneliness and social isolation can, however, be addressed in several ways using different interactive eHealth services. Objective This case study investigated novel eHealth services for the elderly, and their usage of a social interactive device designed especially for them. Methods In this work, we used an innovative mobile communication device connected to the television (TV), which worked as a remotely controlled large interactive screen. The device was tested by 8 volunteers who visited a senior center. They were between 65 and 80 years of age and lived in their own homes. Throughout the 1.5 year-long project, 7 design workshops were held with the seniors and the staff at the center. During these workshops, demands and preferences regarding existing and new services were gathered. At the end of the project the participants’ experience of the device and of the services was elaborated in 3 workshops to get ideas for improved or new meaningful services. During the data analyses and development process, what seniors thought would be useful in relation to what was feasible was prioritized by the development company. Results Regarding daily usage, the seniors reported that they mainly used the service for receiving information from the senior center and for communication with other participants in the group or with younger relatives. They also read information about events at the senior center and they liked to perform a weekly sent out workout exercise. Further, they played games such as Memory and Sudoku using the device. The service development focused on three categories of services: cognitive activities, social activities, and physical activities. A cognitive activity service that would be meaningful to develop was a game for practicing working memory. In the social activities category, the seniors wanted different quizzes and multi-player games. For physical activities, the seniors desired more workout exercises and suggestions for guided walking routes. A new category, “information and news”, was suggested since they lacked services like senior-customized global and local news. Conclusions This study showed the importance of input from a group of seniors when designing new services for elderly citizens. Besides input to interactive eHealth service development for seniors, this study showed the importance of a social context around such work. The seniors were very engaged throughout the project and workshops were frequently visited and the seniors became friends. The high amount of input from the seniors could be explained in terms of social inclusion; they belonged to a group and each member was considered important for the work. The friendly workshop atmosphere facilitated new ideas and redesign of the services. PMID:25075235

Participatory Design With Seniors: Design of Future Services and Iterative Refinements of Interactive eHealth Services for Old Citizens.

PubMed

Scandurra, Isabella; Sjölinder, Marie

2013-01-01

There is an increasing social isolation among the elderly today. This will be an even larger issue in the future with growing numbers of elderly and less resources, for example, in terms of economy and staff. Loneliness and social isolation can, however, be addressed in several ways using different interactive eHealth services. This case study investigated novel eHealth services for the elderly, and their usage of a social interactive device designed especially for them. In this work, we used an innovative mobile communication device connected to the television (TV), which worked as a remotely controlled large interactive screen. The device was tested by 8 volunteers who visited a senior center. They were between 65 and 80 years of age and lived in their own homes. Throughout the 1.5 year-long project, 7 design workshops were held with the seniors and the staff at the center. During these workshops, demands and preferences regarding existing and new services were gathered. At the end of the project the participants' experience of the device and of the services was elaborated in 3 workshops to get ideas for improved or new meaningful services. During the data analyses and development process, what seniors thought would be useful in relation to what was feasible was prioritized by the development company. Regarding daily usage, the seniors reported that they mainly used the service for receiving information from the senior center and for communication with other participants in the group or with younger relatives. They also read information about events at the senior center and they liked to perform a weekly sent out workout exercise. Further, they played games such as Memory and Sudoku using the device. The service development focused on three categories of services: cognitive activities, social activities, and physical activities. A cognitive activity service that would be meaningful to develop was a game for practicing working memory. In the social activities category, the seniors wanted different quizzes and multi-player games. For physical activities, the seniors desired more workout exercises and suggestions for guided walking routes. A new category, "information and news", was suggested since they lacked services like senior-customized global and local news. This study showed the importance of input from a group of seniors when designing new services for elderly citizens. Besides input to interactive eHealth service development for seniors, this study showed the importance of a social context around such work. The seniors were very engaged throughout the project and workshops were frequently visited and the seniors became friends. The high amount of input from the seniors could be explained in terms of social inclusion; they belonged to a group and each member was considered important for the work. The friendly workshop atmosphere facilitated new ideas and redesign of the services.

Intra- and inter-brain synchronization during musical improvisation on the guitar.

PubMed

Müller, Viktor; Sänger, Johanna; Lindenberger, Ulman

2013-01-01

Humans interact with the environment through sensory and motor acts. Some of these interactions require synchronization among two or more individuals. Multiple-trial designs, which we have used in past work to study interbrain synchronization in the course of joint action, constrain the range of observable interactions. To overcome the limitations of multiple-trial designs, we conducted single-trial analyses of electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded from eight pairs of guitarists engaged in musical improvisation. We identified hyper-brain networks based on a complex interplay of different frequencies. The intra-brain connections primarily involved higher frequencies (e.g., beta), whereas inter-brain connections primarily operated at lower frequencies (e.g., delta and theta). The topology of hyper-brain networks was frequency-dependent, with a tendency to become more regular at higher frequencies. We also found hyper-brain modules that included nodes (i.e., EEG electrodes) from both brains. Some of the observed network properties were related to musical roles during improvisation. Our findings replicate and extend earlier work and point to mechanisms that enable individuals to engage in temporally coordinated joint action.

Intra- and Inter-Brain Synchronization during Musical Improvisation on the Guitar

PubMed Central

Müller, Viktor; Sänger, Johanna; Lindenberger, Ulman

2013-01-01

Humans interact with the environment through sensory and motor acts. Some of these interactions require synchronization among two or more individuals. Multiple-trial designs, which we have used in past work to study interbrain synchronization in the course of joint action, constrain the range of observable interactions. To overcome the limitations of multiple-trial designs, we conducted single-trial analyses of electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded from eight pairs of guitarists engaged in musical improvisation. We identified hyper-brain networks based on a complex interplay of different frequencies. The intra-brain connections primarily involved higher frequencies (e.g., beta), whereas inter-brain connections primarily operated at lower frequencies (e.g., delta and theta). The topology of hyper-brain networks was frequency-dependent, with a tendency to become more regular at higher frequencies. We also found hyper-brain modules that included nodes (i.e., EEG electrodes) from both brains. Some of the observed network properties were related to musical roles during improvisation. Our findings replicate and extend earlier work and point to mechanisms that enable individuals to engage in temporally coordinated joint action. PMID:24040094

Structural equation model of interactions between risk factors and work-related musculoskeletal complaints among Iranian hospital nurses.

PubMed

Mehralizadeh, Semira; Dehdashti, Alireza; Motalebi Kashani, Masoud

2017-01-01

Statistics indicate a high risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hospital nurses. The challenge is to understand the associations between musculoskeletal symptoms and various individual and occupational risk factors. This study examined the direct and indirect interactions of various risk factors with musculoskeletal complaints in hospital nurses. In a cross-sectional design, Iranian hospital nurses from Semnan University of Medical Sciences participated in a questionnaire survey reporting their perceived perceptions of various work-related risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms. We tested our proposed structural equation model to evaluate the relations between latent and observed concepts and the relative importance and strength of exogenous variables in explaining endogenous musculoskeletal complaints. Measurement model fits the data relatively acceptable. Our findings showed direct effects of psychological, role-related and work posture stressors on musculoskeletal complaints. Fatigue mediated the adverse indirect relations of psychological, role-related, work posture and individual factors with musculoskeletal complaints. Structural equation modeling may provide methodological opportunities in occupational health research with a potential to explain the complexity of interactions among risk factors. Prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses must account for physical and psychosocial conditions.

Working on the Boundaries: Philosophies and Practices of the Design Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, R.; Blair, J.; Townsend, J.; Verderaime, V.

1996-01-01

While systems engineering process is a program formal management technique and contractually binding, the design process is the informal practice of achieving the design project requirements throughout all design phases of the systems engineering process. The design process and organization are systems and component dependent. Informal reviews include technical information meetings and concurrent engineering sessions, and formal technical discipline reviews are conducted through the systems engineering process. This paper discusses and references major philosophical principles in the design process, identifies its role in interacting systems and disciplines analyses and integrations, and illustrates the process application in experienced aerostructural designs.

Carnot cycle at finite power: attainability of maximal efficiency.

PubMed

Allahverdyan, Armen E; Hovhannisyan, Karen V; Melkikh, Alexey V; Gevorkian, Sasun G

2013-08-02

We want to understand whether and to what extent the maximal (Carnot) efficiency for heat engines can be reached at a finite power. To this end we generalize the Carnot cycle so that it is not restricted to slow processes. We show that for realistic (i.e., not purposefully designed) engine-bath interactions, the work-optimal engine performing the generalized cycle close to the maximal efficiency has a long cycle time and hence vanishing power. This aspect is shown to relate to the theory of computational complexity. A physical manifestation of the same effect is Levinthal's paradox in the protein folding problem. The resolution of this paradox for realistic proteins allows to construct engines that can extract at a finite power 40% of the maximally possible work reaching 90% of the maximal efficiency. For purposefully designed engine-bath interactions, the Carnot efficiency is achievable at a large power.

Gaze and Feet as Additional Input Modalities for Interacting with Geospatial Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çöltekin, A.; Hempel, J.; Brychtova, A.; Giannopoulos, I.; Stellmach, S.; Dachselt, R.

2016-06-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are complex software environments and we often work with multiple tasks and multiple displays when we work with GIS. However, user input is still limited to mouse and keyboard in most workplace settings. In this project, we demonstrate how the use of gaze and feet as additional input modalities can overcome time-consuming and annoying mode switches between frequently performed tasks. In an iterative design process, we developed gaze- and foot-based methods for zooming and panning of map visualizations. We first collected appropriate gestures in a preliminary user study with a small group of experts, and designed two interaction concepts based on their input. After the implementation, we evaluated the two concepts comparatively in another user study to identify strengths and shortcomings in both. We found that continuous foot input combined with implicit gaze input is promising for supportive tasks.

Flexible Rover Architecture for Science Instrument Integration and Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bualat, Maria G.; Kobayashi, Linda; Lee, Susan Y.; Park, Eric

2006-01-01

At NASA Ames Research Center, the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) fields the K9 and K10 class rovers. Both use a mobile robot hardware architecture designed for extensibility and reconfigurability that allows for rapid changes in instrumentation and provides a high degree of modularity. Over the past ssveral years, we have worked with instrument developers at NASA centers, universities, and national laboratories to integrate or partially integrate their instruments onboard the K9 and K10 rovers. Early efforts required considerable interaction to work through integration issues such as power, data protocol and mechanical mounting. These interactions informed the design of our current avionics architecture, and have simplified more recent integration projects. In this paper, we will describe the IRG extensible avionics and software architecture and the effect it has had on our recent instrument integration efforts, including integration of four Mars Instrument Development Program devices.

Do we need sustainability as a new approach in human factors and ergonomics?

PubMed

Zink, Klaus J; Fischer, Klaus

2013-01-01

The International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee 'Human Factors and Sustainable Development' was established to contribute to a broad discourse about opportunities and risks resulting from current societal 'mega-trends' and their impacts on the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, e.g. in work systems. This paper focuses on the underlying key issues: how do the sustainability paradigm and human factors/ergonomics interplay and interact, and is sustainability necessary as a new approach for our discipline? Based on a discussion of the sustainability concept, some general principles for designing new and enhancing existent approaches of human factors and ergonomics regarding their orientation towards sustainability are proposed. The increasing profile of sustainability on the international stage presents new opportunities for human factors/ergonomics. Positioning of the sustainability paradigm within human factors/ergonomics is discussed. Approaches to incorporating sustainability in the design of work systems are considered.

Exploring Peer Relationships, Friendships and Group Work Dynamics in Higher Education: Applying Social Network Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mamas, Christoforos

2018-01-01

This study primarily applied social network analysis (SNA) to explore the relationship between friendships, peer social interactions and group work dynamics within a higher education undergraduate programme in England. A critical case study design was adopted so as to allow for an in-depth exploration of the students' voice. In doing so, the views…

Exploration of an E-Learning Model to Foster Critical Thinking on Basic Science Concepts during Work Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Leng, Bas A.; Dolmans, Diana H. J. M.; Jobsis, Rijn; Muijtjens, Arno M. M.; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.

2009-01-01

We designed an e-learning model to promote critical thinking about basic science topics in online communities of students during work placements in higher education. To determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the model we explored the online discussions in two case studies. We evaluated the quantity of the interactions by looking at…

The Effect of Auditory Integration Training on the Working Memory of Adults with Different Learning Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Tamara E.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of auditory integration training (AIT) on a component of the executive function of working memory; specifically, to determine if learning preferences might have an interaction with AIT to increase the outcome for some learners. The question asked by this quantitative pretest posttest design is…

Remembering History: The Work of the Information Services Sub-Committee of the Joint Information Systems Committee in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Derek

2006-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to record the work of the committee and its interaction with the much better known Electronic Libraries (eLib) Programme. It also examines the principles that underlay the development of content acquisition and supporting infrastructure in UK university libraries in the 1990s. Design/methodology/approach: A historical…

A Case Study of Air Cleaner by the Intelligent Interaction and Emotion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Huai; Sun, Yuwen

2018-02-01

The pure and fresh air can not only contribute to our physical and mental health, but also can be beneficial to ease the pressure and relax the mood. The vertical intelligent air cleaner can remove the harmful gases from the air and absorb the suspended particles in the air, especially all kinds of the bacteria and viruses. The air cleaner is good for improving the air quality of the indoor and maintaining the health of the people. The designing of the vertical air cleaner is as follows: The designing of the vertical intelligent make full use of the developed air purification technology. The smart home is inserted into the work. Simultaneously, in the aspect of the design of intelligent products, the intelligent interactive processes are scientifically planned. Moreover, the emotional design and the user experience are fully considered, which can enhance the comprehensive design ability.

Math Puzzlers: 25 Reproducible Puzzles, Games, and Activities that Boost the Math Skills and Up the Fun! Grades 2-5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimble-Ellis, Sonya

Puzzles, games, and activities provide perfect opportunities for students to work in groups, interact, communicate with each other, and discuss strategies. The activities, games, and puzzles contained in this book are designed to help students learn mathematics in a fun yet challenging way. The activities are designed to encourage students to…

Teaching Knowledge Management by Combining Wikis and Screen Capture Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makkonen, Pekka; Siakas, Kerstin; Vaidya, Shakespeare

2011-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report on the design and creation of a knowledge management course aimed at facilitating student creation and use of social interactive learning tools for enhanced learning. Design/methodology/approach: The era of social media and web 2.0 has enabled a bottom-up collaborative approach and new ways to publish work on the…

Investigating Cognitive Task Difficulties and Expert Skills in E-Learning Storyboards Using a Cognitive Task Analysis Technique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yusoff, Nor'ain Mohd; Salim, Siti Salwah

2012-01-01

E-learning storyboards have been a useful approach in distance learning development to support interaction between instructional designers and subject-matter experts. Current works show that researchers are focusing on different approaches for use in storyboards, and there is less emphasis on the effect of design and process difficulties faced by…

The use of network theory to model disparate ship design information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigterink, Douglas; Piks, Rebecca; Singer, David J.

2014-06-01

This paper introduces the use of network theory to model and analyze disparate ship design information. This work will focus on a ship's distributed systems and their intra- and intersystem structures and interactions. The three system to be analyzed are: a passageway system, an electrical system, and a fire fighting system. These systems will be analyzed individually using common network metrics to glean information regarding their structures and attributes. The systems will also be subjected to community detection algorithms both separately and as a multiplex network to compare their similarities, differences, and interactions. Network theory will be shown to be useful in the early design stage due to its simplicity and ability to model any shipboard system.

Research in interactive scene analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tenenbaum, J. M.; Barrow, H. G.; Weyl, S. A.

1976-01-01

Cooperative (man-machine) scene analysis techniques were developed whereby humans can provide a computer with guidance when completely automated processing is infeasible. An interactive approach promises significant near-term payoffs in analyzing various types of high volume satellite imagery, as well as vehicle-based imagery used in robot planetary exploration. This report summarizes the work accomplished over the duration of the project and describes in detail three major accomplishments: (1) the interactive design of texture classifiers; (2) a new approach for integrating the segmentation and interpretation phases of scene analysis; and (3) the application of interactive scene analysis techniques to cartography.

Study to define an approach for developing a computer-based system capable of automatic, unattended assembly/disassembly of spacecraft, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nevins, J. L.; Defazio, T. L.; Seltzer, D. S.; Whitney, D. E.

1981-01-01

The initial set of requirements for additional studies necessary to implement a space-borne, computer-based work system capable of achieving assembly, disassembly, repair, or maintenance in space were developed. The specific functions required of a work system to perform repair and maintenance were discussed. Tasks and relevant technologies were identified and delineated. The interaction of spacecraft design and technology options, including a consideration of the strategic issues of repair versus retrieval-replacement or destruction by removal were considered along with the design tradeoffs for accomplishing each of the options. A concept system design and its accompanying experiment or test plan were discussed.

Integrated Design Engineering Analysis (IDEA) Environment Automated Generation of Structured CFD Grids using Topology Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamhawi, Hilmi N.

2012-01-01

This report documents the work performed from March 2010 to March 2012. The Integrated Design and Engineering Analysis (IDEA) environment is a collaborative environment based on an object-oriented, multidisciplinary, distributed framework using the Adaptive Modeling Language (AML) as a framework and supporting the configuration design and parametric CFD grid generation. This report will focus on describing the work in the area of parametric CFD grid generation using novel concepts for defining the interaction between the mesh topology and the geometry in such a way as to separate the mesh topology from the geometric topology while maintaining the link between the mesh topology and the actual geometry.

Strategies for a Creative Future with Computer Science, Quality Design and Communicability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cipolla Ficarra, Francisco V.; Villarreal, Maria

In the current work is presented the importance of the two-way triad between computer science, design and communicability. It is demonstrated how the principles of quality of software engineering are not universal since they are disappearing inside university training. Besides, a short analysis of the term "creativity" males apparent the existence of plagiarism as a human factor that damages the future of communicability applied to the on-line and off-line contents of the open software. A set of measures and guidelines are presented so that the triad works again correctly in the next years to foster the qualitative design of the interactive systems on-line and/or off-line.

Novel Television-Based Cognitive Training Improves Working Memory and Executive Function

PubMed Central

Shatil, Evelyn; Mikulecká, Jaroslava; Bellotti, Francesco; Bureš, Vladimír

2014-01-01

The main study objective was to investigate the effect of interactive television-based cognitive training on cognitive performance of 119 healthy older adults, aged 60–87 years. Participants were randomly allocated to a cognitive training group or to an active control group in a single-blind controlled two-group design. Before and after training interactive television cognitive performance was assessed on well validated tests of fluid, higher-order ability, and system usability was evaluated. The participants in the cognitive training group completed a television-based cognitive training programme, while the participants in the active control group completed a TV-based programme of personally benefiting activities. Significant improvements were observed in well validated working memory and executive function tasks in the cognitive training but not in the control group. None of the groups showed statistically significant improvement in life satisfaction score. Participants' reports of “adequate” to “high” system usability testify to the successful development and implementation of the interactive television-based system and compliant cognitive training contents. The study demonstrates that cognitive training delivered by means of an interactive television system can generate genuine cognitive benefits in users and these are measurable using well-validated cognitive tests. Thus, older adults who cannot use or afford a computer can easily use digital interactive television to benefit from advanced software applications designed to train cognition. PMID:24992187

Universal Quantum Computing with Arbitrary Continuous-Variable Encoding.

PubMed

Lau, Hoi-Kwan; Plenio, Martin B

2016-09-02

Implementing a qubit quantum computer in continuous-variable systems conventionally requires the engineering of specific interactions according to the encoding basis states. In this work, we present a unified formalism to conduct universal quantum computation with a fixed set of operations but arbitrary encoding. By storing a qubit in the parity of two or four qumodes, all computing processes can be implemented by basis state preparations, continuous-variable exponential-swap operations, and swap tests. Our formalism inherits the advantages that the quantum information is decoupled from collective noise, and logical qubits with different encodings can be brought to interact without decoding. We also propose a possible implementation of the required operations by using interactions that are available in a variety of continuous-variable systems. Our work separates the "hardware" problem of engineering quantum-computing-universal interactions, from the "software" problem of designing encodings for specific purposes. The development of quantum computer architecture could hence be simplified.

Universal Quantum Computing with Arbitrary Continuous-Variable Encoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Hoi-Kwan; Plenio, Martin B.

2016-09-01

Implementing a qubit quantum computer in continuous-variable systems conventionally requires the engineering of specific interactions according to the encoding basis states. In this work, we present a unified formalism to conduct universal quantum computation with a fixed set of operations but arbitrary encoding. By storing a qubit in the parity of two or four qumodes, all computing processes can be implemented by basis state preparations, continuous-variable exponential-swap operations, and swap tests. Our formalism inherits the advantages that the quantum information is decoupled from collective noise, and logical qubits with different encodings can be brought to interact without decoding. We also propose a possible implementation of the required operations by using interactions that are available in a variety of continuous-variable systems. Our work separates the "hardware" problem of engineering quantum-computing-universal interactions, from the "software" problem of designing encodings for specific purposes. The development of quantum computer architecture could hence be simplified.

STS-42 Commander Grabe works with MWPE at IML-1 Rack 8 aboard OV-103

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

STS-42 Commander Ronald J. Grabe works with the Mental Workload and Performance Evaluation Experiment (MWPE) (portable laptop computer, keyboard cursor keys, a two-axis joystick, and a track ball) at Rack 8 in the International Microgravity Laboratory 1 (IML-1) module. The test was designed as a result of difficulty experienced by crewmembers working at a computer station on a previous Space Shuttle mission. The problem was due to the workstation's design being based on Earth-bound conditions with the operator in a typical one-G standing position. For STS-42, the workstation was redesigned to evaluate the effects of microgravity on the ability of crewmembers to interact with a computer workstation. Information gained from this experiment will be used to design workstations for future Spacelab missions and Space Station Freedom (SSF).

Interactive Problem Solving Tutorials Through Visual Programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Undreiu, Lucian; Schuster, David; Undreiu, Adriana

2008-10-01

We have used LabVIEW visual programming to build an interactive tutorial to promote conceptual understanding in physics problem solving. This programming environment is able to offer a web-accessible problem solving experience that enables students to work at their own pace and receive feedback. Intuitive graphical symbols, modular structures and the ability to create templates are just a few of the advantages this software has to offer. The architecture of an application can be designed in a way that allows instructors with little knowledge of LabVIEW to easily personalize it. Both the physics solution and the interactive pedagogy can be visually programmed in LabVIEW. Our physics pedagogy approach is that of cognitive apprenticeship, in that the tutorial guides students to develop conceptual understanding and physical insight into phenomena, rather than purely formula-based solutions. We demonstrate how this model is reflected in the design and programming of the interactive tutorials.

A unified approach to computer analysis and modeling of spacecraft environmental interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, I.; Mandell, M. J.; Cassidy, J. J.

1986-01-01

A new, coordinated, unified approach to the development of spacecraft plasma interaction models is proposed. The objective is to eliminate the unnecessary duplicative work in order to allow researchers to concentrate on the scientific aspects. By streamlining the developmental process, the interchange between theories and experimentalists is enhanced, and the transfer of technology to the spacecraft engineering community is faster. This approach is called the UNIfied Spacecraft Interaction Model (UNISIM). UNISIM is a coordinated system of software, hardware, and specifications. It is a tool for modeling and analyzing spacecraft interactions. It will be used to design experiments, to interpret results of experiments, and to aid in future spacecraft design. It breaks a Spacecraft Ineraction analysis into several modules. Each module will perform an analysis for some physical process, using phenomenology and algorithms which are well documented and have been subject to review. This system and its characteristics are discussed.

Understanding Active and Passive Users: The Effects of an Active User Using Normal, Hard and Unreliable Technologies on User Assessment of Trust in Technology and Co-User

PubMed Central

Montague, Enid; JieXu

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to understand how passive users perceive the trustworthiness of active users and technologies under varying technological conditions. An experimental study was designed to vary the functioning of technologies that active users interacted with, while passive users observed these interactions. Active and passive user ratings of technology and partner were collected. Exploratory data analysis suggests that passive users developed perceptions of technologies based on the functioning of the technology and how the active user interacted with the technologies. Findings from this research have implications for the design of technologies in environments where active and passive users interact with technologies in different ways. Future work in this area should explore interventions that lead to enhanced affective engagement and trust calibration. PMID:22192788

Brainstorming Design for Health: Helping Patients Utilize Patient-Generated Information on the Web

PubMed Central

Huh, Jina; Hartzler, Andrea; Munson, Sean; Anderson, Nick; Edwards, Kelly; Gore, John L.; McDonald, David; O’Leary, Jim; Parker, Andrea; Streat, Derek; Yetisgen-Yildiz, Meliha; Pratt, Wanda; Ackerman, Mark S.

2013-01-01

Researchers and practitioners show increasing sinterest in utilizing patient-generated information on the Web. Although the HCI and CSCW communities have provided many exciting opportunities for exploring new ideas and building broad agenda in health, few venues offer a platform for interdisciplinary and collaborative brainstorming about design challenges and opportunities in this space. The goal of this workshop is to provide participants with opportunities to interact with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and practices—researchers, practitioners, designers, programmers, and ethnographers—and together generate tangible design outcomes that utilize patient-generated information on the Web. Through small multidisciplinary group work, we will provide participants with new collaboration opportunities, understanding of the state of the art, inspiration for future work, and ideally avenues for continuing to develop research and design ideas generated at the workshop. PMID:24499843

How work context affects operating room processes: using data mining and computer simulation to analyze facility and process design.

PubMed

Baumgart, André; Denz, Christof; Bender, Hans-Joachim; Schleppers, Alexander

2009-01-01

The complexity of the operating room (OR) requires that both structural (eg, department layout) and behavioral (eg, staff interactions) patterns of work be considered when developing quality improvement strategies. In our study, we investigated how these contextual factors influence outpatient OR processes and the quality of care delivered. The study setting was a German university-affiliated hospital performing approximately 6000 outpatient surgeries annually. During the 3-year-study period, the hospital significantly changed its outpatient OR facility layout from a decentralized (ie, ORs in adjacent areas of the building) to a centralized (ie, ORs in immediate vicinity of each other) design. To study the impact of the facility change on OR processes, we used a mixed methods approach, including process analysis, process modeling, and social network analysis of staff interactions. The change in facility layout was seen to influence OR processes in ways that could substantially affect patient outcomes. For example, we found a potential for more errors during handovers in the new centralized design due to greater interdependency between tasks and staff. Utilization of the mixed methods approach in our analysis, as compared with that of a single assessment method, enabled a deeper understanding of the OR work context and its influence on outpatient OR processes.

Metal Based Synthetic Strategies and the Examination of Structure Determining Factors in Alkaline Earth Metal Compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Yuriko

Last decades have witnessed a large expansion of the organometallic heavier alkaline earth metal species. However, continued growth of this promising area of chemistry has been slowed by severe restrictions and limitations in viable synthetic methodologies leading to difficulties in preparing and characterizing the target compounds. There is clearly a need for the further development of synthetic methodologies and detailed structure function analysis that will promote the further advancement of organoalkaline earth metal chemistry in applications as diverse as materials chemistry and catalysis. This thesis work greatly extends the synthetic options currently available towards organoalkaline earth metal species by introducing redox transmetallation protolysis (RTP), a reaction based on the readily available Ph3Bi as a non-toxic transmetallation agent. Based on a straightforward one-pot procedure and work-up, Ph3Bi based RTP presents a powerful synthetic alternative for the facile preparation of a large variety of heavy alkaline earth metal compounds. The second part of the thesis explores the effect of secondary non covalent interactions on the coordination chemistry as well as thermal properties of a series of novel alkali, alkaline earth, rare earth as well as heterobimetallic alkali/alkaline earth fluoroalkoxides. These compounds showcase the significance of non-covalent M···F-C and agostic interactions on metal stabilization and structural features, providing critical input on ligand design for the design of advanced metal organic vapor deposition (MOCVD) precursor materials. This work also showcases the impact of M···F-C interactions over M---co-ligand coordination, a critical precursor design element as well.

Work-Based Curriculum to Broaden Learners' Participation in Science: Insights for Designers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bopardikar, Anushree; Bernstein, Debra; Drayton, Brian; McKenney, Susan

2018-05-01

Around the globe, science education during compulsory schooling is envisioned for all learners regardless of their educational and career aspirations, including learners bound to the workforce upon secondary school completion. Yet, a major barrier in attaining this vision is low learner participation in secondary school science. Because curricula play a major role in shaping enacted learning, this study investigated how designers developed a high school physics curriculum with positive learning outcomes in learners with varied inclinations. Qualitative analysis of documents and semistructured interviews with the designers focused on the curriculum in different stages—from designers' ideas about learning goals to their vision for enactment to the printed materials—and on the design processes that brought them to fruition. This revealed designers' emphases on fostering workplace connections via learning goals and activities, and printed supports. The curriculum supported workplace-inspired, hands-on design-and-build projects, developed to address deeply a limited set of standards aligned learning goals. The curriculum also supported learners' interactions with relevant workplace professionals. To create these features, the designers reviewed other curricula to develop vision and printed supports, tested activities internally to assess content coverage, surveyed states in the USA receiving federal school-to-work grants and reviewed occupational information to choose unit topics and career contexts, and visited actual workplaces to learn about authentic praxis. Based on the worked example, this paper offers guidelines for designing work-based science curriculum products and processes that can serve the work of other designers, as well as recommendations for research serving designers and policymakers.

Designing a Safer Interactive Healthcare System - The Impact of Authentic User Participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Went, Kathryn L.; Gregor, Peter; Ricketts, Ian W.

Information technology has been widely promoted in the healthcare sector to improve current practice and patient safety. However, end users are seldom involved extensively in the design and development of healthcare systems, with lip service often paid to the idea of true user involvement. In this case study the impact of sustained authentic user participation was explored using an interdisciplinary team, consisting of experts both in interaction and healthcare design and consultant anaesthetists, nurses, and pharmacists, to create an electronic prescribing and administration system. This paper details the interface that was created and provides examples of the way in which the design evolved in response to the sustained authentic user participation methods. The working prototype both reduced the opportunity for user error and was preferred by its users to the existing manual system.

Verification of the FtCayuga fault-tolerant microprocessor system. Volume 1: A case study in theorem prover-based verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivas, Mandayam; Bickford, Mark

1991-01-01

The design and formal verification of a hardware system for a task that is an important component of a fault tolerant computer architecture for flight control systems is presented. The hardware system implements an algorithm for obtaining interactive consistancy (byzantine agreement) among four microprocessors as a special instruction on the processors. The property verified insures that an execution of the special instruction by the processors correctly accomplishes interactive consistency, provided certain preconditions hold. An assumption is made that the processors execute synchronously. For verification, the authors used a computer aided design hardware design verification tool, Spectool, and the theorem prover, Clio. A major contribution of the work is the demonstration of a significant fault tolerant hardware design that is mechanically verified by a theorem prover.

Verification of the FtCayuga fault-tolerant microprocessor system. Volume 2: Formal specification and correctness theorems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bickford, Mark; Srivas, Mandayam

1991-01-01

Presented here is a formal specification and verification of a property of a quadruplicately redundant fault tolerant microprocessor system design. A complete listing of the formal specification of the system and the correctness theorems that are proved are given. The system performs the task of obtaining interactive consistency among the processors using a special instruction on the processors. The design is based on an algorithm proposed by Pease, Shostak, and Lamport. The property verified insures that an execution of the special instruction by the processors correctly accomplishes interactive consistency, providing certain preconditions hold, using a computer aided design verification tool, Spectool, and the theorem prover, Clio. A major contribution of the work is the demonstration of a significant fault tolerant hardware design that is mechanically verified by a theorem prover.

Functional-to-form mapping for assembly design automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Z. G.; Liu, W. M.; Shen, W. D.; Yang, D. Y.; Liu, T. T.

2017-11-01

Assembly-level function-to-form mapping is the most effective procedure towards design automation. The research work mainly includes: the assembly-level function definitions, product network model and the two-step mapping mechanisms. The function-to-form mapping is divided into two steps, i.e. mapping of function-to-behavior, called the first-step mapping, and the second-step mapping, i.e. mapping of behavior-to-structure. After the first step mapping, the three dimensional transmission chain (or 3D sketch) is studied, and the feasible design computing tools are developed. The mapping procedure is relatively easy to be implemented interactively, but, it is quite difficult to finish it automatically. So manual, semi-automatic, automatic and interactive modification of the mapping model are studied. A mechanical hand F-F mapping process is illustrated to verify the design methodologies.

Interpersonal interactions, job demands and work-related outcomes in pharmacy.

PubMed

Gaither, Caroline A; Nadkarni, Anagha

2012-04-01

Objectives  The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between job demands of pharmacists and resources in the form of interpersonal interactions and its association with work-related outcomes such as organizational and professional commitment, job burnout, professional identity and job satisfaction. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model served as the theoretical framework. Methods  Subjects for the study were drawn from the Pharmacy Manpower Project Database (n = 1874). A 14-page mail-in survey measured hospital pharmacists' responses on the frequency of occurrence of various job-related scenarios as well as work-related outcomes. The study design was a 2 × 2 factorial design. Responses were collected on a Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, reliability analyses and correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Key findings  The 566 pharmacists (30% response rate) who responded to the survey indicated that high-demand/pleasant encounters and low-demand/pleasant encounters occurred more frequently in the workplace. The strongest correlations were found between high-demand/unpleasant encounters and frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion. Multiple regression analyses indicated that when controlling for demographic factors high-demand/unpleasant encounters were negatively related to affective organizational commitment and positively related to frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion. Low-demand/pleasant encounters were positively related to frequency and intensity of personal accomplishment. Low-demand/unpleasant encounters were significantly and negatively related to professional commitment, job satisfaction and frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion, while high-demand/pleasant encounters were also related to frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion Conclusion  Support was found for the JD-R model and the proposed interaction effects. Study results suggest that adequate attention must be paid to the interplay between demands on the job and interactions with healthcare professionals to improve the quality of the pharmacist's work life. Future research should examine other types of job demands and resources. © 2011 The Authors. IJPP © 2011 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

How do users design? The case of sugar cane harvester machines.

PubMed

Narimoto, Lidiane Regina; Camarotto, João Alberto

2017-01-01

Design in use and inventiveness are key concepts in ergonomics. It is well-known that users design but is not explored in the literature how they manage to do that. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of how users actually design, by showing a research conducted in sugar cane harvesting in Brazil and in Australia. Through the methodology of the Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA), the design modifications made by the harvesting teams were identified as well as their elaboration process. Three categories of modifications in machines' design were identified: structural, functional and operational and they were more numerous in Brazilian situations. It is proposed that two theories underlying the theme are intertwined: the instrument-mediated activity approach and the design as bricolage. It is argued that users design through the articulation of: a) the operators' activity, b) the mechanical technicians' inventory to practice bricolage as a way of designing and c) the work organisation and the existence of social spaces of interaction between these two subjects.

Salt-bridge networks within globular and disordered proteins: characterizing trends for designable interactions.

PubMed

Basu, Sankar; Mukharjee, Debasish

2017-07-01

There has been considerable debate about the contribution of salt bridges to the stabilization of protein folds, in spite of their participation in crucial protein functions. Salt bridges appear to contribute to the activity-stability trade-off within proteins by bringing high-entropy charged amino acids into close contacts during the course of their functions. The current study analyzes the modes of association of salt bridges (in terms of networks) within globular proteins and at protein-protein interfaces. While the most common and trivial type of salt bridge is the isolated salt bridge, bifurcated salt bridge appears to be a distinct salt-bridge motif having a special topology and geometry. Bifurcated salt bridges are found ubiquitously in proteins and interprotein complexes. Interesting and attractive examples presenting different modes of interaction are highlighted. Bifurcated salt bridges appear to function as molecular clips that are used to stitch together large surface contours at interacting protein interfaces. The present work also emphasizes the key role of salt-bridge-mediated interactions in the partial folding of proteins containing long stretches of disordered regions. Salt-bridge-mediated interactions seem to be pivotal to the promotion of "disorder-to-order" transitions in small disordered protein fragments and their stabilization upon binding. The results obtained in this work should help to guide efforts to elucidate the modus operandi of these partially disordered proteins, and to conceptualize how these proteins manage to maintain the required amount of disorder even in their bound forms. This work could also potentially facilitate explorations of geometrically specific designable salt bridges through the characterization of composite salt-bridge networks. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Learning Happens: 30 Video Vignettes of Babies and Toddlers Learning School Readiness Skills through Everyday Interactions. [DVD and Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lerner, Claire; Parlakian, Rebecca

2007-01-01

This DVD (duration: 1 hour 53 seconds) features 30 video vignettes that show parents and children--aged birth to 3 years--interacting during everyday play and routines. These vignettes, some in English and some in Spanish, are designed to be tools for professionals to use both in direct work with families and for training other early child…

Endogenous Biologically Inspired Art of Complex Systems.

PubMed

Ji, Haru; Wakefield, Graham

2016-01-01

Since 2007, Graham Wakefield and Haru Ji have looked to nature for inspiration as they have created a series of "artificial natures," or interactive visualizations of biologically inspired complex systems that can evoke nature-like aesthetic experiences within mixed-reality art installations. This article describes how they have applied visualization, sonification, and interaction design in their work with artificial ecosystems and organisms using specific examples from their exhibited installations.

