Game-like tasks for comparative research: leveling the playing field

Science.gov (United States)

Washburn, D. A.; Gulledge, J. P.; Rumbaugh, D. M. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

Game-like computer tasks offer many benefits for psychological research. In this paper, the usefulness of such tasks to bridge population differences (e.g., age, intelligence, species) is discussed and illustrated. A task called ALVIN was used to assess humans' and monkeys' working memory for sequences of colors with or without tones. Humans repeated longer lists than did the monkeys, and only humans benefited when the visual stimuli were accompanied by auditory cues. However, the monkeys did recall sequences at levels comparable to those reported elsewhere for children. Comparison of similarities and differences between the species is possible because the two groups were tested with exactly the same game-like paradigm.

Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency and Lexis in Task-Based Performance: A Synthesis of the Ealing Research

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Skehan, Peter; Foster, Pauline

2012-01-01

This chapter will present a research synthesis of a series of studies, termed here the Ealing research. The studies use the same general framework to conceptualise tasks and task performance, enabling easier comparability. The different studies, although each is self-contained, build into a wider picture of task performance. The major point of…

Coordination and standardization of federal sedimentation activities

Science.gov (United States)

Glysson, G. Douglas; Gray, John R.

1997-01-01

In August 1964, the Bureau of the Budget issued Circular A-67 to set forth guidelines for the coordination of water-data acquisition activities throughout the Federal government. The U.S. Department of the Interior was assigned the task of implementing Circular A-67, which in turn redelegated this responsibility to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Delegation of the lead responsibility for water-data coordination to the USGS occurred because of its historical role as the primary agency for water-data acquisition in the United States. To provide overall leadership for implementing the provisions of Circular A-67, the USGS established the Office of Water Data Coordination in the Water Resources Division (WRD). In addition, regional and district offices of the WRD were delegated responsibility for coordinating water data within their geographic areas of responsibility. On December 10, 1991, the Office of Management and Budget issued OMB Number Memorandum M-92-01, which expands the USGS's coordination role to encompass all water information. This includes data critical to water resources in the following categories: - surface- and ground-water quality and quantity,

Research Priorities in Limb and Task-Specific Dystonias

Science.gov (United States)

Pirio Richardson, Sarah; Altenmüller, Eckart; Alter, Katharine; Alterman, Ron L.; Chen, Robert; Frucht, Steven; Furuya, Shinichi; Jankovic, Joseph; Jinnah, H. A.; Kimberley, Teresa J.; Lungu, Codrin; Perlmutter, Joel S.; Prudente, Cecília N.; Hallett, Mark

2017-01-01

Dystonia, which causes intermittent or sustained abnormal postures and movements, can present in a focal or a generalized manner. In the limbs, focal dystonia can occur in either the upper or lower limbs and may be task-specific causing abnormal motor performance for only a specific task, such as in writer’s cramp, runner’s dystonia, or musician’s dystonia. Focal limb dystonia can be non-task-specific and may, in some circumstances, be associated with parkinsonian disorders. The true prevalence of focal limb dystonia is not known and is likely currently underestimated, leaving a knowledge gap and an opportunity for future research. The pathophysiology of focal limb dystonia shares some commonalities with other dystonias with a loss of inhibition in the central nervous system and a loss of the normal regulation of plasticity, called homeostatic plasticity. Functional imaging studies revealed abnormalities in several anatomical networks that involve the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Further studies should focus on distinguishing cause from effect in both physiology and imaging studies to permit focus on most relevant biological correlates of dystonia. There is no specific therapy for the treatment of limb dystonia given the variability in presentation, but off-label botulinum toxin therapy is often applied to focal limb and task-specific dystonia. Various rehabilitation techniques have been applied and rehabilitation interventions may improve outcomes, but small sample size and lack of direct comparisons between methods to evaluate comparative efficacy limit conclusions. Finally, non-invasive and invasive therapeutic modalities have been explored in small studies with design limitations that do not yet clearly provide direction for larger clinical trials that could support new clinical therapies. Given these gaps in our clinical, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic knowledge, we have identified priorities for future research including: the development of

Research Priorities in Limb and Task-Specific Dystonias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Pirio Richardson

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Dystonia, which causes intermittent or sustained abnormal postures and movements, can present in a focal or a generalized manner. In the limbs, focal dystonia can occur in either the upper or lower limbs and may be task-specific causing abnormal motor performance for only a specific task, such as in writer’s cramp, runner’s dystonia, or musician’s dystonia. Focal limb dystonia can be non-task-specific and may, in some circumstances, be associated with parkinsonian disorders. The true prevalence of focal limb dystonia is not known and is likely currently underestimated, leaving a knowledge gap and an opportunity for future research. The pathophysiology of focal limb dystonia shares some commonalities with other dystonias with a loss of inhibition in the central nervous system and a loss of the normal regulation of plasticity, called homeostatic plasticity. Functional imaging studies revealed abnormalities in several anatomical networks that involve the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Further studies should focus on distinguishing cause from effect in both physiology and imaging studies to permit focus on most relevant biological correlates of dystonia. There is no specific therapy for the treatment of limb dystonia given the variability in presentation, but off-label botulinum toxin therapy is often applied to focal limb and task-specific dystonia. Various rehabilitation techniques have been applied and rehabilitation interventions may improve outcomes, but small sample size and lack of direct comparisons between methods to evaluate comparative efficacy limit conclusions. Finally, non-invasive and invasive therapeutic modalities have been explored in small studies with design limitations that do not yet clearly provide direction for larger clinical trials that could support new clinical therapies. Given these gaps in our clinical, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic knowledge, we have identified priorities for future research including

The Planning Task for Teams (PLATT): An environment for research on planning and decision making in teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamphuis, W.; Houttuin, K.