A Thermal and Electrical Analysis of Power Semiconductor Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vafai, Kambiz

1997-01-01

The state-of-art power semiconductor devices require a thorough understanding of the thermal behavior for these devices. Traditional thermal analysis have (1) failed to account for the thermo-electrical interaction which is significant for power semiconductor devices operating at high temperature, and (2) failed to account for the thermal interactions among all the levels involved in, from the entire device to the gate micro-structure. Furthermore there is a lack of quantitative studies of the thermal breakdown phenomenon which is one of the major failure mechanisms for power electronics. This research work is directed towards addressing. Using a coupled thermal and electrical simulation, in which the drift-diffusion equations for the semiconductor and the energy equation for temperature are solved simultaneously, the thermo-electrical interactions at the micron scale of various junction structures are thoroughly investigated. The optimization of gate structure designs and doping designs is then addressed. An iterative numerical procedure which incorporates the thermal analysis at the device, chip and junction levels of the power device is proposed for the first time and utilized in a BJT power semiconductor device. In this procedure, interactions of different levels are fully considered. The thermal stability issue is studied both analytically and numerically in this research work in order to understand the mechanism for thermal breakdown.

Operator Station Design System - A computer aided design approach to work station layout

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, J. L.

1979-01-01

The Operator Station Design System is resident in NASA's Johnson Space Center Spacecraft Design Division Performance Laboratory. It includes stand-alone minicomputer hardware and Panel Layout Automated Interactive Design and Crew Station Assessment of Reach software. The data base consists of the Shuttle Transportation System Orbiter Crew Compartment (in part), the Orbiter payload bay and remote manipulator (in part), and various anthropometric populations. The system is utilized to provide panel layouts, assess reach and vision, determine interference and fit problems early in the design phase, study design applications as a function of anthropometric and mission requirements, and to accomplish conceptual design to support advanced study efforts.

An α‐Helix‐Mimicking 12,13‐Helix: Designed α/β/γ‐Foldamers as Selective Inhibitors of Protein–Protein Interactions

PubMed Central

Grison, Claire M.; Miles, Jennifer A.; Robin, Sylvie

2016-01-01

Abstract A major current challenge in bioorganic chemistry is the identification of effective mimics of protein secondary structures that act as inhibitors of protein–protein interactions (PPIs). In this work, trans‐2‐aminocyclobutanecarboxylic acid (tACBC) was used as the key β‐amino acid component in the design of α/β/γ‐peptides to structurally mimic a native α‐helix. Suitably functionalized α/β/γ‐peptides assume an α‐helix‐mimicking 12,13‐helix conformation in solution, exhibit enhanced proteolytic stability in comparison to the wild‐type α‐peptide parent sequence from which they are derived, and act as selective inhibitors of the p53/hDM2 interaction. PMID:27467859

An α-Helix-Mimicking 12,13-Helix: Designed α/β/γ-Foldamers as Selective Inhibitors of Protein-Protein Interactions.

PubMed

Grison, Claire M; Miles, Jennifer A; Robin, Sylvie; Wilson, Andrew J; Aitken, David J

2016-09-05

A major current challenge in bioorganic chemistry is the identification of effective mimics of protein secondary structures that act as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this work, trans-2-aminocyclobutanecarboxylic acid (tACBC) was used as the key β-amino acid component in the design of α/β/γ-peptides to structurally mimic a native α-helix. Suitably functionalized α/β/γ-peptides assume an α-helix-mimicking 12,13-helix conformation in solution, exhibit enhanced proteolytic stability in comparison to the wild-type α-peptide parent sequence from which they are derived, and act as selective inhibitors of the p53/hDM2 interaction. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Design, synthesis and characterization of a hexapeptide bio-inspired by acetylcholinesterase and its interaction with pesticide dichlorvos.

PubMed

dos Santos, Glauco Pilon; da Silva, Bianca Ferreira; Garrido, Saulo Santesso; Mascini, Marcello; Yamanaka, Hideko

2014-01-07

This paper describes the molecular modeling design, synthesis and characterization of a new bio-inspired hexapeptide of acetylcholinesterase enzyme and its interaction with the organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. This strategy can contribute to the development of synthetic receptors to be coupled to biosensor transducers, avoiding the issues associated with proteins such as low stability under different pH and temperature conditions and high production cost. The resulting data of this work indicate a strong interaction between the pesticide dichlorvos and the hexapeptide (NH3(+)-Glu-His-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ser-COO(-)) with a binding constant of 4.10 × 10(5) M(-1) and the formation of an adduct by covalent binding on the serine residue from the hexapeptide.

Design of interactive health drama built on social realism.

PubMed

Graspemo, Gabriella; Hassling, Linda; Nordfeldt, Sam; Eriksson, Hendrik; Timpka, Toomas

2004-01-01

There are many psychosocial aspects of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Educational multimedia can support patients with chronic diseases and their families by communicating narratives based on social realism. The production of such socio-realistic interactive health dramas requires systematic methods, especially for the identification of significant stories. The aim of this study is to explore the use of self-documentary video in the design of an Interactive Health Drama environment to support diabetic adolescents and their families. In particular, the potential of the self-documentary video for story development in combination with qualitative interviews were explored. The proposed approach, when further developed, is intended to enable all types of chronic disease patients to work with their specific psychosocial problems in a supportive and stimulating environment adapted to their personality and preferences.

[Research Progress on the Interaction Effects and Its Neural Mechanisms between Physical Fatigue and Mental Fatigue].

PubMed

Zhang, Lixin; Zhang, Chuncui; He, Feng; Zhao, Xin; Qi, Hongzhi; Wan, Baikun; Ming, Dong

2015-10-01

Fatigue is an exhaustion state caused by prolonged physical work and mental work, which can reduce working efficiency and even cause industrial accidents. Fatigue is a complex concept involving both physiological and psychological factors. Fatigue can cause a decline of concentration and work performance and induce chronic diseases. Prolonged fatigue may endanger life safety. In most of the scenarios, physical and mental workloads co-lead operator into fatigue state. Thus, it is very important to study the interaction influence and its neural mechanisms between physical and mental fatigues. This paper introduces recent progresses on the interaction effects and discusses some research challenges and future development directions. It is believed that mutual influence between physical fatigue and mental fatigue may occur in the central nervous system. Revealing the basal ganglia function and dopamine release may be important to explore the neural mechanisms between physical fatigue and mental fatigue. Future effort is to optimize fatigue models, to evaluate parameters and to explore the neural mechanisms so as to provide scientific basis and theoretical guidance for complex task designs and fatigue monitoring.

In-School Neighborhood Youth Corps. 14/15 Year-Old Black Teenage Girl Project, Memphis, Tennessee. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Andrew; And Others

This study analyzes the effects on 14- and 15-year-old black teenage girls of entering and participating in a specially designed work program. The girls were provided with supports in their work settings, well-defined tasks, supervisors as well as regularly scheduled peer interaction groups led by a young black woman considered to be an…

Dynamic interactions between visual working memory and saccade target selection

PubMed Central

Schneegans, Sebastian; Spencer, John P.; Schöner, Gregor; Hwang, Seongmin; Hollingworth, Andrew

2014-01-01

Recent psychophysical experiments have shown that working memory for visual surface features interacts with saccadic motor planning, even in tasks where the saccade target is unambiguously specified by spatial cues. Specifically, a match between a memorized color and the color of either the designated target or a distractor stimulus influences saccade target selection, saccade amplitudes, and latencies in a systematic fashion. To elucidate these effects, we present a dynamic neural field model in combination with new experimental data. The model captures the neural processes underlying visual perception, working memory, and saccade planning relevant to the psychophysical experiment. It consists of a low-level visual sensory representation that interacts with two separate pathways: a spatial pathway implementing spatial attention and saccade generation, and a surface feature pathway implementing color working memory and feature attention. Due to bidirectional coupling between visual working memory and feature attention in the model, the working memory content can indirectly exert an effect on perceptual processing in the low-level sensory representation. This in turn biases saccadic movement planning in the spatial pathway, allowing the model to quantitatively reproduce the observed interaction effects. The continuous coupling between representations in the model also implies that modulation should be bidirectional, and model simulations provide specific predictions for complementary effects of saccade target selection on visual working memory. These predictions were empirically confirmed in a new experiment: Memory for a sample color was biased toward the color of a task-irrelevant saccade target object, demonstrating the bidirectional coupling between visual working memory and perceptual processing. PMID:25228628

High Job Demands, Still Engaged and Not Burned Out? The Role of Job Crafting.

PubMed

Hakanen, Jari J; Seppälä, Piia; Peeters, Maria C W

2017-08-01

Traditionally, employee well-being has been considered as resulting from decent working conditions arranged by the organization. Much less is known about whether employees themselves can make self-initiated changes to their work, i.e., craft their jobs, in order to stay well, even in highly demanding work situations. The aim of this study was to use the job demands-resources (JD-R model) to investigate whether job crafting buffers the negative impacts of four types of job demands (workload, emotional dissonance, work contents, and physical demands) on burnout and work engagement. A questionnaire study was designed to examine the buffering role of job crafting among 470 Finnish dentists. All in all, 11 out of 16 possible interaction effects of job demands and job crafting on employee well-being were significant. Job crafting particularly buffered the negative effects of job demands on burnout (7/8 significant interactions) and to a somewhat lesser extent also on work engagement (4/8 significant interactions). Applying job crafting techniques appeared to be particularly effective in mitigating the negative effects of quantitative workload (4/4 significant interactions). By demonstrating that job crafting can also buffer the negative impacts of high job demands on employee well-being, this study contributed to the JD-R model as it suggests that job crafting may even be possible under high work demands, and not only in resourceful jobs, as most previous studies have indicated. In addition to the top-down initiatives for improving employee well-being, bottom-up approaches such as job crafting may also be efficient in preventing burnout and enhancing work engagement.

Attracting STEM talent: do STEM students prefer traditional or work/life-interaction labs?

PubMed

DeFraine, William C; Williams, Wendy M; Ceci, Stephen J

2014-01-01

The demand for employees trained in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields continues to increase, yet the number of Millennial students pursuing STEM is not keeping pace. We evaluated whether this shortfall is associated with Millennials' preference for flexibility and work/life-interaction in their careers-a preference that may be inconsistent with the traditional idea of a science career endorsed by many lab directors. Two contrasting approaches to running STEM labs and training students were explored, and we created a lab recruitment video depicting each. The work-focused video emphasized the traditional notions of a science lab, characterized by long work hours and a focus on individual achievement and conducting research above all else. In contrast, the work/life-interaction-focused video emphasized a more progressive view - lack of demarcation between work and non-work lives, flexible hours, and group achievement. In Study 1, 40 professors rated the videos, and the results confirmed that the two lab types reflected meaningful real-world differences in training approaches. In Study 2, we recruited 53 current and prospective graduate students in STEM fields who displayed high math-identification and a commitment to science careers. In a between-subjects design, they watched one of the two lab-recruitment videos, and then reported their anticipated sense of belonging to and desire to participate in the lab depicted in the video. Very large effects were observed on both primary measures: Participants who watched the work/life-interaction-focused video reported a greater sense of belonging to (d = 1.49) and desire to participate in (d = 1.33) the lab, relative to participants who watched the work-focused video. These results suggest Millennials possess a strong desire for work/life-interaction, which runs counter to the traditional lab-training model endorsed by many lab directors. We discuss implications of these findings for STEM recruitment.

Attracting STEM Talent: Do STEM Students Prefer Traditional or Work/Life-Interaction Labs?

PubMed Central

DeFraine, William C.; Williams, Wendy M.; Ceci, Stephen J.

2014-01-01

The demand for employees trained in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields continues to increase, yet the number of Millennial students pursuing STEM is not keeping pace. We evaluated whether this shortfall is associated with Millennials' preference for flexibility and work/life-interaction in their careers-a preference that may be inconsistent with the traditional idea of a science career endorsed by many lab directors. Two contrasting approaches to running STEM labs and training students were explored, and we created a lab recruitment video depicting each. The work-focused video emphasized the traditional notions of a science lab, characterized by long work hours and a focus on individual achievement and conducting research above all else. In contrast, the work/life-interaction-focused video emphasized a more progressive view – lack of demarcation between work and non-work lives, flexible hours, and group achievement. In Study 1, 40 professors rated the videos, and the results confirmed that the two lab types reflected meaningful real-world differences in training approaches. In Study 2, we recruited 53 current and prospective graduate students in STEM fields who displayed high math-identification and a commitment to science careers. In a between-subjects design, they watched one of the two lab-recruitment videos, and then reported their anticipated sense of belonging to and desire to participate in the lab depicted in the video. Very large effects were observed on both primary measures: Participants who watched the work/life-interaction-focused video reported a greater sense of belonging to (d = 1.49) and desire to participate in (d = 1.33) the lab, relative to participants who watched the work-focused video. These results suggest Millennials possess a strong desire for work/life-interaction, which runs counter to the traditional lab-training model endorsed by many lab directors. We discuss implications of these findings for STEM recruitment. PMID:24587044

Constructing Knowledge via a Peer Interaction in a CAS Environment with Tasks Designed from a Task-Technique-Theory Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hitt, Fernando; Kieran, Carolyn

2009-01-01

Our research project aimed at understanding the complexity of the construction of knowledge in a CAS environment. Basing our work on the French instrumental approach, in particular the Task-Technique-Theory (T-T-T) theoretical frame as adapted from Chevallard's Anthropological Theory of Didactics, we were mindful that a careful task design process…

Learning the Control of Variables Strategy in Higher and Lower Achieving Classrooms: Contributions of Explicit Instruction and Experimentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorch, Robert F., Jr.; Lorch, Elizabeth P.; Calderhead, William J.; Dunlap, Emily E.; Hodell, Emily C.; Freer, Benjamin Dunham

2010-01-01

Students (n = 797) from 36 4th-grade classrooms were taught the control of variables strategy for designing experiments. In the instruct condition, classes were taught in an interactive lecture format. In the manipulate condition, students worked in groups to design and run experiments to determine the effects of four variables. In the both…

Promoting Higher Order Thinking Skills via IPTEACES e-Learning Framework in the Learning of Information Systems Units

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaias, Pedro; Issa, Tomayess; Pena, Nuno

2014-01-01

When developing and working with various types of devices from a supercomputer to an iPod Mini, it is essential to consider the issues of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability. Developers and designers must incorporate HCI, Usability and user satisfaction in their design plans to ensure that systems are easy to learn, effective,…

Navigating the Problem Space of Academia: Exploring Processes of Course Design and Classroom Teaching in Postsecondary Settings. WCER Working Paper No. 2014-1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hora, Matthew T.

2014-01-01

Policymakers and educators alike increasing focus on faculty adoption of interactive teaching techniques as a way to improve undergraduate education. Yet, little empirical research exists that examines the processes whereby faculty make decisions about curriculum design and classroom teaching in real-world situations. In this study, I use the idea…

Implications of Research on Human Memory for CALL Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forester, Lee

2002-01-01

Offers a brief overview of what is generally accepted about how human memory works as it applied to computer assisted language learning (CALL). Discusses a number of interactions from various CALL products in light of the research summarized. (Author/VWL)

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

Morgan, O.B. Jr.; Berry, L.A.; Sheffield, J.

This annual report on fusion energy discusses the progress on work in the following main topics: toroidal confinement experiments; atomic physics and plasma diagnostics development; plasma theory and computing; plasma-materials interactions; plasma technology; superconducting magnet development; fusion engineering design center; materials research and development; and neutron transport. (LSP)

Development of an interactive GIS based work zone traffic control tool.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study was to include consideration for intersections into the previously created GIS traffic control planning tool. Available data for making intersection control calculations were collected and integrated into the design of the t...

Multimedia category preferences of working engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baukal, Charles E.; Ausburn, Lynna J.

2016-09-01

Many have argued for the importance of continuing engineering education (CEE), but relatively few recommendations were found in the literature for how to use multimedia technologies to deliver it most effectively. The study reported here addressed this gap by investigating the multimedia category preferences of working engineers. Four categories of multimedia, with two types in each category, were studied: verbal (text and narration), static graphics (drawing and photograph), dynamic non-interactive graphics (animation and video), and dynamic interactive graphics (simulated virtual reality (VR) and photo-real VR). The results showed that working engineers strongly preferred text over narration and somewhat preferred drawing over photograph, animation over video, and simulated VR over photo-real VR. These results suggest that a variety of multimedia types should be used in the instructional design of CEE content.

Use of Video Analysis System for Working Posture Evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKay, Timothy D.; Whitmore, Mihriban

1994-01-01

In a work environment, it is important to identify and quantify the relationship among work activities, working posture, and workplace design. Working posture may impact the physical comfort and well-being of individuals, as well as performance. The Posture Video Analysis Tool (PVAT) is an interactive menu and button driven software prototype written in Supercard (trademark). Human Factors analysts are provided with a predefined set of options typically associated with postural assessments and human performance issues. Once options have been selected, the program is used to evaluate working posture and dynamic tasks from video footage. PVAT has been used to evaluate postures from Orbiter missions, as well as from experimental testing of prototype glove box designs. PVAT can be used for video analysis in a number of industries, with little or no modification. It can contribute to various aspects of workplace design such as training, task allocations, procedural analyses, and hardware usability evaluations. The major advantage of the video analysis approach is the ability to gather data, non-intrusively, in restricted-access environments, such as emergency and operation rooms, contaminated areas, and control rooms. Video analysis also provides the opportunity to conduct preliminary evaluations of existing work areas.

Increasing the affinity of selective bZIP-binding peptides through surface residue redesign.

PubMed

Kaplan, Jenifer B; Reinke, Aaron W; Keating, Amy E

2014-07-01

The coiled-coil dimer is a prevalent protein interaction motif that is important for many cellular processes. The basic leucine-zipper (bZIP) transcription factors are one family of proteins for which coiled-coil mediated dimerization is essential for function, and misregulation of bZIPs can lead to disease states including cancer. This makes coiled coils attractive protein-protein interaction targets to disrupt using engineered molecules. Previous work designing peptides to compete with native coiled-coil interactions focused primarily on designing the core residues of the interface to achieve affinity and specificity. However, folding studies on the model bZIP GCN4 show that coiled-coil surface residues also contribute to binding affinity. Here we extend a prior study in which peptides were designed to bind tightly and specifically to representative members of each of 20 human bZIP families. These "anti-bZIP" peptides were designed with an emphasis on target-binding specificity, with contributions to design-target specificity and affinity engineered considering only the coiled-coil core residues. High-throughput testing using peptide arrays indicated many successes. We have now measured the binding affinities and specificities of anti-bZIPs that bind to FOS, XBP1, ATF6, and CREBZF in solution and tested whether redesigning the surface residues can increase design-target affinity. Incorporating residues that favor helix formation into the designs increased binding affinities in all cases, providing low-nanomolar binders of each target. However, changes in surface electrostatic interactions sometimes changed the binding specificity of the designed peptides. © 2014 The Protein Society.

Development of the Modes of Collaboration framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlak, Alanna; Irving, Paul W.; Caballero, Marcos D.

2018-01-01

Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of groups of students working on conceptual electricity and magnetism problems in an introductory physics course. In this setting, students needed to negotiate a common understanding and coordinate group decisions in order to complete the activity successfully. We observed students interacting in several distinct ways while solving these problems. Analysis of these observations focused on identifying the different ways students interacted and articulating what defines and distinguishes them, resulting in the development of the modes of collaboration framework. The modes of collaboration framework defines student interactions along three dimensions: social, discursive, and disciplinary content. This multidimensional approach offers a unique lens through which to consider group work and provides a flexibility that could allow the framework to be adapted for a variety of contexts. We present the framework and several examples of its application here.

The NASA/industry Design Analysis Methods for Vibrations (DAMVIBS) program: Sikorsky Aircraft: Advances toward interacting with the airframe design process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Twomey, William J.

1993-01-01

A short history is traced of the work done at Sikorsky Aircraft under the NASA/industry DAMVIBS program. This includes both work directly funded by the program as well as work which was internally funded but which received its initial impetus from DAMVIBS. The development of a finite element model of the UH-60A airframe having a marked improvement in vibration-predicting ability is described. A new program, PAREDYM, developed at Sikorsky, which automatically adjusts an FEM so that its modal characteristics match test values, is described, as well as the part this program played in the improvement of the UH-60A model. Effects of the bungee suspension system on the shake test data used for model verification are described. The impetus given by the modeling improvement, as well as the recent availability of PAREDYM, has brought for the first time the introduction of low-vibration design into the design cycle at Sikorsky.

Crew coordination concepts: Continental Airlines CRM training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christian, Darryl; Morgan, Alice

1987-01-01

The outline of the crew coordination concepts at Continental airlines is: (1) Present relevant theory: Contained in a pre-work package and in lecture/discussion form during the work course, (2) Discuss case examples: Contained in the pre-work for study and use during the course; and (3) Simulate practice problems: Introduced during the course as the beginning of an ongoing process. These concepts which are designed to address the problem pilots have in understanding the interaction between situations and their own theories of practice are briefly discussed.

Design guidelines for interactive multimedia learning environments to promote social inclusion.

PubMed

Brown, D J; Powell, H M; Battersby, S; Lewis, J; Shopland, N; Yazdanparast, M

There is a continuing need for guidelines to aid in the design of Interactive Multimedia Learning Environments (IMLE) to promote effective learning. The project introduced in this paper looks at an important subset of this problem, the design of interactive learning environments to promote social inclusion. A consortium of six partners contributed toward defining learning material to develop a range of work based skills, including horticulture, IT and catering. These were then developed into IMLE prototypes. Formative evaluation of these prototypes then revealed a range of usability problems, which were grouped into generic types and frequency of occurrence. The most important and frequently occurring problems were used to distil a set of design guidelines for the development of effective IMLE. The results from this usability content analysis were also used to refine the initial prototypes to improve their usability and effectiveness. These guidelines, termed the Greenhat Design Guidelines, can be adopted for use by all multimedia developers aiming to promote the social inclusion of vulnerable or socially disadvantaged groups of people. The refined IMLE can be accessed via the Greenhat Server to improve the employment-related skills of socially excluded people.

Modeling eye gaze patterns in clinician-patient interaction with lag sequential analysis.

PubMed

Montague, Enid; Xu, Jie; Chen, Ping-Yu; Asan, Onur; Barrett, Bruce P; Chewning, Betty

2011-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine whether lag sequential analysis could be used to describe eye gaze orientation between clinicians and patients in the medical encounter. This topic is particularly important as new technologies are implemented into multiuser health care settings in which trust is critical and nonverbal cues are integral to achieving trust. This analysis method could lead to design guidelines for technologies and more effective assessments of interventions. Nonverbal communication patterns are important aspects of clinician-patient interactions and may affect patient outcomes. The eye gaze behaviors of clinicians and patients in 110 videotaped medical encounters were analyzed using the lag sequential method to identify significant behavior sequences. Lag sequential analysis included both event-based lag and time-based lag. Results from event-based lag analysis showed that the patient's gaze followed that of the clinician, whereas the clinician's gaze did not follow the patient's. Time-based sequential analysis showed that responses from the patient usually occurred within 2 s after the initial behavior of the clinician. Our data suggest that the clinician's gaze significantly affects the medical encounter but that the converse is not true. Findings from this research have implications for the design of clinical work systems and modeling interactions. Similar research methods could be used to identify different behavior patterns in clinical settings (physical layout, technology, etc.) to facilitate and evaluate clinical work system designs.

Modeling Eye Gaze Patterns in Clinician-Patient Interaction with Lag Sequential Analysis

PubMed Central

Montague, E; Xu, J; Asan, O; Chen, P; Chewning, B; Barrett, B

2011-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether lag-sequential analysis could be used to describe eye gaze orientation between clinicians and patients in the medical encounter. This topic is particularly important as new technologies are implemented into multi-user health care settings where trust is critical and nonverbal cues are integral to achieving trust. This analysis method could lead to design guidelines for technologies and more effective assessments of interventions. Background Nonverbal communication patterns are important aspects of clinician-patient interactions and may impact patient outcomes. Method Eye gaze behaviors of clinicians and patients in 110-videotaped medical encounters were analyzed using the lag-sequential method to identify significant behavior sequences. Lag-sequential analysis included both event-based lag and time-based lag. Results Results from event-based lag analysis showed that the patients’ gaze followed that of clinicians, while clinicians did not follow patients. Time-based sequential analysis showed that responses from the patient usually occurred within two seconds after the initial behavior of the clinician. Conclusion Our data suggest that the clinician’s gaze significantly affects the medical encounter but not the converse. Application Findings from this research have implications for the design of clinical work systems and modeling interactions. Similar research methods could be used to identify different behavior patterns in clinical settings (physical layout, technology, etc.) to facilitate and evaluate clinical work system designs. PMID:22046723

Active colloids with collective mobility status and research opportunities.

PubMed

Zhang, Jie; Luijten, Erik; Grzybowski, Bartosz A; Granick, Steve

2017-09-18

The collective mobility of active matter (self-propelled objects that transduce energy into mechanical work to drive their motion, most commonly through fluids) constitutes a new frontier in science and achievable technology. This review surveys the current status of the research field, what kinds of new scientific problems can be tackled in the short term, and what long-term directions are envisioned. We focus on: (1) attempts to formulate design principles to tailor active particles; (2) attempts to design principles according to which active particles interact under circumstances where particle-particle interactions of traditional colloid science are augmented by a family of nonequilibrium effects discussed here; (3) attempts to design intended patterns of collective behavior and dynamic assembly; (4) speculative links to equilibrium thermodynamics. In each aspect, we assess achievements, limitations, and research opportunities.

Molecular dynamics, flexible docking, virtual screening, ADMET predictions, and molecular interaction field studies to design novel potential MAO-B inhibitors.

PubMed

Braun, Glaucia H; Jorge, Daniel M M; Ramos, Henrique P; Alves, Raquel M; da Silva, Vinicius B; Giuliatti, Silvana; Sampaio, Suley Vilela; Taft, Carlton A; Silva, Carlos H T P

2008-02-01

Monoamine oxidase is a flavoenzyme bound to the mitochondrial outer membranes of the cells, which is responsible for the oxidative deamination of neurotransmitter and dietary amines. It has two distinct isozymic forms, designated MAO-A and MAO-B, each displaying different substrate and inhibitor specificities. They are the well-known targets for antidepressant, Parkinson's disease, and neuroprotective drugs. Elucidation of the x-ray crystallographic structure of MAO-B has opened the way for the molecular modeling studies. In this work we have used molecular modeling, density functional theory with correlation, virtual screening, flexible docking, molecular dynamics, ADMET predictions, and molecular interaction field studies in order to design new molecules with potential higher selectivity and enzymatic inhibitory activity over MAO-B.

How to make an autonomous robot as a partner with humans: design approach versus emergent approach.

PubMed

Fujita, M

2007-01-15

In this paper, we discuss what factors are important to realize an autonomous robot as a partner with humans. We believe that it is important to interact with people without boring them, using verbal and non-verbal communication channels. We have already developed autonomous robots such as AIBO and QRIO, whose behaviours are manually programmed and designed. We realized, however, that this design approach has limitations; therefore we propose a new approach, intelligence dynamics, where interacting in a real-world environment using embodiment is considered very important. There are pioneering works related to this approach from brain science, cognitive science, robotics and artificial intelligence. We assert that it is important to study the emergence of entire sets of autonomous behaviours and present our approach towards this goal.

From Paper to PDA: Design and Evaluation of a Clinical Ward Instruction on a Mobile Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanstrup, Anne Marie; Stage, Jan

Mobile devices with small screens and minimal facilities for interaction are increasingly being used in complex human activities for accessing and processing information, while the user is moving. This paper presents a case study of the design and evaluation of a mobile system, which involved transformation of complex text and tables to digital format on a PDA. The application domain was an emergency medical ward, and the user group was junior registrars. We designed a PDA-based system for accessing information, focusing on the ward instruction, implemented a prototype and evaluated it for usability and utility. The evaluation results indicate significant problems in the interaction with the system as well as the extent to which the system is useful for junior registrars in their daily work.

New Exoskeleton Arm Concept Design And Actuation For Haptic Interaction With Virtual Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakarov, D.; Veneva, I.; Tsveov, M.; Tiankov, T.

2014-12-01

In the work presented in this paper the conceptual design and actuation of one new exoskeleton of the upper limb is presented. The device is designed for application where both motion tracking and force feedback are required, such as human interaction with virtual environment or rehabilitation tasks. The choice is presented of mechanical structure kinematical equivalent to the structure of the human arm. An actuation system is selected based on braided pneumatic muscle actuators. Antagonistic drive system for each joint is shown, using pulley and cable transmissions. Force/displacement diagrams are presented of two antagonistic acting muscles. Kinematics and dynamic estimations are performed of the system exoskeleton and upper limb. Selected parameters ensure in the antagonistic scheme joint torque regulation and human arm range of motion.

Multi-Agent Modeling and Simulation Approach for Design and Analysis of MER Mission Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seah, Chin; Sierhuis, Maarten; Clancey, William J.

2005-01-01

A space mission operations system is a complex network of human organizations, information and deep-space network systems and spacecraft hardware. As in other organizations, one of the problems in mission operations is managing the relationship of the mission information systems related to how people actually work (practices). Brahms, a multi-agent modeling and simulation tool, was used to model and simulate NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission work practice. The objective was to investigate the value of work practice modeling for mission operations design. From spring 2002 until winter 2003, a Brahms modeler participated in mission systems design sessions and operations testing for the MER mission held at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He observed how designers interacted with the Brahms tool. This paper discussed mission system designers' reactions to the simulation output during model validation and the presentation of generated work procedures. This project spurred JPL's interest in the Brahms model, but it was never included as part of the formal mission design process. We discuss why this occurred. Subsequently, we used the MER model to develop a future mission operations concept. Team members were reluctant to use the MER model, even though it appeared to be highly relevant to their effort. We describe some of the tool issues we encountered.

Proceedings of the Conference on Viscous Effects in Turbomachines Held at Copenhagen, Denmark on 1-3 June 1983.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

Dimensional Cascades. P003 075 Design of Transonic Compressor Cascades for Minimal Shock Losses and Comparison with Test Results. P003 076 Flow...WJ.Caivert 2 A VISCID INVISCID INTERACTION PROEDURE FOR TWO DIMENSIONAL CASCADES by P.Janmens and Ch.Hirsch 4 0/’V 3 DESIGN OF TRANSONIC COMPRESSOR...treated, but, in the opinion of this evaluator, much more work is needed before they can be used with confidence on untested designs . Since capabilities

Enhanced Hydrogen Dipole Physisorption, Final Report

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

Ahn, Channing

2014-01-03

The hydrogen gas adsorption effort at Caltech was designed to probe and apply our understanding of known interactions between molecular hydrogen and adsorbent surfaces as part of a materials development effort to enable room temperature storage of hydrogen at nominal pressure. The work we have performed over the past five years has been tailored to address the outstanding issues associated with weak hydrogen sorbent interactions in order to find an adequate solution for storage tank technology.

The impact of computer display height and desk design on muscle activity during information technology work by young adults.

PubMed

Straker, L; Pollock, C; Burgess-Limerick, R; Skoss, R; Coleman, J

2008-08-01

Computer display height and desk design are believed to be important workstation features and are included in international standards and guidelines. However, the evidence base for these guidelines is lacking a comparison of neck/shoulder muscle activity during computer and paper tasks and whether forearm support can be provided by desk design. This study measured the spinal and upper limb muscle activity in 36 young adults whilst they worked in different computer display, book and desk conditions. Display height affected spinal muscle activity with paper tasks resulting in greater mean spinal and upper limb muscle activity. A curved desk resulted in increased proximal muscle activity. There was no substantial interaction between display and desk.

Interaction design challenges and solutions for ALMA operations monitoring and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietriga, Emmanuel; Cubaud, Pierre; Schwarz, Joseph; Primet, Romain; Schilling, Marcus; Barkats, Denis; Barrios, Emilio; Vila Vilaro, Baltasar

2012-09-01

The ALMA radio-telescope, currently under construction in northern Chile, is a very advanced instrument that presents numerous challenges. From a software perspective, one critical issue is the design of graphical user interfaces for operations monitoring and control that scale to the complexity of the system and to the massive amounts of data users are faced with. Early experience operating the telescope with only a few antennas has shown that conventional user interface technologies are not adequate in this context. They consume too much screen real-estate, require many unnecessary interactions to access relevant information, and fail to provide operators and astronomers with a clear mental map of the instrument. They increase extraneous cognitive load, impeding tasks that call for quick diagnosis and action. To address this challenge, the ALMA software division adopted a user-centered design approach. For the last two years, astronomers, operators, software engineers and human-computer interaction researchers have been involved in participatory design workshops, with the aim of designing better user interfaces based on state-of-the-art visualization techniques. This paper describes the process that led to the development of those interface components and to a proposal for the science and operations console setup: brainstorming sessions, rapid prototyping, joint implementation work involving software engineers and human-computer interaction researchers, feedback collection from a broader range of users, further iterations and testing.

Development of a Mobile User Interface for Image-based Dietary Assessment.

PubMed

Kim, Sungye; Schap, Tusarebecca; Bosch, Marc; Maciejewski, Ross; Delp, Edward J; Ebert, David S; Boushey, Carol J

2010-12-31

In this paper, we present a mobile user interface for image-based dietary assessment. The mobile user interface provides a front end to a client-server image recognition and portion estimation software. In the client-server configuration, the user interactively records a series of food images using a built-in camera on the mobile device. Images are sent from the mobile device to the server, and the calorie content of the meal is estimated. In this paper, we describe and discuss the design and development of our mobile user interface features. We discuss the design concepts, through initial ideas and implementations. For each concept, we discuss qualitative user feedback from participants using the mobile client application. We then discuss future designs, including work on design considerations for the mobile application to allow the user to interactively correct errors in the automatic processing while reducing the user burden associated with classical pen-and-paper dietary records.

PsyGlass: Capitalizing on Google Glass for naturalistic data collection.

PubMed

Paxton, Alexandra; Rodriguez, Kevin; Dale, Rick

2015-09-01

As commercial technology moves further into wearable technologies, cognitive and psychological scientists can capitalize on these devices to facilitate naturalistic research designs while still maintaining strong experimental control. One such wearable technology is Google Glass (Google, Inc.: www.google.com/glass), which can present wearers with audio and visual stimuli while tracking a host of multimodal data. In this article, we introduce PsyGlass, a framework for incorporating Google Glass into experimental work that is freely available for download and community improvement over time (www.github.com/a-paxton/PsyGlass). As a proof of concept, we use this framework to investigate dual-task pressures on naturalistic interaction. The preliminary study demonstrates how designs from classic experimental psychology may be integrated in naturalistic interactive designs with emerging technologies. We close with a series of recommendations for using PsyGlass and a discussion of how wearable technology more broadly may contribute to new or adapted naturalistic research designs.

IADE: a system for intelligent automatic design of bioisosteric analogs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertl, Peter; Lewis, Richard

2012-11-01

IADE, a software system supporting molecular modellers through the automatic design of non-classical bioisosteric analogs, scaffold hopping and fragment growing, is presented. The program combines sophisticated cheminformatics functionalities for constructing novel analogs and filtering them based on their drug-likeness and synthetic accessibility using automatic structure-based design capabilities: the best candidates are selected according to their similarity to the template ligand and to their interactions with the protein binding site. IADE works in an iterative manner, improving the fitness of designed molecules in every generation until structures with optimal properties are identified. The program frees molecular modellers from routine, repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on analysis and evaluation of the automatically designed analogs, considerably enhancing their work efficiency as well as the area of chemical space that can be covered. The performance of IADE is illustrated through a case study of the design of a nonclassical bioisosteric analog of a farnesyltransferase inhibitor—an analog that has won a recent "Design a Molecule" competition.

A direct approach to the design of linear multivariable systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agrawal, B. L.

1974-01-01

Design of multivariable systems is considered and design procedures are formulated in the light of the most recent work on model matching. The word model matching is used exclusively to mean matching the input-output behavior of two systems. The term is used in the frequency domain to indicate the comparison of two transfer matrices containing transfer functions as elements. Design methods where non-interaction is not used as a criteria were studied. Two design methods are considered. The first method of design is based solely upon the specification of generalized error coefficients for each individual transfer function of the overall system transfer matrix. The second design method is called the pole fixing method because all the system poles are fixed at preassigned positions. The zeros of terms either above or below the diagonal are partially fixed via steady state error coefficients. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed and an example is worked to demonstrate their uses. The special cases of triangular decoupling and minimum constraints are discussed.

IADE: a system for intelligent automatic design of bioisosteric analogs.

PubMed

Ertl, Peter; Lewis, Richard

2012-11-01

IADE, a software system supporting molecular modellers through the automatic design of non-classical bioisosteric analogs, scaffold hopping and fragment growing, is presented. The program combines sophisticated cheminformatics functionalities for constructing novel analogs and filtering them based on their drug-likeness and synthetic accessibility using automatic structure-based design capabilities: the best candidates are selected according to their similarity to the template ligand and to their interactions with the protein binding site. IADE works in an iterative manner, improving the fitness of designed molecules in every generation until structures with optimal properties are identified. The program frees molecular modellers from routine, repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on analysis and evaluation of the automatically designed analogs, considerably enhancing their work efficiency as well as the area of chemical space that can be covered. The performance of IADE is illustrated through a case study of the design of a nonclassical bioisosteric analog of a farnesyltransferase inhibitor--an analog that has won a recent "Design a Molecule" competition.

The Work Compatibility Improvement Framework: an integrated perspective of the human-at-work system.