2007-01-01

In this report, we introduce a newly developed task environment for experimental team research: the Planning Task for Teams (PLATT). PLATT is a scenario based, computerized, complex planning task for three-person teams. PLATT has been designed to be able to do experimental laboratory research on

Seminar Cum Meeting Report: Codata Task Group for Exchangeable Material Data Representation to Support Research and Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Ashino

2008-11-01

Full Text Available On March 4-5, 2008, the CODATA Task Group for Exchangeable Material Data Representation to Support Research and Education held a two day seminar cum meeting at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL, New Delhi, India, with NPL materials researchers and task group members representing material activities and databases from seven countries: European Union (The Czech Republic, France, and the Netherlands, India, Korea, Japan, and the United States. The NPL seminar included presentations about the researchers' work. The Task Group meeting included presentations about current data related activities of the members. Joint discussions between NPL researchers and CODATA task group members began an exchange of viewpoints among materials data producers, users, and databases developers. The seminar cum meeting included plans to continue and expand Task Group activities at the 2008 CODATA 21st Meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Main tasks of the Nuclear Research Institute in the period till the year 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podest, M.

1989-06-01

The main tasks of the Nuclear Research Institute will be oriented to: safety of nuclear power installations; expert and diagnostic systems for such installations; the effect of operating medium on the life of nuclear power plants; disposal of radioactive wastes; prospective nuclear sources; research into and development of radiopharmaceuticals; radiation technologies and methods. Specific tasks are itemized. The statute of the Institute is attached. (J.B.). 1 tab

Measuring treatment effects on dual-task performance: a framework for research and clinical practice

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Prudence ePlummer

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The relevance of dual-task walking to everyday ambulation is widely acknowledged, and numerous studies have demonstrated that dual-task interference can significantly impact recovery of functional walking in people with neurological disorders. The magnitude and direction of dual-task interference is influenced by the interaction between the two tasks, including how individuals spontaneously prioritize their attention. Therefore, to accurately interpret and characterize dual-task interference and identify changes over time, it is imperative to evaluate single and dual-task performance in both tasks, as well as the tasks relative to each other. Yet, reciprocal dual-task effects are frequently ignored. The purpose of this perspective paper is to present a framework for measuring treatment effects on dual-task interference, specifically taking into account the interactions between the two tasks and how this can provide information on whether overall dual-task capacity has improved or a different attentional strategy has been adopted. In discussing the clinical implications of using this framework, we provide specific examples of using this method and provide some explicit recommendations for research and clinical practice.

Effects of noise and task loading on a communication task loading on a communication task

Science.gov (United States)

Orrell, Dean H., II

Previous research had shown the effect of noise on a single communication task. This research has been criticized as not being representative of a real world situation since subjects allocated all of their attention to only one task. In the present study, the effect of adding a loading task to a standard noise-communication paradigm was investigated. Subjects performed both a communication task (Modified Rhyme Test; House et al. 1965) and a short term memory task (Sternberg, 1969) in simulated levels of aircraft noise (95, 105 and 115 dB overall sound pressure level (OASPL)). Task loading was varied with Sternberg's task by requiring subjects to memorize one, four, or six alphanumeric characters. Simulated aircraft noise was varied between levels of 95, 105 and 115 dB OASPL using a pink noise source. Results show that the addition of Sternberg's task and little effect on the intelligibility of the communication task while response time for the communication task increased.

Research on multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm based on emotional cooperation factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Baofu; Chen, Lu; Wang, Hao; Dai, Shuanglu; Zhong, Qiubo

2014-01-01

Multirobot task allocation is a hot issue in the field of robot research. A new emotional model is used with the self-interested robot, which gives a new way to measure self-interested robots' individual cooperative willingness in the problem of multirobot task allocation. Emotional cooperation factor is introduced into self-interested robot; it is updated based on emotional attenuation and external stimuli. Then a multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm is proposed, which is based on emotional cooperation factor. Combined with the two-step auction algorithm recruiting team leaders and team collaborators, set up pursuit teams, and finally use certain strategies to complete the pursuit task. In order to verify the effectiveness of this algorithm, some comparing experiments have been done with the instantaneous greedy optimal auction algorithm; the results of experiments show that the total pursuit time and total team revenue can be optimized by using this algorithm.

Biomedical text mining for research rigor and integrity: tasks, challenges, directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilicoglu, Halil

2017-06-13

An estimated quarter of a trillion US dollars is invested in the biomedical research enterprise annually. There is growing alarm that a significant portion of this investment is wasted because of problems in reproducibility of research findings and in the rigor and integrity of research conduct and reporting. Recent years have seen a flurry of activities focusing on standardization and guideline development to enhance the reproducibility and rigor of biomedical research. Research activity is primarily communicated via textual artifacts, ranging from grant applications to journal publications. These artifacts can be both the source and the manifestation of practices leading to research waste. For example, an article may describe a poorly designed experiment, or the authors may reach conclusions not supported by the evidence presented. In this article, we pose the question of whether biomedical text mining techniques can assist the stakeholders in the biomedical research enterprise in doing their part toward enhancing research integrity and rigor. In particular, we identify four key areas in which text mining techniques can make a significant contribution: plagiarism/fraud detection, ensuring adherence to reporting guidelines, managing information overload and accurate citation/enhanced bibliometrics. We review the existing methods and tools for specific tasks, if they exist, or discuss relevant research that can provide guidance for future work. With the exponential increase in biomedical research output and the ability of text mining approaches to perform automatic tasks at large scale, we propose that such approaches can support tools that promote responsible research practices, providing significant benefits for the biomedical research enterprise. Published by Oxford University Press 2017. This work is written by a US Government employee and is in the public domain in the US.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Gilpatrick, Eleanor

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

Research status of multi - robot systems task allocation and uncertainty treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dahui; Fan, Qi; Dai, Xuefeng

2017-08-01

The multi-robot coordination algorithm has become a hot research topic in the field of robotics in recent years. It has a wide range of applications and good application prospects. This paper analyzes and summarizes the current research status of multi-robot coordination algorithms at home and abroad. From task allocation and dealing with uncertainty, this paper discusses the multi-robot coordination algorithm and presents the advantages and disadvantages of each method commonly used.

Research on Multirobot Pursuit Task Allocation Algorithm Based on Emotional Cooperation Factor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baofu Fang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Multirobot task allocation is a hot issue in the field of robot research. A new emotional model is used with the self-interested robot, which gives a new way to measure self-interested robots’ individual cooperative willingness in the problem of multirobot task allocation. Emotional cooperation factor is introduced into self-interested robot; it is updated based on emotional attenuation and external stimuli. Then a multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm is proposed, which is based on emotional cooperation factor. Combined with the two-step auction algorithm recruiting team leaders and team collaborators, set up pursuit teams, and finally use certain strategies to complete the pursuit task. In order to verify the effectiveness of this algorithm, some comparing experiments have been done with the instantaneous greedy optimal auction algorithm; the results of experiments show that the total pursuit time and total team revenue can be optimized by using this algorithm.

Inspection methods for physical protection Task III review of other agencies' physical security activities for research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In Task I of this project, the current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) position-on physical security practices and procedures at research reactors were reviewed. In the second task, a sampling of the physical security plans was presented and the three actual reactor sites described in the security plans were visited. The purpose of Task III is to review other agencies' physical security activities for research reactors. During this phase, the actions, procedures and policies of two domestic and two foreign agencies other than the NRC that relate to the research reactor community were examined. The agencies examined were: International Atomic Energy Agency; Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board; Department of Energy; and American Nuclear Insurers

To meet new tasks of scientific research on uranium geology in new century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zuyi

2000-01-01

The author analyses the new situation that the scientific research on uranium geology is facing in the coming new century, and proposes that the guiding idea of the scientific research on uranium geology is to coordinate the general policy of Bureau of Geology--to give the first priority to in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits. The specific tasks for the scientific research on uranium geology are: to implement regional evaluation and target area selection of in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits; to develop new techniques and methods of detecting buried in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits; to turn the genetic model of uranium deposit and deposit model to prospecting model; to strengthen the research on economic geology and the dynamic assessment system of uranium resources and to build up and improve the data base of Meso-Cenozoic basins and sandstone-type uranium deposits. In order to guarantee the successful implementation of the above tasks it is necessary for the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology--the leading unit in scientific research on uranium geology to accelerate bringing up large numbers of young outstanding researchers; to have clear consciousness of market economy and product quality; to given play to advantages of qualified personnel, advanced equipment and modern technology

Application of productive research tasks in working with gifted students in teaching Serbian language and literature

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Stakić Mirjana M.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the work we examine the possibility of application of productive research tasks in working with gifted students in teaching Serbian language and literature. Using specific examples of interpretations of literary works we show that productive research assignments encourage students' creative and inventive expression, creativity, imagination and criticality and enable them to develop in accordance with their personality, individual preferences and abilities. In the examples of their use in problem solving, we determine how productive research tasks are conducive to gifted students who need to learn through problem solving and school work and to experience learning as a challenge. They present the basis for independent research, which allows gifted students to express their own creativity and the need to acquire new, challenging knowledge, and represent a powerful motivational tool that teachers can use in order to further develop their talent. Creative application of the productive research tasks in teaching Serbian language and literature is the possibility that the education of gifted students is not treated as elitist question, but to transform teaching process into development of giftedness and talent, where the role of the teacher in the teaching process rises to the role of the mentor.

Modeling good research practices--overview: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force--1.

Science.gov (United States)

Caro, J Jaime; Briggs, Andrew H; Siebert, Uwe; Kuntz, Karen M

2012-01-01

Models--mathematical frameworks that facilitate estimation of the consequences of health care decisions--have become essential tools for health technology assessment. Evolution of the methods since the first ISPOR Modeling Task Force reported in 2003 has led to a new Task Force, jointly convened with the Society for Medical Decision Making, and this series of seven articles presents the updated recommendations for best practices in conceptualizing models; implementing state-transition approaches, discrete event simulations, or dynamic transmission models; and dealing with uncertainty and validating and reporting models transparently. This overview article introduces the work of the Task Force, provides all the recommendations, and discusses some quandaries that require further elucidation. The audience for these articles includes those who build models, stakeholders who utilize their results, and, indeed, anyone concerned with the use of models to support decision making. Copyright © 2012 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effect of "Massed" Task Repetitions on Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency: Does It Transfer to a New Task?

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Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad

2011-01-01

To date, research results suggest that task repetition positively affects oral task performance. However, researchers have not yet shown the extension of the benefits of repeating the same task to performance of a new task. This article first provides an overview of the currently available research findings on task repetition and then presents the…

A new semantic vigilance task: vigilance decrement, workload, and sensitivity to dual-task costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Epling, Samantha L; Russell, Paul N; Helton, William S

2016-01-01

Cognitive resource theory is a common explanation for both the performance decline in vigilance tasks, known as the vigilance decrement, and the limited ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. The limited supply of cognitive resources may be utilized faster than they are replenished resulting in a performance decrement, or may need to be allocated among multiple tasks with some performance cost. Researchers have proposed both domain-specific, for example spatial versus verbal processing resources, and domain general cognitive resources. One challenge in testing the domain specificity of cognitive resources in vigilance is the current lack of difficult semantic vigilance tasks which reliably produce a decrement. In the present research, we investigated whether the vigilance decrement was found in a new abbreviated semantic discrimination vigilance task, and whether there was a performance decrement in said vigilance task when paired with a word recall task, as opposed to performed individually. As hypothesized, a vigilance decrement in the semantic vigilance task was found in both the single-task and dual-task conditions, along with reduced vigilance performance in the dual-task condition and reduced word recall in the dual-task condition. This is consistent with cognitive resource theory. The abbreviated semantic vigilance task will be a useful tool for researchers interested in determining the specificity of cognitive resources utilized in vigilance tasks.

Task Repetition Effects on L1 Use in EFL Child Task-Based Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Azkarai, Agurtzane; García Mayo, María del Pilar

2017-01-01

Research has shown that tasks provide second language (L2) learners with many opportunities to learn the L2. Task repetition has been claimed to benefit L2 learning since familiarity with procedure and/or content gives learners the chance to focus on more specific aspects of language. Most research on task repetition has focused on adult…

Research on Mathematics Teachers as Partners in Task Design

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Keith; Pepin, Birgit

2016-01-01

Mathematical tasks and tools, including tasks in the form of digital tools, are key resources in mathematics teaching and in mathematics teacher education. Even so, the "design" of mathematical tasks is perceived in different ways: sometimes seen as something distinct from the teaching and learning process, and sometimes as integral to…

Accelerator research studies: Progress report, Task B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-06-01