PubMed

Genaidy, Ash; Salem, Sam; Karwowski, Waldemar; Paez, Omar; Tuncel, Setenay

2007-01-15

The industrial revolution demonstrated the limitations of a pure mechanistic approach towards work design. Human work is now seen as a complex entity that involves different scientific branches and blurs the line between mental and physical activities. Job design has been a traditional concern of applied psychology, which has provided insight into the interaction between the individual and the work environment. The goal of this paper is to introduce the human-at-work system as a holistic approach to organizational design. It postulates that the well-being of workers and work outcomes are issues that need to be addressed jointly, moving beyond traditional concepts of job satisfaction and work stress. The work compatibility model (WCM) is introduced as an engineering approach that seeks to integrate previous constructs of job and organizational design. The WCM seeks a balance between energy expenditure and replenishment. The implementation of the WCM in industrial settings is described within the context of the Work Compatibility Improvement Framework. A sample review of six models (motivation-hygiene theory; job characteristics theory; person-environment fit; demand-control model; and balance theory) provides the foundation for the interaction between the individual and the work environment. A review of three workload assessment methods (position analysis questionnaire, job task analysis and NASA task load index) gives an example of the foundation for the taxonomy of work environment domains. Previous models have sought to identify a balance state for the human-at-work system. They differentiated between the objective and subjective effects of the environment and the worker. An imbalance between the person and the environment has been proven to increase health risks. The WCM works with a taxonomy of 12 work domains classified in terms of the direct (acting) or indirect (experienced) effect on the worker. In terms of measurement, two quantitative methods are proposed to measure the state of the system. The first method introduced by Abdallah et al. (2004) identifies operating zones. The second method introduced by Salem et al. (2006) identifies the distribution of the work elements on the x/y coordinate plane. While previous efforts have identified some relevant elements of the systems, they failed to provide a holistic, quantitative approach combining organizational and human factors into a common framework. It is postulated that improving the well-being of workers will simultaneously improve organizational outcomes. The WCM moves beyond previous models by providing a hierarchical structure of work domains and a combination of methods to diagnose any organizational setting. The WCM is an attempt to achieve organizational excellence in human resource management, moving beyond job design to an integrated improvement strategy. A joint approach to organizational and job design will not only result in decreased prevalence of health risks, but in enhanced organizational effectiveness as well. The implementation of the WCM, that is, the Work Compatibility Improvement Framework, provides the basis for integrating different elements of the work environment into a single reliable construct. An improvement framework is essential to ensure that the measures of the WCM result in a system that is adaptive and self-regulated.

Pictorial Conversations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hooper, Kristina

1982-01-01

Provides the rationale for considering communication in a graphic domain and suggests a specific goal for designing work stations which provide graphic capabilities in educational settings. The central element of this recommendation is the "pictorial conversation", a highly interactive exchange that includes pictures as the central elements.…

Creative Arts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castellano, Richard J.; Fleming, Mary Ann

Educational goals and objectives, student activities, and visual aids are included in this guide to a three-dimensional design unit that combines creative art and industrial arts skills. Course goals include challenging students' creative skills, encouraging student interaction and successful group work, and providing an atmosphere of fun and…

DrugECs: An Ensemble System with Feature Subspaces for Accurate Drug-Target Interaction Prediction

PubMed Central

Jiang, Jinjian; Wang, Nian; Zhang, Jun

2017-01-01

Background Drug-target interaction is key in drug discovery, especially in the design of new lead compound. However, the work to find a new lead compound for a specific target is complicated and hard, and it always leads to many mistakes. Therefore computational techniques are commonly adopted in drug design, which can save time and costs to a significant extent. Results To address the issue, a new prediction system is proposed in this work to identify drug-target interaction. First, drug-target pairs are encoded with a fragment technique and the software “PaDEL-Descriptor.” The fragment technique is for encoding target proteins, which divides each protein sequence into several fragments in order and encodes each fragment with several physiochemical properties of amino acids. The software “PaDEL-Descriptor” creates encoding vectors for drug molecules. Second, the dataset of drug-target pairs is resampled and several overlapped subsets are obtained, which are then input into kNN (k-Nearest Neighbor) classifier to build an ensemble system. Conclusion Experimental results on the drug-target dataset showed that our method performs better and runs faster than the state-of-the-art predictors. PMID:28744468

Comparative evaluation of the powder and compression properties of various grades and brands of microcrystalline cellulose by multivariate methods.

PubMed

Haware, Rahul V; Bauer-Brandl, Annette; Tho, Ingunn

2010-01-01

The present work challenges a newly developed approach to tablet formulation development by using chemically identical materials (grades and brands of microcrystalline cellulose). Tablet properties with respect to process and formulation parameters (e.g. compression speed, added lubricant and Emcompress fractions) were evaluated by 2(3)-factorial designs. Tablets of constant true volume were prepared on a compaction simulator at constant pressure (approx. 100 MPa). The highly repeatable and accurate force-displacement data obtained was evaluated by simple 'in-die' Heckel method and work descriptors. Relationships and interactions between formulation, process and tablet parameters were identified and quantified by multivariate analysis techniques; principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square regressions (PLS). The method proved to be able to distinguish between different grades of MCC and even between two different brands of the same grade (Avicel PH 101 and Vivapur 101). One example of interaction was studied in more detail by mixed level design: The interaction effect of lubricant and Emcompress on elastic recovery of Avicel PH 102 was demonstrated to be complex and non-linear using the development tool under investigation.

Understanding social collaboration between actors and technology in an automated and digitised deep mining environment.

PubMed

Sanda, M-A; Johansson, J; Johansson, B; Abrahamsson, L

2011-10-01

The purpose of this article is to develop knowledge and learning on the best way to automate organisational activities in deep mines that could lead to the creation of harmony between the human, technical and the social system, towards increased productivity. The findings showed that though the introduction of high-level technological tools in the work environment disrupted the social relations developed over time amongst the employees in most situations, the technological tools themselves became substitute social collaborative partners to the employees. It is concluded that, in developing a digitised mining production system, knowledge of the social collaboration between the humans (miners) and the technology they use for their work must be developed. By implication, knowledge of the human's subject-oriented and object-oriented activities should be considered as an important integral resource for developing a better technological, organisational and human interactive subsystem when designing the intelligent automation and digitisation systems for deep mines. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: This study focused on understanding the social collaboration between humans and the technologies they use to work in underground mines. The learning provides an added knowledge in designing technologies and work organisations that could better enhance the human-technology interactive and collaborative system in the automation and digitisation of underground mines.

Characterization of the ELIMED prototype permanent magnet quadrupole system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, A. D.; Schillaci, F.; Pommarel, L.; Romano, F.; Amato, A.; Amico, A. G.; Calanna, A.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Costa, M.; Cuttone, G.; Amato, C.; De Luca, G.; Flacco, F. A.; Gallo, G.; Giove, D.; Grmek, A.; La Rosa, G.; Leanza, R.; Maggiore, M.; Malka, V.; Milluzzo, G.; Petringa, G.; Pipek, J.; Scuderi, V.; Vauzour, B.; Zappalà, E.

2017-01-01

The system described in this work is meant to be a prototype of a more performing one that will be installed at ELI-Beamlines in Prague for the collection of ions produced after the interaction Laser-target, [1]. It has been realized by the researchers of INFN-LNS (Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of the Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and SIGMAPHI, a French company, using a system of Permanent Magnet Quadrupoles (PMQs), [2]. The final system that will be installed in Prague is designed for protons and carbons up to 60 MeV/u, around 10 times more than the energies involved in the present work. The prototype, shown in this work, has been tested in collaboration with the SAPHIR experimental facility group at LOA (Laboratoire d'Optique Appliqueé) in Paris using a 200 TW Ti:Sapphire laser system. The purpose of this work is to validate the design and the performances of this large and compact bore system and to characterize the beam produced after the interaction laser-target and its features. Moreover, the optics simulations have been compared with a real beam shape on a GAFChromic film. The procedure used during the experimental campaign and the most relevant results are reported here demonstrating a good agreement with the simulations and a good control on the beam optics.

Automation and decision support in interactive consumer products.

PubMed

Sauer, J; Rüttinger, B

2007-06-01

This article presents two empirical studies (n = 30, n = 48) that are concerned with different forms of automation in interactive consumer products. The goal of the studies was to evaluate the effectiveness of two types of automation: perceptual augmentation (i.e. supporting users' information acquisition and analysis); and control integration (i.e. supporting users' action selection and implementation). Furthermore, the effectiveness of on-product information (i.e. labels attached to product) in supporting automation design was evaluated. The findings suggested greater benefits for automation in control integration than in perceptual augmentation alone, which may be partly due to the specific requirements of consumer product usage. If employed appropriately, on-product information can be a helpful means of information conveyance. The article discusses the implications of automation design in interactive consumer products while drawing on automation models from the work environment.

Visual exploration and analysis of human-robot interaction rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hui; Boyles, Michael J.

2013-01-01

We present a novel interaction paradigm for the visual exploration, manipulation and analysis of human-robot interaction (HRI) rules; our development is implemented using a visual programming interface and exploits key techniques drawn from both information visualization and visual data mining to facilitate the interaction design and knowledge discovery process. HRI is often concerned with manipulations of multi-modal signals, events, and commands that form various kinds of interaction rules. Depicting, manipulating and sharing such design-level information is a compelling challenge. Furthermore, the closed loop between HRI programming and knowledge discovery from empirical data is a relatively long cycle. This, in turn, makes design-level verification nearly impossible to perform in an earlier phase. In our work, we exploit a drag-and-drop user interface and visual languages to support depicting responsive behaviors from social participants when they interact with their partners. For our principal test case of gaze-contingent HRI interfaces, this permits us to program and debug the robots' responsive behaviors through a graphical data-flow chart editor. We exploit additional program manipulation interfaces to provide still further improvement to our programming experience: by simulating the interaction dynamics between a human and a robot behavior model, we allow the researchers to generate, trace and study the perception-action dynamics with a social interaction simulation to verify and refine their designs. Finally, we extend our visual manipulation environment with a visual data-mining tool that allows the user to investigate interesting phenomena such as joint attention and sequential behavioral patterns from multiple multi-modal data streams. We have created instances of HRI interfaces to evaluate and refine our development paradigm. As far as we are aware, this paper reports the first program manipulation paradigm that integrates visual programming interfaces, information visualization, and visual data mining methods to facilitate designing, comprehending, and evaluating HRI interfaces.

Designing EvoRoom: An Immersive Simulation Environment for Collective Inquiry in Secondary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lui, Michelle Mei Yee

This dissertation investigates the design of complex inquiry for co-located students to work as a knowledge community within a mixed-reality learning environment. It presents the design of an immersive simulation called EvoRoom and corresponding collective inquiry activities that allow students to explore concepts around topics of evolution and biodiversity in a Grade 11 Biology course. EvoRoom is a room-sized simulation of a rainforest, modeled after Borneo in Southeast Asia, where several projected displays are stitched together to form a large, animated simulation on each opposing wall of the room. This serves to create an immersive environment in which students work collaboratively as individuals, in small groups and a collective community to investigate science topics using the simulations as an evidentiary base. Researchers and a secondary science teacher co-designed a multi-week curriculum that prepared students with preliminary ideas and expertise, then provided them with guided activities within EvoRoom, supported by tablet-based software as well as larger visualizations of their collective progress. Designs encompassed the broader curriculum, as well as all EvoRoom materials (e.g., projected displays, student tablet interfaces, collective visualizations) and activity sequences. This thesis describes a series of three designs that were developed and enacted iteratively over two and a half years, presenting key features that enhanced students' experiences within the immersive environment, their interactions with peers, and their inquiry outcomes. Primary research questions are concerned with the nature of effective design for such activities and environments, and the kinds of interactions that are seen at the individual, collaborative and whole-class levels. The findings fall under one of three themes: 1) the physicality of the room, 2) the pedagogical script for student observation and reflection and collaboration, and 3) ways of including collective visualizations in the activity. Discrete findings demonstrate how the above variables, through their design as inquiry components (i.e., activity, room, scripts and scaffolds on devices, collective visualizations), can mediate the students' interactions with one another, with their teacher, and impact the outcomes of their inquiry. A set of design recommendations is drawn from the results of this research to guide future design or research efforts.

A Demonstration of Delay and Constructive Modeling Effects in Distributed Interactive Simulation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-02-01

with the Armstrong Laboratory Design Technology Branch, Veda Incorporated, and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). SAIC was working...The authors express special thanks to Mr. Dave O’Quinn of Veda Incorporated who provided quality simulation engineering support, and to Mr. David...platform employed in the study was the Engineering Design Simulator (EDSM) shown in Figure 3. Developed by Veda Inc., the EDSM is a single-seat

A review of human factors challenges of complex adaptive systems: discovering and understanding chaos in human performance.

PubMed

Karwowski, Waldemar

2012-12-01

In this paper, the author explores a need for a greater understanding of the true nature of human-system interactions from the perspective of the theory of complex adaptive systems, including the essence of complexity, emergent properties of system behavior, nonlinear systems dynamics, and deterministic chaos. Human performance, more often than not, constitutes complex adaptive phenomena with emergent properties that exhibit nonlinear dynamical (chaotic) behaviors. The complexity challenges in the design and management of contemporary work systems, including service systems, are explored. Examples of selected applications of the concepts of nonlinear dynamics to the study of human physical performance are provided. Understanding and applications of the concepts of theory of complex adaptive and dynamical systems should significantly improve the effectiveness of human-centered design efforts of a large system of systems. Performance of many contemporary work systems and environments may be sensitive to the initial conditions and may exhibit dynamic nonlinear properties and chaotic system behaviors. Human-centered design of emergent human-system interactions requires application of the theories of nonlinear dynamics and complex adaptive system. The success of future human-systems integration efforts requires the fusion of paradigms, knowledge, design principles, and methodologies of human factors and ergonomics with those of the science of complex adaptive systems as well as modern systems engineering.

Optical engineering capstone design projects with industry sponsors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunch, Robert M.; Leisher, Paul O.; Granieri, Sergio C.

2014-09-01

Capstone senior design is the culmination of a student's undergraduate engineering education that prepares them for engineering practice. In fact, any engineering degree program that pursues accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET must contain "a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints." At Rose-Hulman, we offer an interdisciplinary Optical Engineering / Engineering Physics senior design curriculum that meets this requirement. Part of this curriculum is a two-course sequence where students work in teams on a design project leading to a functional prototype. The students begin work on their capstone project during the first week of their senior year. The courses are deliverable-driven and the students are held accountable for regular technical progress through weekly updates with their faculty advisor and mid-term design reviews. We have found that client-sponsored projects offer students an enriched engineering design experience as it ensures consideration of constraints and standards requirements similar to those that they will encounter as working engineers. Further, client-sponsored projects provide teams with an opportunity for regular customer interactions which help shape the product design. The process that we follow in both soliciting and helping to scope appropriate industry-related design projects will be described. In addition, an outline of the capstone course structure as well as methods used to hold teams accountable for technical milestones will be discussed. Illustrative examples of past projects will be provided.

Collaborative real-time motion video analysis by human observer and image exploitation algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hild, Jutta; Krüger, Wolfgang; Brüstle, Stefan; Trantelle, Patrick; Unmüßig, Gabriel; Heinze, Norbert; Peinsipp-Byma, Elisabeth; Beyerer, Jürgen

2015-05-01

Motion video analysis is a challenging task, especially in real-time applications. In most safety and security critical applications, a human observer is an obligatory part of the overall analysis system. Over the last years, substantial progress has been made in the development of automated image exploitation algorithms. Hence, we investigate how the benefits of automated video analysis can be integrated suitably into the current video exploitation systems. In this paper, a system design is introduced which strives to combine both the qualities of the human observer's perception and the automated algorithms, thus aiming to improve the overall performance of a real-time video analysis system. The system design builds on prior work where we showed the benefits for the human observer by means of a user interface which utilizes the human visual focus of attention revealed by the eye gaze direction for interaction with the image exploitation system; eye tracker-based interaction allows much faster, more convenient, and equally precise moving target acquisition in video images than traditional computer mouse selection. The system design also builds on prior work we did on automated target detection, segmentation, and tracking algorithms. Beside the system design, a first pilot study is presented, where we investigated how the participants (all non-experts in video analysis) performed in initializing an object tracking subsystem by selecting a target for tracking. Preliminary results show that the gaze + key press technique is an effective, efficient, and easy to use interaction technique when performing selection operations on moving targets in videos in order to initialize an object tracking function.

Formal and heuristic system decomposition methods in multidisciplinary synthesis. Ph.D. Thesis, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloebaum, Christina L.

1991-01-01

The multidisciplinary interactions which exist in large scale engineering design problems provide a unique set of difficulties. These difficulties are associated primarily with unwieldy numbers of design variables and constraints, and with the interdependencies of the discipline analysis modules. Such obstacles require design techniques which account for the inherent disciplinary couplings in the analyses and optimizations. The objective of this work was to develop an efficient holistic design synthesis methodology that takes advantage of the synergistic nature of integrated design. A general decomposition approach for optimization of large engineering systems is presented. The method is particularly applicable for multidisciplinary design problems which are characterized by closely coupled interactions among discipline analyses. The advantage of subsystem modularity allows for implementation of specialized methods for analysis and optimization, computational efficiency, and the ability to incorporate human intervention and decision making in the form of an expert systems capability. The resulting approach is not a method applicable to only a specific situation, but rather, a methodology which can be used for a large class of engineering design problems in which the system is non-hierarchic in nature.

Hiding the system from the user: Moving from complex mental models to elegant metaphors

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

Curtis W. Nielsen; David J. Bruemmer

2007-08-01

In previous work, increased complexity of robot behaviors and the accompanying interface design often led to operator confusion and/or a fight for control between the robot and operator. We believe the reason for the conflict was that the design of the interface and interactions presented too much of the underlying robot design model to the operator. Since the design model includes the implementation of sensors, behaviors, and sophisticated algorithms, the result was that the operator’s cognitive efforts were focused on understanding the design of the robot system as opposed to focusing on the task at hand. This paper illustrates howmore » this very problem emerged at the INL and how the implementation of new metaphors for interaction has allowed us to hide the design model from the user and allow the user to focus more on the task at hand. Supporting the user’s focus on the task rather than on the design model allows increased use of the system and significant performance improvement in a search task with novice users.« less

Carbon Nanotubules: Building Blocks for Nanometer-Scale Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sinnott, Susan B.

1999-01-01

The proposed work consisted of two projects: the investigation of fluid permeation and diffusion through ultrafiltration membranes composed of carbon nanotubules and the design and study of molecular transistors composed of nanotubules. The progress made on each project is summarized and also discussion about additional projects, one of which is a continuation of work supported by another grant, is included. The first project was Liquid Interactions within a Nanotubule Membrane. The second was the design of nanometer-scale hydrocarbon electronic devices. The third was the investigation of Mechanical properties of Nanotubules and Nanotubule bundles. The fourth project was to investigate the growth mechanisms of Carbon Nanotubules.

The Counselor-in-Residence Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beale, Andrew V.; Copenhaver, Rebecca C.; Leone, Susan D.; Grinnan, Carolyn D.

1997-01-01

Describes a counselor-in-residence program designed to increase collaborative relations between a university and area public schools. The program allows school counselors to work at the university level as faculty members so as to enhance professional study and interaction and to allow visitations to other schools. (RJM)

Integrated risk management for improving internal traffic control, work-zone safety, and mobility during major construction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-10-01

Highway construction is among the most dangerous industries in the US. Internal traffic control design, along with how construction : equipment and vehicles interact with the traveling public, have a significant effect on how safe a highway construct...

Cyber-physical approach to the network-centric robotics control task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muliukha, Vladimir; Ilyashenko, Alexander; Zaborovsky, Vladimir; Lukashin, Alexey

2016-10-01

Complex engineering tasks concerning control for groups of mobile robots are developed poorly. In our work for their formalization we use cyber-physical approach, which extends the range of engineering and physical methods for a design of complex technical objects by researching the informational aspects of communication and interaction between objects and with an external environment [1]. The paper analyzes network-centric methods for control of cyber-physical objects. Robots or cyber-physical objects interact with each other by transmitting information via computer networks using preemptive queueing system and randomized push-out mechanism [2],[3]. The main field of application for the results of our work is space robotics. The selection of cyber-physical systems as a special class of designed objects is due to the necessity of integrating various components responsible for computing, communications and control processes. Network-centric solutions allow using universal means for the organization of information exchange to integrate different technologies for the control system.

Localized surface plasmon mediated energy transfer in the vicinity of core-shell nanoparticle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishodia, Manmohan Singh; Juneja, Soniya

2016-05-01

Multipole spectral expansion based theory of energy transfer interactions between a donor and an acceptor molecule in the vicinity of a core-shell (nanoshell or core@shell) based plasmonic nanostructure is developed. In view of the diverse applications and rich plasmonic features such as tuning capability of surface plasmon (SP) frequencies, greater sensitivity to the change of dielectric environment, controllable redirection of electromagnetic radiation, closed form expressions for Energy Transfer Rate Enhancement Factor (ETREF) near core-shell particle are reported. The dependence of ETREF on different parameters is established through fitting equations, perceived to be of key importance for developing appropriate designs. The theoretical approach developed in the present work is capable of treating higher order multipoles, which, in turn, are also shown to play a crucial role in the present context. Moreover, closed form expressions derived in the present work can directly be used as formula, e.g., for designing SP based biosensors and estimating energy exchange between proteins and excitonic interactions in quantum dots.

Work-Based Social Interactions, Perceived Stress, and Workload Incongruence as Antecedents of Athletic Trainer Burnout.

PubMed

DeFreese, J D; Mihalik, Jason P

2016-01-01

Burnout is an important psychological health concern for working professionals. Understanding how psychological stress and markers of workload contribute to athletic trainers' (ATs') perceptions of burnout is highly valuable. Both positive (social support) and negative social interactions should be considered when examining relationships among markers of ATs' health and wellbeing. To examine the potential effects of social interactions on the relationships between (1) burnout and perceived stress and (2) burnout and workload incongruence in ATs. Cross-sectional study. Participating ATs completed a computer-based survey during the fall sports season. Responding participants were ATs randomly sampled from the National Athletic Trainers' Association membership (N = 154; men = 78, women = 76; age = 36.8 ± 9.5 years). Participants completed self-report assessments (Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Social Exchanges, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey) via a secure e-mail link. Workload incongruence was calculated by subtracting anticipated work hours from actual current work hours (6.0 ± 9.6 hours). We used hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine hypothesized relationships among study variables. Social interactions did not affect the relationships between burnout and perceived stress or workload incongruence at the global or dimensional level. However, perceived stress (β = .47, P < .001), workload incongruence (β = .12, P < .05), and social support (β = -.25, P < .001) predicted global AT burnout. Negative social interactions trended toward significance (β = .12, P = .055). Our findings suggest that stress perceptions and social support drive the dimensional AT burnout experience, whereas workload incongruence (emotional exhaustion) and negative social interactions (depersonalization) were linked to specific burnout dimensions. Social interactions and markers of stress and workload should be considered when seeking to understand ATs' experiences with burnout and to design workplace interventions.

Interactive Genetic Algorithm - An Adaptive and Interactive Decision Support Framework for Design of Optimal Groundwater Monitoring Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babbar-Sebens, M.; Minsker, B. S.

2006-12-01

In the water resources management field, decision making encompasses many kinds of engineering, social, and economic constraints and objectives. Representing all of these problem dependant criteria through models (analytical or numerical) and various formulations (e.g., objectives, constraints, etc.) within an optimization- simulation system can be a very non-trivial issue. Most models and formulations utilized for discerning desirable traits in a solution can only approximate the decision maker's (DM) true preference criteria, and they often fail to consider important qualitative and incomputable phenomena related to the management problem. In our research, we have proposed novel decision support frameworks that allow DMs to actively participate in the optimization process. The DMs explicitly indicate their true preferences based on their subjective criteria and the results of various simulation models and formulations. The feedback from the DMs is then used to guide the search process towards solutions that are "all-rounders" from the perspective of the DM. The two main research questions explored in this work are: a) Does interaction between the optimization algorithm and a DM assist the system in searching for groundwater monitoring designs that are robust from the DM's perspective?, and b) How can an interactive search process be made more effective when human factors, such as human fatigue and cognitive learning processes, affect the performance of the algorithm? The application of these frameworks on a real-world groundwater long-term monitoring (LTM) case study in Michigan highlighted the following salient advantages: a) in contrast to the non-interactive optimization methodology, the proposed interactive frameworks were able to identify low cost monitoring designs whose interpolation maps respected the expected spatial distribution of the contaminants, b) for many same-cost designs, the interactive methodologies were able to propose multiple alternatives that met the DM's preference criteria, therefore allowing the expert to select among several strong candidate designs depending on her/his LTM budget, c) two of the methodologies - Case-Based Micro Interactive Genetic Algorithm (CBMIGA) and Interactive Genetic Algorithm with Mixed Initiative Interaction (IGAMII) - were also able to assist in controlling human fatigue and adapt to the DM's learning process.

An efficient nonlinear Feshbach engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Fogarty, Thomás; Campbell, Steve; Chen, Xi; Busch, Thomas

2018-01-01

We investigate a thermodynamic cycle using a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with nonlinear interactions as the working medium. Exploiting Feshbach resonances to change the interaction strength of the BEC allows us to produce work by expanding and compressing the gas. To ensure a large power output from this engine these strokes must be performed on a short timescale, however such non-adiabatic strokes can create irreversible work which degrades the engine’s efficiency. To combat this, we design a shortcut to adiabaticity which can achieve an adiabatic-like evolution within a finite time, therefore significantly reducing the out-of-equilibrium excitations in the BEC. We investigate the effect of the shortcut to adiabaticity on the efficiency and power output of the engine and show that the tunable nonlinearity strength, modulated by Feshbach resonances, serves as a useful tool to enhance the system’s performance.

Ergonomics and quality management--humans in interaction with technology, work environment, and organization.

PubMed

Eklund, J A

1999-01-01

In many studies, ergonomics has been shown to influence human performance. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate important ergonomics influences on quality in industrial production, from the perspective of interactions between humans, technology, organization, and work environment. A second aim was to elaborate on the implications of these findings for the development of quality management strategies. This paper shows that ergonomics problems in terms of adverse work environmental conditions, inappropriate design of technology, and an unsuitable organization are important causes of quality deficiencies. Problem solving aimed at improving ergonomics, quality, and productivity simultaneously is likely to obtain support from most of the interest parties of the company, and may also enhance participation. Ergonomics has the potential of becoming a driving force for the development of new quality management strategies.

Brain-computer interaction research at the Computer Vision and Multimedia Laboratory, University of Geneva.

PubMed

Pun, Thierry; Alecu, Teodor Iulian; Chanel, Guillaume; Kronegg, Julien; Voloshynovskiy, Sviatoslav

2006-06-01

This paper describes the work being conducted in the domain of brain-computer interaction (BCI) at the Multimodal Interaction Group, Computer Vision and Multimedia Laboratory, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. The application focus of this work is on multimodal interaction rather than on rehabilitation, that is how to augment classical interaction by means of physiological measurements. Three main research topics are addressed. The first one concerns the more general problem of brain source activity recognition from EEGs. In contrast with classical deterministic approaches, we studied iterative robust stochastic based reconstruction procedures modeling source and noise statistics, to overcome known limitations of current techniques. We also developed procedures for optimal electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor system design in terms of placement and number of electrodes. The second topic is the study of BCI protocols and performance from an information-theoretic point of view. Various information rate measurements have been compared for assessing BCI abilities. The third research topic concerns the use of EEG and other physiological signals for assessing a user's emotional status.

The patient work system: An analysis of self-care performance barriers among elderly heart failure patients and their informal caregivers

PubMed Central

Holden, Richard J.; Schubert, Christiane C.; Mickelson, Robin S.

2014-01-01

Human factors and ergonomics approaches have been successfully applied to study and improve the work performance of healthcare professionals. However, there has been relatively little work in “patient-engaged human factors,” or the application of human factors to the health-related work of patients and other nonprofessionals. This study applied a foundational human factors tool, the systems model, to investigate the barriers to self-care performance among chronically ill elderly patients and their informal (family) caregivers. A Patient Work System model was developed to guide the collection and analysis of interviews, surveys, and observations of patients with heart failure (n=30) and their informal caregivers (n=14). Iterative analyses revealed the nature and prevalence of self-care barriers across components of the Patient Work System. Person-related barriers were common and stemmed from patients’ biomedical conditions, limitations, knowledge deficits, preferences, and perceptions as well as the characteristics of informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. Task barriers were also highly prevalent and included task difficulty, timing, complexity, ambiguity, conflict, and undesirable consequences. Tool barriers were related to both availability and access of tools and technologies and their design, usability, and impact. Context barriers were found across three domains—physical-spatial, social-cultural, and organizational—and multiple “spaces” such as “at home,” “on the go,” and “in the community.” Barriers often stemmed not from single factors but from the interaction of several work system components. Study findings suggest the need to further explore multiple actors, context, and interactions in the patient work system during research and intervention design, as well as the need to develop new models and measures for studying patient and family work. PMID:25479983

The patient work system: an analysis of self-care performance barriers among elderly heart failure patients and their informal caregivers.

PubMed

Holden, Richard J; Schubert, Christiane C; Mickelson, Robin S

2015-03-01

Human factors and ergonomics approaches have been successfully applied to study and improve the work performance of healthcare professionals. However, there has been relatively little work in "patient-engaged human factors," or the application of human factors to the health-related work of patients and other nonprofessionals. This study applied a foundational human factors tool, the systems model, to investigate the barriers to self-care performance among chronically ill elderly patients and their informal (family) caregivers. A Patient Work System model was developed to guide the collection and analysis of interviews, surveys, and observations of patients with heart failure (n = 30) and their informal caregivers (n = 14). Iterative analyses revealed the nature and prevalence of self-care barriers across components of the Patient Work System. Person-related barriers were common and stemmed from patients' biomedical conditions, limitations, knowledge deficits, preferences, and perceptions as well as the characteristics of informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. Task barriers were also highly prevalent and included task difficulty, timing, complexity, ambiguity, conflict, and undesirable consequences. Tool barriers were related to both availability and access of tools and technologies and their design, usability, and impact. Context barriers were found across three domains-physical-spatial, social-cultural, and organizational-and multiple "spaces" such as "at home," "on the go," and "in the community." Barriers often stemmed not from single factors but from the interaction of several work system components. Study findings suggest the need to further explore multiple actors, contexts, and interactions in the patient work system during research and intervention design, as well as the need to develop new models and measures for studying patient and family work. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Platform construction and extraction mechanism study of magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Deli; Zhang, Chan; He, Jia; Zeng, Rong; Chen, Rong; He, Hua

2016-12-01

Simple, accurate and high-throughput pretreatment method would facilitate large-scale studies of trace analysis in complex samples. Magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction has the power to become a key pretreatment method in biological, environmental and clinical research. However, lacking of experimental predictability and unsharpness of extraction mechanism limit the development of this promising method. Herein, this work tries to establish theoretical-based experimental designs for extraction of trace analytes from complex samples using magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction. We selected three categories and six sub-types of compounds for systematic comparative study of extraction mechanism, and comprehensively illustrated the roles of different force (hydrophobic interaction, π-π stacking interactions, hydrogen-bonding interaction, electrostatic interaction) for the first time. What’s more, the application guidelines for supporting materials, surfactants and sample matrix were also summarized. The extraction mechanism and platform established in the study render its future promising for foreseeable and efficient pretreatment under theoretical based experimental design for trace analytes from environmental, biological and clinical samples.

Video as a technology for interpersonal communications: a new perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, Steve

1995-03-01

Some of the most challenging multimedia applications have involved real- time conferencing, using audio and video to support interpersonal communication. Here we re-examine assumptions about the role, importance and implementation of video information in such systems. Rather than focussing on novel technologies, we present evaluation data relevant to both the classes of real-time multimedia applications we should develop and their design and implementation. Evaluations of videoconferencing systems show that previous work has overestimated the importance of video at the expense of audio. This has strong implications for the implementation of bandwidth allocation and synchronization. Furthermore our recent studies of workplace interaction show that prior work has neglected another potentially vital function of visual information: in assessing the communication availability of others. In this new class of application, rather than providing a supplement to audio information, visual information is used to promote the opportunistic communications that are prevalent in face-to-face settings. We discuss early experiments with such connection applications and identify outstanding design and implementation issues. Finally we examine a different class of application 'video-as-data', where the video image is used to transmit information about the work objects themselves, rather than information about interactants.

Pilot study in the development of an interactive multimedia learning environment for sexual health interventions: a focus group approach.

PubMed

Goold, P C; Bustard, S; Ferguson, E; Carlin, E M; Neal, K; Bowman, C A

2006-02-01

In the UK there are high rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies amongst young people. There is limited and contradictory evidence that current sexual health education interventions are effective or that they improve access to appropriate sexual health services. This paper describes the outcome of focus group work with young people that was undertaken to inform the design of an Interactive Multimedia Learning Environment that incorporates message framing, intended for use in sexual health promotion. The focus group work addressed sexual attitudes, behaviour, risk perception, and knowledge of sexual health and sexual health services in Nottingham. The results provided new insights into young peoples' sexual behaviour, and their diversity of knowledge and beliefs. Common themes expressed regarding sexual health services included concerns about confidentiality, lack of confidence to access services and fear of the unknown. The results showed that while the adolescents are reasonably knowledgeable about infection, they do not know as much about the relevant services to treat it. This work emphasizes the need for user involvement throughout the design and development of a sexual health intervention, and will form the basis of the next part of the project.

Getting the big picture: the macro-politics of information system development (and failure) in a Canadian hospital.

PubMed

Balka, E

2003-01-01

While recognized that global actors influence health information system design, studies of health informatics have largely focused on micro politics of technology design and implementation. Here a problematic patient care information system (PCIS) is discussed in relation to federal and provincial policies and corporate strategies to demonstrate that our understanding of health informatics can be enhanced by linking micro studies of health informatics to larger macro contexts. Interviews and document study. Although the extent to which federal initiatives influenced (or failed to influence) provincial and hospital initiatives remains debateable, events initiated at one level (the hospital's decision to implement software, initiated at the organizational level) are influenced (perhaps indirectly) by developments in other contexts (federal/macro changes gave an initiative more weight; provincial initiatives such as the Labour Accord altered the industrial relations environment in which system development occurred). Micro-studies of work practice, invaluable in addressing interactions between technologies, users and work practices, often fail to account for the historic reach of global actors, although it is often these historic circumstances that contribute to present-day interactions between user, information system and organization, and that find expression - often indirectly - in daily work practices.

The Influence of Background Music on Learning in the Light of Different Theoretical Perspectives and the Role of Working Memory Capacity.

PubMed

Lehmann, Janina A M; Seufert, Tina

2017-01-01

This study investigates how background music influences learning with respect to three different theoretical approaches. Both the Mozart effect as well as the arousal-mood-hypothesis indicate that background music can potentially benefit learning outcomes. While the Mozart effect assumes a direct influence of background music on cognitive abilities, the arousal-mood-hypothesis assumes a mediation effect over arousal and mood. However, the seductive detail effect indicates that seductive details such as background music worsen learning. Moreover, as working memory capacity has a crucial influence on learning with seductive details, we also included the learner's working memory capacity as a factor in our study. We tested 81 college students using a between-subject design with half of the sample listening to two pop songs while learning a visual text and the other half learning in silence. We included working memory capacity in the design as a continuous organism variable. Arousal and mood scores before and after learning were collected as potential mediating variables. To measure learning outcomes we tested recall and comprehension. We did not find a mediation effect between background music and arousal or mood on learning outcomes. In addition, for recall performance there were no main effects of background music or working memory capacity, nor an interaction effect of these factors. However, when considering comprehension we did find an interaction between background music and working memory capacity: the higher the learners' working memory capacity, the better they learned with background music. This is in line with the seductive detail assumption.

The Influence of Background Music on Learning in the Light of Different Theoretical Perspectives and the Role of Working Memory Capacity

PubMed Central

Lehmann, Janina A. M.; Seufert, Tina

2017-01-01

This study investigates how background music influences learning with respect to three different theoretical approaches. Both the Mozart effect as well as the arousal-mood-hypothesis indicate that background music can potentially benefit learning outcomes. While the Mozart effect assumes a direct influence of background music on cognitive abilities, the arousal-mood-hypothesis assumes a mediation effect over arousal and mood. However, the seductive detail effect indicates that seductive details such as background music worsen learning. Moreover, as working memory capacity has a crucial influence on learning with seductive details, we also included the learner’s working memory capacity as a factor in our study. We tested 81 college students using a between-subject design with half of the sample listening to two pop songs while learning a visual text and the other half learning in silence. We included working memory capacity in the design as a continuous organism variable. Arousal and mood scores before and after learning were collected as potential mediating variables. To measure learning outcomes we tested recall and comprehension. We did not find a mediation effect between background music and arousal or mood on learning outcomes. In addition, for recall performance there were no main effects of background music or working memory capacity, nor an interaction effect of these factors. However, when considering comprehension we did find an interaction between background music and working memory capacity: the higher the learners’ working memory capacity, the better they learned with background music. This is in line with the seductive detail assumption. PMID:29163283

Using conceptual work products of health care to design health IT.

PubMed

Berry, Andrew B L; Butler, Keith A; Harrington, Craig; Braxton, Melissa O; Walker, Amy J; Pete, Nikki; Johnson, Trevor; Oberle, Mark W; Haselkorn, Jodie; Paul Nichol, W; Haselkorn, Mark

2016-02-01

This paper introduces a new, model-based design method for interactive health information technology (IT) systems. This method extends workflow models with models of conceptual work products. When the health care work being modeled is substantially cognitive, tacit, and complex in nature, graphical workflow models can become too complex to be useful to designers. Conceptual models complement and simplify workflows by providing an explicit specification for the information product they must produce. We illustrate how conceptual work products can be modeled using standard software modeling language, which allows them to provide fundamental requirements for what the workflow must accomplish and the information that a new system should provide. Developers can use these specifications to envision how health IT could enable an effective cognitive strategy as a workflow with precise information requirements. We illustrate the new method with a study conducted in an outpatient multiple sclerosis (MS) clinic. This study shows specifically how the different phases of the method can be carried out, how the method allows for iteration across phases, and how the method generated a health IT design for case management of MS that is efficient and easy to use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Job Demands-Control-Support model and employee safety performance.