The main objectives in Task B of the research program are summarized as follows: (1) studies of the collective acceleration of positive ions from a localized plasma source by an intense relativistic electron beam (IREB), (2) studies of ways in which external control may be achieved over the electron beam front in order to achieve higher ion energies - the Beam Front Accelerator (BFA) concept, and (3) study of electron and ion beam generation in a new kind of compact pulsed accelerator in which energy is stored inductively and switched using a plasma focus opening switch. During the past year, substantial progress was made in each of these areas. Our exploratory research on the collective acceleration of laser-produced ions has confirmed the acceleration of C, Al, and Fe ions to peak energies in excess of 10 MeV/amu. In addition, studies of the relation between collective ion acceleration and electron beam propagation in vacuum have shed new light on the experimental processes that lead to energy transfer from electrons to ions. Meanwhile, extensive progress has been made in our attempts to use analytical theory and numerical simulation to model ion acceleration in these systems. Our resultant improved understanding of the processes that limit the peak ion energy has had a profound impact on our plans for further research in this area. Studies of the Compact Pulsed Accelerator have included both ion and electron beam extraction from the device. Its potential to reduce the volume of pulse power sources by an order of magnitude has already been demonstrated, and plans are currently underway to scale the experiment up to voltages in the 1 MV range

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-01-01

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

Report of the NIH Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain†

Science.gov (United States)

Deyo, Richard A.; Dworkin, Samuel F.; Amtmann, Dagmar; Andersson, Gunnar; Borenstein, David; Carragee, Eugene; Carrino, John; Chou, Roger; Cook, Karon; DeLitto, Anthony; Goertz, Christine; Khalsa, Partap; Loeser, John; Mackey, Sean; Panagis, James; Rainville, James; Tosteson, Tor; Turk, Dennis; Von Korff, Michael; Weiner, Debra K.

2015-01-01

Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients’ lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting “responder analyses” in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement. Perspective A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes. PMID:26388962

REPORT OF THE NIH TASK FORCE ON RESEARCH STANDARDS FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN

Science.gov (United States)

Deyo, Richard A.; Dworkin, Samuel F.; Amtmann, Dagmar; Andersson, Gunnar; Borenstein, David; Carragee, Eugene; Carrino, John; Chou, Roger; Cook, Karon; DeLitto, Anthony; Goertz, Christine; Khalsa, Partap; Loeser, John; Mackey, Sean; Panagis, James; Rainville, James; Tosteson, Tor; Turk, Dennis; Von Korff, Michael; Weiner, Debra K.

2014-01-01

Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients’ lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting “responder analyses” in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement. Perspective A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes. PMID:24787228

Formative Research on the Simplifying Conditions Method (SCM) for Task Analysis and Sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, YoungHwan; Reigluth, Charles M.

The Simplifying Conditions Method (SCM) is a set of guidelines for task analysis and sequencing of instructional content under the Elaboration Theory (ET). This article introduces the fundamentals of SCM and presents the findings from a formative research study on SCM. It was conducted in two distinct phases: design and instruction. In the first…

Is a "Complex" Task Really Complex? Validating the Assumption of Cognitive Task Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Sasayama, Shoko

2016-01-01

In research on task-based learning and teaching, it has traditionally been assumed that differing degrees of cognitive task complexity can be inferred through task design and/or observations of differing qualities in linguistic production elicited by second language (L2) communication tasks. Without validating this assumption, however, it is…

Recent tasks and status of National Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene as TSO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellet, S.

2007-01-01

The technical support function of the National Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene has been introduced at the time of its establishment. In order to support the actual requirements the Institute carries on extended research in the fields of radiation protection and radiation biology participating in national and international projects. Supporting the proper performance of national radiation protection and safety tasks the Institute gives professional directives and expert opinions for decision processes of authorities. The Institutes main areas of radiation protection activity are: - Radiation-related licensing, inspection, record keeping; - assuring safety of radiation sources; - National Personal Dosimetry Service; - radiological monitoring of the environment; - preparedness for radiological incidents and accidents; - radiation protection training activities. The Institute has an accredited Testing Laboratory with nearly sixty examination protocols. Together with its Central Environmental Testing Laboratory, the Institute thus provides a significant support for both theoretical and practical accomplishment of the national radiation protection and safety tasks. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-06-01

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

Task demand, task management, and teamwork

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braarud, Per Oeivind; Brendryen, Haavar

2001-03-15

The current approach to mental workload assessment in process control was evaluated in 3 previous HAMMLAB studies, by analysing the relationship between workload related measures and performance. The results showed that subjective task complexity rating was related to team's control room performance, that mental effort (NASA-TLX) was weakly related to performance, and that overall activity level was unrelated to performance. The results support the argument that general cognitive measures, i.e., mental workload, are weakly related to performance in the process control domain. This implies that other workload concepts than general mental workload are needed for valid assessment of human reliability and for valid assessment of control room configurations. An assessment of task load in process control suggested that how effort is used to handle task demand is more important then the level of effort invested to solve the task. The report suggests two main workload related concepts with a potential as performance predictors in process control: task requirements, and the work style describing how effort is invested to solve the task. The task requirements are seen as composed of individual task demand and team demand. In a similar way work style are seen as composed of individual task management and teamwork style. A framework for the development of the concepts is suggested based on a literature review and experiences from HAMMLAB research. It is suggested that operational definitions of workload concepts should be based on observable control room behaviour, to assure a potential for developing performance-shaping factors. Finally an explorative analysis of teamwork measures and performance in one study indicated that teamwork concepts are related to performance. This lends support to the suggested development of team demand and teamwork style as elements of a framework for the analysis of workload in process control. (Author)

The risk-benefit task of research ethics committees: An evaluation of current approaches and the need to incorporate decision studies methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernabe Rosemarie D L C

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research ethics committees (RECs are tasked to assess the risks and the benefits of a trial. Currently, two procedure-level approaches are predominant, the Net Risk Test and the Component Analysis. Discussion By looking at decision studies, we see that both procedure-level approaches conflate the various risk-benefit tasks, i.e., risk-benefit assessment, risk-benefit evaluation, risk treatment, and decision making. This conflation makes the RECs’ risk-benefit task confusing, if not impossible. We further realize that RECs are not meant to do all the risk-benefit tasks; instead, RECs are meant to evaluate risks and benefits, appraise risk treatment suggestions, and make the final decision. Conclusion As such, research ethics would benefit from looking beyond the procedure-level approaches and allowing disciplines like decision studies to be involved in the discourse on RECs’ risk-benefit task.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

1991-01-01

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

The effects of stimulus modality and task integrality: Predicting dual-task performance and workload from single-task levels

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, S. G.; Shively, R. J.; Vidulich, M. A.; Miller, R. C.

1986-01-01

The influence of stimulus modality and task difficulty on workload and performance was investigated. The goal was to quantify the cost (in terms of response time and experienced workload) incurred when essentially serial task components shared common elements (e.g., the response to one initiated the other) which could be accomplished in parallel. The experimental tasks were based on the Fittsberg paradigm; the solution to a SternBERG-type memory task determines which of two identical FITTS targets are acquired. Previous research suggested that such functionally integrated dual tasks are performed with substantially less workload and faster response times than would be predicted by suming single-task components when both are presented in the same stimulus modality (visual). The physical integration of task elements was varied (although their functional relationship remained the same) to determine whether dual-task facilitation would persist if task components were presented in different sensory modalities. Again, it was found that the cost of performing the two-stage task was considerably less than the sum of component single-task levels when both were presented visually. Less facilitation was found when task elements were presented in different sensory modalities. These results suggest the importance of distinguishing between concurrent tasks that complete for limited resources from those that beneficially share common resources when selecting the stimulus modalities for information displays.

Comments on future tasks for Romanian research related to nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumitrache, I.

2000-01-01

Four main research areas are identified: - nuclear safety, - waste management, - fuel cycles and - plant life management. A significant number of tasks are related to each of these areas. Unfortunately, the cost of the needed research is much too high for the current electricity planning of Romania. Up to now, the international co-operation in CANDU field was not very efficient. Canada, India, Korea and Argentina have distinct intentions related to the use of nuclear power potential. Romania is the only European country interested to investigate CANDU reactor problems. Consequently, the author believes that the future Romanian nuclear power research effort must be clearly divided in two main classes: a. CR = 'Concentrated Research' on specific subjects, aimed to a better understanding, and to a complete solving of the associated problems, when possible, and b. CAR = 'Covering Areas Research' to maintain and update the know-how needed in the nuclear power activities. A given research subject may successively pass from one class to another, if needed; however, for a given period of one-to-five years, the class must be stated for each project, from the beginning. No research effort must be planned in the first class, CR, if the needed resources (human, technical and financial) are not ensured. Usually, the power plant leaders and the Institute researchers wish to dedicate their efforts to investigation of the 'hot problems'. Apparently, they are always right. In fact, the allocation of human and financial resources must be based on a very careful evaluation of the 'conditions required for success'. Otherwise, instead of the needed solution, the research will probably offer' a significant number of original methods, successfully applied', 'a more detailed knowledge of phenomena', 'several patents', a few papers 'published or accepted for publication in world over recognized scientific journals' etc. Although valuable, such results are not accepted instead of the needed

How asymmetrical task dependence and task interdependence interact:an individual level study into the effects on affective reactions

OpenAIRE

Jong, Simon B. De; Bal, P. Matthijs

2014-01-01

Purpose – This study investigates whether research and practice on task design and work teams could benefit from a more nuanced perspective on task (inter)dependencies among team members. Prior research often overlooked that task interdependence captures the average exchange of resources, while asymmetrical task dependence captures the inequalities within an individual's work relationships. To date, no study on work teams has combined the two aspects. Design/methodology/approach – Data was ob...

Integrated corridor management : phase I, concept development and foundational research. Task 3.4, identify integrated corridor management institutional strategies and administration

Science.gov (United States)

2006-04-12

Task 3 involves overall foundational research to further the understanding of various aspects of Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) and to identify integration issues needed to evaluate the feasibility of the ICM initiative. The focus of Task 3.4 a...

Developing Analytic Rating Guides for "TOEFL iBT"® Integrated Speaking Tasks. "TOEFL iBT"® Research Report, TOEFL iBT-20. ETS Research Report. RR-13-13

Science.gov (United States)

Jamieson, Joan; Poonpon, Kornwipa

2013-01-01

Research and development of a new type of scoring rubric for the integrated speaking tasks of "TOEFL iBT"® are described. These "analytic rating guides" could be helpful if tasks modeled after those in TOEFL iBT were used for formative assessment, a purpose which is different from TOEFL iBT's primary use for admission…

Quality-assurance plan and field methods for quality-of-water activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, L.J.

1996-10-01

Water-quality activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Project Office are part of the US Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Resources Division (WRD) mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation's water resources. The purpose of the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for water-quality activities performed by the INEL Project Office is to maintain and improve the quality of technical products, and to provide a formal standardization, documentation, and review of the activities that lead to these products. The principles of this plan are as follows: (1) water-quality programs will be planned in a competent manner and activities will be monitored for compliance with stated objectives and approaches; (2) field, laboratory, and office activities will be performed in a conscientious and professional manner in accordance with specified WRD practices and procedures by qualified and experienced employees who are well trained and supervised, if or when, WRD practices and procedures are inadequate, data will be collected in a manner that its quality will be documented; (3) all water-quality activities will be reviewed for completeness, reliability, credibility, and conformance to specified standards and guidelines; (4) a record of actions will be kept to document the activity and the assigned responsibility; (5) remedial action will be taken to correct activities that are deficient

Workplace for analysis of task performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, J; Mulder, LJM; van Ouwerkerk, RJ; Maarse, FJ; Akkerman, AE; Brand, AN; Mulder, LJM

2003-01-01

In current research on mental workload and task performance a large gap exists between laboratory based studies and research projects in real life working practice. Tasks conducted within a laboratory environment often lack a strong resemblance with real life working situations. This paper presents

The relation between task characteristics, BI quality and task compatibility: An explorative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gaardboe, Rikke; Jonasen, Tanja Svarre; Nyvang, Tom

2018-01-01

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between task characteristics, business intelligence (BI) quality, and task compatibility. It is essential to investigate this relationship, as BI often builds up data from the organization's existing information systems, and thus......, is a supplement. In addition, there is a gap within existing research about task characteristics and BI. We conducted a survey of three companies, where 104 BI end users answered the questionnaire. Our findings reveal that BI users who experience high information quality solve difficult tasks, have a specified...