PubMed

Turner, Nick; Stride, Chris B; Carter, Angela J; McCaughey, Deirdre; Carroll, Anthony E

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore whether work characteristics (job demands, job control, social support) comprising Karasek and Theorell's (1990) Job Demands-Control-Support framework predict employee safety performance (safety compliance and safety participation; Neal and Griffin, 2006). We used cross-sectional data of self-reported work characteristics and employee safety performance from 280 healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, and administrative staff) from Emergency Departments of seven hospitals in the United Kingdom. We analyzed these data using a structural equation model that simultaneously regressed safety compliance and safety participation on the main effects of each of the aforementioned work characteristics, their two-way interactions, and the three-way interaction among them, while controlling for demographic, occupational, and organizational characteristics. Social support was positively related to safety compliance, and both job control and the two-way interaction between job control and social support were positively related to safety participation. How work design is related to employee safety performance remains an important area for research and provides insight into how organizations can improve workplace safety. The current findings emphasize the importance of the co-worker in promoting both safety compliance and safety participation. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of Omni Directional Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimuddin; Hasan, Hasnawiya; Rivai, Haryanti A.; Iskandar, Yanu; Claudio, P.

2018-02-01

Nowadays, underwater activities are increased with the increase of oil resources finding. The gap between demand and supply of oil and gas cause engineers to find oil and gas resources in deep water. In other side, high risk of working in deep underwater environment can cause a dangerous situation for human. Therefore, many research activities are developing an underwater vehicle to replace the human’s work such as ROV or Remotely Operated Vehicles. The vehicle operated using tether to transport the signals and electric power from the surface vehicle. Arrangements of weight, buoyancy, and the propeller placements are significant aspect in designing the vehicle’s performance. This paper presents design concept of ROV for survey and observation the underwater objects with interaction vectored propellers used for vehicle’s motions.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Layout and Nurses' Work.

PubMed

Doede, Megan; Trinkoff, Alison M; Gurses, Ayse P

2018-01-01

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) remain one of the few areas in hospitals that still use an open bay (OPBY) design for patient stays greater than 24 hr, housing multiple infants, staff, and families in one large room. This creates high noise levels, contributes to the spread of infection, and affords families little privacy. These problems have given rise to the single-family room NICU. This represents a significant change in the care environment for nurses. This literature review answers the question: When compared to OPBY layout, how does a single family room layout impact neonatal nurses' work? Thirteen studies published between 2006 and 2015 were located. Many studies reported both positive and negative effects on nurses' work and were therefore sorted by their cited advantages and disadvantages. Advantages included improved quality of the physical environment; improved quality of patient care; improved parent interaction; and improvements in nurse job satisfaction, stress, and burnout. Disadvantages included decreased interaction among the NICU patient care team, increased nurse workload, decreased visibility on the unit, and difficult interactions with family. This review suggests that single-family room NICUs introduce a complex situation in which trade-offs occur for nurses, most prominently the trade-off between visibility and privacy. Additionally, the literature is clear on what elements of nurses' work are impacted, but how the built environment influences these elements, and how these elements interact during nurses' work, is not as well understood. The current level of research and directions for future research are also discussed.

EduXs: Multilayer Educational Services Platforms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Li-Jie; Yang, Jie-Chi; Deng, Yi-Chan; Chan, Tak-Wai

2003-01-01

How to use the online social learning communities to improve quality and quantity of interactions in physical social learning communities is an important issue. This work describes the design and implementation of multilayer educational services platforms that enable learners to establish their own online social learning communities and integrate…

Flexible Classroom Furniture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim Hassell,

2011-01-01

Classroom design for the 21st-century learning environment should accommodate a variety of learning skills and needs. The space should be large enough so it can be configured to accommodate a number of learning activities. This also includes furniture that provides flexibility and accommodates collaboration and interactive work among students and…

Stream On: Video Servers in the Real World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tristram, Claire

1995-01-01

Despite plans for corporate training networks, digital ad-insertion systems, hotel video-on-demand, and interactive television, only small scale video networks presently work. Four case studies examine the design and implementation decisions for different markets: corporate; advertising; hotel; and commercial video via cable, satellite or…

"Grey" Areas and "Organized Chaos" in Emergency Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Nancy; Plumb, Donovan; Jolemore, Shawn

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the interaction between organizational policies and daily work practices of paramedics and firefighters within two emergency response organizations. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected in a case study consisting of interviews, focus groups, and observations. The theoretical grounding…

Recent Advances in the Development of Small-Molecular Inhibitors Target HIV Integrase-LEDGF/p75 Interaction.

PubMed

Zhao, Yu; Luo, Zaigang

2015-01-01

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) plays an essential role in the HIV-1 replication. It acts by tethering integrase (IN) into the host cellular chromatin. Due to its significance of the IN-LEDGF/p75 interaction affords a novel therapeutic approach for the design of new classes of antiretroviral agents. To date, many small molecules have been found to be the inhibitors of INLEDGF/ p75 interaction. This review summarizes recent advances in the development of potential structure-based IN-LEDGF/p75 interaction inhibitors. The work will be helpful to shed light on the antiretroviral drug development pipeline in the next future.

General specifications for the development of a USL NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Bassari, Jinous; Triantafyllopoulos, Spiros

1984-01-01

The University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package is designed to be a three-level package to allow statistical analysis for a variety of applications within the USL Data Base Management System (DBMS) contract work. The design addresses usage of the statistical facilities as a library package, as an interactive statistical analysis system, and as a batch processing package.

A springs actuated finger exoskeleton: From mechanical design to spring variables evaluation.

PubMed

Bortoletto, Roberto; Mello, Ashley N; Piovesan, Davide

2017-07-01

In the context of post-stroke patients, suffering of hemiparesis of the hand, robot-aided neuro-motor rehabilitation allows for intensive rehabilitation treatments and quantitative evaluation of patients' progresses. This work presents the design and evaluation of a spring actuated finger exoskeleton. In particular, the spring variables and the interaction forces between the assembly and the hand were investigated, in order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed exoskeleton.

Investigation on the relationship between solubility of artemisinin and polyvinylpyrroli done addition by using DAOSD approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jin; Guo, Ran; He, Anqi; Weng, Shifu; Gao, Xiuxiang; Xu, Yizhuang; Noda, Isao; Wu, Jinguang

2017-07-01

In this work, we investigated the influence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the solubility of artemisinin in aqueous solution by using quantitative 1H NMR. Experimental results demonstrate that about 4 times of incremental increase occurs on the solubility of artemisinin upon introducing PVP. In addition, dipole-dipole interaction between the ester group of artemisinin and the amide group of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), a model compound of PVP, is characterized by two-dimensional (2D) correlation FTIR spectroscopy with the DAOSD (Double Asynchronous Orthogonal Sample Design) approach developed in our previous work. The observation of cross peaks in a pair of 2D asynchronous spectra suggests that dipole-dipole interaction indeed occurs between the ester group of artemisinin and amide group of NMP. Moreover, the pattern of cross peaks indicates that the carbonyl band of artemisinin undergoes blue-shift while the bandwidth and absorptivity increases via interaction with NMP, and the amide band of NMP undergoes blue-shift while the absorptivity increases via interaction with artemisinin. Dipole-dipole interaction, as one of the strongest intermolecular interaction between artemisinin and excipient, may play an important role in the enhancement of the solubility of artemisinin in aqueous solution.

Use of natural user interfaces in water simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donchyts, G.; Baart, F.; van Dam, A.; Jagers, B.

2013-12-01

Conventional graphical user interfaces, used to edit input and present results of earth science models, have seen little innovation for the past two decades. In most cases model data is presented and edited using 2D projections even when working with 3D data. The emergence of 3D motion sensing technologies, such as Microsoft Kinect and LEAP Motion, opens new possibilities for user interaction by adding more degrees of freedom compared to a classical way using mouse and keyboard. Here we investigate how interaction with hydrodynamic numerical models can be improved using these new technologies. Our research hypothesis (H1) states that properly designed 3D graphical user interface paired with the 3D motion sensor can significantly reduce the time required to setup and use numerical models. In this work we have used a LEAP motion controller combined with a shallow water flow model engine D-Flow Flexible Mesh. Interacting with numerical model using hands

Stabilized helical peptides: overview of the technologies and its impact on drug discovery.

PubMed

Klein, Mark

2017-11-01

Protein-protein interactions are predominant in the workings of all cells. Until now, there have been a few successes in targeting protein-protein interactions with small molecules. Peptides may overcome some of the challenges of small molecules in disrupting protein-protein interactions. However, peptides present a new set of challenges in drug discovery. Thus, the study of the stabilization of helical peptides has been extensive. Areas covered: Several technological approaches to helical peptide stabilization have been studied. In this review, stapled peptides, foldamers, and hydrogen bond surrogates are discussed. Issues regarding design principles are also discussed. Furthermore, this review introduces select computational techniques used to aid peptide design and discusses clinical trials of peptides in a more advanced stage of development. Expert opinion: Stabilized helical peptides hold great promise in a wide array of diseases. However, the field is still relatively new and new design principles are emerging. The possibilities of peptide modification are quite extensive and expanding, so the design of stabilized peptides requires great attention to detail in order to avoid a large number of failed lead peptides. The start of clinical trials with stapled peptides is a promising sign for the future.

Sliding tethered ligands add topological interactions to the toolbox of ligand–receptor design

PubMed Central

Bauer, Martin; Kékicheff, Patrick; Iss, Jean; Fajolles, Christophe; Charitat, Thierry; Daillant, Jean; Marques, Carlos M.

2015-01-01

Adhesion in the biological realm is mediated by specific lock-and-key interactions between ligand–receptor pairs. These complementary moieties are ubiquitously anchored to substrates by tethers that control the interaction range and the mobility of the ligands and receptors, thus tuning the kinetics and strength of the binding events. Here we add sliding anchoring to the toolbox of ligand–receptor design by developing a family of tethered ligands for which the spacer can slide at the anchoring point. Our results show that this additional sliding degree of freedom changes the nature of the adhesive contact by extending the spatial range over which binding may sustain a significant force. By introducing sliding tethered ligands with self-regulating length, this work paves the way for the development of versatile and reusable bio-adhesive substrates with potential applications for drug delivery and tissue engineering. PMID:26350224

Crossing boundaries in interprofessional education: A call for instructional integration of two script concepts.

PubMed

Kiesewetter, Jan; Kollar, Ingo; Fernandez, Nicolas; Lubarsky, Stuart; Kiessling, Claudia; Fischer, Martin R; Charlin, Bernard

2016-09-01

Clinical work occurs in a context which is heavily influenced by social interactions. The absence of theoretical frameworks underpinning the design of collaborative learning has become a roadblock for interprofessional education (IPE). This article proposes a script-based framework for the design of IPE. This framework provides suggestions for designing learning environments intended to foster competences we feel are fundamental to successful interprofessional care. The current literature describes two script concepts: "illness scripts" and "internal/external collaboration scripts". Illness scripts are specific knowledge structures that link general disease categories and specific examples of diseases. "Internal collaboration scripts" refer to an individual's knowledge about how to interact with others in a social situation. "External collaboration scripts" are instructional scaffolds designed to help groups collaborate. Instructional research relating to illness scripts and internal collaboration scripts supports (a) putting learners in authentic situations in which they need to engage in clinical reasoning, and (b) scaffolding their interaction with others with "external collaboration scripts". Thus, well-established experiential instructional approaches should be combined with more fine-grained script-based scaffolding approaches. The resulting script-based framework offers instructional designers insights into how students can be supported to develop the necessary skills to master complex interprofessional clinical situations.

Probing the weak interaction of proteins with neutral and zwitterionic antifouling polymers.

PubMed

Wu, Jiang; Zhao, Chao; Hu, Rundong; Lin, Weifeng; Wang, Qiuming; Zhao, Jun; Bilinovich, Stephanie M; Leeper, Thomas C; Li, Lingyan; Cheung, Harry M; Chen, Shengfu; Zheng, Jie

2014-02-01

Protein-polymer interactions are of great interest in a wide range of scientific and technological applications. Neutral poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA) are two well-known nonfouling materials that exhibit strong surface resistance to proteins. However, it still remains unclear or unexplored how PEG and pSBMA interact with proteins in solution. In this work, we examine the interactions between two model proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme) and two typical antifouling polymers of PEG and pSBMA in aqueous solution using fluorescence spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The effect of protein:polymer mass ratios on the interactions is also examined. Collective data clearly demonstrate the existence of weak hydrophobic interactions between PEG and proteins, while there are no detectable interactions between pSBMA and proteins. The elimination of protein interaction with pSBMA could be due to an enhanced surface hydration of zwitterionic groups in pSBMA. New evidence is given to demonstrate the interactions between PEG and proteins, which are often neglected in the literature because the PEG-protein interactions are weak and reversible, as well as the structural change caused by hydrophobic interaction. This work provides a better fundamental understanding of the intrinsic structure-activity relationship of polymers underlying polymer-protein interactions, which are important for designing new biomaterials for biosensor, medical diagnostics and drug delivery applications. Copyright © 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual analytics of geo-social interaction patterns for epidemic control.

PubMed

Luo, Wei

2016-08-10

Human interaction and population mobility determine the spatio-temporal course of the spread of an airborne disease. This research views such spreads as geo-social interaction problems, because population mobility connects different groups of people over geographical locations via which the viruses transmit. Previous research argued that geo-social interaction patterns identified from population movement data can provide great potential in designing effective pandemic mitigation. However, little work has been done to examine the effectiveness of designing control strategies taking into account geo-social interaction patterns. To address this gap, this research proposes a new framework for effective disease control; specifically this framework proposes that disease control strategies should start from identifying geo-social interaction patterns, designing effective control measures accordingly, and evaluating the efficacy of different control measures. This framework is used to structure design of a new visual analytic tool that consists of three components: a reorderable matrix for geo-social mixing patterns, agent-based epidemic models, and combined visualization methods. With real world human interaction data in a French primary school as a proof of concept, this research compares the efficacy of vaccination strategies between the spatial-social interaction patterns and the whole areas. The simulation results show that locally targeted vaccination has the potential to keep infection to a small number and prevent spread to other regions. At some small probability, the local control strategies will fail; in these cases other control strategies will be needed. This research further explores the impact of varying spatial-social scales on the success of local vaccination strategies. The results show that a proper spatial-social scale can help achieve the best control efficacy with a limited number of vaccines. The case study shows how GS-EpiViz does support the design and testing of advanced control scenarios in airborne disease (e.g., influenza). The geo-social patterns identified through exploring human interaction data can help target critical individuals, locations, and clusters of locations for disease control purposes. The varying spatial-social scales can help geographically and socially prioritize limited resources (e.g., vaccines).

Methodical foundations of the preparation of highly valued personnel for high-rise construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaeva, Svetlana; Belyantseva, Oksana; Safonova, Nataliya; Vasilyeva, Olga

2018-03-01

When carrying out design and survey and construction and installation works for such an innovative type of activity as high-rise construction, the problem of personnel qualification becomes urgent. The article poses a research problem, identifies the main reasons for the need for training highly qualified specialists in construction, and suggests areas for improving training. The expediency of development of mentoring system was proved, the corresponding model of interaction between educational institutions and construction enterprises was offered, key interaction effects were evaluated.

Spatial interpretation of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Payload Operations Control Center using virtual reality technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsey, Patricia F.

1993-01-01

In its search for higher level computer interfaces and more realistic electronic simulations for measurement and spatial analysis in human factors design, NASA at MSFC is evaluating the functionality of virtual reality (VR) technology. Virtual reality simulation generates a three dimensional environment in which the participant appears to be enveloped. It is a type of interactive simulation in which humans are not only involved, but included. Virtual reality technology is still in the experimental phase, but it appears to be the next logical step after computer aided three-dimensional animation in transferring the viewer from a passive to an active role in experiencing and evaluating an environment. There is great potential for using this new technology when designing environments for more successful interaction, both with the environment and with another participant in a remote location. At the University of North Carolina, a VR simulation of a the planned Sitterson Hall, revealed a flaw in the building's design that had not been observed during examination of the more traditional building plan simulation methods on paper and on computer aided design (CAD) work station. The virtual environment enables multiple participants in remote locations to come together and interact with one another and with the environment. Each participant is capable of seeing herself and the other participants and of interacting with them within the simulated environment.

Exploring the Molecular Design of Protein Interaction Sites with Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Free Energy Calculations†

PubMed Central

Liang, Shide; Li, Liwei; Hsu, Wei-Lun; Pilcher, Meaghan N.; Uversky, Vladimir; Zhou, Yaoqi; Dunker, A. Keith; Meroueh, Samy O.

2009-01-01

The significant work that has been invested toward understanding protein–protein interaction has not translated into significant advances in structure-based predictions. In particular redesigning protein surfaces to bind to unrelated receptors remains a challenge, partly due to receptor flexibility, which is often neglected in these efforts. In this work, we computationally graft the binding epitope of various small proteins obtained from the RCSB database to bind to barnase, lysozyme, and trypsin using a previously derived and validated algorithm. In an effort to probe the protein complexes in a realistic environment, all native and designer complexes were subjected to a total of nearly 400 ns of explicit-solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The MD data led to an unexpected observation: some of the designer complexes were highly unstable and decomposed during the trajectories. In contrast, the native and a number of designer complexes remained consistently stable. The unstable conformers provided us with a unique opportunity to define the structural and energetic factors that lead to unproductive protein–protein complexes. To that end we used free energy calculations following the MM-PBSA approach to determine the role of nonpolar effects, electrostatics and entropy in binding. Remarkably, we found that a majority of unstable complexes exhibited more favorable electrostatics than native or stable designer complexes, suggesting that favorable electrostatic interactions are not prerequisite for complex formation between proteins. However, nonpolar effects remained consistently more favorable in native and stable designer complexes reinforcing the importance of hydrophobic effects in protein–protein binding. While entropy systematically opposed binding in all cases, there was no observed trend in the entropy difference between native and designer complexes. A series of alanine scanning mutations of hot-spot residues at the interface of native and designer complexes showed less than optimal contacts of hot-spot residues with their surroundings in the unstable conformers, resulting in more favorable entropy for these complexes. Finally, disorder predictions revealed that secondary structures at the interface of unstable complexes exhibited greater disorder than the stable complexes. PMID:19113835

Learning at Work: Organisational Affordances and Individual Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryson, Jane; Pajo, Karl; Ward, Robyn; Mallon, Mary

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the interaction between organisational affordances for the development of individuals' capability, and the engagement of workers at various levels with those opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of a large New Zealand wine company, using in-depth interviews. Interviews were…

Effect of Assessment on Co-Operation among Vietnamese College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thanh, Pham Thi Hong

2011-01-01

This research study investigated the behaviour and interactions of university students as they engaged with ill-structured and well-structured assessment tasks. Twenty students participated in a one-semester intensive design study in a course on "Vietnamese traditional culture". The students worked in five-person groups that were…

Development and Evolution of an Interactive HRM Course: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClurg, Lucy A.

2005-01-01

A course in Human Resource consulting ("Human Resources Field Research") was designed and implemented at a university in cooperation with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Students work with local business executives, SHRM representatives, and the class instructor to complete projects for the client business firms. Trial…

Task Definition: A Motivating Task = Eager Learners!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jansen, Barbara A.

2005-01-01

Teachers who design meaningful and developmentally appropriate tasks will motivate their students to engage in the content and as students work through the Big6 process, interacting with the content, they learn and practice information and technology skills. A valuable task definition technique is to develop questions that students in each group…

Social Skills Training: A Three-Pronged Approach for Developmentally Disabled Adolescents and Young Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyne, Phyllis

The document is designed to provide practical information for teachers, parents, group home workers, work activity personnel, and others interested in developing social interaction skills and appropriate social behaviors in developmentally disabled adolescents and young adults. An introductory section discusses social problems of the…

Interactions of DNA coated upconversion nanoparticles with 2D materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giust, Davide; Lucío, María. Isabel; Muskens, Otto L.; Kanaras, Antonios G.

2018-02-01

In this work we investigated the nature of quenching between different types of 2D materials (WS2, MoS2 and graphene oxide) and oligonucleotide coated-upconversion nanoparticles. This study contributes towards the efficient design of biosensors based on 2D materials and DNA-coated upconversion nanoparticles.

Designing a Training Program for Understanding Sensory Losses in Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shore, Herbert

1976-01-01

Techniques have been developed for research and teaching purposes on the sensory losses that accompany the aging process. By experiencing the sensory loss, those working with the aged understand how the environment and professional interaction can assist, support, and enhance coping and functioning by the older person. (Author)

El Moscas y Los Pesticidas: an Interactive Play to Increase Pesticide Safety Awareness

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

“El Moscas” y Los Pesticidas is a play in Spanish designed to increase safety awareness for individuals who work in areas that are treated with pesticides and to broaden their understanding of the risks they may be bringing home to their families.

Sonification Design for Complex Work Domains: Dimensions and Distractors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Janet E.; Sanderson, Penelope

2009-01-01

Sonification--representing data in sound--is a potential method for supporting human operators who have to monitor dynamic processes. Previous research has investigated a limited number of sound dimensions and has not systematically investigated the impact of dimensional interactions on sonification effectiveness. In three experiments the authors…

Effective Practices for Evaluating STEM Out-of-School Time Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkerson, Stephanie B.; Haden, Carol M.

2014-01-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in out-of-school time (OST) are designed to supplement school work, ignite student interest, and extend STEM learning. From interactive museum exhibits to summer-long science camps, opportunities for informal student engagement in STEM learning abound. The differences these programs…

Facilitating Professional Development for Teachers of English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molle, Daniella

2013-01-01

The study explores the process of facilitation in professional development for educators. The study relies on discourse analysis of interaction among K-12 teachers and administrators in a Midwestern U.S. state during a semester-long professional development program especially designed for educators working with English language learners (ELLs).…

Substituent effects that control conjugated oligomer conformation through non-covalent interactions

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

Sharber, Seth A.; Baral, Rom Nath; Frausto, Fanny

Although understanding the conformations and arrangements of conjugated materials as solids is key to their prospective applications, predictive power over these structural factors remains elusive. In this work, substituent effects tune non-covalent interactions between side-chain fluorinated benzyl esters and main-chain terminal arenes, in turn controlling the conformations and interchromophore aggregation of three-ring phenylene-ethynylenes (PEs). Cofacial fluoroarene–arene (ArF–ArH) interactions cause twisting in the PE backbone, interrupting intramolecular conjugation as well as blocking chromophore aggregation, both of which prevent the typically observed bathochromic shift observed upon transitioning PEs from solution to solid. This work highlights two structural factors that determine whether themore » ArF–ArH interactions, and the resulting twisted, unaggregated chromophores, occur in these solids: (i) the electron-releasing characteristic of substituents on ArH, with more electron-releasing character favoring ArF–ArH interactions, and (ii) the fluorination pattern of the ArF ring, with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl favoring ArF–ArH interactions over 2,4,6-trifluorophenyl. Furthermore, these trends indicate that considerations of electrostatic complementarity, whether through a polar-π or substituent–substituent mechanism, can serve as an effective design principle in controlling the interaction strengths, and therefore the optoelectronic properties, of these molecules as solids.« less

Substituent effects that control conjugated oligomer conformation through non-covalent interactions

DOE PAGES

Sharber, Seth A.; Baral, Rom Nath; Frausto, Fanny; ...

2017-03-31

Although understanding the conformations and arrangements of conjugated materials as solids is key to their prospective applications, predictive power over these structural factors remains elusive. In this work, substituent effects tune non-covalent interactions between side-chain fluorinated benzyl esters and main-chain terminal arenes, in turn controlling the conformations and interchromophore aggregation of three-ring phenylene-ethynylenes (PEs). Cofacial fluoroarene–arene (ArF–ArH) interactions cause twisting in the PE backbone, interrupting intramolecular conjugation as well as blocking chromophore aggregation, both of which prevent the typically observed bathochromic shift observed upon transitioning PEs from solution to solid. This work highlights two structural factors that determine whether themore » ArF–ArH interactions, and the resulting twisted, unaggregated chromophores, occur in these solids: (i) the electron-releasing characteristic of substituents on ArH, with more electron-releasing character favoring ArF–ArH interactions, and (ii) the fluorination pattern of the ArF ring, with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl favoring ArF–ArH interactions over 2,4,6-trifluorophenyl. Furthermore, these trends indicate that considerations of electrostatic complementarity, whether through a polar-π or substituent–substituent mechanism, can serve as an effective design principle in controlling the interaction strengths, and therefore the optoelectronic properties, of these molecules as solids.« less

Design of a Gaze-Sensitive Virtual Social Interactive System for Children With Autism

PubMed Central

Lahiri, Uttama; Warren, Zachary; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2013-01-01

Impairments in social communication skills are thought to be core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In recent years, several assistive technologies, particularly Virtual Reality (VR), have been investigated to promote social interactions in this population. It is well known that children with ASD demonstrate atypical viewing patterns during social interactions and thus monitoring eye-gaze can be valuable to design intervention strategies. While several studies have used eye-tracking technology to monitor eye-gaze for offline analysis, there exists no real-time system that can monitor eye-gaze dynamically and provide individualized feedback. Given the promise of VR-based social interaction and the usefulness of monitoring eye-gaze in real-time, a novel VR-based dynamic eye-tracking system is developed in this work. This system, called Virtual Interactive system with Gaze-sensitive Adaptive Response Technology (VIGART), is capable of delivering individualized feedback based on a child’s dynamic gaze patterns during VR-based interaction. Results from a usability study with six adolescents with ASD are presented that examines the acceptability and usefulness of VIGART. The results in terms of improvement in behavioral viewing and changes in relevant eye physiological indexes of participants while interacting with VIGART indicate the potential of this novel technology. PMID:21609889

Design of a gaze-sensitive virtual social interactive system for children with autism.

PubMed

Lahiri, Uttama; Warren, Zachary; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2011-08-01

Impairments in social communication skills are thought to be core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In recent years, several assistive technologies, particularly Virtual Reality (VR), have been investigated to promote social interactions in this population. It is well known that children with ASD demonstrate atypical viewing patterns during social interactions and thus monitoring eye-gaze can be valuable to design intervention strategies. While several studies have used eye-tracking technology to monitor eye-gaze for offline analysis, there exists no real-time system that can monitor eye-gaze dynamically and provide individualized feedback. Given the promise of VR-based social interaction and the usefulness of monitoring eye-gaze in real-time, a novel VR-based dynamic eye-tracking system is developed in this work. This system, called Virtual Interactive system with Gaze-sensitive Adaptive Response Technology (VIGART), is capable of delivering individualized feedback based on a child's dynamic gaze patterns during VR-based interaction. Results from a usability study with six adolescents with ASD are presented that examines the acceptability and usefulness of VIGART. The results in terms of improvement in behavioral viewing and changes in relevant eye physiological indexes of participants while interacting with VIGART indicate the potential of this novel technology. © 2011 IEEE

Modelling Ecological Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapies for Building Virtual Environments in Brain Injury.

PubMed

Martínez-Moreno, J M; Sánchez-González, P; Luna, M; Roig, T; Tormos, J M; Gómez, E J

2016-01-01

Brain Injury (BI) has become one of the most common causes of neurological disability in developed countries. Cognitive disorders result in a loss of independence and patients' quality of life. Cognitive rehabilitation aims to promote patients' skills to achieve their highest degree of personal autonomy. New technologies such as virtual reality or interactive video allow developing rehabilitation therapies based on reproducible Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), increasing the ecological validity of the therapy. However, the lack of frameworks to formalize and represent the definition of this kind of therapies can be a barrier for widespread use of interactive virtual environments in clinical routine. To provide neuropsychologists with a methodology and an instrument to design and evaluate cognitive rehabilitation therapeutic interventions strategies based on ADLs performed in interactive virtual environments. The proposed methodology is used to model therapeutic interventions during virtual ADLs considering cognitive deficit, expected abnormal interactions and therapeutic hypotheses. It allows identifying abnormal behavioural patterns and designing interventions strategies in order to achieve errorless-based rehabilitation. An ADL case study ('buying bread') is defined according to the guidelines established by the ADL intervention model. This case study is developed, as a proof of principle, using interactive video technology and is used to assess the feasibility of the proposed methodology in the definition of therapeutic intervention procedures. The proposed methodology provides neuropsychologists with an instrument to design and evaluate ADL-based therapeutic intervention strategies, attending to solve actual limitation of virtual scenarios, to be use for ecological rehabilitation of cognitive deficit in daily clinical practice. The developed case study proves the potential of the methodology to design therapeutic interventions strategies; however our current work is devoted to designing more experiments in order to present more evidence about its values.

Template-based de novo design for type II kinase inhibitors and its extented application to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

PubMed

Su, Bo-Han; Huang, Yi-Syuan; Chang, Chia-Yun; Tu, Yi-Shu; Tseng, Yufeng J

2013-10-31

There is a compelling need to discover type II inhibitors targeting the unique DFG-out inactive kinase conformation since they are likely to possess greater potency and selectivity relative to traditional type I inhibitors. Using a known inhibitor, such as a currently available and approved drug or inhibitor, as a template to design new drugs via computational de novo design is helpful when working with known ligand-receptor interactions. This study proposes a new template-based de novo design protocol to discover new inhibitors that preserve and also optimize the binding interactions of the type II kinase template. First, sorafenib (Nexavar) and nilotinib (Tasigna), two type II inhibitors with different ligand-receptor interactions, were selected as the template compounds. The five-step protocol can reassemble each drug from a large fragment library. Our procedure demonstrates that the selected template compounds can be successfully reassembled while the key ligand-receptor interactions are preserved. Furthermore, to demonstrate that the algorithm is able to construct more potent compounds, we considered kinase inhibitors and other protein dataset, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The de novo optimization was initiated using a template compound possessing a less than optimal activity from a series of aminoisoquinoline and TAK-285 inhibiting type II kinases, and E2020 derivatives inhibiting AChE respectively. Three compounds with greater potency than the template compound were discovered that were also included in the original congeneric series. This template-based lead optimization protocol with the fragment library can help to design compounds with preferred binding interactions of known inhibitors automatically and further optimize the compounds in the binding pockets.

Crossing the barrier between the laboratory working model and the practicable production model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curby, William A.

1992-12-01

Transforming apparatus that has developed into a successfully working laboratory system into a system that is ready, or nearly ready for production, distribution and general use is not always accomplished in a cost effective or timely fashion. Several design elements must be considered interactively during the planning, construction, use and servicing of the final production form of the system. The basic design elements are: Operating Specifications, Reliability Factors, Safety Factors, Precision Limits, Accuracy Limits, Uniformity Factors, Cost Limits and Calibration Requirements. Secondary elements including: Human Engineering, Documentation, Training, Maintenance, Proprietary Rights, Protection, Marketing, Replacement of Parts, and Packing and Shipping must also be considered during the transition.

Designing Guiding Systems for Brain-Computer Interfaces

PubMed Central

Kosmyna, Nataliya; Lécuyer, Anatole

2017-01-01

Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) community has focused the majority of its research efforts on signal processing and machine learning, mostly neglecting the human in the loop. Guiding users on how to use a BCI is crucial in order to teach them to produce stable brain patterns. In this work, we explore the instructions and feedback for BCIs in order to provide a systematic taxonomy to describe the BCI guiding systems. The purpose of our work is to give necessary clues to the researchers and designers in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) in making the fusion between BCIs and HCI more fruitful but also to better understand the possibilities BCIs can provide to them. PMID:28824400

Robots for use in autism research.

PubMed

Scassellati, Brian; Admoni, Henny; Matarić, Maja

2012-01-01

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of lifelong disabilities that affect people's ability to communicate and to understand social cues. Research into applying robots as therapy tools has shown that robots seem to improve engagement and elicit novel social behaviors from people (particularly children and teenagers) with autism. Robot therapy for autism has been explored as one of the first application domains in the field of socially assistive robotics (SAR), which aims to develop robots that assist people with special needs through social interactions. In this review, we discuss the past decade's work in SAR systems designed for autism therapy by analyzing robot design decisions, human-robot interactions, and system evaluations. We conclude by discussing challenges and future trends for this young but rapidly developing research area.

Development of design and analysis methodology for composite bolted joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grant, Peter; Sawicki, Adam

1991-05-01

This paper summarizes work performed to develop composite joint design methodology for use on rotorcraft primary structure, determine joint characteristics which affect joint bearing and bypass strength, and develop analytical methods for predicting the effects of such characteristics in structural joints. Experimental results have shown that bearing-bypass interaction allowables cannot be defined using a single continuous function due to variance of failure modes for different bearing-bypass ratios. Hole wear effects can be significant at moderate stress levels and should be considered in the development of bearing allowables. A computer program has been developed and has successfully predicted bearing-bypass interaction effects for the (0/+/-45/90) family of laminates using filled hole and unnotched test data.

Intuitive Exploration of Volumetric Data Using Dynamic Galleries.

PubMed

Jönsson, Daniel; Falk, Martin; Ynnerman, Anders

2016-01-01

In this work we present a volume exploration method designed to be used by novice users and visitors to science centers and museums. The volumetric digitalization of artifacts in museums is of rapidly increasing interest as enhanced user experience through interactive data visualization can be achieved. This is, however, a challenging task since the vast majority of visitors are not familiar with the concepts commonly used in data exploration, such as mapping of visual properties from values in the data domain using transfer functions. Interacting in the data domain is an effective way to filter away undesired information but it is difficult to predict where the values lie in the spatial domain. In this work we make extensive use of dynamic previews instantly generated as the user explores the data domain. The previews allow the user to predict what effect changes in the data domain will have on the rendered image without being aware that visual parameters are set in the data domain. Each preview represents a subrange of the data domain where overview and details are given on demand through zooming and panning. The method has been designed with touch interfaces as the target platform for interaction. We provide a qualitative evaluation performed with visitors to a science center to show the utility of the approach.

Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network*

PubMed Central

Kelly, Erin L.; Moen, Phyllis; Oakes, J. Michael; Fan, Wen; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Davis, Kelly D.; Hammer, Leslie; Kossek, Ellen; King, Rosalind Berkowitz; Hanson, Ginger; Mierzwa, Frank; Casper, Lynne

2013-01-01

Schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are work resources that may help employees manage the work-family interface. However, existing data and designs have made it difficult to conclusively identify the effects of these work resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology workplace were randomly assigned to participate in an initiative, called STAR, that targeted work practices, interactions, and expectations by (a) training supervisors on the value of demonstrating support for employees’ personal lives and (b) prompting employees to reconsider when and where they work. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees’ work-family conflict and family time adequacy and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands, as might have happened with increased permeability of work across time and space. Subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to employees more vulnerable to work-family conflict. This study advances our understanding of the impact of social structures on individual lives by investigating deliberate organizational changes and their effects on work resources and the work-family interface with a rigorous design. PMID:25349460

Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network*

PubMed

Kelly, Erin L; Moen, Phyllis; Oakes, J Michael; Fan, Wen; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Davis, Kelly D; Hammer, Leslie; Kossek, Ellen; King, Rosalind Berkowitz; Hanson, Ginger; Mierzwa, Frank; Casper, Lynne

2014-06-01

Schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are work resources that may help employees manage the work-family interface. However, existing data and designs have made it difficult to conclusively identify the effects of these work resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology workplace were randomly assigned to participate in an initiative, called STAR, that targeted work practices, interactions, and expectations by (a) training supervisors on the value of demonstrating support for employees' personal lives and (b) prompting employees to reconsider when and where they work. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees' work-family conflict and family time adequacy and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands, as might have happened with increased permeability of work across time and space. Subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to employees more vulnerable to work-family conflict. This study advances our understanding of the impact of social structures on individual lives by investigating deliberate organizational changes and their effects on work resources and the work-family interface with a rigorous design.

The guide to Design For On-orbit Spacecraft Servicing (DFOSS) manual: Producing a consensus document

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nyman, Janice

1993-01-01

Increasing interaction and changing economies at the national and international levels have accelerated the call for standardization in space systems design. The benefits of standardization--compatibility, interchangeability, and lower costs--are maximized when achieved through consensus. Reaching consensus in standardization means giving everyone who will be affected by a standard an opportunity to have input into creating that standard. The DFOSS manual was initiated with the goal of developing standards through consensus. The present Proposed Guide derives from work begun by the Space Automation and Robotics Center (SpARC), a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space, and has continued as a standards project through the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The Proposed Guide was released by AIAA in Jan. 1992 for sale during a one-year, trial-use period. DFOSS is a response to the need for one document that contains all the guidelines required by on-orbit spacecraft servicing designers for astronaut extravehicular activity and/or telerobotic servicing. The manual's content is driven by spacecraft design considerations, and its composition has been achieved by interaction and cooperation among government, industry, and research organizations. While much work lies ahead to maximize the potential of DFOSS, the Proposed Guide represents evidence of the benefits of industry-wide consensus, points the way for broader application, and provides an example for similar projects.

Molecular design of new aggrecanases-2 inhibitors.

PubMed

Shan, Zhi Jie; Zhai, Hong Lin; Huang, Xiao Yan; Li, Li Na; Zhang, Xiao Yun

2013-10-01

Aggrecanases-2 is a very important potential drug target for the treatment of osteoarthritis. In this study, a series of known aggrecanases-2 inhibitors was analyzed by the technologies of three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR) and molecular docking. Two 3D-QSAR models, which based on comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity analysis (CoMSIA) methods, were established. Molecular docking was employed to explore the details of the interaction between inhibitors and aggrecanases-2 protein. According to the analyses for these models, several new potential inhibitors with higher activity predicted were designed, and were supported by the simulation of molecular docking. This work propose the fast and effective approach to design and prediction for new potential inhibitors, and the study of the interaction mechanism provide a better understanding for the inhibitors binding into the target protein, which will be useful for the structure-based drug design and modifications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The design of the electron beam dump unit of Turkish Accelerator Center (TAC)

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

Cite, L. H., E-mail: hcite@gantep.edu.tr; Yilmaz, M., E-mail: Mustafa.Yilmaz@gaziantep.edu.tr

The required simulations of the electron beam interactions for the design of electron beam dump unit for an accelerator which will operate to get two Infra-Red Free Electron Lasers (IR-FEL) covering the range of 3-250 microns is presented in this work. Simulations have been carried out to understand the interactions of a bulk of specially shaped of four different and widely used materials for the dump materials for a 77 pC, 40 MeV, 13 MHz repetition rate e-beam. In the simulation studies dump materials are chosen to absorb the 99% of the beam energy and to restrict the radio-isotope production in themore » bulk of the dump. A Lead shielding also designed around the dump core to prevent the leakage out of the all the emitted secondary radiations, e.g., neutrons, photons. The necessary dump material requirements, for the overall design considerations and the possible radiation originated effects on the dump unit, are discussed and presented.« less

Development of a Mobile User Interface for Image-based Dietary Assessment

PubMed Central

Kim, SungYe; Schap, TusaRebecca; Bosch, Marc; Maciejewski, Ross; Delp, Edward J.; Ebert, David S.; Boushey, Carol J.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we present a mobile user interface for image-based dietary assessment. The mobile user interface provides a front end to a client-server image recognition and portion estimation software. In the client-server configuration, the user interactively records a series of food images using a built-in camera on the mobile device. Images are sent from the mobile device to the server, and the calorie content of the meal is estimated. In this paper, we describe and discuss the design and development of our mobile user interface features. We discuss the design concepts, through initial ideas and implementations. For each concept, we discuss qualitative user feedback from participants using the mobile client application. We then discuss future designs, including work on design considerations for the mobile application to allow the user to interactively correct errors in the automatic processing while reducing the user burden associated with classical pen-and-paper dietary records. PMID:24455755

GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE): A Concurrent Engineering Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGuire, Melissa L.; Kunkel, Matthew R.; Smith, David A.

2010-01-01

The GLobal Integrated Design Environment (GLIDE) is a client-server software application purpose-built to mitigate issues associated with real time data sharing in concurrent engineering environments and to facilitate discipline-to-discipline interaction between multiple engineers and researchers. GLIDE is implemented in multiple programming languages utilizing standardized web protocols to enable secure parameter data sharing between engineers and researchers across the Internet in closed and/or widely distributed working environments. A well defined, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) based Application Programming Interface (API) to the GLIDE client/server environment enables users to interact with GLIDE, and each other, within common and familiar tools. One such common tool, Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation), paired with its add-in API for GLIDE, is discussed in this paper. The top-level examples given demonstrate how this interface improves the efficiency of the design process of a concurrent engineering study while reducing potential errors associated with manually sharing information between study participants.

User evaluation of an innovative digital reading room.

PubMed

Hugine, Akilah; Guerlain, Stephanie; Hedge, Alan

2012-06-01

Reading room design can have a major impact on radiologists' health, productivity, and accuracy in reading. Several factors must be taken into account in order to optimize the work environment for radiologists. Further, with the advancement in imaging technology, clinicians now have the ability to view and see digital exams without having to interact with radiologists. However, it is important to design components that encourage and enhance interactions between clinicians and radiologists to increase patient safety, and to combine physician and radiologist expertise. The present study evaluates alternative workstations in a real-world testbed space, using qualitative data (users' perspectives) to measure satisfaction with the lighting, ergonomics, furniture, collaborative spaces, and radiologist workstations. In addition, we consider the impact of the added collaboration components of the future reading room design, by utilizing user evaluation surveys to devise baseline satisfaction data regarding the innovative reading room environment.

Introducing WISDEM:An Integrated System Modeling for Wind Turbines and Plant (Presentation)

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

Dykes, K.; Graf, P.; Scott, G.

2015-01-01

The National Wind Technology Center wind energy systems engineering initiative has developed an analysis platform to leverage its research capabilities toward integrating wind energy engineering and cost models across wind plants. This Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model (WISDEM) platform captures the important interactions between various subsystems to achieve a better National Wind Technology Center wind energy systems engineering initiative has developed an analysis platform to leverage its research capabilities toward integrating wind energy engineering and cost models across wind plants. This Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model (WISDEM) platform captures the important interactions between various subsystems tomore » achieve a better understanding of how to improve system-level performance and achieve system-level cost reductions. This work illustrates a few case studies with WISDEM that focus on the design and analysis of wind turbines and plants at different system levels.« less

The effect of an interactive experience on music majors' perceptions of music for deaf students.

PubMed

Kaiser, K A; Johnson, K E

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an interactive experience on music majors' perceptions of music experiences for deaf students. Twenty-three members of a pre-existing college brass ensemble served as subjects, and a 1-hour interactive concert/presentation for 10 deaf elementary children served as the independent variable. The interactive experience was designed to provide social, musical, and educational interactions between the college musicians and the deaf children. A pretest-posttest design was utilized, and the dependent variable was a questionnaire designed to examine the subjects' perceptions regarding music for deaf students, including how prepared, comfortable, and willing they felt to provide music experiences for deaf students. Results reveal that this single interactive experience had a significant effect on the subjects' perceptions of the value of music in the education of deaf children (p <.05). Although the pretest and posttest scores indicate that the subjects felt apprehensive about their preparedness to work with deaf students, the subjects felt significantly more positive about their preparedness following the interaction (p <.001). An analysis of open comments indicates that the subjects perceived the experience as (a) very positive, (b) increasing their knowledge and perception of music for deaf students, (c) helping them better relate to the deaf population, (d) promoting interest in similar experiences and in gaining more information, and (e) eliciting a feeling that future teachers should have similar experiences. Quotes from the subjects are given, and implications for teacher training/music therapy programs are discussed.

Case-based synthesis in automatic advertising creation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yueting; Pan, Yunhe

1995-08-01

Advertising (ads) is an important design area. Though many interactive ad-design softwares have come into commercial use, none of them ever support the intelligent work -- automatic ad creation. The potential for this is enormous. This paper gives a description of our current work in research of an automatic advertising creation system (AACS). After careful analysis of the mental behavior of a human ad designer, we conclude that case-based approach is appropriate to its intelligent modeling. A model for AACS is given in the paper. A case in ads is described as two parts: the creation process and the configuration of the ads picture, with detailed data structures given in the paper. Along with the case representation, we put forward an algorithm. Some issues such as similarity measure computing, and case adaptation have also been discussed.

Design and implementation for integrated UAV multi-spectral inspection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, X.; Li, X.; Yan, F.

2018-04-01

In order to improve the working efficiency of the transmission line inspection and reduce the labour intensity of the inspectors, this paper presents an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) inspection system architecture for the transmission line inspection. In this document, the light-duty design for different inspection equipment and processing terminals is completed. It presents the reference design for the information-processing terminal, supporting the inspection and interactive equipment accessing, and obtains all performance indicators of the inspection information processing through the tests. Practical application shows that the UAV inspection system supports access and management of different types of mainstream fault detection equipment, and can implement the independent diagnosis of the detected information to generate inspection reports in line with industry norms, which can meet the fast, timely, and efficient requirements for the power line inspection work.

Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS): Memory Representation and Procedural Implications for Airborne Communication Modalities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corker, Kevin M.; Pisanich, Gregory M.; Lebacqz, Victor (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

The Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) has been under development for the past ten years through a joint US Army and NASA cooperative agreement. MIDAS represents multiple human operators and selected perceptual, cognitive, and physical functions of those operators as they interact with simulated systems. MIDAS has been used as an integrated predictive framework for the investigation of human/machine systems, particularly in situations with high demands on the operators. Specific examples include: nuclear power plant crew simulation, military helicopter flight crew response, and police force emergency dispatch. In recent applications to airborne systems development, MIDAS has demonstrated an ability to predict flight crew decision-making and procedural behavior when interacting with automated flight management systems and Air Traffic Control. In this paper we describe two enhancements to MIDAS. The first involves the addition of working memory in the form of an articulatory buffer for verbal communication protocols and a visuo-spatial buffer for communications via digital datalink. The second enhancement is a representation of multiple operators working as a team. This enhanced model was used to predict the performance of human flight crews and their level of compliance with commercial aviation communication procedures. We show how the data produced by MIDAS compares with flight crew performance data from full mission simulations. Finally, we discuss the use of these features to study communications issues connected with aircraft-based separation assurance.

The Sam-Sam interaction between Ship2 and the EphA2 receptor: design and analysis of peptide inhibitors.

PubMed

Mercurio, Flavia Anna; Di Natale, Concetta; Pirone, Luciano; Iannitti, Roberta; Marasco, Daniela; Pedone, Emilia Maria; Palumbo, Rosanna; Leone, Marilisa

2017-12-12

The lipid phosphatase Ship2 represents a drug discovery target for the treatment of different diseases, including cancer. Its C-terminal sterile alpha motif domain (Ship2-Sam) associates with the Sam domain from the EphA2 receptor (EphA2-Sam). This interaction is expected to mainly induce pro-oncogenic effects in cells therefore, inhibition of the Ship2-Sam/EphA2-Sam complex may represent an innovative route to discover anti-cancer therapeutics. In the present work, we designed and analyzed several peptide sequences encompassing the interaction interface of EphA2-Sam for Ship2-Sam. Peptide conformational analyses and interaction assays with Ship2-Sam conducted through diverse techniques (CD, NMR, SPR and MST), identified a positively charged penta-amino acid native motif in EphA2-Sam, that once repeated three times in tandem, binds Ship2-Sam. NMR experiments show that the peptide targets the negatively charged binding site of Ship2-Sam for EphA2-Sam. Preliminary in vitro cell-based assays indicate that -at 50 µM concentration- it induces necrosis of PC-3 prostate cancer cells with more cytotoxic effect on cancer cells than on normal dermal fibroblasts. This work represents a pioneering study that opens further opportunities for the development of inhibitors of the Ship2-Sam/EphA2-Sam complex for therapeutic applications.

Foster interaction by the integration of ICT with sociocultural and constructivist learning principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Nhung; Williams, P. John

2018-01-01

Research shows that it is challenging to introduce an interactive way of teaching and learning into Asian classrooms where Confucian philosophy has considerable influence. This study was conducted within the context of an ASEAN undergraduate physics course. A goal of the study was to use information communication technology (ICT) to integrate sociocultural and constructivist learning principles to foster interaction within the learning environment. Ninety-three students, a lecturer and a teaching assistant participated in the study. The study employed a mixed method approach, using a questionnaire and interviews with students, the lecturer and the teaching assistant to collect the data, to triangulate, complement and explain the findings. Data was also collected from different groups of people in order to investigate, compare and synthesize perspectives from each group (i.e. students, lecturer, and teaching assistant). SPSS was used to analyze quantitative data from the questionnaire, and NVivo was used to analyze qualitative data from the interviews. The findings of this study obtained from the different sources showed that the interactions within the learning environment were enhanced using this framework. Interviews with the lecturer and the teaching assistant showed that interaction was fostered, and the integration of ICT with the learning principles provided opportunities for new ways of teaching and learning. The lecturer designed learning tasks that required the participant students to search and study different learning resources, and then design group presentation on the topic of optics to explain these topics to their classmates. The lecturer also provided support and motivation for this process. In this way, the lecturer believed that he had created opportunities for the students to interact with learning resources, work in groups, discuss physics content and working processes. Data analysis of the students' interviews revealed this undergraduate ASEAN physics course was more interactive than other courses that the participant students was studying. Interaction in this learning environment occurred between students-students, students-learning materials and students-lecturer. Examples of these interactions were found in class discussion, exchange of ideas and solutions for assignments, and explaining concepts to their peers. The students involved in the study worked in groups outside of class to discuss and carry out their learning tasks. In collaboration with each other, they shared the workload among the group members in order to complete their learning tasks. Students' feedback to the questionnaire (reliability 0.7), confirmed the interview findings. T-test result of the questionnaire showed that in this course, the participant students interacted with learning resources, their classmates and their lecturer more frequently than they had in other courses.

Mechanical design of DNA nanostructures.

PubMed

Castro, Carlos E; Su, Hai-Jun; Marras, Alexander E; Zhou, Lifeng; Johnson, Joshua

2015-04-14

Structural DNA nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging field that has demonstrated great potential for applications such as single molecule sensing, drug delivery, and templating molecular components. As the applications of DNA nanotechnology expand, a consideration of their mechanical behavior is becoming essential to understand how these structures will respond to physical interactions. This review considers three major avenues of recent progress in this area: (1) measuring and designing mechanical properties of DNA nanostructures, (2) designing complex nanostructures based on imposed mechanical stresses, and (3) designing and controlling structurally dynamic nanostructures. This work has laid the foundation for mechanically active nanomachines that can generate, transmit, and respond to physical cues in molecular systems.

Design and Control of Compliant Tensegrity Robots Through Simulation and Hardware Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caluwaerts, Ken; Despraz, Jeremie; Iscen, Atil; Sabelhaus, Andrew P.; Bruce, Jonathan; Schrauwen, Benjamin; Sunspiral, Vytas

2014-01-01

To better understand the role of tensegrity structures in biological systems and their application to robotics, the Dynamic Tensegrity Robotics Lab at NASA Ames Research Center has developed and validated two different software environments for the analysis, simulation, and design of tensegrity robots. These tools, along with new control methodologies and the modular hardware components developed to validate them, are presented as a system for the design of actuated tensegrity structures. As evidenced from their appearance in many biological systems, tensegrity ("tensile-integrity") structures have unique physical properties which make them ideal for interaction with uncertain environments. Yet these characteristics, such as variable structural compliance, and global multi-path load distribution through the tension network, make design and control of bio-inspired tensegrity robots extremely challenging. This work presents the progress in using these two tools in tackling the design and control challenges. The results of this analysis includes multiple novel control approaches for mobility and terrain interaction of spherical tensegrity structures. The current hardware prototype of a six-bar tensegrity, code-named ReCTeR, is presented in the context of this validation.

Using interactive visual reasoning to support sense-making: implications for design.

PubMed

Kodagoda, Neesha; Attfield, Simon; Wong, B L William; Rooney, Chris; Choudhury, Sharmin Tinni

2013-12-01

This research aims to develop design guidelines for systems that support investigators and analysts in the exploration and assembly of evidence and inferences. We focus here on the problem of identifying candidate 'influencers' within a community of practice. To better understand this problem and its related cognitive and interaction needs, we conducted a user study using a system called INVISQUE (INteractive Visual Search and QUery Environment) loaded with content from the ACM Digital Library. INVISQUE supports search and manipulation of results over a freeform infinite 'canvas'. The study focuses on the representations user create and their reasoning process. It also draws on some pre-established theories and frameworks related to sense-making and cognitive work in general, which we apply as a 'theoretical lenses' to consider findings and articulate solutions. Analysing the user-study data in the light of these provides some understanding of how the high-level problem of identifying key players within a domain can translate into lower-level questions and interactions. This, in turn, has informed our understanding of representation and functionality needs at a level of description which abstracts away from the specifics of the problem at hand to the class of problems of interest. We consider the study outcomes from the perspective of implications for design.

Communication and cooperation in networked environments: an experimental analysis.

PubMed

Galimberti, C; Ignazi, S; Vercesi, P; Riva, G

2001-02-01

Interpersonal communication and cooperation do not happen exclusively face to face. In work contexts, as in private life, there are more and more situations of mediated communication and cooperation in which new online tools are used. However, understanding how to use the Internet to support collaborative interaction presents a substantial challenge for the designers and users of this emerging technology. First, collaborative Internet environments are designed to serve a purpose, so must be designed with intended users' tasks and goals explicitly considered. Second, in cooperative activities the key content of communication is the interpretation of the situations in which actors are involved. So, the most effective way of clarifying the meaning of messages is to connect them to a shared context of meaning. However, this is more difficult in the Internet than in other computer-based activities. This paper tries to understand the characteristics of cooperative activities in networked environments--shared 3D virtual worlds--through two different studies. The first used the analysis of conversations to explore the characteristics of the interaction during the cooperative task; the second analyzed whether and how the level of immersion in the networked environments influenced the performance and the interactional process. The results are analyzed to identify the psychosocial roots used to support cooperation in a digital interactive communication.

Interactive Teaching as a Recruitment and Training Tool for K-12 Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg, J. L.

2004-12-01

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Teacher Preparation (STEMTP) program at the University of Colorado has been designed to recruit and train prospective K-12 science teachers while improving student learning through interactive teaching. The program has four key goals: (1) recruit undergraduate students into K-12 science education, (2) provide these prospective teachers with hands-on experience in an interactive teaching pedagogy, (3) create an intergrated program designed to support (educationally, socially, and financially) and engage these prospective science teachers up until they obtain liscensure and/or their masters degree in education, and (4) improve student learning in large introductory science classes. Currently there are 31 students involved in the program and a total of 72 students have been involved in the year and a half it has been in existence. I will discuss the design of the STEMTP program, the success in recruiting K-12 science teachers, and the affect on student learning in a large lecture class of implementing interactive learning pedagogies by involving these prospective K-12 science teachers. J. L. Rosenberg would like to acknowledge the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship for support for this work. The course transformation project is also supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.

Centralized vs. decentralized nursing stations: effects on nurses' functional use of space and work environment.

PubMed

Zborowsky, Terri; Bunker-Hellmich, Lou; Morelli, Agneta; O'Neill, Mike

2010-01-01

Evidence-based findings of the effects of nursing station design on nurses' work environment and work behavior are essential to improve conditions and increase retention among these fundamental members of the healthcare delivery team. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate how nursing station design (i.e., centralized and decentralized nursing station layouts) affected nurses' use of space, patient visibility, noise levels, and perceptions of the work environment. Advances in information technology have enabled nurses to move away from traditional centralized paper-charting stations to smaller decentralized work stations and charting substations located closer to, or inside of, patient rooms. Improved understanding of the trade-offs presented by centralized and decentralized nursing station design has the potential to provide useful information for future nursing station layouts. This information will be critical for understanding the nurse environment "fit." The study used an exploratory design with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data regarding the effects of nursing station design on nurses' health and work environment were gathered by means of focus group interviews. Quantitative data-gathering techniques included place- and person-centered space use observations, patient visibility assessments, sound level measurements, and an online questionnaire regarding perceptions of the work environment. Nurses on all units were observed most frequently performing telephone, computer, and administrative duties. Time spent using telephones, computers, and performing other administrative duties was significantly higher in the centralized nursing stations. Consultations with medical staff and social interactions were significantly less frequent in decentralized nursing stations. There were no indications that either centralized or decentralized nursing station designs resulted in superior visibility. Sound levels measured in all nursing stations exceeded recommended levels during all shifts. No significant differences were identified in nurses' perceptions of work control-demand-support in centralized and decentralized nursing station designs. The "hybrid" nursing design model in which decentralized nursing stations are coupled with centralized meeting rooms for consultation between staff members may strike a balance between the increase in computer duties and the ongoing need for communication and consultation that addresses the conflicting demands of technology and direct patient care.

Evaluation of a counseling training program for nursing staff.

PubMed

Arranz, Pilar; Ulla, Sara M; Ramos, José L; Del Rincón, Carolina; López-Fando, Teresa

2005-02-01

One of the essential issues in nurses' daily work is interaction with patients, patients' families, and co-workers. However, in the Spanish academic programs for Nursing Schools, social interaction skills do not receive adequate attention and nurses often report communication problems. In order to diminish these difficulties and to train nursing staff to better manage interaction, an intensive counseling training program was designed and implemented in a General University Hospital. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a counseling training program and assessing the evolution of difficulties that professionals perceived in their work in three different periods: before the training, after the training, and at follow-up, 2 months after the program was delivered. According to the results, we can maintain the hypothesis that the counseling training program reduces perceived interaction difficulties in nursing staff. Consequently, we can expect a further improvement in the interaction performance with patients and their families after the training. These findings suggest that counseling training has to be taken into account to improve quality of care in health care providers, and it may also help to prevent professional burnout by increasing competence level at minimum personal cost.

Educational Videogames: Concept, Design And Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohrlick, D.; Yang, A.; Kilb, D. L.; Ma, L.; Ruzic, R.; Peach, C. L.; Layman, C. C.

2013-12-01

Videogames have historically gained popularity thanks to their entertainment rather than their educational value. This may be due, in part, to the fact that many educational videogames present academic concepts in dry, quiz-like ways, without the visual experiences, interactivity, and excitement of non-educational games. The increasing availability of tools that allow designers to easily create rich experiences for players now makes it simpler than ever for educational game designers to generate the visual experiences, interactivity, and excitement that gamers have grown to expect. Based on data from our work, when designed effectively, educational games can engage players, teach concepts, and tear down the stereotype of the stuffy, boring educational game. Our team has been experimenting with different ways to present scientific and mathematical concepts to middle and high school students through engaging, interactive games. When designing a gameplay concept, we focus on what we want the player to learn and experience as well as how to maintain a learning environment that is fun and engaging. Techniques that we have found successful include the use of a series of fast-paced 'minigames,' and the use of a 'simulator' learning method that allows a player to learn by completing objectives similar to those completed by today's scientists. Formative evaluations of our games over the past year have revealed both design strengths and weaknesses. Based on findings from a systematic evaluation of game play with diverse groups, with data collected through in-person observations of game play, knowledge assessments, focus groups, interviews with players, and computer tracking of students' game play behavior, we have found that players are uniformly enthusiastic about the educational tools. At the same time, we find there is more work to be done to make our tools fully intuitive, and to effectively present complex mathematical and scientific concepts to learners from a wide range of backgrounds. Overall we find that designing educational games is a constant balancing act to ensure the player is engaged and has fun while at the same time learning important concepts.

3D interactive augmented reality-enhanced digital learning systems for mobile devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Kai-Ten; Tseng, Po-Hsuan; Chiu, Pei-Shuan; Yang, Jia-Lin; Chiu, Chun-Jie

2013-03-01

With enhanced processing capability of mobile platforms, augmented reality (AR) has been considered a promising technology for achieving enhanced user experiences (UX). Augmented reality is to impose virtual information, e.g., videos and images, onto a live-view digital display. UX on real-world environment via the display can be e ectively enhanced with the adoption of interactive AR technology. Enhancement on UX can be bene cial for digital learning systems. There are existing research works based on AR targeting for the design of e-learning systems. However, none of these work focuses on providing three-dimensional (3-D) object modeling for en- hanced UX based on interactive AR techniques. In this paper, the 3-D interactive augmented reality-enhanced learning (IARL) systems will be proposed to provide enhanced UX for digital learning. The proposed IARL systems consist of two major components, including the markerless pattern recognition (MPR) for 3-D models and velocity-based object tracking (VOT) algorithms. Realistic implementation of proposed IARL system is conducted on Android-based mobile platforms. UX on digital learning can be greatly improved with the adoption of proposed IARL systems.

Human Performance Considerations for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, R. Jay; Hobbs, Alan; Lyall, Beth; Rorie, Conrad

2015-01-01

Successful integration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) into civil airspace will not only require solutions to technical challenges, but will also require that the design and operation of RPAS take into account human limitations and capabilities. Human factors can affect overall system performance whenever the system relies on people to interact with another element of the system. Four types of broad interactions can be described. These are (1) interactions between people and hardware, such as controls and displays; (2) human use of procedures and documentation; (3) impact of the task environment, including lighting, noise and monotony; and lastly, (4) interactions between operational personnel, including communication and coordination. In addition to the human factors that have been identified for conventional aviation, RPAS operations introduce a set of unique human challenges. The purpose of document is to raise human factors issues for consideration by workgroups of the ICAO RPAS panel as they work to develop guidance material and additions to ICAO annexes. It is anticipated that the content of this document will be revised and updated as the work of the panel progresses.

Intuitive Cognition and Models of Human-Automation Interaction.

PubMed

Patterson, Robert Earl

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to provide an analysis of the implications of the dominance of intuitive cognition in human reasoning and decision making for conceptualizing models and taxonomies of human-automation interaction, focusing on the Parasuraman et al. model and taxonomy. Knowledge about how humans reason and make decisions, which has been shown to be largely intuitive, has implications for the design of future human-machine systems. One hundred twenty articles and books cited in other works as well as those obtained from an Internet search were reviewed. Works were deemed eligible if they were published within the past 50 years and common to a given literature. Analysis shows that intuitive cognition dominates human reasoning and decision making in all situations examined. The implications of the dominance of intuitive cognition for the Parasuraman et al. model and taxonomy are discussed. A taxonomy of human-automation interaction that incorporates intuitive cognition is suggested. Understanding the ways in which human reasoning and decision making is intuitive can provide insight for future models and taxonomies of human-automation interaction.

Development of a skin for intuitive interaction with an assistive robot.

PubMed

Markham, Heather C; Brewer, Bambi R

2009-01-01

Assistive robots for persons with physical limitations need to interact with humans in a manner that is safe to the user and the environment. Early work in this field centered on task specific robots. Recent work has focused on the use of the MANUS ARM and the development of different interfaces. The most intuitive interaction with an object is through touch. By creating a skin for the robot arm which will directly control its movement compliance, we have developed a novel and intuitive method of interaction. This paper describes the development of a skin which acts as a switch. When activated through touch, the skin will put the arm into compliant mode allowing it to be moved to the desired location safely, and when released will put the robot into non-compliant mode thereby keeping it in place. We investigated four conductive materials and four insulators, selecting the best combination based on our design goals of the need for a continuous activation surface, the least amount of force required for skin activation, and the most consistent voltage change between the conductive surfaces measured during activation.

Evidence-based ergonomics. A comparison of Japanese and American office layouts.

PubMed

Noro, Kageyu; Fujimaki, Goroh; Kishi, Shinsuke

2003-01-01

There is a variety of alternatives in office layouts. Yet the theoretical basis and criteria for predicting how well these layouts accommodate employees are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate criteria for selecting office layouts. Intensive computer workers worked in simulated office layouts in a controlled experimental laboratory. Eye movement measures indicate that knowledge work requires both concentration and interaction. Findings pointed to one layout as providing optimum balance between these 2 requirements. Recommendations for establishing a theoretical basis and design criteria for selecting office layouts based on work style are suggested.

Perceived work and family conflict among African American nurses in college.

PubMed

Gipson-Jones, Trina

2009-07-01

This article describes the perceptions of African American nurses regarding the interaction between work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being. A qualitative descriptive design was employed to conduct six focus group sessions with 23 nurses at three universities in the southeastern United States. Stressors such as racism or lack of teamwork and supervisor support caused the nurses to contemplate leaving a workplace or the profession. Family stressors, such as an ill family member, also influenced any decision regarding career longevity. Future studies examining work-family interface, especially positive spillover and psychological well-being are warranted.

Interviewing patients and practitioners working together in teams. A multi-layered puzzle: putting the pieces together.

PubMed

Ringstad, Oystein

2010-08-01

This paper presents and evaluates a methodological approach aiming at analysing some of the complex interaction between patients and different health care practitioners working together in teams. Qualitative health care research describes the values, perceptions and conceptions of patients and practitioners. In modern clinical work patients and professional practitioners often work together on complex cases involving different kinds of knowledge and values, each of them representing different perspectives. We need studies designed to capture this complexity. The methodological approach presented here is exemplified with a study in rehabilitation medicine. In this part of the health care system the clinical work is organized in multi-professional clinical teams including patients, handling complex rehabilitation processes. In the presented approach data are collected in individual in-depth interviews to have thorough descriptions of each individual perspective. The interaction in the teams is analysed by comparing different descriptions of the same situations from the involved individuals. We may then discuss how these perceptions relate to each other and how the individuals in the team interact. Two examples from an empirical study are presented and discussed, illustrating how communication, differences in evaluations and the interpretation of incidents, arguments, emotions and interpersonal relations may be discussed. It is argued that this approach may give information which can supplement the methods commonly applied in qualitative health care research today.

Raising Awareness of Individual Creative Potential in Bioscientists Using a Web-Site Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, David J.; Hugh-Jones, Siobhan; Sutherland, Ed

2010-01-01

We report the preliminary results of work with a unique, web-site-based approach designed to help individual bioscientists identify and develop their individual creative capacity. The site includes a number of features that encourage individuals to interact with creativity techniques, communicate with colleagues remotely using an electronic notice…

Transformation and Stasis: Two Case Studies of Critical Teacher Education in TESOL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nuske, Kyle

2015-01-01

Considering the prominent position of critical work in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, there is a need for detailed investigations of apprentice practitioners' formative interactions with critical ideas in graduate programs and how these affect their willingness to cultivate their own critical pedagogical repertories. Adopting a case study design,…

Little Books. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

2007-01-01

The "Little Books" are a set of books designed for interactive book reading between parents and children or teachers and students. The books use thematic topics familiar to children. They are written with high-frequency words and use simple phrases and sentences. They also have strong links between illustrations and text. One study of…

PALs: Fostering Student Engagement and Interactive Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hancock, Thomas; Smith, Stella; Timpte, Candace; Wunder, Jennifer

2010-01-01

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) opened its doors in 2006 and accepted its inaugural class of first-year students in 2007. During the 2007-2008 academic year, faculty members and administrators worked together to develop a model for Partners in Active Learning, or PALs--an initiative designed to fit the GGC vision and mission to build an…

Gender-Fair Math. Equity in Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boland, Pat, Ed.

This booklet is designed for both families and educators because the work of encouraging girls in math begins at birth and continues throughout the school years. Cooperative interaction must be provided in order to equip girls with the best chance possible to succeed at mathematics. This booklet provides information about the harmful and lasting…

Collaborative Production of Learning Objects on French Literary Works Using the LOC Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penman, Christine

2015-01-01

This case study situates the collaborative design of learning objects (interactive online learning material) using the LOC (Learning Object Creator) software in the context of language activities external to the core learning activities of language students at a UK university. It describes the creative and pedagogical processes leading to the…

Designing a Marketing Course with Field Site Visits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Doren, Doris; Corrigan, Hope Bober

2008-01-01

A key goal of including field site visits in marketing courses is to give business students increased interaction with industry professionals and community leaders. Site visits give students a concrete idea of how different marketing disciplines work in the business world. Business students gain greater insight into a career in marketing from this…

Developing a Technology Workshop Series for Your Faculty and Staff.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeitz, Leigh E.

1995-01-01

Based on a needs assessment questionnaire, 13 technology workshops were designed for school personnel. Topics included an introduction; troubleshooting; e-mail and the Internet; ERIC and CD-ROM databases; Microsoft Works; desktop publishing; presentation software; resources on CD-ROM; the X-Press news service; and interactive laser video discs. A…

Effects of Social Support on Professors' Work Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moeller, Christin; Chung-Yan, Greg A.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how various types of workplace social support from different support sources interact with occupational stressors to predict the psychological well-being of university professors. Design/method/approach: A total of 99 full-time professors participated via an online or paper questionnaire. Findings:…

Evaluating a Web-Based Video Corpus through an Analysis of User Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caws, Catherine G.

2013-01-01

As shown by several studies, successful integration of technology in language learning requires a holistic approach in order to scientifically understand what learners do when working with web-based technology (cf. Raby, 2007). Additionally, a growing body of research in computer assisted language learning (CALL) evaluation, design and…

Learning Together: The Instinct to Do Good and Peer-Assisted Strategies That Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jellison, Judith A.; Draper, Ellary A.; Brown, Laura S.

2017-01-01

Children have a natural proclivity to teach, help, cooperate, and empathize with others, and these interactions can have positive benefits for children's emotional, social, and cognitive development. This article is about ways music teachers can design peer-assisted music learning activities that will benefit everyone in the class and ultimately…

Perceptions of Success and Impact of Interactions on Faculty Development Centers in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Mark

2014-01-01

In efforts to improve the quality of education, higher education institutions are increasingly turning to lead faculty developers (LFDs) of faculty development centers (FDCs) as part of the solution. Historically, LFDs have been responsible for working directly with faculty to improve teaching strategies, course design, and technology integration.…

Between Grownups & Kids: Conference Proceedings (Austin, Texas, August 27, 1977).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Joyce, Comp.

Presented are proceedings of a conference designed to increase awareness, knowledge, and feelings of competency of adults who work with children, with particular emphasis on the positive aspects of child rearing and practical suggestions for daily activities and interactions. In the keynote address titled "How to Drive Your Child Sane," A. Ginott…

Designing Educational Social Machines for Effective Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yee-King, Matthew; Krivenski, Maria; Brenton, Harry; Grimalt-Reynes, Andreu; d'Inverno, Mark

2014-01-01

We report on our development of an educational social machine based on the concept that feedback in communities is an effective means to support the development of communities of learning and practice. Key challenges faced by this work are how best to support educational and social interactions, how to deliver personalised tuition, and how to…

Dialogic Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2010

2010-01-01

Dialogic reading is an interactive shared picture-book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult, who functions as an active listener and questioner.…

The Snackbot: Documenting the Design of a Robot for Long-term Human-Robot Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

distributed robots. Proceedings of the Computer Supported Cooperative Work Conference’02. NY: ACM Press. [18] Kanda, T., Takayuki , H., Eaton, D., and...humanoid robots. Proceedings of HRI’06. New York, NY: ACM Press, 351-352. [23] Nabe, S., Kanda, T., Hiraki , K., Ishiguro, H., Kogure, K., and Hagita

Dissemination of Continuing Education Materials Via Television Delivery Systems. Final Technical Report and Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munushian, Jack

In 1972, the University of Southern California School of Engineering established a 4-channel interactive instructional television network. It was designed to allow employees of participating industries to take regular university science and engineering courses and special continuing education courses at or near their work locations. Final progress…

Dialogic Reading. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

2007-01-01

"Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

Collaborative Creativity Processes in a Wiki: A Study in Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pifarré, Manoli; Marti, Laura; Guijosa, Alex

2014-01-01

This paper explores how wiki may be used to support secondary education students' collaborative creativity processes and how such interaction can promote critical and creativity thinking. A science case-based project in which 81 secondary students participated was designed, implemented and evaluated. Students worked in the science wiki project…

Localized surface plasmon mediated energy transfer in the vicinity of core-shell nanoparticle

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

Shishodia, Manmohan Singh, E-mail: manmohan@gbu.ac.in; Juneja, Soniya

2016-05-28

Multipole spectral expansion based theory of energy transfer interactions between a donor and an acceptor molecule in the vicinity of a core-shell (nanoshell or core@shell) based plasmonic nanostructure is developed. In view of the diverse applications and rich plasmonic features such as tuning capability of surface plasmon (SP) frequencies, greater sensitivity to the change of dielectric environment, controllable redirection of electromagnetic radiation, closed form expressions for Energy Transfer Rate Enhancement Factor (ETREF) near core-shell particle are reported. The dependence of ETREF on different parameters is established through fitting equations, perceived to be of key importance for developing appropriate designs. Themore » theoretical approach developed in the present work is capable of treating higher order multipoles, which, in turn, are also shown to play a crucial role in the present context. Moreover, closed form expressions derived in the present work can directly be used as formula, e.g., for designing SP based biosensors and estimating energy exchange between proteins and excitonic interactions in quantum dots.« less

An Affordance-Based Framework for Human Computation and Human-Computer Collaboration.

PubMed

Crouser, R J; Chang, R

2012-12-01

Visual Analytics is "the science of analytical reasoning facilitated by visual interactive interfaces". The goal of this field is to develop tools and methodologies for approaching problems whose size and complexity render them intractable without the close coupling of both human and machine analysis. Researchers have explored this coupling in many venues: VAST, Vis, InfoVis, CHI, KDD, IUI, and more. While there have been myriad promising examples of human-computer collaboration, there exists no common language for comparing systems or describing the benefits afforded by designing for such collaboration. We argue that this area would benefit significantly from consensus about the design attributes that define and distinguish existing techniques. In this work, we have reviewed 1,271 papers from many of the top-ranking conferences in visual analytics, human-computer interaction, and visualization. From these, we have identified 49 papers that are representative of the study of human-computer collaborative problem-solving, and provide a thorough overview of the current state-of-the-art. Our analysis has uncovered key patterns of design hinging on human and machine-intelligence affordances, and also indicates unexplored avenues in the study of this area. The results of this analysis provide a common framework for understanding these seemingly disparate branches of inquiry, which we hope will motivate future work in the field.

Internal aerodynamics of a generic three-dimensional scramjet inlet at Mach 10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holland, Scott D.

1995-01-01

A combined computational and experimental parametric study of the internal aerodynamics of a generic three-dimensional sidewall compression scramjet inlet configuration at Mach 10 has been performed. The study was designed to demonstrate the utility of computational fluid dynamics as a design tool in hypersonic inlet flow fields, to provide a detailed account of the nature and structure of the internal flow interactions, and to provide a comprehensive surface property and flow field database to determine the effects of contraction ratio, cowl position, and Reynolds number on the performance of a hypersonic scramjet inlet configuration. The work proceeded in several phases: the initial inviscid assessment of the internal shock structure, the preliminary computational parametric study, the coupling of the optimized configuration with the physical limitations of the facility, the wind tunnel blockage assessment, and the computational and experimental parametric study of the final configuration. Good agreement between computation and experimentation was observed in the magnitude and location of the interactions, particularly for weakly interacting flow fields. Large-scale forward separations resulted when the interaction strength was increased by increasing the contraction ratio or decreasing the Reynolds number.