Physical Education-in-CLIL tasks. Determining tasks characteristics through the analysis of the diaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep Coral Mateu

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the characteristics of Physical Education-in-CLIL (PE-in-CLIL tasks. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning is a teaching approach which uses foreign language as a tool to enhance the subject learning process. We connect PE-in-CLIL with key competences and we introduce the CLIL 4Cs framework. We establish the aims of the study, that is; to describe the features of tasks which are most suitable to PE-in-CLIL and identify integrated tasks which appeal most to learners. We use Action-Research and we collect data through diaries. The participants of the study were twenty-six learners of 5th grade of primary school. We described the strategies of rigour and quality applied and we analysed data using a qualitative data analysis software programme (NVivo. In the results, we identify both the tasks that appeal to students and the tasks that are developed successfully. In the conclusions, we provide teaching guidelines to plan successful PE-in-CLIL tasks that appeal to students. At this point, we emphasise tasks that combined both cooperative learning and oracy with motor activity and games. We also declare the necessity of incorporating scaffolding strategies in order to accommodate students’ linguistic needs and facilitate tasks development. Future CLIL research possibilities emerge in the Physical Education field of work.

Effects of Task Complexity, Task Conditions, and Task Difficulty on the Grammatical Accuracy of EFL Learners in Written Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeideh Ahangari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Different methods of language teaching have tried to help EFL learners to develop good language skills based on their various perspectives. Research findings have underscored the effect of using task types in promoting language skills in terms of accuracy in written discourse. Therefore, this study set out to investigate whether there is an evidence of correct use of simple past tense (Accuracy based on Task Complexity (Task type :Here-and now & There-and-then,Task Conditions (Gender: Male & Female, and Task Difficulty (Proficiency: Lower-intermediate & Intermediate. Sixty Iranian English learners in a language institute participated in the study and were assigned to four groups of lower-intermediate male, lower-intermediate female, intermediate male and intermediate female. Initial homogeneity of the groups was verified using two general proficiency tests; KET for lower-intermediate and PET for intermediate. All groups in here-and-now task type were asked to write a story using simple past based on a picture strip while for there-and-then task type the participants were supposed to write about their last birthday. The results from paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and two-way ANOVA analysis of the written data revealed significant differences in performing task types, at different proficiency levels and interaction between them. The findings have significant pedagogical implications for EFL learners to understand the relationship among Task Complexity,Task Conditions, Task Difficulty and L2 written production leading to various degrees of Accuracy.

Supporting complex search tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gäde, Maria; Hall, Mark; Huurdeman, Hugo

2015-01-01

, is fragmented at best. The workshop addressed the many open research questions: What are the obvious use cases and applications of complex search? What are essential features of work tasks and search tasks to take into account? And how do these evolve over time? With a multitude of information, varying from...

Survival Processing and the Stroop Task

OpenAIRE

Stephanie A. Kazanas; Kendra M. Van Valkenburg; Jeanette Altarriba

2015-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the impact of survival processing with a novel task for this paradigm: the Stroop color-naming task. As the literature is mixed with regard to task generalizability, with survival processing promoting better memory for words, but not better memory for faces or paired associates, these types of task investigations are important to a growing field of research. Using the Stroop task provides a unique contribution, as identifying items by color is an importa...

Control and Interference in Task Switching--A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Kiesel, Andrea; Steinhauser, Marco; Wendt, Mike; Falkenstein, Michael; Jost, Kerstin; Philipp, Andrea M.; Koch, Iring

2010-01-01

The task-switching paradigm offers enormous possibilities to study cognitive control as well as task interference. The current review provides an overview of recent research on both topics. First, we review different experimental approaches to task switching, such as comparing mixed-task blocks with single-task blocks, predictable task-switching…

Task conflict in the Stroop task: When Stroop interference decreases as Stroop facilitation increases in a low task conflict context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Andrew Parris

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In the present study participants completed two blocks of the Stroop task, one in which the Response-Stimulus Interval (RSI was 3500ms and one in which RSI was 200ms. It was expected that, in line with previous research, the shorter RSI would induce a low Task Conflict context by increasing focus on the colour identification goal in the Stroop task. Based on previous research showing the role of Task Conflict in the presence or absence Stroop facilitation, this was expected to lead to the novel finding of an increase in facilitation and simultaneous decrease in interference. Such a finding would be problematic for models of Stroop effects that predict these indices of performance should be affected in tandem. A crossover interaction is reported supporting these predictions. As predicted, the shorter RSI resulted in incongruent and congruent trial RTs decreasing relative to a static neutral baseline condition; hence interference decreased as facilitation increased. An explanatory model (expanding on the work of Goldfarb, Henik and colleagues is presented that: 1 Shows how under certain conditions the predictions from single mechanism models hold true (i.e. when Task conflict is held constant; 2 Shows how it is possible that interference can be affected by an experimental manipulation that leaves facilitation apparently untouched and; 3 Predicts that facilitation cannot be independently affected by an experimental manipulation.

The Effect of Focus on Form and Task Complexity on L2 Learners' Oral Task Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Salimi, Asghar

2015-01-01

Second Language learners' oral task performance has been one of interesting and research generating areas of investigations in the field of second language acquisition specially, task-based language teaching and learning. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of focus on form and task complexity on L2 learners' oral…

Research on safety evaluation model for in-vehicle secondary task driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Lisheng; Xian, Huacai; Niu, Qingning; Bie, Jing

2015-08-01

This paper presents a new method for evaluating in-vehicle secondary task driving safety. There are five in-vehicle distracter tasks: tuning the radio to a local station, touching the touch-screen telephone menu to a certain song, talking with laboratory assistant, answering a telephone via Bluetooth headset, and finding the navigation system from Ipad4 computer. Forty young drivers completed the driving experiment on a driving simulator. Measures of fixations, saccades, and blinks are collected and analyzed. Based on the measures of driver eye movements which have significant difference between the baseline and secondary task driving conditions, the evaluation index system is built. The Analytic Network Process (ANP) theory is applied for determining the importance weight of the evaluation index in a fuzzy environment. On the basis of the importance weight of the evaluation index, Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) method is utilized to evaluate the secondary task driving safety. Results show that driving with secondary tasks greatly distracts the driver's attention from road and the evaluation model built in this study could estimate driving safety effectively under different driving conditions. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beads task vs. box task: The specificity of the jumping to conclusions bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Balzan, Ryan P; Ephraums, Rachel; Delfabbro, Paul; Andreou, Christina

2017-09-01

Previous research involving the probabilistic reasoning 'beads task' has consistently demonstrated a jumping-to-conclusions (JTC) bias, where individuals with delusions make decisions based on limited evidence. However, recent studies have suggested that miscomprehension may be confounding the beads task. The current study aimed to test the conventional beads task against a conceptually simpler probabilistic reasoning "box task" METHODS: One hundred non-clinical participants completed both the beads task and the box task, and the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI) to assess for delusion-proneness. The number of 'draws to decision' was assessed for both tasks. Additionally, the total amount of on-screen evidence was manipulated for the box task, and two new box task measures were assessed (i.e., 'proportion of evidence requested' and 'deviation from optimal solution'). Despite being conceptually similar, the two tasks did not correlate, and participants requested significantly less information on the beads task relative to the box task. High-delusion-prone participants did not demonstrate hastier decisions on either task; in fact, for box task, this group was observed to be significantly more conservative than low-delusion-prone group. Neither task was incentivized; results need replication with a clinical sample. Participants, and particularly those identified as high-delusion-prone, displayed a more conservative style of responding on the novel box task, relative to the beads task. The two tasks, whilst conceptually similar, appear to be tapping different cognitive processes. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the JTC bias and the theoretical mechanisms thought to underlie it. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance Enhancements Under Dual-task Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, A. F.; Wickens, C. D.; Donchin, E.

1984-01-01

Research on dual-task performance has been concerned with delineating the antecedent conditions which lead to dual-task decrements. Capacity models of attention, which propose that a hypothetical resource structure underlies performance, have been employed as predictive devices. These models predict that tasks which require different processing resources can be more successfully time shared than tasks which require common resources. The conditions under which such dual-task integrality can be fostered were assessed in a study in which three factors likely to influence the integrality between tasks were manipulated: inter-task redundancy, the physical proximity of tasks and the task relevant objects. Twelve subjects participated in three experimental sessions in which they performed both single and dual-tasks. The primary task was a pursuit step tracking task. The secondary tasks required the discrimination between different intensities or different spatial positions of a stimulus. The results are discussed in terms of a model of dual-task integrality.

Protective potentials of wild rice (Zizania latifolia (Griseb) Turcz) against obesity and lipotoxicity induced by a high-fat/cholesterol diet in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Shu-Fen; Zhang, Hong; Zhai, Cheng-Kai

2012-07-01

The study evaluates the protective potentials of wild rice against obesity and lipotoxicity induced by a high-fat/cholesterol diet in rats. In addition to the rats of low-fat diet group, others animals were exposed to a high-fat/cholesterol diet condition for 8 weeks. The city diet (CD) is based on the diet consumed by urban residents in modern China, which is rich in fat/cholesterol and high in carbohydrates from white rice and processed wheat starch. The chief source of dietary carbohydrates of wild rice diet (WRD) is from Chinese wild rice and other compositions are the same with CD. Rats fed CD showed elevated body and liver organ weights, lipid profiles, free fatty acids (FFA) and leptin comparable with rats fed high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFD) known to induce obesity and hyperlipidaemia in this species. However, rats consuming WRD suppressed the increase of lipid droplets accumulation, FFA, and leptin, and the decrease of lipoprotein lipase and adipose triglyceride lipase. Meanwhile, WRD prevented high-fat/cholesterol diet-induced elevation in protein expression of sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1c, and gene expression of fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. These findings indicate that wild rice as a natural food has the potentials of preventing obesity and liver lipotoxicity induced by a high-fat/cholesterol diet in rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Creative task Creator: a tool for the generation of customized, Web-based creativity tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Pretz, Jean E; Link, John A

2008-11-01

This article presents a Web-based tool for the creation of divergent-thinking and open-ended creativity tasks. A Java program generates HTML forms with PHP scripting that run an Alternate Uses Task and/or open-ended response items. Researchers may specify their own instructions, objects, and time limits, or use default settings. Participants can also be prompted to select their best responses to the Alternate Uses Task (Silvia et al., 2008). Minimal programming knowledge is required. The program runs on any server, and responses are recorded in a standard MySQL database. Responses can be scored using the consensual assessment technique (Amabile, 1996) or Torrance's (1998) traditional scoring method. Adoption of this Web-based tool should facilitate creativity research across cultures and access to eminent creators. The Creative Task Creator may be downloaded from the Psychonomic Society's Archive of Norms, Stimuli, and Data, www.psychonomic.org/archive.

Evaluating task-based syllabus for EFL learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luu, Hoang Mai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This research is an evaluation of the effectiveness of task-based syllabus on EFL learners’ language competence at a private university in Vietnam educational context. This research resorts to questionnaire survey, semi-structured interview, and pretest and posttest as instruments for data collection. The research findings revealed that a strength of the current task-based syllabus is the match between lesson topics and students’ expectations. However, the syllabus still created difficulties for students including insufficient vocabulary, unfamiliar structures, and lack of life knowledge. The effect of teaching with task-based syllabus on students’ language performance is also reflected through a significant difference in mean scores between the pretest and the posttest. This research provides an insight into the effectiveness of English teaching through task-based syllabus at a private university in Vietnam setting. It implies to teachers that they need to be sustainable change catalysts for more interesting syllabus for learners

Using Goal Setting and Task Analysis to Enhance Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, Joan

2015-01-01

Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching has received sustained attention from teachers and researchers for over thirty years. It is a well-established pedagogy that includes the following characteristics: major focus on authentic and real-world tasks, choice of linguistic resources by learners, and a clearly defined non-linguistic outcome. This…

Search and Hyperlinking Task at MediaEval 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eskevich, Maria; Jones, Gareth J.F.; Chen, Shu; Aly, Robin; Ordelman, Roeland J.F.; Larson, Martha

2012-01-01

The Search and Hyperlinking Task was one of the Brave New Tasks at MediaEval 2012. The Task consisted of two sub- tasks which focused on search and linking in retrieval from a collection of semi-professional video content. These tasks followed up on research carried out within the MediaEval 2011

[A research program in neutrino physics, cosmic rays and elementary particles: Tasks A, B, C, D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobel, H.W.