Platform construction and extraction mechanism study of magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction

PubMed Central

Xiao, Deli; Zhang, Chan; He, Jia; Zeng, Rong; Chen, Rong; He, Hua

2016-01-01

Simple, accurate and high-throughput pretreatment method would facilitate large-scale studies of trace analysis in complex samples. Magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction has the power to become a key pretreatment method in biological, environmental and clinical research. However, lacking of experimental predictability and unsharpness of extraction mechanism limit the development of this promising method. Herein, this work tries to establish theoretical-based experimental designs for extraction of trace analytes from complex samples using magnetic mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction. We selected three categories and six sub-types of compounds for systematic comparative study of extraction mechanism, and comprehensively illustrated the roles of different force (hydrophobic interaction, π-π stacking interactions, hydrogen-bonding interaction, electrostatic interaction) for the first time. What’s more, the application guidelines for supporting materials, surfactants and sample matrix were also summarized. The extraction mechanism and platform established in the study render its future promising for foreseeable and efficient pretreatment under theoretical based experimental design for trace analytes from environmental, biological and clinical samples. PMID:27924944

Optimizing energy functions for protein-protein interface design.

PubMed

Sharabi, Oz; Yanover, Chen; Dekel, Ayelet; Shifman, Julia M

2011-01-15

Protein design methods have been originally developed for the design of monomeric proteins. When applied to the more challenging task of protein–protein complex design, these methods yield suboptimal results. In particular, they often fail to recapitulate favorable hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions across the interface. In this work, we aim to improve the energy function of the protein design program ORBIT to better account for binding interactions between proteins. By using the advanced machine learning framework of conditional random fields, we optimize the relative importance of all the terms in the energy function, attempting to reproduce the native side-chain conformations in protein–protein interfaces. We evaluate the performance of several optimized energy functions, each describes the van der Waals interactions using a different potential. In comparison with the original energy function, our best energy function (a) incorporates a much “softer” repulsive van der Waals potential, suitable for the discrete rotameric representation of amino acid side chains; (b) does not penalize burial of polar atoms, reflecting the frequent occurrence of polar buried residues in protein–protein interfaces; and (c) significantly up-weights the electrostatic term, attesting to the high importance of these interactions for protein–protein complex formation. Using this energy function considerably improves side chain placement accuracy for interface residues in a large test set of protein–protein complexes. Moreover, the optimized energy function recovers the native sequences of protein–protein interface at a higher rate than the default function and performs substantially better in predicting changes in free energy of binding due to mutations.

Pilot interaction with cockpit automation 2: An experimental study of pilots' model and awareness of the Flight Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarter, Nadine B.; Woods, David D.

1994-01-01

Technological developments have made it possible to automate more and more functions on the commercial aviation flight deck and in other dynamic high-consequence domains. This increase in the degrees of freedom in design has shifted questions away from narrow technological feasibility. Many concerned groups, from designers and operators to regulators and researchers, have begun to ask questions about how we should use the possibilities afforded by technology skillfully to support and expand human performance. In this article, we report on an experimental study that addressed these questions by examining pilot interaction with the current generation of flight deck automation. Previous results on pilot-automation interaction derived from pilot surveys, incident reports, and training observations have produced a corpus of features and contexts in which human-machine coordination is likely to break down (e.g., automation surprises). We used these data to design a simulated flight scenario that contained a variety of probes designed to reveal pilots' mental model of one major component of flight deck automation: the Flight Management System (FMS). The events within the scenario were also designed to probe pilots' ability to apply their knowledge and understanding in specific flight contexts and to examine their ability to track the status and behavior of the automated system (mode awareness). Although pilots were able to 'make the system work' in standard situations, the results reveal a variety of latent problems in pilot-FMS interaction that can affect pilot performance in nonnormal time critical situations.

Definition of design criteria of mechanical transfer: an interaction between engineering and health areas.

PubMed

Luz, Taciana Ramos; Echternacht, Eliza Helena de Oliveira

2012-01-01

This study aims to analyze the factors that justify the low use of a mechanical transfer in the context of a long-term institution. It is a device intended for internal transportation of individuals who have mobility problems. The analysis involves researchers from the fields of health and engineering in order to generate design criteria that consider the needs of caregivers and patients of this institution. To understand the reality of this site and their specificities, was used Ergonomic Work Analysis.

The effect of individual differences in working memory in older adults on performance with different degrees of automated technology.

PubMed

Pak, Richard; McLaughlin, Anne Collins; Leidheiser, William; Rovira, Ericka

2017-04-01

A leading hypothesis to explain older adults' overdependence on automation is age-related declines in working memory. However, it has not been empirically examined. The purpose of the current experiment was to examine how working memory affected performance with different degrees of automation in older adults. In contrast to the well-supported idea that higher degrees of automation, when the automation is correct, benefits performance but higher degrees of automation, when the automation fails, increasingly harms performance, older adults benefited from higher degrees of automation when the automation was correct but were not differentially harmed by automation failures. Surprisingly, working memory did not interact with degree of automation but did interact with automation correctness or failure. When automation was correct, older adults with higher working memory ability had better performance than those with lower abilities. But when automation was incorrect, all older adults, regardless of working memory ability, performed poorly. Practitioner Summary: The design of automation intended for older adults should focus on ways of making the correctness of the automation apparent to the older user and suggest ways of helping them recover when it is malfunctioning.

Openness to experience, work experience and patient safety.

PubMed

Chang, Hao-Yuan; Friesner, Daniel; Lee, I-Chen; Chu, Tsung-Lan; Chen, Hui-Ling; Wu, Wan-Er; Teng, Ching-I

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study is to examine how the interaction between nurse openness and work experience is related to patient safety. No study has yet examined the interactions between these, and how openness and work experience jointly impact patient safety. This study adopts a cross-sectional design, using self-reported work experience, perceived time pressure and measures of patient safety, and was conducted in a major medical centre. The sample consisted of 421 full-time nurses from all available units in the centre. Proportionate random sampling was used. Patient safety was measured using the self-reported frequency of common adverse events. Openness was self-rated using items identified in the relevant literature. Nurse openness is positively related to the patient safety construct (B = 0.08, P = 0.03). Moreover, work experience reduces the relation between openness and patient safety (B = -0.12, P < 0.01). The relationship between openness, work experience and patient safety suggests a new means of improving patient care in a health system setting. Nurse managers may enhance patient safety by assessing nurse openness and assigning highly open nurses to duties that make maximum use of that trait. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Re-Sonification of Objects, Events, and Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fink, Alex M.

Digital sound synthesis allows the creation of a great variety of sounds. Focusing on interesting or ecologically valid sounds for music, simulation, aesthetics, or other purposes limits the otherwise vast digital audio palette. Tools for creating such sounds vary from arbitrary methods of altering recordings to precise simulations of vibrating objects. In this work, methods of sound synthesis by re-sonification are considered. Re-sonification, herein, refers to the general process of analyzing, possibly transforming, and resynthesizing or reusing recorded sounds in meaningful ways, to convey information. Applied to soundscapes, re-sonification is presented as a means of conveying activity within an environment. Applied to the sounds of objects, this work examines modeling the perception of objects as well as their physical properties and the ability to simulate interactive events with such objects. To create soundscapes to re-sonify geographic environments, a method of automated soundscape design is presented. Using recorded sounds that are classified based on acoustic, social, semantic, and geographic information, this method produces stochastically generated soundscapes to re-sonify selected geographic areas. Drawing on prior knowledge, local sounds and those deemed similar comprise a locale's soundscape. In the context of re-sonifying events, this work examines processes for modeling and estimating the excitations of sounding objects. These include plucking, striking, rubbing, and any interaction that imparts energy into a system, affecting the resultant sound. A method of estimating a linear system's input, constrained to a signal-subspace, is presented and applied toward improving the estimation of percussive excitations for re-sonification. To work toward robust recording-based modeling and re-sonification of objects, new implementations of banded waveguide (BWG) models are proposed for object modeling and sound synthesis. Previous implementations of BWGs use arbitrary model parameters and may produce a range of simulations that do not match digital waveguide or modal models of the same design. Subject to linear excitations, some models proposed here behave identically to other equivalently designed physical models. Under nonlinear interactions, such as bowing, many of the proposed implementations exhibit improvements in the attack characteristics of synthesized sounds.

Ergonomics and sustainability in the design of everyday use products.

PubMed

Tosi, Francesca

2012-01-01

The relationship between Ergonomics and Design is a key element in the sustainability project, as well as in many other areas of experimental design. In the Design for Sustainability field, Ergonomics is a strategic factor for design culture innovation, providing designers with the necessary knowledge and skills regarding human characteristics and capabilities, as well as user needs and desires during use and interaction with products in work activities and everyday life. Ergonomics is also a strategic innovative factor in design development and manufacturing processes. In fact, ergonomics provides a methodological approach in user-product interaction evaluation processes through the use of participatory design and survey methods, user trials, direct observation, savings and resource conservation, etc.On the other hand, design offers solutions able to interpret user needs and expectations, at the same time suggesting new behaviors and lifestyles.In Design for Sustainability, the ergonomic and user-centered approach contributes greatly to lifestyles and innovative use of products--making it possible to understand and interpret real people needs and expectations in their everyday actions and behavior.New consumption patterns, new awareness of lifestyles, energy source consumption, purchasing methods and consumption style etc. can be supported by design innovation, responding to expressed and unexpressed user needs. With this in mind, the ergonomic approach represents the starting point for design choices and at the same time, a tool for assessing their appropriateness and effectiveness.

Clarifying Work-Family Intervention Processes: The Roles of Work-Family Conflict and Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors

PubMed Central

Hammer, Leslie B.; Kossek, Ellen E.; Anger, W. Kent; Bodner, Todd; Zimmerman, Kristi L.

2010-01-01

Drawing on a conceptual model integrating research on training, work-family interventions, and social support, we conducted a quasi-experimental field study to assess the impact of a supervisory training and self-monitoring intervention designed to increase supervisors' use of family supportive supervisor behaviors. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were completed, nine months apart, by 239 employees at six intervention (N = 117) and six control (N = 122) grocery store sites. Thirty-nine supervisors in the six intervention sites received the training consisting of one hour of self-paced computer-based training, one hour of face-to-face group training, followed by instructions for behavioral self-monitoring (recording the frequency of supportive behaviors) to support on-the-job transfer. Results demonstrated a disordinal interaction for the effect of training and family-to-work conflict on employee job satisfaction, turnover intentions and physical health. In particular, for these outcomes, positive training effects were observed for employees with high family-to-work conflict, while negative training effects were observed for employees with low family-to-work conflict. These moderation effects were mediated by the interactive effect of training and family-to-work conflict on employee perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Implications of our findings for future work-family intervention development and evaluation are discussed. PMID:20853943

A Randomized Trial Comparing Classical Participatory Design to VandAID, an Interactive CrowdSourcing Platform to Facilitate User-centered Design.

PubMed

Dufendach, Kevin R; Koch, Sabine; Unertl, Kim M; Lehmann, Christoph U

2017-10-26

Early involvement of stakeholders in the design of medical software is particularly important due to the need to incorporate complex knowledge and actions associated with clinical work. Standard user-centered design methods include focus groups and participatory design sessions with individual stakeholders, which generally limit user involvement to a small number of individuals due to the significant time investments from designers and end users. The goal of this project was to reduce the effort for end users to participate in co-design of a software user interface by developing an interactive web-based crowdsourcing platform. In a randomized trial, we compared a new web-based crowdsourcing platform to standard participatory design sessions. We developed an interactive, modular platform that allows responsive remote customization and design feedback on a visual user interface based on user preferences. The responsive canvas is a dynamic HTML template that responds in real time to user preference selections. Upon completion, the design team can view the user's interface creations through an administrator portal and download the structured selections through a REDCap interface. We have created a software platform that allows users to customize a user interface and see the results of that customization in real time, receiving immediate feedback on the impact of their design choices. Neonatal clinicians used the new platform to successfully design and customize a neonatal handoff tool. They received no specific instruction and yet were able to use the software easily and reported high usability. VandAID, a new web-based crowdsourcing platform, can involve multiple users in user-centered design simultaneously and provides means of obtaining design feedback remotely. The software can provide design feedback at any stage in the design process, but it will be of greatest utility for specifying user requirements and evaluating iterative designs with multiple options.

Design and implementation of the web Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocha S., Luz Angela; Bonilla, Johnatan; Bernal, Julio; Duarte, Catherine; Rodriguez, Alejandro

2018-05-01

The Atlas Lingüístico y Etnográfico de Colombia (Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Colombia), known by "ALEC" is a compilation of popular speaking Spanish of the populations of Colombia; such research was carried out for more than fifty years. The result of this work is a collection of thematic maps organized in six volumes and its supplements in analog format. In that sense was created the project entitles "Interactive ALEC" which main objective is to develop a digital and interactive web version of the ethnographic and Linguistic Atlas of Colombia (1983) and its supplements. In this way the Corpus linguistics research group belonging to the Institute Caro y Cuervo and the research group NIDE of the Universidad Distrital "Francisco José de Caldas" have been working together in the design and development of the Atlas Web, that allows the visualization and consulting of the spatial information contained in the volume III of the analog ALEC Atlas, applying concepts of Geographical Information Systems and web cartography. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to show the process of design and development of the web prototype of the ALEC as a collection of static and dynamic maps, which show spatial information, combined with multimedia content, taking into account that in addition to all maps, the total compendium includes images, illustrations, photographs, audio and text comments. Likewise, the interactive ALEC is a good example of how to use geo-technology tools nowadays, because they are essential for the dissemination of geo linguistic information through internet, achieving more access and distribution of the Atlas web.

Verbal collision avoidance messages during simulated driving: perceived urgency, alerting effectiveness and annoyance.

PubMed

Baldwin, Carryl L

2011-04-01

Matching the perceived urgency of an alert with the relative hazard level of the situation is critical for effective alarm response. Two experiments describe the impact of acoustic and semantic parameters on ratings of perceived urgency, annoyance and alerting effectiveness and on alarm response speed. Within a simulated driving context, participants rated and responded to collision avoidance system (CAS) messages spoken by a female or male voice (experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Results indicated greater perceived urgency and faster alarm response times as intensity increased from -2 dB signal to noise (S/N) ratio to +10 dB S/N, although annoyance ratings increased as well. CAS semantic content interacted with alarm intensity, indicating that at lower intensity levels participants paid more attention to the semantic content. Results indicate that both acoustic and semantic parameters independently and interactively impact CAS alert perceptions in divided attention conditions and this work can inform auditory alarm design for effective hazard matching. Matching the perceived urgency of an alert with the relative hazard level of the situation is critical for effective alarm response. Here, both acoustic and semantic parameters independently and interactively impacted CAS alert perceptions in divided attention conditions. This work can inform auditory alarm design for effective hazard matching. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Results indicate that both acoustic parameters and semantic content can be used to design collision warnings with a range of urgency levels. Further, these results indicate that verbal warnings tailored to a specific hazard situation may improve hazard-matching capabilities without substantial trade-offs in perceived annoyance.

Building blocks for protein interaction devices

PubMed Central

Grünberg, Raik; Ferrar, Tony S.; van der Sloot, Almer M.; Constante, Marco; Serrano, Luis

2010-01-01

Here, we propose a framework for the design of synthetic protein networks from modular protein–protein or protein–peptide interactions and provide a starter toolkit of protein building blocks. Our proof of concept experiments outline a general work flow for part–based protein systems engineering. We streamlined the iterative BioBrick cloning protocol and assembled 25 synthetic multidomain proteins each from seven standardized DNA fragments. A systematic screen revealed two main factors controlling protein expression in Escherichia coli: obstruction of translation initiation by mRNA secondary structure or toxicity of individual domains. Eventually, 13 proteins were purified for further characterization. Starting from well-established biotechnological tools, two general–purpose interaction input and two readout devices were built and characterized in vitro. Constitutive interaction input was achieved with a pair of synthetic leucine zippers. The second interaction was drug-controlled utilizing the rapamycin-induced binding of FRB(T2098L) to FKBP12. The interaction kinetics of both devices were analyzed by surface plasmon resonance. Readout was based on Förster resonance energy transfer between fluorescent proteins and was quantified for various combinations of input and output devices. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of parts-based protein synthetic biology. Additionally, we identify future challenges and limitations of modular design along with approaches to address them. PMID:20215443

Homeward Bound: Ecological Design of Domestic Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wastell, David G.; Sauer, Juergen S.; Schmeink, Claudia

Information technology artefacts are steadily permeating everyday life, just as they have colonized the business domain. Although research in our field has largely addressed the workplace, researchers are beginning to take an interest in the home environment too. Here, we address the domestic realm, focusing on the design of complex, interactive information systems. As such, our work sits in the design science version rather than behavioral science paradigm of IS research. We argue that the home is in many ways a more challenging environment for the designer than the workplace, making good design of critical importance. Regrettably, the opposite would appear to be the norm. Two experiments are reported, both concerned with the design of the user interface for domestic heating systems. Of note is our use of a medium-fidelity laboratory simulation or "microworld" in this work. Two main substantive findings resulted. First, that ecologically designed feedback, embodying a strong mapping between task goals and system status, produced superior task performance. Second, that predictive decision aids provided clear benefits over other forms of user support, such as advisory systems. General implications for the design of domestic information systems are discussed, followed by reflections on the nature of design work in IS, and on the design science project itself. It is concluded that the microworld approach has considerable potential for developing IS design theory. The methodological challenges of design research are highlighted, especially the presence of additional validity threats posed by the need to construct artefacts in order to evaluate theory. It is argued that design theory is necessarily complex, modal, and uncertain, and that design science (like design itself) should be prosecuted in an open, heuristic spirit, drawing more on the proven methods of "good design" (e.g.,prototyping, user participation) in terms of its own praxis.

Interface Anywhere: Development of a Voice and Gesture System for Spaceflight Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Shelby; Haddock, Maxwell; Overland, David

2013-01-01

The Interface Anywhere Project was funded through Innovation Charge Account (ICA) at NASA JSC in the Fall of 2012. The project was collaboration between human factors and engineering to explore the possibility of designing an interface to control basic habitat operations through gesture and voice control; (a) Current interfaces require the users to be physically near an input device in order to interact with the system; and (b) By using voice and gesture commands, the user is able to interact with the system anywhere they want within the work environment.

Aerodynamics of advanced axial-flow turbomachinery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Serovy, G. K.; Kavanagh, P.; Kiishi, T. H.

1980-01-01

A multi-task research program on aerodynamic problems in advanced axial-flow turbomachine configurations was carried out at Iowa State University. The elements of this program were intended to contribute directly to the improvement of compressor, fan, and turbine design methods. Experimental efforts in intra-passage flow pattern measurements, unsteady blade row interaction, and control of secondary flow are included, along with computational work on inviscid-viscous interaction blade passage flow techniques. This final report summarizes the results of this program and indicates directions which might be taken in following up these results in future work. In a separate task a study was made of existing turbomachinery research programs and facilities in universities located in the United States. Some potentially significant research topics are discussed which might be successfully attacked in the university atmosphere.

Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus: A NASA tool used to develop and manage graphical user interfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szczur, Martha R.

1992-01-01

The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus was built to support the construction of graphical user interfaces (GUI's) for highly interactive applications, such as real-time processing systems and scientific analysis systems. It is a general purpose portable tool that includes a 'What You See Is What You Get' WorkBench that allows user interface designers to layout and manipulate windows and interaction objects. The WorkBench includes both user entry objects (e.g., radio buttons, menus) and data-driven objects (e.g., dials, gages, stripcharts), which dynamically change based on values of realtime data. Discussed here is what TAE Plus provides, how the implementation has utilized state-of-the-art technologies within graphic workstations, and how it has been used both within and without NASA.

General approach and scope. [rotor blade design optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adelman, Howard M.; Mantay, Wayne R.

1989-01-01

This paper describes a joint activity involving NASA and Army researchers at the NASA Langley Research Center to develop optimization procedures aimed at improving the rotor blade design process by integrating appropriate disciplines and accounting for all of the important interactions among the disciplines. The disciplines involved include rotor aerodynamics, rotor dynamics, rotor structures, airframe dynamics, and acoustics. The work is focused on combining these five key disciplines in an optimization procedure capable of designing a rotor system to satisfy multidisciplinary design requirements. Fundamental to the plan is a three-phased approach. In phase 1, the disciplines of blade dynamics, blade aerodynamics, and blade structure will be closely coupled, while acoustics and airframe dynamics will be decoupled and be accounted for as effective constraints on the design for the first three disciplines. In phase 2, acoustics is to be integrated with the first three disciplines. Finally, in phase 3, airframe dynamics will be fully integrated with the other four disciplines. This paper deals with details of the phase 1 approach and includes details of the optimization formulation, design variables, constraints, and objective function, as well as details of discipline interactions, analysis methods, and methods for validating the procedure.

An empirical evaluation of graphical interfaces to support flight planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Philip J.; Mccoy, Elaine; Layton, Chuck; Bihari, Tom

1995-01-01

Whether optimization techniques or expert systems technologies are used, the underlying inference processes and the model or knowledge base for a computerized problem-solving system are likely to be incomplete for any given complex, real-world task. To deal with the resultant brittleness, it has been suggested that 'cooperative' rather than 'automated' problem-solving systems be designed. Such cooperative systems are proposed to explicitly enhance the collaboration of people and the computer system when working in partnership to solve problems. This study evaluates the impact of alternative design concepts on the performance of airline pilots interacting with such a cooperative system designed to support enroute flight planning. Thirty pilots were studied using three different versions of the system. The results clearly demonstrate that different system design concepts can strongly influence the cognitive processes of users. Indeed, one of the designs studied caused four times as many pilots to accept a poor flight amendment. Based on think-aloud protocols, cognitive models are proposed to account for how features of the computer system interacted with specific types of scenarios to influence exploration and decision-making by the pilots. The results are then used to develop recommendations for guiding the design of cooperative systems.

Contextual Shaping of Student Design Practices: The Role of Constraint in First-Year Engineering Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goncher, Andrea M.

thResearch on engineering design is a core area of concern within engineering education, and a fundamental understanding of how engineering students approach and undertake design is necessary in order to develop effective design models and pedagogies. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on engineering design by addressing a critical, but as yet underexplored, problem: how does the context in which students design shape their design practices? Using a qualitative study comprising of video data of design sessions, focus group interviews with students, and archives of their design work, this research explored how design decisions and actions are shaped by context, specifically the context of higher education. To develop a theoretical explanation for observed behavior, this study used the nested structuration. framework proposed by Perlow, Gittell, & Katz (2004). This framework explicated how teamwork is shaped by mutually reinforcing relationships at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. I appropriated this framework to look specifically at how engineering students working on a course-related design project identify constraints that guide their design and how these constraints emerge as students interact while working on the project. I first identified and characterized the parameters associated with the design project from the student perspective and then, through multi-case studies of four design teams, I looked at the role these parameters play in student design practices. This qualitative investigation of first-year engineering student design teams revealed mutual and interconnected relationships between students and the organizations and institutions that they are a part of. In addition to contributing to research on engineering design, this work provides guidelines and practices to help design educators develop more effective design projects by incorporating constraints that enable effective design and learning. Moreover, I found that when appropriated in the context of higher education, multiple sublevels existed within nested structuration's organizational context and included course-level and project-level factors. The implications of this research can be used to improve the design of engineering course projects as well as the design of research efforts related to design in engineering education.

Presentation of self and symptoms in primary care consultations involving patients from non-English speaking backgrounds.

PubMed

Roberts, Celia; Sarangi, Srikant; Moss, Becky

2004-01-01

This paper draws on the PLEDGE research project (Patients with Limited English and Doctors in General Practice) 1 The Patients with Limited English and Doctors in General Practice (PLEDGE) project was funded by Sir Siegmund Warburg's Voluntary Settlement (2001-2003). The research team was: Celia Roberts, Roger Jones, Becky Moss, Srikant Sarangi and Val Wass. which has a database of 232 video-recorded interactions from GP surgeries in South East London. We focus on the opening episodes-the first opportunity the patient has to report on why they have come to see the doctor-to explore some of the contrasts in self presentation and the interactional work that doctors do when faced with the unexpected. Patients who speak a local London or standard variety of English present three aspects: a description of symptoms, the context in which they occurred, and an affective or epistemic stance. These 'micro discourse routines' are accomplished interactionally through the design of figure/ground relationships, framing and metacommunication and presentation of the 'moral self'. Although some patients from non-English speaking backgrounds use broadly similar 'micro discourse routines', the majority configure the relationship between medically salient facts, adequate contextual information and the stance which conveys the 'moral self' in different and apparently less 'orderly' ways. So openings often become protracted and harder work interactionally for both sides. While conversation analytic studies and communication skills textbooks represent the medical consultations as orderly, we suggest that such apparent orderliness must, at least, be partly the result of ironing out linguistic and cultural diversity. Interactional sociolinguistic analysis is used to shed light on the design of these routines and to provide analytic frameworks for doctors in reflecting on their own practice in ways which challenge patient-centred models.

JPL control/structure interaction test bed real-time control computer architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briggs, Hugh C.

1989-01-01

The Control/Structure Interaction Program is a technology development program for spacecraft that exhibit interactions between the control system and structural dynamics. The program objectives include development and verification of new design concepts - such as active structure - and new tools - such as combined structure and control optimization algorithm - and their verification in ground and possibly flight test. A focus mission spacecraft was designed based upon a space interferometer and is the basis for design of the ground test article. The ground test bed objectives include verification of the spacecraft design concepts, the active structure elements and certain design tools such as the new combined structures and controls optimization tool. In anticipation of CSI technology flight experiments, the test bed control electronics must emulate the computation capacity and control architectures of space qualifiable systems as well as the command and control networks that will be used to connect investigators with the flight experiment hardware. The Test Bed facility electronics were functionally partitioned into three units: a laboratory data acquisition system for structural parameter identification and performance verification; an experiment supervisory computer to oversee the experiment, monitor the environmental parameters and perform data logging; and a multilevel real-time control computing system. The design of the Test Bed electronics is presented along with hardware and software component descriptions. The system should break new ground in experimental control electronics and is of interest to anyone working in the verification of control concepts for large structures.

The MVM imaging system and its spacecraft interactions. [Mariner Venus/Mercury TV system performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vescelus, F. E.

1975-01-01

The present work describes the main considerations and steps taken in determining the functional design of the imaging system of the Mariner Venus/Mercury (MVM) spacecraft and gives examples of some of the interactions between the spacecraft and the imaging instrument during the design and testing phases. Stringent cost and scheduling constraints dictated the use of the previous Mariner 9 dual-camera TV system. The TV parameters laid the groundwork for the imaging definition. Based on the flyby distances from Venus and Mercury and the goal of surface resolution better than 500 meters per sample pair, calculation was performed on focal length, format size, planetary coverage, and data rates. Some problems encountered in initial mechanical operation and as a result of spacecraft drift during the mission are also discussed.

The challenge of causal inference in gene-environment interaction research: leveraging research designs from the social sciences.

PubMed

Fletcher, Jason M; Conley, Dalton

2013-10-01

The integration of genetics and the social sciences will lead to a more complex understanding of the articulation between social and biological processes, although the empirical difficulties inherent in this integration are large. One key challenge is the implications of moving "outside the lab" and away from the experimental tools available for research with model organisms. Social science research methods used to examine human behavior in nonexperimental, real-world settings to date have not been fully taken advantage of during this disciplinary integration, especially in the form of gene-environment interaction research. This article outlines and provides examples of several prominent research designs that should be used in gene-environment research and highlights a key benefit to geneticists of working with social scientists.

Geometric modeling for computer aided design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwing, James L.; Olariu, Stephen

1995-01-01

The primary goal of this grant has been the design and implementation of software to be used in the conceptual design of aerospace vehicles particularly focused on the elements of geometric design, graphical user interfaces, and the interaction of the multitude of software typically used in this engineering environment. This has resulted in the development of several analysis packages and design studies. These include two major software systems currently used in the conceptual level design of aerospace vehicles. These tools are SMART, the Solid Modeling Aerospace Research Tool, and EASIE, the Environment for Software Integration and Execution. Additional software tools were designed and implemented to address the needs of the engineer working in the conceptual design environment. SMART provides conceptual designers with a rapid prototyping capability and several engineering analysis capabilities. In addition, SMART has a carefully engineered user interface that makes it easy to learn and use. Finally, a number of specialty characteristics have been built into SMART which allow it to be used efficiently as a front end geometry processor for other analysis packages. EASIE provides a set of interactive utilities that simplify the task of building and executing computer aided design systems consisting of diverse, stand-alone, analysis codes. Resulting in a streamlining of the exchange of data between programs reducing errors and improving the efficiency. EASIE provides both a methodology and a collection of software tools to ease the task of coordinating engineering design and analysis codes.

Cell-matrix mechanical interaction in electrospun polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering: Implications for scaffold design and performance.

PubMed

Kennedy, Kelsey M; Bhaw-Luximon, Archana; Jhurry, Dhanjay

2017-03-01

Engineered scaffolds produced by electrospinning of biodegradable polymers offer a 3D, nanofibrous environment with controllable structural, chemical, and mechanical properties that mimic the extracellular matrix of native tissues and have shown promise for a number of tissue engineering applications. The microscale mechanical interactions between cells and electrospun matrices drive cell behaviors including migration and differentiation that are critical to promote tissue regeneration. Recent developments in understanding these mechanical interactions in electrospun environments are reviewed, with emphasis on how fiber geometry and polymer structure impact on the local mechanical properties of scaffolds, how altering the micromechanics cues cell behaviors, and how, in turn, cellular and extrinsic forces exerted on the matrix mechanically remodel an electrospun scaffold throughout tissue development. Techniques used to measure and visualize these mechanical interactions are described. We provide a critical outlook on technological gaps that must be overcome to advance the ability to design, assess, and manipulate the mechanical environment in electrospun scaffolds toward constructs that may be successfully applied in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering requires design of scaffolds that interact with cells to promote tissue development. Electrospinning is a promising technique for fabricating fibrous, biomimetic scaffolds. Effects of electrospun matrix microstructure and biochemical properties on cell behavior have been extensively reviewed previously; here, we consider cell-matrix interaction from a mechanical perspective. Micromechanical properties as a driver of cell behavior has been well established in planar substrates, but more recently, many studies have provided new insights into mechanical interaction in fibrillar, electrospun environments. This review provides readers with an overview of how electrospun scaffold mechanics and cell behavior work in a dynamic feedback loop to drive tissue development, and discusses opportunities for improved design of mechanical environments that are conducive to tissue development. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combined effects of uncertainty and organizational justice on employee health: testing the uncertainty management model of fairness judgments among Finnish public sector employees.

PubMed

Elovainio, Marko; van den Bos, Kees; Linna, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Ala-Mursula, Leena; Pentti, Jaana; Vahtera, Jussi

2005-12-01

We examined whether the combination of uncertainty (lack of work-time control, and negative changes at work) and organizational justice (i.e., justice of decision-making procedures and interpersonal treatment at work) contributes to sickness absence. A total of 7083 male and 24,317 female Finnish public sector employees completed questionnaires designed to assess organizational justice, workload and other factors. Hierarchical regression showed that after adjustment for age, income, and health behaviors low procedural and interactional justice were related to long sickness absence spells. In accordance with the uncertainty management model, these associations were dependent on experienced work-time control and perceived changes at work.

Classwide peer tutoring: an integration strategy to improve reading skills and promote peer interactions among students with autism and general education peers.

PubMed Central

Kamps, D M; Barbetta, P M; Leonard, B R; Delquadri, J

1994-01-01

A multiple baseline design across subjects with a reversal was used to examine the effects of classwide peer tutoring relative to traditional reading instruction on reading skills and social interaction time for 3 high-functioning students with autism and their typical peers in integrated, general education classrooms. Traditional reading instruction consisted largely of teacher-led instruction with individual student participation and seat work. Classwide peer tutoring consisted of 25 to 30 min of well-specified instruction in which tutor-learner pairs worked together on a classwide basis on reading fluency and comprehension skills. All students participated in 15- to 20-min unstructured free-time activities immediately following reading instruction. Results of reading assessments demonstrated that classwide peer tutoring increased reading fluency and correct responses to reading comprehension questions for students with autism and their peers. The procedure further increased the total duration of free-time social interactions for students with autism and typical peers, with individual variation in performance. PMID:8188563

Exploring the Complexities of Group Work in Science Class: a Cautionary tale of Voice and Equitable Access to Resources for Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richmond, Gail

The interactions of 2 focus students with others in their cooperative base groups were examined as the students designed, carried out, and interpreted scientific investigations. These 2 students differed with respect to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and academic achievement. They were alike in that both maintained high levels of motivation and interaction with the scientific problems they faced. Their group interactions were not entirely positive, and the difficulties and inequities they faced are described. The data make manifest that group work is a complex process; educators must be sensitive and responsive to the subtle ways understanding can be enhanced or undermined as a result of group dynamics, which are in turn determined by individual expectations - often unfounded - of others' capacities and behaviors, and perceptions of desired group and individual outcomes. These observations also have implications for how educators help prepare prospective teachers to develop effective pedagogical strategies for teaching diverse students.

SARSCEST (human factors)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parsons, H. Mcilvaine

1988-01-01

People interact with the processes and products of contemporary technology. Individuals are affected by these in various ways and individuals shape them. Such interactions come under the label 'human factors'. To expand the understanding of those to whom the term is relatively unfamiliar, its domain includes both an applied science and applications of knowledge. It means both research and development, with implications of research both for basic science and for development. It encompasses not only design and testing but also training and personnel requirements, even though some unwisely try to split these apart both by name and institutionally. The territory includes more than performance at work, though concentration on that aspect, epitomized in the derivation of the term ergonomics, has overshadowed human factors interest in interactions between technology and the home, health, safety, consumers, children and later life, the handicapped, sports and recreation education, and travel. Two aspects of technology considered most significant for work performance, systems and automation, and several approaches to these, are discussed.

Formal Validation of Fault Management Design Solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, Corrina; Karban, Robert; Andolfato, Luigi; Day, John

2013-01-01

The work presented in this paper describes an approach used to develop SysML modeling patterns to express the behavior of fault protection, test the model's logic by performing fault injection simulations, and verify the fault protection system's logical design via model checking. A representative example, using a subset of the fault protection design for the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) system, was modeled with SysML State Machines and JavaScript as Action Language. The SysML model captures interactions between relevant system components and system behavior abstractions (mode managers, error monitors, fault protection engine, and devices/switches). Development of a method to implement verifiable and lightweight executable fault protection models enables future missions to have access to larger fault test domains and verifiable design patterns. A tool-chain to transform the SysML model to jpf-Statechart compliant Java code and then verify the generated code via model checking was established. Conclusions and lessons learned from this work are also described, as well as potential avenues for further research and development.

iDrug: a web-accessible and interactive drug discovery and design platform

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The progress in computer-aided drug design (CADD) approaches over the past decades accelerated the early-stage pharmaceutical research. Many powerful standalone tools for CADD have been developed in academia. As programs are developed by various research groups, a consistent user-friendly online graphical working environment, combining computational techniques such as pharmacophore mapping, similarity calculation, scoring, and target identification is needed. Results We presented a versatile, user-friendly, and efficient online tool for computer-aided drug design based on pharmacophore and 3D molecular similarity searching. The web interface enables binding sites detection, virtual screening hits identification, and drug targets prediction in an interactive manner through a seamless interface to all adapted packages (e.g., Cavity, PocketV.2, PharmMapper, SHAFTS). Several commercially available compound databases for hit identification and a well-annotated pharmacophore database for drug targets prediction were integrated in iDrug as well. The web interface provides tools for real-time molecular building/editing, converting, displaying, and analyzing. All the customized configurations of the functional modules can be accessed through featured session files provided, which can be saved to the local disk and uploaded to resume or update the history work. Conclusions iDrug is easy to use, and provides a novel, fast and reliable tool for conducting drug design experiments. By using iDrug, various molecular design processing tasks can be submitted and visualized simply in one browser without installing locally any standalone modeling softwares. iDrug is accessible free of charge at http://lilab.ecust.edu.cn/idrug. PMID:24955134

The effect of workstation and task variables on forces applied during simulated meat cutting.

PubMed

McGorry, Raymond W; Dempsey, Patrick G; O'Brien, Niall V

2004-12-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate factors related to force and postural exposure during a simulated meat cutting task. The hypothesis was that workstation, tool and task variables would affect the dependent kinetic variables of gripping force, cutting moment and the dependent kinematic variables of elbow elevation and wrist angular displacement in the flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation planes. To evaluate this hypothesis a 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 (surface orientation by surface height by blade angle by cut complexity by work pace) within-subject factorial design was conducted with 12 participants. The results indicated that the variables can act and interact to modify the kinematics and kinetics of a cutting task. Participants used greater grip force and cutting moment when working at a pace based on productivity. The interactions of the work surface height and orientation indicated that the use of an adjustable workstation could minimize wrist deviation from neutral and improve shoulder posture during cutting operations. Angling the knife blade also interacted with workstation variables to improve wrist and upper extremity posture, but this benefit must be weighed against the potential for small increases in force exposure.

Artificial intelligence and design: Opportunities, research problems and directions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amarel, Saul

1990-01-01

The issues of industrial productivity and economic competitiveness are of major significance in the U.S. at present. By advancing the science of design, and by creating a broad computer-based methodology for automating the design of artifacts and of industrial processes, we can attain dramatic improvements in productivity. It is our thesis that developments in computer science, especially in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in related areas of advanced computing, provide us with a unique opportunity to push beyond the present level of computer aided automation technology and to attain substantial advances in the understanding and mechanization of design processes. To attain these goals, we need to build on top of the present state of AI, and to accelerate research and development in areas that are especially relevant to design problems of realistic complexity. We propose an approach to the special challenges in this area, which combines 'core work' in AI with the development of systems for handling significant design tasks. We discuss the general nature of design problems, the scientific issues involved in studying them with the help of AI approaches, and the methodological/technical issues that one must face in developing AI systems for handling advanced design tasks. Looking at basic work in AI from the perspective of design automation, we identify a number of research problems that need special attention. These include finding solution methods for handling multiple interacting goals, formation problems, problem decompositions, and redesign problems; choosing representations for design problems with emphasis on the concept of a design record; and developing approaches for the acquisition and structuring of domain knowledge with emphasis on finding useful approximations to domain theories. Progress in handling these research problems will have major impact both on our understanding of design processes and their automation, and also on several fundamental questions that are of intrinsic concern to AI. We present examples of current AI work on specific design tasks, and discuss new directions of research, both as extensions of current work and in the context of new design tasks where domain knowledge is either intractable or incomplete. The domains discussed include Digital Circuit Design, Mechanical Design of Rotational Transmissions, Design of Computer Architectures, Marine Design, Aircraft Design, and Design of Chemical Processes and Materials. Work in these domains is significant on technical grounds, and it is also important for economic and policy reasons.

Adhesion of voids to bimetal interfaces with non-uniform energies

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Shijian; Shao, Shuai; Zhang, Jian; ...

2015-10-21

Interface engineering has become an important strategy for designing radiation-resistant materials. Critical to its success is fundamental understanding of the interactions between interfaces and radiation-induced defects, such as voids. Using transmission electron microscopy, here we report an interesting phenomenon in their interaction, wherein voids adhere to only one side of the bimetal interfaces rather than overlapping them. We show that this asymmetrical void-interface interaction is a consequence of differing surface energies of the two metals and non-uniformity in their interface formation energy. Specifically, voids grow within the phase of lower surface energy and wet only the high-interface energy regions. Furthermore,more » because this outcome cannot be accounted for by wetting of interfaces with uniform internal energy, our report provides experimental evidence that bimetal interfaces contain non-uniform internal energy distributions. Ultimately, this work also indicates that to design irradiation-resistant materials, we can avoid void-interface overlap via tuning the configurations of interfaces.« less

Interactive Land-Use Optimization Using Laguerre Voronoi Diagram with Dynamic Generating Point Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaidee, S.; Pakawanwong, P.; Suppakitpaisarn, V.; Teerasawat, P.

2017-09-01

In this work, we devise an efficient method for the land-use optimization problem based on Laguerre Voronoi diagram. Previous Voronoi diagram-based methods are more efficient and more suitable for interactive design than discrete optimization-based method, but, in many cases, their outputs do not satisfy area constraints. To cope with the problem, we propose a force-directed graph drawing algorithm, which automatically allocates generating points of Voronoi diagram to appropriate positions. Then, we construct a Laguerre Voronoi diagram based on these generating points, use linear programs to adjust each cell, and reconstruct the diagram based on the adjustment. We adopt the proposed method to the practical case study of Chiang Mai University's allocated land for a mixed-use complex. For this case study, compared to other Voronoi diagram-based method, we decrease the land allocation error by 62.557 %. Although our computation time is larger than the previous Voronoi-diagram-based method, it is still suitable for interactive design.

Gestural interaction in a virtual environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacoby, Richard H.; Ferneau, Mark; Humphries, Jim

1994-04-01

This paper discusses the use of hand gestures (i.e., changing finger flexion) within a virtual environment (VE). Many systems now employ static hand postures (i.e., static finger flexion), often coupled with hand translations and rotations, as a method of interacting with a VE. However, few systems are currently using dynamically changing finger flexion for interacting with VEs. In our system, the user wears an electronically instrumented glove. We have developed a simple algorithm for recognizing gestures for use in two applications: automotive design and visualization of atmospheric data. In addition to recognizing the gestures, we also calculate the rate at which the gestures are made and the rate and direction of hand movement while making the gestures. We report on our experiences with the algorithm design and implementation, and the use of the gestures in our applications. We also talk about our background work in user calibration of the glove, as well as learned and innate posture recognition (postures recognized with and without training, respectively).

GaSb and GaSb/AlSb Superlattice Buffer Layers for High-Quality Photodiodes Grown on Commercial GaAs and Si Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrez, M.; Lloret, F.; Jurczak, P.; Wu, J.; Liu, H. Y.; Araújo, D.

2018-05-01

The objective of this work is the integration of InGaAs/GaSb/GaAs heterostructures, with high indium content, on GaAs and Si commercial wafers. The design of an interfacial misfit dislocation array, either on GaAs or Si substrates, allowed growth of strain-free devices. The growth of purposely designed superlattices with their active region free of extended defects on both GaAs and Si substrates is demonstrated. Transmission electron microscopy technique is used for the structural characterization and plastic relaxation study. In the first case, on GaAs substrates, the presence of dopants was demonstrated to reduce several times the threading dislocation density through a strain-hardening mechanism avoiding dislocation interactions, while in the second case, on Si substrates, similar reduction of dislocation interactions is obtained using an AlSb/GaSb superlattice. The latter is shown to redistribute spatially the interfacial misfit dislocation array to reduce dislocation interactions.

The interactive learning toolkit: technology and the classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukoff, Brian; Tucker, Laura

2011-04-01

Peer Instruction (PI) and Just-in-Time-Teaching (JiTT) have been shown to increase both students' conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. However, the time investment for the instructor to prepare appropriate conceptual questions and manage student JiTT responses is one of the main implementation hurdles. To overcome this we have developed the Interactive Learning Toolkit (ILT), a course management system specifically designed to support PI and JiTT. We are working to integrate the ILT with a fully interactive classroom system where students can use their laptops and smartphones to respond to ConcepTests in class. The goal is to use technology to engage students in conceptual thinking both in and out of the classroom.

Challenges in design of Kitaev materials: Magnetic interactions from competing energy scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, Stephen M.; Li, Ying; Jeschke, Harald O.; Valentí, Roser

2016-06-01

In this study, we reanalyze the magnetic interactions in the Kitaev spin-liquid candidate materials Na2IrO3,α -RuCl3 , and α -Li2IrO3 using nonperturbative exact diagonalization methods. These methods are more appropriate given the relatively itinerant nature of the systems suggested in previous works. We treat all interactions up to third neighbors on equal footing. The computed terms reveal significant long-range coupling, bond anisotropy, and/or off-diagonal couplings which we argue naturally explain the observed ordered phases in these systems. Given these observations, the potential for realizing the spin-liquid state in real materials is analyzed, and synthetic challenges are defined and explained.

Unblocking brainstorms.

PubMed

Gallupe, R B; Bastianutti, L M; Cooper, W H

1991-02-01

Brainstorming groups have consistently produced fewer ideas than have the equivalent number of individuals working by themselves. These results have been attributed to social loafing, evaluation apprehension, and production blocking in groups. In this study, a new brainstorming technique--electronic brainstorming--that may reduce both production blocking and evaluation apprehension was assessed. Electronic and nonelectronic groups and nominal and interacting groups were compared in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Electronic groups were more productive than nonelectronic groups, but the productivity of nominal and interacting groups did not differ. In contrast, interacting groups felt better about the idea-generation process than did nominal groups. Ways in which electronic brainstorming can reopen a long dormant area of research and application are discussed.

Structural Characterization of the Interaction of the Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor with a Small Molecule Allosteric Inhibitor.

PubMed

Kappert, Franziska; Sreeramulu, Sridhar; Jonker, Hendrik R A; Richter, Christian; Rogov, Vladimir V; Proschak, Ewgenij; Hargittay, Bruno; Saxena, Krishna; Schwalbe, Harald

2018-06-04

The interaction of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) with their fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are important in the signaling network of cell growth and development. SSR128129E (SSR), a ligand of small molecular weight with potential anti-cancer properties, acts allosterically on the extracellular domains of FGFRs. Up to now, the structural basis of SSR binding to the D3 domain of FGFR remained elusive. This work reports the structural characterization of the interaction of SSR with one specific receptor, FGFR3, by NMR spectroscopy. This information provides a basis for rational drug design for allosteric FGFR inhibitors. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The relationship between psychosocial work factors, work stress and computer-related musculoskeletal discomforts among computer users in Malaysia.

PubMed

Zakerian, Seyed Abolfazl; Subramaniam, Indra Devi

2009-01-01

Increasing numbers of workers use computer for work. So, especially among office workers, there is a high risk of musculoskeletal discomforts. This study examined the associations among 3 factors, psychosocial work factors, work stress and musculoskeletal discomforts. These associations were examined via a questionnaire survey on 30 office workers (at a university in Malaysia), whose jobs required an extensive use of computers. The questionnaire was distributed and collected daily for 20 days. While the results indicated a significant relationship among psychosocial work factors, work stress and musculoskeletal discomfort, 3 psychosocial work factors were found to be more important than others in both work stress and musculoskeletal discomfort: job demands, negative social interaction and computer-related problems. To further develop study design, it is necessary to investigate industrial and other workers who have experienced musculoskeletal discomforts and work stress.

What can science and technology studies learn from art and design? Reflections on ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’

PubMed Central

Calvert, Jane; Schyfter, Pablo

2016-01-01

In this paper we reflect on a project called ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’, which brought together synthetic biologists with artists and designers in paired exchanges. We – the STS researchers on the project – were quickly struck by the similarities between our objectives and those of the artists and designers. We shared interests in forging new collaborations with synthetic biologists, ‘opening up’ the science by exploring implicit assumptions, and interrogating dominant research agendas. But there were also differences between us, the most important being that the artists and designers made tangible artefacts, which had an immediacy and an ability to travel, and which seemed to allow different types of discussions from those initiated by our academic texts. The artists and designers also appeared to have the freedom to be more playful, challenging and perhaps subversive in their interactions with synthetic biology. In this paper we reflect on what we learned from working with the artists and designers on the project, and we argue that engaging more closely with art and design can enrich STS work by enabling an emergent form of critique. PMID:28025902

The mediating role of organizational justice in the relationship between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Gillet, Nicolas; Fouquereau, Evelyne; Bonnaud-Antignac, Angélique; Mokounkolo, René; Colombat, Philippe

2013-10-01

The importance of transformational leadership for nurses' well-being is increasingly acknowledged. However, there is a paucity of research examining the mechanisms that may explain the relationships between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life. First, to examine two possible psychological mechanisms that link transformational leadership behaviors to nurses' quality of work life. Second, to study the relationship between nurses' quality of work life and their work engagement. Cross-sectional study design. The study took place in 47 different hematology, oncology, and hematology/oncology units in France. Participants were nurses and auxiliary nurses. 343 nurses completed the questionnaire. Surveys were sent to all nurses working in the units. 95% were female, the average age was 36.30 years. Nurses were asked to rate their supervisor's transformational leadership style and their perceptions of distributive and interactional justice in the unit. They were also asked to evaluate their own level of quality of work life and their work engagement. Distributive justice and interactional justice were found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life. In addition, nurses' quality of work life positively related to their work engagement. Transformational leaders may help ensure nurses' quality of work life which in turn increases their work engagement. These leadership practices are thus beneficial for both employees and organization. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning to design rehabilitation devices through the H-CARD course: project-based learning of rehabilitation technology design.

PubMed

Roach, Nick; Hussain, Asif; Burdet, Etienne

2012-01-01

The aging population and the wish to improve quality of life, as well as the economic pressure to work longer, call for intuitive and efficient assistive and rehabilitation technologies. Therefore, we have developed a project based education paradigm in the design of assistive and rehabilitation devices. Using a miniature wireless sensing and feedback platform, the multimodal interactive motor assessment and training environment (MIMATE), students from different engineering backgrounds were able to develop innovative devices implementing rehabilitative games in the short span of a one-term course. We describe here this novel H-CARD course on the human-centered design of assistive and rehabilitative devices.

Describing and Modeling Workflow and Information Flow in Chronic Disease Care

PubMed Central

Unertl, Kim M.; Weinger, Matthew B.; Johnson, Kevin B.; Lorenzi, Nancy M.

2009-01-01

Objectives The goal of the study was to develop an in-depth understanding of work practices, workflow, and information flow in chronic disease care, to facilitate development of context-appropriate informatics tools. Design The study was conducted over a 10-month period in three ambulatory clinics providing chronic disease care. The authors iteratively collected data using direct observation and semi-structured interviews. Measurements The authors observed all aspects of care in three different chronic disease clinics for over 150 hours, including 157 patient-provider interactions. Observation focused on interactions among people, processes, and technology. Observation data were analyzed through an open coding approach. The authors then developed models of workflow and information flow using Hierarchical Task Analysis and Soft Systems Methodology. The authors also conducted nine semi-structured interviews to confirm and refine the models. Results The study had three primary outcomes: models of workflow for each clinic, models of information flow for each clinic, and an in-depth description of work practices and the role of health information technology (HIT) in the clinics. The authors identified gaps between the existing HIT functionality and the needs of chronic disease providers. Conclusions In response to the analysis of workflow and information flow, the authors developed ten guidelines for design of HIT to support chronic disease care, including recommendations to pursue modular approaches to design that would support disease-specific needs. The study demonstrates the importance of evaluating workflow and information flow in HIT design and implementation. PMID:19717802

Apprenticeship, education, and technology: Children as oldtimers and newcomers to the culture of learning through design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ching, Cynthia Carter

This study deals with the construct of apprenticeship, a well-documented phenomena in anthropological and cultural studies, but which is treated here in unique ways. Whereas most existing work examines apprenticeship among adults in traditional vocational settings, this research is situated among a community of fourth and fifth grade schoolchildren with different levels of previous experience "learning through design" and programming science simulations, thus making them relative oldtimers and newcomers to the culture and practices of design. This work examines teams of children as they create computer simulations, and documents the practices that characterize their apprenticeship to one another. This research also describes how children conceptualize their own roles as newcomers or oldtimers to design. Finally, this study investigates how cognitive benefits realized in an apprenticeship environment are distinctive from that in non-apprenticeship classroom communities, due to the addition of a comparison group of fourth and fifth grade students all engaged in learning through design for the first time. Results reveal that design apprenticeship among schoolchildren shares some crucial characteristics with vocational apprenticeships. Oldtimers initially break down tasks into component parts for newcomers to perform, newcomers move from peripheral to fuller participation in the design process as the project progresses, and tacit pedagogical interactions initiated by oldtimers are intimately tied to the immediate design context on a day-to-day basis. Oldtimers are also more reflective about their interactions with other designers, and they have a more differentiated view of the design process as a whole, than newcomers or comparison first-time designers. The learning benefits realized in an apprenticeship environment are characterized not by a significant difference over the comparison class in the amount of science content or programming code students mastered, but rather in the extent to which students in the apprenticeship classroom are better able to use the context of design to help them represent science knowledge in a systemic manner. The results of this study have implications for broadening the accepted definitions of "apprenticeship" in the literature, curriculum design and implementation of design-based learning, and pedagogy and policy for the technology-infused classroom.

Intelligence for Human-Assistant Planetary Surface Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirsh, Robert; Graham, Jeffrey; Tyree, Kimberly; Sierhuis, Maarten; Clancey, William J.

2006-01-01

The central premise in developing effective human-assistant planetary surface robots is that robotic intelligence is needed. The exact type, method, forms and/or quantity of intelligence is an open issue being explored on the ERA project, as well as others. In addition to field testing, theoretical research into this area can help provide answers on how to design future planetary robots. Many fundamental intelligence issues are discussed by Murphy [2], including (a) learning, (b) planning, (c) reasoning, (d) problem solving, (e) knowledge representation, and (f) computer vision (stereo tracking, gestures). The new "social interaction/emotional" form of intelligence that some consider critical to Human Robot Interaction (HRI) can also be addressed by human assistant planetary surface robots, as human operators feel more comfortable working with a robot when the robot is verbally (or even physically) interacting with them. Arkin [3] and Murphy are both proponents of the hybrid deliberative-reasoning/reactive-execution architecture as the best general architecture for fully realizing robot potential, and the robots discussed herein implement a design continuously progressing toward this hybrid philosophy. The remainder of this chapter will describe the challenges associated with robotic assistance to astronauts, our general research approach, the intelligence incorporated into our robots, and the results and lessons learned from over six years of testing human-assistant mobile robots in field settings relevant to planetary exploration. The chapter concludes with some key considerations for future work in this area.

Using Interactive Technology to Support Students' Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varma, Keisha; Linn, Marcia C.

2012-01-01

In this work, we examine middle school students' understanding of the greenhouse effect and global warming. We designed and refined a technology-enhanced curriculum module called "Global Warming: Virtual Earth". In the module activities, students conduct virtual experiments with a visualization of the greenhouse effect. They analyze data and draw…

Teaching and Learning with ICT within the Subject Culture of Secondary School Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

la Velle, Linda Baggott; Wishart, Jocelyn; McFarlane, Angela; Brawn, Richard; John, Peter

2007-01-01

This paper reports some of the findings from the science subject design initiative team in the ESRC Interactive Education Project at the University of Bristol. The subject culture of secondary school science, characterised by a content-laden curriculum and assessment, but also with a tradition and requirement for practical work, is briefly…

Industrial and Labor Relations, Unit 4. A Core Curriculum of Related Instruction for Apprentices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Occupational and Career Curriculum Development.

The curriculum was designed to provide a systematic way of instructing apprentices preparing for various trades in the area of industrial and labor relations which would provide the apprentice with working knowledge of employee-employer interaction and the processes involved. The core curriculum is developed in 10 learning modules which are…

The Role of Informal Learning Spaces in Enhancing Student Engagement with Mathematical Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldock, Jeff; Rowlett, Peter; Cornock, Claire; Robinson, Mike; Bartholomew, Hannah

2017-01-01

By helping create a shared, supportive, learning community, the creative use of custom-designed spaces outside the classroom has a major impact on student engagement. The intention is to create spaces that promote peer interaction within and across year groups, encourage closer working relationships between staff and students and support specific…

A Game Approach to Teach Environmentally Benign Manufacturing in the Supply Chain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qualters, Donna M.; Isaacs, Jacqueline A.; Cullinane, Thomas P.; Laird, Jay; McDonald, Ann

2008-01-01

Multidisciplinary models of education are needed to prepare students for their role in a global work environment. Combined with this need is the reality of the new Millennial Generation entering the educational system with a different approach to learning. This paper introduces an interactive, educational engineering game designed to appeal to the…

Reflections on the Ecolab and the Zone of Proximal Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luckin, Rosemary; du Boulay, Benedict

2016-01-01

In 1999 we reported a study that explored the way that Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development could be used to inform the design of an Interactive Learning Environment called the Ecolab. Two aspects of this work have subsequently been used for further research. Firstly, there is the interpretation of the ZPD and its associated theory that was…

Impact and the Art of Motivation Maintenance: The Effects of Contact with Beneficiaries on Persistence Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Adam M.; Campbell, Elizabeth M.; Chen, Grace; Cottone, Keenan; Lapedis, David; Lee, Karen

2007-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that employees are willing to maintain their motivation when their work is relationally designed to provide opportunities for respectful contact with the beneficiaries of their efforts. In Experiment 1, a longitudinal field experiment in a fundraising organization, callers in an intervention group briefly interacted with a…

Why STEM Learning Communities Work: The Development of Psychosocial Learning Factors through Social Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrino, Stephanie Sedberry; Gerace, William J.

2016-01-01

STEM learning communities facilitate student academic success and persistence in science disciplines. This prompted us to explore the underlying factors that make learning communities successful. In this paper, we report findings from an illustrative case study of a 2-year STEM-based learning community designed to identify and describe these…

Pete's Tool: Identity and Sex-Play in the Design and Technology Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Carolyn

1997-01-01

Explores the "interactional work" of one boy in a technology lesson as he elaborates, through "play" with workshop tools, a sexual fantasy of masturbation and penetration. This action is contextualized by his relations with others and by the dominance of a prevailing myth of male sexuality in his construction of a masculine…

Concepts and Directions for Literacy Coaching: Designing Critical Reform from the Ground Up

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodgers, Adrian

2014-01-01

A rapid proliferation of literacy coaching has occurred before adequate research could be undertaken to understand the interaction between coach and teacher. In this analysis of a study undertaken by a college campus-based coach working with teachers in a reading clinic setting, Rodgers applies 2 conceptual frames. The 1st conceptual frame…

Designing Instruction for the Web: Incorporating New Conceptions of the Learning Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Nancy P.

New technologies such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) have led to recent discoveries about how the brain works and how people learn. The interactive capabilities of World Wide Web-based instructional strategies can be employed to better match how we teach with how we know students learn. This paper…

Molecular dynamics approach to probe PKCβII-ligand interactions and influence of crystal water molecules on these interactions.

PubMed

Grewal, Baljinder K; Bhat, Jyotsna; Sobhia, Masilamani Elizabeth

2015-01-01

PKCβII is a potential target for therapeutic intervention against pandemic diabetic complications. Present study probes the molecular interactions of PKCβII with its clinically important ligands, viz. ruboxistaurin, enzastaurin and co-crystallized ligand, 2-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl-BIM-1. The essentials of PKCβII-ligand interaction, crystal water-induced alterations in these interactions and key interacting flexible residues are analyzed. Computational methodologies, viz. molecular docking and molecular simulation coupled with molecular mechanics-Poisson-Boltzmann surface area and generalized born surface area (MM-PB[GB]SA) are employed. The structural changes in the presence and absence of crystal water molecules in PKCβII ATP binding site residues, and its interaction with bound ligand, are identified. Difference in interaction of selective and nonselective ligand with ATP binding site residues of PKCβII is reported. The study showed that the nonbonding interactions contribute significantly in PKCβII-ligand binding and presence of crystal water molecules affects the interactions. The findings of present work may integrate the new aspects in the drug design process of PKCβII inhibitors.

Prediction and Dissection of Protein-RNA Interactions by Molecular Descriptors.

PubMed

Liu, Zhi-Ping; Chen, Luonan

2016-01-01

Protein-RNA interactions play crucial roles in numerous biological processes. However, detecting the interactions and binding sites between protein and RNA by traditional experiments is still time consuming and labor costing. Thus, it is of importance to develop bioinformatics methods for predicting protein-RNA interactions and binding sites. Accurate prediction of protein-RNA interactions and recognitions will highly benefit to decipher the interaction mechanisms between protein and RNA, as well as to improve the RNA-related protein engineering and drug design. In this work, we summarize the current bioinformatics strategies of predicting protein-RNA interactions and dissecting protein-RNA interaction mechanisms from local structure binding motifs. In particular, we focus on the feature-based machine learning methods, in which the molecular descriptors of protein and RNA are extracted and integrated as feature vectors of representing the interaction events and recognition residues. In addition, the available methods are classified and compared comprehensively. The molecular descriptors are expected to elucidate the binding mechanisms of protein-RNA interaction and reveal the functional implications from structural complementary perspective.

Embedded systems engineering for products and services design.

PubMed

Ahram, Tareq Z; Karwowski, Waldemar; Soares, Marcelo M

2012-01-01

Systems engineering (SE) professionals strive to develop new techniques to enhance the value of contributions to multidisciplinary smart product design teams. Products and services designers challenge themselves to search beyond the traditional design concept of addressing the physical, social, and cognitive factors. This paper covers the application of embedded user-centered systems engineering design practices into work processes based on the ISO 13407 framework [20] to support smart systems and services design and development. As practitioners collaborate to investigate alternative smart product designs, they concentrate on creating valuable products which will enhance positive interaction. This paper capitalizes on the need to follow a user-centered SE approach to smart products design [4, 22]. Products and systems intelligence should embrace a positive approach to user-centered design while improving our understanding of usable value-adding, experience and extending our knowledge of what inspires others to design enjoyable services and products.

Mucin-mediated nanocarrier disassembly for triggered uptake of oligonucleotides as a delivery strategy for the potential treatment of mucosal tumours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martirosyan, A.; Olesen, M. J.; Fenton, R. A.; Kjems, J.; Howard, K. A.

2016-06-01

This work demonstrates gastric mucin-triggered nanocarrier disassembly for release of antisense oligonucleotides and consequent unassisted cellular entry as a novel oral delivery strategy. A fluorescence activation-based reporter system was used to investigate the interaction and mucin-mediated disassembly of chitosan-based nanocarriers containing a 13-mer DNA oligonucleotide with a flanked locked RNA nucleic acid gapmer design. Gastric mucins were shown to trigger gapmer release from nanocarriers that was dependent on the interaction time, mucin concentration and N : P ratio with a maximal release at N : P 10. In contrast to siRNA, naked gapmers exhibited uptake into mucus producing HT-MTX mono-cultures and HT-MTX co-cultured with the carcinoma epithelial cell line Caco-2. Importantly, in vivo gapmer uptake was observed in epithelial tissue 30 min post-injection in murine intestinal loops. The findings present a mucosal design-based system tailored for local delivery of oligonucleotides that may maximize the effectiveness of gene silencing therapeutics within tumours at mucosal sites.This work demonstrates gastric mucin-triggered nanocarrier disassembly for release of antisense oligonucleotides and consequent unassisted cellular entry as a novel oral delivery strategy. A fluorescence activation-based reporter system was used to investigate the interaction and mucin-mediated disassembly of chitosan-based nanocarriers containing a 13-mer DNA oligonucleotide with a flanked locked RNA nucleic acid gapmer design. Gastric mucins were shown to trigger gapmer release from nanocarriers that was dependent on the interaction time, mucin concentration and N : P ratio with a maximal release at N : P 10. In contrast to siRNA, naked gapmers exhibited uptake into mucus producing HT-MTX mono-cultures and HT-MTX co-cultured with the carcinoma epithelial cell line Caco-2. Importantly, in vivo gapmer uptake was observed in epithelial tissue 30 min post-injection in murine intestinal loops. The findings present a mucosal design-based system tailored for local delivery of oligonucleotides that may maximize the effectiveness of gene silencing therapeutics within tumours at mucosal sites. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07206a

Amino acid alphabet reduction preserves fold information contained in contact interactions in proteins.

PubMed

Solis, Armando D

2015-12-01

To reduce complexity, understand generalized rules of protein folding, and facilitate de novo protein design, the 20-letter amino acid alphabet is commonly reduced to a smaller alphabet by clustering amino acids based on some measure of similarity. In this work, we seek the optimal alphabet that preserves as much of the structural information found in long-range (contact) interactions among amino acids in natively-folded proteins. We employ the Information Maximization Device, based on information theory, to partition the amino acids into well-defined clusters. Numbering from 2 to 19 groups, these optimal clusters of amino acids, while generated automatically, embody well-known properties of amino acids such as hydrophobicity/polarity, charge, size, and aromaticity, and are demonstrated to maintain the discriminative power of long-range interactions with minimal loss of mutual information. Our measurements suggest that reduced alphabets (of less than 10) are able to capture virtually all of the information residing in native contacts and may be sufficient for fold recognition, as demonstrated by extensive threading tests. In an expansive survey of the literature, we observe that alphabets derived from various approaches-including those derived from physicochemical intuition, local structure considerations, and sequence alignments of remote homologs-fare consistently well in preserving contact interaction information, highlighting a convergence in the various factors thought to be relevant to the folding code. Moreover, we find that alphabets commonly used in experimental protein design are nearly optimal and are largely coherent with observations that have arisen in this work. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Do work relationships matter? Characteristics of workplace interactions that enhance or detract from employee perceptions of well-being and health behaviors.

PubMed

Mastroianni, Karen; Storberg-Walker, Julia

2014-01-01

This qualitative case study adopted the position that health and health behaviors are complex social constructs influenced by multiple factors. Framed by the social ecological model, the study explored how work interactions enhanced or detracted from the perceptions of well-being and health behaviors. Despite the fact that previous studies indicated that the social workplace environment contributed to employee health, there was little information regarding the characteristics. Specifically, little was known about how employees perceived the connections between workplace interactions and health, or how social interactions enhanced or detracted from well-being and health behaviors. The participants included 19 volunteers recruited from four companies, who shared their experiences of workplace interactions through interviews and journaling assignments. The findings indicated that feelings of well-being were enhanced by work interactions, which were trusting, collaborative, and positive, as well as when participants felt valued and respected. The study also found that interactions detracted from well-being and health behaviors when interactions lacked the aforementioned characteristics, and also included lack of justice and empathy. The enhancing and detracting relationships generated physical symptoms, and influenced sleeping and eating patterns, socializing, exercise, personal relations, careers, and energy. Surprisingly, the study found that regardless of how broadly participants defined health, when they were asked to rate their health, participants uniformly rated theirs on physical attributes alone. The exclusive consideration of physical attributes suggests that participants may have unconsciously adopted the typical western medical view of health - an individually determined and physiologic characteristic. Despite research suggesting health is more than biology, and despite defining health broadly, participants uniformly adopted this traditional view. The study also offers human resource development professionals with evidence supporting interventions aimed at minimizing workplace incivility. Interventions designed to improve employee engagement could minimize financial and human costs of negative interactions. The bottom line is that workplaces should be physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe for well-being and healthy behaviors to flourish.

Do work relationships matter? Characteristics of workplace interactions that enhance or detract from employee perceptions of well-being and health behaviors

PubMed Central

Mastroianni, Karen; Storberg-Walker, Julia

2014-01-01

This qualitative case study adopted the position that health and health behaviors are complex social constructs influenced by multiple factors. Framed by the social ecological model, the study explored how work interactions enhanced or detracted from the perceptions of well-being and health behaviors. Despite the fact that previous studies indicated that the social workplace environment contributed to employee health, there was little information regarding the characteristics. Specifically, little was known about how employees perceived the connections between workplace interactions and health, or how social interactions enhanced or detracted from well-being and health behaviors. The participants included 19 volunteers recruited from four companies, who shared their experiences of workplace interactions through interviews and journaling assignments. The findings indicated that feelings of well-being were enhanced by work interactions, which were trusting, collaborative, and positive, as well as when participants felt valued and respected. The study also found that interactions detracted from well-being and health behaviors when interactions lacked the aforementioned characteristics, and also included lack of justice and empathy. The enhancing and detracting relationships generated physical symptoms, and influenced sleeping and eating patterns, socializing, exercise, personal relations, careers, and energy. Surprisingly, the study found that regardless of how broadly participants defined health, when they were asked to rate their health, participants uniformly rated theirs on physical attributes alone. The exclusive consideration of physical attributes suggests that participants may have unconsciously adopted the typical western medical view of health – an individually determined and physiologic characteristic. Despite research suggesting health is more than biology, and despite defining health broadly, participants uniformly adopted this traditional view. The study also offers human resource development professionals with evidence supporting interventions aimed at minimizing workplace incivility. Interventions designed to improve employee engagement could minimize financial and human costs of negative interactions. The bottom line is that workplaces should be physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe for well-being and healthy behaviors to flourish. PMID:25750820

CH-π Interaction Driven Macroscopic Property Transition on Smart Polymer Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Minmin; Qing, Guangyan; Xiong, Yuting; Lai, Yuekun; Sun, Taolei

2015-10-01

Life systems have evolved to utilize weak noncovalent interactions, particularly CH-π interaction, to achieve various biofunctions, for example cellular communication, immune response, and protein folding. However, for artificial materials, it remains a great challenge to recognize such weak interaction, further transform it into tunable macroscopic properties and realize special functions. Here we integrate monosaccharide-based CH-π receptor capable of recognizing aromatic peptides into a smart polymer with three-component “Recognition-Mediating-Function” design, and report the CH-π interaction driven surface property switching on smart polymer film, including wettability, adhesion, viscoelasticity and stiffness. Detailed studies indicate that, the CH-π interaction induces the complexation between saccharide unit and aromatic peptide, which breaks the initial amphiphilic balance of the polymer network, resulting in contraction-swelling conformational transition for polymer chains and subsequent dramatic switching in surface properties. This work not only presents a new approach to control the surface property of materials, but also points to a broader research prospect on CH-π interaction at a macroscopic level.

CH-π Interaction Driven Macroscopic Property Transition on Smart Polymer Surface.

PubMed

Li, Minmin; Qing, Guangyan; Xiong, Yuting; Lai, Yuekun; Sun, Taolei

2015-10-29

Life systems have evolved to utilize weak noncovalent interactions, particularly CH-π interaction, to achieve various biofunctions, for example cellular communication, immune response, and protein folding. However, for artificial materials, it remains a great challenge to recognize such weak interaction, further transform it into tunable macroscopic properties and realize special functions. Here we integrate monosaccharide-based CH-π receptor capable of recognizing aromatic peptides into a smart polymer with three-component "Recognition-Mediating-Function" design, and report the CH-π interaction driven surface property switching on smart polymer film, including wettability, adhesion, viscoelasticity and stiffness. Detailed studies indicate that, the CH-π interaction induces the complexation between saccharide unit and aromatic peptide, which breaks the initial amphiphilic balance of the polymer network, resulting in contraction-swelling conformational transition for polymer chains and subsequent dramatic switching in surface properties. This work not only presents a new approach to control the surface property of materials, but also points to a broader research prospect on CH-π interaction at a macroscopic level.

Icon and user interface design for emergency medical information systems: a case study.

PubMed

Salman, Y Batu; Cheng, Hong-In; Patterson, Patrick E

2012-01-01

A usable medical information system should allow for reliable and accurate interaction between users and the system in emergencies. A participatory design approach was used to develop a medical information system in two Turkish hospitals. The process consisted of task and user analysis, an icon design survey, initial icon design, final icon design and evaluation, and installation of the iconic medical information system with the icons. We observed work sites to note working processes and tasks related to the information system and interviewed medical personnel. Emergency personnel then participated in the design process to develop a usable graphical user interface, by drawing icon sketches for 23 selected tasks. Similar sketches were requested for specific tasks such as family medical history, contact information, translation, addiction, required inspections, requests and applications, and nurse observations. The sketches were analyzed and redesigned into computer icons by professional designers and the research team. A second group of physicians and nurses then tested the understandability of the icons. The user interface layout was examined and evaluated by system users, followed by the system's installation. Medical personnel reported the participatory design process was interesting and believed the resulting designs would be more familiar and friendlier. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflection of a Year Long Model-Driven Business and UI Modeling Development Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukaviriya, Noi; Mani, Senthil; Sinha, Vibha

Model-driven software development enables users to specify an application at a high level - a level that better matches problem domain. It also promises the users with better analysis and automation. Our work embarks on two collaborating domains - business process and human interactions - to build an application. Business modeling expresses business operations and flows then creates business flow implementation. Human interaction modeling expresses a UI design, its relationship with business data, logic, and flow, and can generate working UI. This double modeling approach automates the production of a working system with UI and business logic connected. This paper discusses the human aspects of this modeling approach after a year long of building a procurement outsourcing contract application using the approach - the result of which was deployed in December 2008. The paper discusses in multiple areas the happy endings and some heartache. We end with insights on how a model-driven approach could do better for humans in the process.

Optimization of composite box-beam structures including effects of subcomponent interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragon, Scott A.; Guerdal, Zafer; Starnes, James H., Jr.

1995-01-01

Minimum mass designs are obtained for a simple box beam structure subject to bending, torque and combined bending/torque load cases. These designs are obtained subject to point strain and linear buckling constraints. The present work differs from previous efforts in that special attention is payed to including the effects of subcomponent panel interaction in the optimal design process. Two different approaches are used to impose the buckling constraints. When the global approach is used, buckling constraints are imposed on the global structure via a linear eigenvalue analysis. This approach allows the subcomponent panels to interact in a realistic manner. The results obtained using this approach are compared to results obtained using a traditional, less expensive approach, called the local approach. When the local approach is used, in-plane loads are extracted from the global model and used to impose buckling constraints on each subcomponent panel individually. In the global cases, it is found that there can be significant interaction between skin, spar, and rib design variables. This coupling is weak or nonexistent in the local designs. It is determined that weight savings of up to 7% may be obtained by using the global approach instead of the local approach to design these structures. Several of the designs obtained using the linear buckling analysis are subjected to a geometrically nonlinear analysis. For the designs which were subjected to bending loads, the innermost rib panel begins to collapse at less than half the intended design load and in a mode different from that predicted by linear analysis. The discrepancy between the predicted linear and nonlinear responses is attributed to the effects of the nonlinear rib crushing load, and the parameter which controls this rib collapse failure mode is shown to be the rib thickness. The rib collapse failure mode may be avoided by increasing the rib thickness above the value obtained from the (linear analysis based) optimizer. It is concluded that it would be necessary to include geometric nonlinearities in the design optimization process if the true optimum in this case were to be found.

A novel method for multifactorial bio-chemical experiments design based on combinational design theory.

PubMed

Wang, Xun; Sun, Beibei; Liu, Boyang; Fu, Yaping; Zheng, Pan

2017-01-01

Experimental design focuses on describing or explaining the multifactorial interactions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The design introduces conditions that may directly affect the variation, where particular conditions are purposely selected for observation. Combinatorial design theory deals with the existence, construction and properties of systems of finite sets whose arrangements satisfy generalized concepts of balance and/or symmetry. In this work, borrowing the concept of "balance" in combinatorial design theory, a novel method for multifactorial bio-chemical experiments design is proposed, where balanced templates in combinational design are used to select the conditions for observation. Balanced experimental data that covers all the influencing factors of experiments can be obtianed for further processing, such as training set for machine learning models. Finally, a software based on the proposed method is developed for designing experiments with covering influencing factors a certain number of times.

A Methodology for Evaluating the Hygroscopic Behavior of Wood in Adaptive Building Skins using Motion Grammar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Dabaa, Rana; Abdelmohsen, Sherif

2018-05-01

The challenge in designing kinetic architecture lies in the lack of applying computational design and human computer interaction to successfully design intelligent and interactive interfaces. The use of ‘programmable materials’ as specifically fabricated composite materials that afford motion upon stimulation is promising for low-cost low-tech systems for kinetic facades in buildings. Despite efforts to develop working prototypes, there has been no clear methodological framework for understanding and controlling the behavior of programmable materials or for using them for such purposes. This paper introduces a methodology for evaluating the motion acquired from programmed material – resulting from the hygroscopic behavior of wood – through ‘motion grammar’. Motion grammar typically allows for the explanation of desired motion control in a computationally tractable method. The paper analyzed and evaluated motion parameters related to the hygroscopic properties and behavior of wood, and introduce a framework for tracking and controlling wood as a programmable material for kinetic architecture.

Seniors and technology, ergonomic needs and design considerations.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Claudia Isabel Rojas

2012-01-01

This work is based on the ergonomic approach and the principles of universal design, with the aim of establishing the cognitive design features that interfaces must comply, for older adults achieve a good performance during their interaction with technological aids. Describes the analysis of exploratory experiences with a group of 17 older adults was aimed first to establish the main barriers to implementation that arise during these activities, and secondly to set the variables to be addressed and the procedure required to develop depth study, where the relationship establish between the quality of the stimuli and the level of performance achieved in the implementation of older adults with interfaces, observing each of the cognitive functions that promote independence, attention, motivation, memory these processes. The study in depth, looking for describe gaps and mismatches encountered during execution, which hamper the harmonious interaction processes through participatory methodological approach that allows to specify requirements for the creation of stimulating interfaces for cognitive skills and committed with the levels of autonomy of the elderly.

Large-eddy simulation of propeller wake at design operating conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Praveen; Mahesh, Krishnan

2016-11-01

Understanding the propeller wake is crucial for efficient design and optimized performance. The dynamics of the propeller wake are also central to physical phenomena such as cavitation and acoustics. Large-eddy simulation is used to study the evolution of the wake of a five-bladed marine propeller from near to far field at design operating condition. The computed mean loads and phase-averaged flow field show good agreement with experiments. The propeller wake consisting of tip and hub vortices undergoes streamtube contraction, which is followed by the onset of instabilities as evident from the oscillations of the tip vortices. Simulation results reveal a mutual induction mechanism of instability where instead of the tip vortices interacting among themselves, they interact with the smaller vortices generated by the roll-up of the blade trailing edge wake in the near wake. Phase-averaged and ensemble-averaged flow fields are analyzed to explain the flow physics. This work is supported by ONR.

Social Media Visual Analytics for Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diakopoulos, Nicholas; Naaman, Mor; Yazdani, Tayebeh; Kivran-Swaine, Funda

For large-scale multimedia events such as televised debates and speeches, the amount of content on social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter can easily become overwhelming, yet still contain information that may aid and augment understanding of the multimedia content via individual social media items, or aggregate information from the crowd's response. In this work we discuss this opportunity in the context of a social media visual analytic tool, Vox Civitas, designed to help journalists, media professionals, or other researchers make sense of large-scale aggregations of social media content around multimedia broadcast events. We discuss the design of the tool, present and evaluate the text analysis techniques used to enable the presentation, and detail the visual and interaction design. We provide an exploratory evaluation based on a user study in which journalists interacted with the system to analyze and report on a dataset of over one 100 000 Twitter messages collected during the broadcast of the U.S. State of the Union presidential address in 2010.

Tangible User Interfaces and Contrasting Cases as a Preparation for Future Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Bertrand; Blikstein, Paulo

2018-04-01

In this paper, we describe an experiment that compared the use of a Tangible User Interface (physical objects augmented with digital information) and a set of Contrasting Cases as a preparation for future learning. We carried out an experiment (N = 40) with a 2 × 2 design: the first factor compared traditional instruction ("Tell & Practice") with a constructivist activity designed using the Preparation for Future Learning framework (PFL). The second factor contrasted state-of-the-art PFL learning activity (i.e., students studying Contrasting Cases) with an interactive tabletop featuring digitally enhanced manipulatives. In agreement with prior work, we found that dyads of students who followed the PFL activity achieved significantly higher learning gains compared to their peers who followed a traditional "Tell & Practice" instruction (large effect size). A similar effect was found in favor of the interactive tabletop compared to the Contrasting Cases (small-to-moderate effect size). We discuss implications for designing socio-constructivist activities using new computer interfaces.

Design and control of compliant tensegrity robots through simulation and hardware validation

PubMed Central

Caluwaerts, Ken; Despraz, Jérémie; Işçen, Atıl; Sabelhaus, Andrew P.; Bruce, Jonathan; Schrauwen, Benjamin; SunSpiral, Vytas

2014-01-01

To better understand the role of tensegrity structures in biological systems and their application to robotics, the Dynamic Tensegrity Robotics Lab at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA, has developed and validated two software environments for the analysis, simulation and design of tensegrity robots. These tools, along with new control methodologies and the modular hardware components developed to validate them, are presented as a system for the design of actuated tensegrity structures. As evidenced from their appearance in many biological systems, tensegrity (‘tensile–integrity’) structures have unique physical properties that make them ideal for interaction with uncertain environments. Yet, these characteristics make design and control of bioinspired tensegrity robots extremely challenging. This work presents the progress our tools have made in tackling the design and control challenges of spherical tensegrity structures. We focus on this shape since it lends itself to rolling locomotion. The results of our analyses include multiple novel control approaches for mobility and terrain interaction of spherical tensegrity structures that have been tested in simulation. A hardware prototype of a spherical six-bar tensegrity, the Reservoir Compliant Tensegrity Robot, is used to empirically validate the accuracy of simulation. PMID:24990292

Energy design for protein-protein interactions

PubMed Central

Ravikant, D. V. S.; Elber, Ron

2011-01-01

Proteins bind to other proteins efficiently and specifically to carry on many cell functions such as signaling, activation, transport, enzymatic reactions, and more. To determine the geometry and strength of binding of a protein pair, an energy function is required. An algorithm to design an optimal energy function, based on empirical data of protein complexes, is proposed and applied. Emphasis is made on negative design in which incorrect geometries are presented to the algorithm that learns to avoid them. For the docking problem the search for plausible geometries can be performed exhaustively. The possible geometries of the complex are generated on a grid with the help of a fast Fourier transform algorithm. A novel formulation of negative design makes it possible to investigate iteratively hundreds of millions of negative examples while monotonically improving the quality of the potential. Experimental structures for 640 protein complexes are used to generate positive and negative examples for learning parameters. The algorithm designed in this work finds the correct binding structure as the lowest energy minimum in 318 cases of the 640 examples. Further benchmarks on independent sets confirm the significant capacity of the scoring function to recognize correct modes of interactions. PMID:21842951

A study of viscous interaction effects on hypersonic waveriders. Ph.D. Thesis, Dec. 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Jinhwa

1992-01-01

The effects of viscous interaction in the analysis and design of improved classes of viscous optimized hypersonic waveriders is examined. The Corda computer program is used to generate viscous optimized hypersonic waveriders from conical flow fields without viscous interaction. Each waverider is optimized for maximum L/D, and comparison studies are made between cases with and without viscous interaction. The results show that aerodynamic performance of the viscous interaction waveriders are reduced due mainly to a large increase in skin-friction drag associated with the viscous interaction phenomena that grows with increasing Mach number and altitude, but some of this performance loss can be recouped by including viscous interactions within the optimization procedure. When the waverider is optimized for viscous interaction, the shape can change dramatically. A significant result of the present work delineates on a velocity-altitude map the region where viscous interaction effects are significant for modern hypersonic waveriders by performing parametric runs to produce L/D, C sub L, and C sub D contour plots for Mach numbers from 6 to 30 at altitudes from 30 to 80 km.

Expert vs. novice: Problem decomposition/recomposition in engineering design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ting

The purpose of this research was to investigate the differences of using problem decomposition and problem recomposition among dyads of engineering experts, dyads of engineering seniors, and dyads of engineering freshmen. Fifty participants took part in this study. Ten were engineering design experts, 20 were engineering seniors, and 20 were engineering freshmen. Participants worked in dyads to complete an engineering design challenge within an hour. The entire design process was video and audio recorded. After the design session, members participated in a group interview. This study used protocol analysis as the methodology. Video and audio data were transcribed, segmented, and coded. Two coding systems including the FBS ontology and "levels of the problem" were used in this study. A series of statistical techniques were used to analyze data. Interview data and participants' design sketches also worked as supplemental data to help answer the research questions. By analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data, it was found that students used less problem decomposition and problem recomposition than engineer experts in engineering design. This result implies that engineering education should place more importance on teaching problem decomposition and problem recomposition. Students were found to spend less cognitive effort when considering the problem as a whole and interactions between subsystems than engineer experts. In addition, students were also found to spend more cognitive effort when considering details of subsystems. These results showed that students tended to use dept-first decomposition and experts tended to use breadth-first decomposition in engineering design. The use of Function (F), Behavior (B), and Structure (S) among engineering experts, engineering seniors, and engineering freshmen was compared on three levels. Level 1 represents designers consider the problem as an integral whole, Level 2 represents designers consider interactions between subsystems, and Level 3 represents designers consider details of subsystems. The results showed that students used more S on Level 1 and 3 but they used less F on Level 1 than engineering experts. The results imply that engineering curriculum should improve the teaching of problem definition in engineering design because students need to understand the problem before solving it.

Progress on first-principles-based materials design for hydrogen storage.

PubMed

Park, Noejung; Choi, Keunsu; Hwang, Jeongwoon; Kim, Dong Wook; Kim, Dong Ok; Ihm, Jisoon

2012-12-04

This article briefly summarizes the research activities in the field of hydrogen storage in sorbent materials and reports our recent works and future directions for the design of such materials. Distinct features of sorption-based hydrogen storage methods are described compared with metal hydrides and complex chemical hydrides. We classify the studies of hydrogen sorbent materials in terms of two key technical issues: (i) constructing stable framework structures with high porosity, and (ii) increasing the binding affinity of hydrogen molecules to surfaces beyond the usual van der Waals interaction. The recent development of reticular chemistry is summarized as a means for addressing the first issue. Theoretical studies focus mainly on the second issue and can be grouped into three classes according to the underlying interaction mechanism: electrostatic interactions based on alkaline cations, Kubas interactions with open transition metals, and orbital interactions involving Ca and other nontransitional metals. Hierarchical computational methods to enable the theoretical predictions are explained, from ab initio studies to molecular dynamics simulations using force field parameters. We also discuss the actual delivery amount of stored hydrogen, which depends on the charging and discharging conditions. The usefulness and practical significance of the hydrogen spillover mechanism in increasing the storage capacity are presented as well.

Progress on first-principles-based materials design for hydrogen storage

PubMed Central

Park, Noejung; Choi, Keunsu; Hwang, Jeongwoon; Kim, Dong Wook; Kim, Dong Ok; Ihm, Jisoon

2012-01-01

This article briefly summarizes the research activities in the field of hydrogen storage in sorbent materials and reports our recent works and future directions for the design of such materials. Distinct features of sorption-based hydrogen storage methods are described compared with metal hydrides and complex chemical hydrides. We classify the studies of hydrogen sorbent materials in terms of two key technical issues: (i) constructing stable framework structures with high porosity, and (ii) increasing the binding affinity of hydrogen molecules to surfaces beyond the usual van der Waals interaction. The recent development of reticular chemistry is summarized as a means for addressing the first issue. Theoretical studies focus mainly on the second issue and can be grouped into three classes according to the underlying interaction mechanism: electrostatic interactions based on alkaline cations, Kubas interactions with open transition metals, and orbital interactions involving Ca and other nontransitional metals. Hierarchical computational methods to enable the theoretical predictions are explained, from ab initio studies to molecular dynamics simulations using force field parameters. We also discuss the actual delivery amount of stored hydrogen, which depends on the charging and discharging conditions. The usefulness and practical significance of the hydrogen spillover mechanism in increasing the storage capacity are presented as well. PMID:23161910

Design, synthesis and DNA interactions of a chimera between a platinum complex and an IHF mimicking peptide.

PubMed

Rao, Harita; Damian, Mariana S; Alshiekh, Alak; Elmroth, Sofi K C; Diederichsen, Ulf

2015-12-28

Conjugation of metal complexes with peptide scaffolds possessing high DNA binding affinity has shown to modulate their biological activities and to enhance their interaction with DNA. In this work, a platinum complex/peptide chimera was synthesized based on a model of the Integration Host Factor (IHF), an architectural protein possessing sequence specific DNA binding and bending abilities through its interaction with a minor groove. The model peptide consists of a cyclic unit resembling the minor grove binding subdomain of IHF, a positively charged lysine dendrimer for electrostatic interactions with the DNA phosphate backbone and a flexible glycine linker tethering the two units. A norvaline derived artificial amino acid was designed to contain a dimethylethylenediamine as a bidentate platinum chelating unit, and introduced into the IHF mimicking peptides. The interaction of the chimeric peptides with various DNA sequences was studied by utilizing the following experiments: thermal melting studies, agarose gel electrophoresis for plasmid DNA unwinding experiments, and native and denaturing gel electrophoresis to visualize non-covalent and covalent peptide-DNA adducts, respectively. By incorporation of the platinum metal center within the model peptide mimicking IHF we have attempted to improve its specificity and DNA targeting ability, particularly towards those sequences containing adjacent guanine residues.

Solid-liquid work of adhesion of coarse-grained models of n-hexane on graphene layers derived from the conditional reversible work method.

PubMed

Ardham, Vikram Reddy; Deichmann, Gregor; van der Vegt, Nico F A; Leroy, Frédéric

2015-12-28

We address the question of how reducing the number of degrees of freedom modifies the interfacial thermodynamic properties of heterogeneous solid-liquid systems. We consider the example of n-hexane interacting with multi-layer graphene which we model both with fully atomistic and coarse-grained (CG) models. The CG models are obtained by means of the conditional reversible work (CRW) method. The interfacial thermodynamics of these models is characterized by the solid-liquid work of adhesion WSL calculated by means of the dry-surface methodology through molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the CRW potentials lead to values of WSL that are larger than the atomistic ones. Clear understanding of the relationship between the structure of n-hexane in the vicinity of the surface and WSL is elucidated through a detailed study of the energy and entropy components of WSL. We highlight the crucial role played by the solid-liquid energy fluctuations. Our approach suggests that CG potentials should be designed in such a way that they preserve the range of solid-liquid interaction energies, but also their fluctuations in order to preserve the reference atomistic value of WSL. Our study thus opens perspectives into deriving CG interaction potentials that preserve the thermodynamics of solid-liquid contacts and will find application in studies that intend to address materials driven by interfaces.

Distributed Coordinated Control of Large-Scale Nonlinear Networks

DOE PAGES

Kundu, Soumya; Anghel, Marian

2015-11-08

We provide a distributed coordinated approach to the stability analysis and control design of largescale nonlinear dynamical systems by using a vector Lyapunov functions approach. In this formulation the large-scale system is decomposed into a network of interacting subsystems and the stability of the system is analyzed through a comparison system. However finding such comparison system is not trivial. In this work, we propose a sum-of-squares based completely decentralized approach for computing the comparison systems for networks of nonlinear systems. Moreover, based on the comparison systems, we introduce a distributed optimal control strategy in which the individual subsystems (agents) coordinatemore » with their immediate neighbors to design local control policies that can exponentially stabilize the full system under initial disturbances.We illustrate the control algorithm on a network of interacting Van der Pol systems.« less

NASA Has Joined America True's Design Mission for 2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steele, Gynelle C.

1999-01-01

Engineers at the NASA Lewis Research Center will support the America True design team led by America s Cup innovator Phil Kaiko. The joint effort between NASA and America True is encouraged by Mission HOME, the official public awareness campaign of the U.S. space community. NASA Lewis and America True have entered into a Space Act Agreement to focus on the interaction between the airfoil and the large deformation of the pretensioned sails and rigs along with the dynamic motions related to the boat motions. This work will require a coupled fluid and structural simulation. Included in the simulation will be both a steadystate capability, to capture the quasi-state interactions between the air loads and sail geometry and the lift and drag on the boat, and a transient capability, to capture the sail/mast pumping effects resulting from hull motions.

Robonaut 2 (R2) Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, Myron

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development and uses of the second robot designed to work in space. The presentation reviews the motivation for developing Robonaut, the cooperative commercial relationship with General Motors, the evolution design of Robonaut Robonaut 2 improvements over the first robonaut (R1), Robonaut 2's hand dexterity, finger impedance control, tactile system, finger haptics, arm control, strength, neck movement and head sensors, human interaction, and the controller. Also the plans for use on board the International Space Station are reviewed. The patent for the Phalange Tactile Load Cell is included.

Proof-of-concept automation of propellant processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramohalli, Kumar; Schallhorn, P. A.

1989-01-01

For space-based propellant production, automation of the process is needed. Currently, all phases of terrestrial production have some form of human interaction. A mixer was acquired to help perform the tasks of automation. A heating system to be used with the mixer was designed, built, and installed. Tests performed on the heating system verify design criteria. An IBM PS/2 personal computer was acquired for the future automation work. It is hoped that some the mixing process itself will be automated. This is a concept demonstration task; proving that propellant production can be automated reliably.

Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Executive Function: Interplay between Inhibition and Updating Processes.

PubMed

Kim, Na Young; Wittenberg, Ellen; Nam, Chang S

2017-01-01

This study investigated the interaction between two executive function processes, inhibition and updating, through analyses of behavioral, neurophysiological, and effective connectivity metrics. Although, many studies have focused on behavioral effects of executive function processes individually, few studies have examined the dynamic causal interactions between these two functions. A total of twenty participants from a local university performed a dual task combing flanker and n-back experimental paradigms, and completed the Operation Span Task designed to measure working memory capacity. We found that both behavioral (accuracy and reaction time) and neurophysiological (P300 amplitude and alpha band power) metrics on the inhibition task (i.e., flanker task) were influenced by the updating load (n-back level) and modulated by working memory capacity. Using independent component analysis, source localization (DIPFIT), and Granger Causality analysis of the EEG time-series data, the present study demonstrated that manipulation of cognitive demand in a dual executive function task influenced the causal neural network. We compared connectivity across three updating loads (n-back levels) and found that experimental manipulation of working memory load enhanced causal connectivity of a large-scale neurocognitive network. This network contains the prefrontal and parietal cortices, which are associated with inhibition and updating executive function processes. This study has potential applications in human performance modeling and assessment of mental workload, such as the design of training materials and interfaces for those performing complex multitasking under stress.

Identifying lubricant options for compressor bearing designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karnaz, J.; Seeton, C.; Dixon, L.

2017-08-01

Today’s refrigeration and air conditioning market is not only driven by the environmental aspects of the refrigerants, but also by the energy efficiency and reliability of system operation. Numerous types of compressor designs are used in refrigeration and air conditioning applications which means that different bearings are used; and in some cases, multiple bearing types within a single compressor. Since only one lubricant is used, it is important to try to optimize the lubricant to meet the various demands and requirements for operation. This optimization entails investigating different types of lubricant chemistries, viscosities, and various formulation options. What makes evaluating these options more challenging is the refrigerant which changes the properties of the lubricant delivered to the bearing. Once the lubricant and refrigerant interaction are understood, through various test methods, then work can start on collaborating with compressor engineers on identifying the lubricant chemistry and formulation options. These interaction properties are important to the design engineer to make decisions on the adequacy of the lubricant before compressor tests are started. This paper will discuss the process to evaluate lubricants for various types of compressors and bearing design with focus on what’s needed for current refrigerant trends. In addition, the paper will show how the lubricant chemistry choice can be manipulated through understanding of the bearing design and knowledge of interaction with the refrigerant to maximize performance. Emphasis will be placed on evaluation of synthetic lubricants for both natural and synthetic low GWP refrigerants.

Physical design correlates of efficiency and safety in emergency departments: a qualitative examination.

PubMed

Pati, Debajyoti; Harvey, Thomas E; Pati, Sipra

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to explore and identify physical design correlates of safety and efficiency in emergency department (ED) operations. This study adopted an exploratory, multimeasure approach to (1) examine the interactions between ED operations and physical design at 4 sites and (2) identify domains of physical design decision-making that potentially influence efficiency and safety. Multidisciplinary gaming and semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at each site. Study data suggest that 16 domains of physical design decisions influence safety, efficiency, or both. These include (1) entrance and patient waiting, (2) traffic management, (3) subwaiting or internal waiting areas, (4) triage, (5) examination/treatment area configuration, (6) examination/treatment area centralization versus decentralization, (7) examination/treatment room standardization, (8) adequate space, (9) nurse work space, (10) physician work space, (11) adjacencies and access, (12) equipment room, (13) psych room, (14) staff de-stressing room, (15) hallway width, and (16) results waiting area. Safety and efficiency from a physical environment perspective in ED design are mutually reinforcing concepts--enhancing efficiency bears positive implications for safety. Furthermore, safety and security emerged as correlated concepts, with security issues bearing implications for safety, thereby suggesting important associations between safety, security, and efficiency.

Progressive freezing of interacting spins in isolated finite magnetic ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Kakoli; Dupuis, Veronique; Le-Roy, Damien; Deb, Pritam

2017-02-01

Self-organization of magnetic nanoparticles into secondary nanostructures provides an innovative way for designing functional nanomaterials with novel properties, different from the constituent primary nanoparticles as well as their bulk counterparts. Collective magnetic properties of such complex closed packing of magnetic nanoparticles makes them more appealing than the individual magnetic nanoparticles in many technological applications. This work reports the collective magnetic behaviour of magnetic ensembles comprising of single domain Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The present work reveals that the ensemble formation is based on the re-orientation and attachment of the nanoparticles in an iso-oriented fashion at the mesoscale regime. Comprehensive dc magnetic measurements show the prevalence of strong interparticle interactions in the ensembles. Due to the close range organization of primary Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the ensemble, the spins of the individual nanoparticles interact through dipolar interactions as realized from remnant magnetization measurements. Signature of super spin glass like behaviour in the ensembles is observed in the memory studies carried out in field cooled conditions. Progressive freezing of spins in the ensembles is corroborated from the Vogel-Fulcher fit of the susceptibility data. Dynamic scaling of relaxation reasserted slow spin dynamics substantiating cluster spin glass like behaviour in the ensembles.

Air demand estimation in bottom outlets with the particle finite element method. Susqueda Dam case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, Fernando; San-Mauro, Javier; Celigueta, Miguel Ángel; Oñate, Eugenio

2017-07-01

Dam bottom outlets play a vital role in dam operation and safety, as they allow controlling the water surface elevation below the spillway level. For partial openings, water flows under the gate lip at high velocity and drags the air downstream of the gate, which may cause damages due to cavitation and vibration. The convenience of installing air vents in dam bottom outlets is well known by practitioners. The design of this element depends basically on the maximum air flow through the air vent, which in turn is a function of the specific geometry and the boundary conditions. The intrinsic features of this phenomenon makes it hard to analyse either on site or in full scaled experimental facilities. As a consequence, empirical formulas are frequently employed, which offer a conservative estimate of the maximum air flow. In this work, the particle finite element method was used to model the air-water interaction in Susqueda Dam bottom outlet, with different gate openings. Specific enhancements of the formulation were developed to consider air-water interaction. The results were analysed as compared to the conventional design criteria and to information gathered on site during the gate operation tests. This analysis suggests that numerical modelling with the PFEM can be helpful for the design of this kind of hydraulic works.

Structure-based design of novel chemical modification of the 3'-overhang for optimization of short interfering RNA performance.

PubMed

Xu, Lexing; Wang, Xin; He, Hongwei; Zhou, Jinming; Li, Xiaoyu; Ma, Hongtao; Li, Zelin; Zeng, Yi; Shao, Rongguang; Cen, Shan; Wang, Yucheng

2015-02-10

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are broadly used to manipulate gene expression in mammalian cells. Although chemical modification is useful for increasing the potency of siRNAs in vivo, rational optimization of siRNA performance through chemical modification is still a challenge. In this work, we designed and synthesized a set of siRNAs containing modified two-nucleotide 3'-overhangs with the aim of strengthening the interaction between the 3'-end of the siRNA strand and the PAZ domain of Ago2. Their efficiency of binding to the PAZ domain was calculated using a computer modeling program, followed by measurement of RNA-Ago2 interaction in a surface plasmon resonance biochemical assay. The results suggest that increasing the level of binding of the 3'-end of the guiding strand with the PAZ domain, and/or reducing the level of binding of the sense strand through modifying the two-nucleotide 3'-overhangs, affects preferential strand selection and improves siRNA activity, while we cannot exclude the possibility that the modifications at the 3'-end of the sense strand may also affect the recognition of the 5'-end of the guiding strand by the MID domain. Taken together, our work presents a strategy for optimizing siRNA performance through asymmetric chemical modification of 3'-overhangs and also helps to develop the computer modeling method for rational siRNA design.

A method to explore the quantitative interactions between metal and ceria for M/CeO2 catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Kong-Jie; Liu, Jie; Yang, Yan-Ju; Xu, Yu-Xing; Teng, Bo-Tao; Wen, Xiao-Dong; Fan, Maohong

2018-03-01

To explore the quantitative relationship of metal interaction with ceria plays a key role in the theoretical design of M/CeO2 catalysts, especially for the new hot topic of atomically dispersed catalysts. A method to quantitatively explore the interactions between metal and ceria is proposed in the present work on the basis of the qualitative analysis of the effects of different factors on metal adsorption at different ceria surfaces by using Ag/CeO2 as a case. Two parameters are firstly presented, Ep which converts the total adsorption energy into the interaction energy per Agsbnd O bond, and θdiff which measures the deviation of Agsbnd Osbnd Ce bond angle from the angle of the sp3 orbital hybridization of O atom. Using the two parameters, the quantitative relationship of the interaction energy between Ag and ceria is established. There is a linear correlation between Ep and dAgsbndO with θdiff. The higher θdiff, the weaker Ep, and the longer Agsbnd O bond. This method is also suitable for other metals (Cu, Ni, Pd, and Rh, etc.) on ceria. It is the first time to establish the quantitative relationship for the interaction between metal and ceria, and sheds light into the theoretical design of M/CeO2 catalysts.

The Operator Guide: An Ambient Persuasive Interface in the Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meschtscherjakov, Alexander; Reitberger, Wolfgang; Pöhr, Florian; Tscheligi, Manfred

In this paper we introduce the context of a semiconductor factory as a promising area for the application of innovative interaction approaches. In order to increase efficiency ambient persuasive interfaces, which influence the operators' behaviour to perform in an optimized way, could constitute a potential strategy. We present insights gained from qualitative studies conducted in a specific semiconductor factory and provide a description of typical work processes and already deployed interfaces in this context. These findings informed the design of a prototype of an ambient persuasive interface within this realm - the "Operator Guide". Its overall aim is to improve work efficiency, while still maintaining a minimal error rate. We provide a detailed description of the Operator Guide along with an outlook of the next steps within a user-centered design approach.

Working at the microscope: analysis of the activities involved in diagnostic pathology.

PubMed

Randell, Rebecca; Ruddle, Roy A; Quirke, Phil; Thomas, Rhys G; Treanor, Darren

2012-02-01

To study the current work practice of histopathologists to inform the design of digital microscopy systems. Four gastrointestinal histopathologists were video-recorded as they undertook their routine work. Analysis of the video data shows a range of activities beyond viewing slides involved in reporting a case. There is much overlapping of activities, supported by the 'eyes free' nature of the pathologists' interaction with the microscope. The order and timing of activities varies according to consultant. In order to support the work of pathologists adequately, digital microscopy systems need to provide support for a range of activities beyond viewing slides. Digital microscopy systems should support multitasking, while also providing flexibility so that pathologists can adapt their use of the technology to their own working patterns. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Design and outcomes of an acoustic data visualization seminar.

PubMed

Robinson, Philip W; Pätynen, Jukka; Haapaniemi, Aki; Kuusinen, Antti; Leskinen, Petri; Zan-Bi, Morley; Lokki, Tapio

2014-01-01

Recently, the Department of Media Technology at Aalto University offered a seminar entitled Applied Data Analysis and Visualization. The course used spatial impulse response measurements from concert halls as the context to explore high-dimensional data visualization methods. Students were encouraged to represent source and receiver positions, spatial aspects, and temporal development of sound fields, frequency characteristics, and comparisons between halls, using animations and interactive graphics. The primary learning objectives were for the students to translate their skills across disciplines and gain a working understanding of high-dimensional data visualization techniques. Accompanying files present examples of student-generated, animated and interactive visualizations.

Inverting Steric Effects: Using "Attractive" Noncovalent Interactions To Direct Silver-Catalyzed Nitrene Transfer.

PubMed

Huang, Minxue; Yang, Tzuhsiung; Paretsky, Jonathan D; Berry, John F; Schomaker, Jennifer M

2017-12-06

Nitrene transfer (NT) reactions represent powerful and direct methods to convert C-H bonds into amine groups that are prevalent in many commodity chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The importance of the C-N bond has stimulated the development of numerous transition-metal complexes to effect chemo-, regio-, and diastereoselective NT. An ongoing challenge is to understand how subtle interactions between catalyst and substrate influence the site-selectivity of the C-H amination event. In this work, we explore the underlying reasons why Ag(tpa)OTf (tpa = tris(pyridylmethyl)amine) prefers to activate α-conjugated C-H bonds over 3° alkyl C(sp 3 )-H bonds and apply these insights to reaction optimization and catalyst design. Experimental results suggest possible roles of noncovalent interactions (NCIs) in directing the NT; computational studies support the involvement of π···π and Ag···π interactions between catalyst and substrate, primarily by lowering the energy of the directed transition state and reaction conformers. A simple Hess's law relationship can be employed to predict selectivities for new substrates containing competing NCIs. The insights presented herein are poised to inspire the design of other catalyst-controlled C-H functionalization reactions.

Sialic Acid-Responsive Polymeric Interface Material: From Molecular Recognition to Macroscopic Property Switching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Yuting; Jiang, Ge; Li, Minmin; Qing, Guangyan; Li, Xiuling; Liang, Xinmiao; Sun, Taolei

2017-01-01

Biological systems that utilize multiple weak non-covalent interactions and hierarchical assemblies to achieve various bio-functions bring much inspiration for the design of artificial biomaterials. However, it remains a big challenge to correlate underlying biomolecule interactions with macroscopic level of materials, for example, recognizing such weak interaction, further transforming it into regulating material’s macroscopic property and contributing to some new bio-applications. Here we designed a novel smart polymer based on polyacrylamide (PAM) grafted with lactose units (PAM-g-lactose0.11), and reported carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction (CCI)-promoted macroscopic properties switching on this smart polymer surface. Detailed investigations indicated that the binding of sialic acid molecules with the grafted lactose units via the CCIs induced conformational transformation of the polymer chains, further resulted in remarkable and reversible switching in surface topography, wettability and stiffness. With these excellent recognition and response capacities towards sialic acid, the PAM-g-lactose0.11 further facilitated good selectivity, strong anti-interference and high adsorption capacity in the capture of sialylated glycopeptides (important biomarkers for cancers). This work provides some enlightenment for the development of biointerface materials with tunable property, as well as high-performance glycopeptide enrichment materials.

An Approach to Model Based Testing of Multiagent Systems

PubMed Central

Nadeem, Aamer

2015-01-01

Autonomous agents perform on behalf of the user to achieve defined goals or objectives. They are situated in dynamic environment and are able to operate autonomously to achieve their goals. In a multiagent system, agents cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal. Testing of multiagent systems is a challenging task due to the autonomous and proactive behavior of agents. However, testing is required to build confidence into the working of a multiagent system. Prometheus methodology is a commonly used approach to design multiagents systems. Systematic and thorough testing of each interaction is necessary. This paper proposes a novel approach to testing of multiagent systems based on Prometheus design artifacts. In the proposed approach, different interactions between the agent and actors are considered to test the multiagent system. These interactions include percepts and actions along with messages between the agents which can be modeled in a protocol diagram. The protocol diagram is converted into a protocol graph, on which different coverage criteria are applied to generate test paths that cover interactions between the agents. A prototype tool has been developed to generate test paths from protocol graph according to the specified coverage criterion. PMID:25874263

D-optimal experimental designs to test for departure from additivity in a fixed-ratio mixture ray.

PubMed

Coffey, Todd; Gennings, Chris; Simmons, Jane Ellen; Herr, David W

2005-12-01

Traditional factorial designs for evaluating interactions among chemicals in a mixture may be prohibitive when the number of chemicals is large. Using a mixture of chemicals with a fixed ratio (mixture ray) results in an economical design that allows estimation of additivity or nonadditive interaction for a mixture of interest. This methodology is extended easily to a mixture with a large number of chemicals. Optimal experimental conditions can be chosen that result in increased power to detect departures from additivity. Although these designs are used widely for linear models, optimal designs for nonlinear threshold models are less well known. In the present work, the use of D-optimal designs is demonstrated for nonlinear threshold models applied to a fixed-ratio mixture ray. For a fixed sample size, this design criterion selects the experimental doses and number of subjects per dose level that result in minimum variance of the model parameters and thus increased power to detect departures from additivity. An optimal design is illustrated for a 2:1 ratio (chlorpyrifos:carbaryl) mixture experiment. For this example, and in general, the optimal designs for the nonlinear threshold model depend on prior specification of the slope and dose threshold parameters. Use of a D-optimal criterion produces experimental designs with increased power, whereas standard nonoptimal designs with equally spaced dose groups may result in low power if the active range or threshold is missed.

A dew point signaller for conservation of works of art.

PubMed

Camuffo, D; Valcher, S

1986-03-01

All works of art, from paintings, frescoes, sculptures, to monuments and buildings, are affected by diurnal and seasonal variations of the local microclimate, which induce interactions with the environmental atmosphere. Heat and vapour exchanges cause fluxes of heat and mass between the surface and the atmosphere, and may favour the agressivity of environmental pollutants. Condensation-evaporation cycles are recognized as being very important processes which adversely affect the life-time of the work of art. The need to control the microclimate or to stop condensation processes has been resolved by means of a dew-point signaller especially designed to overcome this problem. This paper discusses the characteristics of this device as well as the environmental philosophy which should be followed when conserving works of art.

Personalizing Information Retrieval Using Interaction Behaviors in Search Sessions in Different Types of Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chang

2012-01-01

When using information retrieval (IR) systems, users often pose short and ambiguous query terms. It is critical for IR systems to obtain more accurate representation of users' information need, their document preferences, and the context they are working in, and then incorporate them into the design of the systems to tailor retrieval to…

Exploration of the Factors That Support Learning: Web-Based Activity and Testing Systems in Community College Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauk, Shandy; Matlen, Bryan

2016-01-01

A variety of computerized interactive learning platforms exist. Most include instructional supports in the form of problem sets. Feedback to users ranges from a single word like "Correct!" to offers of hints and partially to fully worked examples. Behind-the-scenes design of such systems varies as well --from static dictionaries of…

Examining the Role of Principals in the Retention of New Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Katherine

2011-01-01

New teachers are faced with many challenges during the first few years of teaching. They have to adjust to a new work environment, interact with parents, resolve a variety of conflicts, and design stimulating lessons for their students--often with few resources at hand. The large and varied workload that teachers carry during their first few years…

Exploration of the Factors That Support Learning: Web-Based Activity and Testing Systems in Community College Algebra [Contributed Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauk, Shandy; Matlen, Bryan; Thomas, Larry

2017-01-01

A variety of computerized interactive learning platforms exist. Most include instructional supports in the form of problem sets. Feedback to users ranges from a single word like "Correct!" to offers of hints and partially- to fully-worked examples. Behind-the-scenes design of systems varies as well--from static dictionaries of problems…

The (digital) natives are restless: designing and implementing an interactive digital media assignment.

PubMed

Voge, Catherine; Hirvela, Kari; Jarzemsky, Paula

2012-01-01

To create an opportunity for students to connect with the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies and demonstrate learning via knowledge transference, the authors piloted a digital media assignment. Students worked in small groups to create an unfolding patient care scenario with embedded decision points, using presentation software. The authors discuss the assignment and its outcomes.

The Interaction Effects of Working Memory Capacity, Gaming Expertise, and Scaffolding Design on Attention and Comprehension in Digital Game Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Yu-Hao

2013-01-01

Educational digital games are often complex problem-solving experiences that can facilitate systematic comprehension. However, empirical studies of digital game based learning (DGBL) have found mixed results regarding DGBL's effect in improving comprehension. While learners generally enjoyed the DGBL learning experience, they often failed to…

Designing and Implementing an Ergonomics Inventory to Improve Management of Human Factors Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Kenneth A.

Self-report ergometric inventories can provide valuable information to employers and can serve as a means of intervention to improve employee attributes. Based on the science of ergonomics (a science that studies the natural laws of work in order to maximize human efficiency in job performance), such an inventory focuses on the interaction of the…

The Use of Scaffolding and Interactive Learning Strategies in Online Courses for Working Nurses: Implications for Adult and Online Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salyers, Vince; Carter, Lorraine; Cairns, Steve; Durrer, Luke

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the foundational literature of contemporary e-learning, with a focus on scaffolding, instructional design, and engagement. These concepts are then considered in two limited case studies, each involving e-learning and adult learners--in particular, nurse-learners. The first case study describes the use of a scaffolding model…

NSTA Pathways to the Science Standards: Guidelines for Moving the Vision into Practice. High School School Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texley, Juliana, Ed.; Wild, Ann, Ed.

This book is designed for high school teachers and contains tools to guide teaching, professional development, assessment, program and curriculum, and interactions with the education system working towards the vision of the National Science Education Standards. The first three and last two chapters discuss the Standards that apply to all K-12…