1991-01-01

A Summary of the DOE Supported High Energy Physics Research at The University of California, Irvine. Physics interests of the group are focused primarily on tests of conservation laws and studies of fundamental interactions between particles. There is also a significant interest in astrophysics and cosmic rays. The DOE support has been divided into four tasks briefly describes in this paper

Development of flight experiment task requirements. Volume 2: Technical Report. Part 2: Appendix H: Tasks-skills data series

Science.gov (United States)

Hatterick, G. R.

1972-01-01

The data sheets presented contain the results of the task analysis portion of the study to identify skill requirements of space shuttle crew personnel. A comprehensive data base is provided of crew functions, operating environments, task dependencies, and task-skills applicable to a representative cross section of earth orbital research experiments.

A comparison of pet and purpose-bred research dog (Canis familiaris) performance on human-guided object-choice tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarowski, Lucia; Dorman, David C

2015-01-01

Several studies have shown that domestic dogs respond to human social cues such as pointing. Some experiments have shown that pet dogs outperformed wolves in following a momentary distal point. These findings have lent support to the hypothesis that domestication is responsible for domestic dogs' ability to utilize human gestures. Other studies demonstrating comparable performance in human-socialized wolves suggest this skill depends on experience with relevant human stimuli. However, domestic dogs lacking thorough exposure to humans are underrepresented in the comparative literature. The goal of this study was to evaluate pet and kennel-reared research domestic dogs on their ability to follow two types of point in an object-choice task. This study used young adult, intact male research dogs (n=11) and a comparison group of pet dogs living in human homes (n=9). We found that while pet dogs followed the momentary distal point above chance levels, research dogs did not. Both groups followed the simpler dynamic proximal point; however, pet dogs outperformed research dogs on this task. Our results indicate that ontogenetic experiences may influence a domestic dog's ability to use human gestures, highlighting the importance of testing different sub-populations of domestic dogs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Team situation awareness in nuclear power plant process control: A literature review, task analysis and future research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, R.; Kaber, D. B.; Jones, J. M.; Starkey, R. L.

2006-01-01

Operator achievement and maintenance of situation awareness (SA) in nuclear power plant (NPP) process control has emerged as an important concept in defining effective relationships between humans and automation in this complex system. A literature review on factors influencing SA revealed several variables to be important to team SA, including the overall task and team goals, individual tasks, team member roles, and the team members themselves. Team SA can also be adversely affected by a range of factors, including stress, mental over- or under-loading, system design (including human-machine interface design), complexity, human error in perception, and automation. Our research focused on the analysis of 'shared' SA and team SA among an assumed three-person, main-control-room team. Shared SA requirements represent the knowledge that is held in common by NPP operators, and team SA represents the collective, unique knowledge of all operators. The paper describes an approach to goal-directed task analysis (GDTA) applied to NPP main control room operations. In general, the GDTA method reveals critical operator decision and information requirements. It identifies operator SA requirements relevant to performing complex systems control. The GDTA can reveal requirements at various levels of cognitive processing, including perception, comprehension and projection, in NPP process control. Based on the literature review and GDTA approach, a number of potential research issues are proposed with an aim toward understanding and facilitating team SA in NPP process control. (authors)

Task conflict and proactive control: A computational theory of the Stroop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalanthroff, Eyal; Davelaar, Eddy J; Henik, Avishai; Goldfarb, Liat; Usher, Marius

2018-01-01

The Stroop task is a central experimental paradigm used to probe cognitive control by measuring the ability of participants to selectively attend to task-relevant information and inhibit automatic task-irrelevant responses. Research has revealed variability in both experimental manipulations and individual differences. Here, we focus on a particular source of Stroop variability, the reverse-facilitation (RF; faster responses to nonword neutral stimuli than to congruent stimuli), which has recently been suggested as a signature of task conflict. We first review the literature that shows RF variability in the Stroop task, both with regard to experimental manipulations and to individual differences. We suggest that task conflict variability can be understood as resulting from the degree of proactive control that subjects recruit in advance of the Stroop stimulus. When the proactive control is high, task conflict does not arise (or is resolved very quickly), resulting in regular Stroop facilitation. When proactive control is low, task conflict emerges, leading to a slow-down in congruent and incongruent (but not in neutral) trials and thus to Stroop RF. To support this suggestion, we present a computational model of the Stroop task, which includes the resolution of task conflict and its modulation by proactive control. Results show that our model (a) accounts for the variability in Stroop-RF reported in the experimental literature, and (b) solves a challenge to previous Stroop models-their ability to account for reaction time distributional properties. Finally, we discuss theoretical implications to Stroop measures and control deficits observed in some psychopathologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

DECOVALEX II PROJECT Technical Report - Task 2C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing, L.; Stephansson, O.; Chijimatzu, M.; Tsang, C.F.

1999-05-01

The DECOVALEX II project is an international co-operative research project supported by a number of national radioactive waste management organizations of different countries. The project studied four tasks: Task 1: numerical simulation of the RCF3 pump test at Sellafield, UK; Task 2: numerical simulation of the in situ T-H-M experiment at Kamaishi Mine, Japan; Task 3: monitoring of current development in rock fracture research; and Task 4: report on treatment of T-H-M processes in Performance Assessment works for nuclear waste repositories. The project started in 1995 and is scheduled to be finalised in March, 1999. This report concerns the Task 2 of the DECOVALEX H project. Task 2 of the DECOVALEX II project is the numerical modelling of the in-situ T-H-M experiment of a fractured rock - buffer - heater system at Kamaishi Mine, Japan. The experiment was carried out inside a test pit drilled in the floor of a 5 x 7 m alcove excavated near an existing drift at the 550 m level. The test pit has a circular cross section of diameter 1.7 m and a depth of 5 m, filled with bentonite which contains an electric heater. Four research teams studied Task 2 with different computational models. The task is divided into three sub-tasks: Task 2A, Task 2B and Task 2C. Task 2A was defined as a blind prediction to the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of the fractured rocks due to the excavation of the test pit. The calibration of the numerical models against measured results of pore pressures, flow rates and rock deformation before filling up of the test pit formed Task 2B. These two sub-tasks were performed to establish well calibrated fields of hydraulic conductivity and mechanical deformability of the fractured rocks at the test site. They were necessary for further simulations on interactions between the rock and buffer materials during heating experiments, as required for Task 2C, with a higher level of confidence on rock mass models. Presented in this report is the

DECOVALEX II PROJECT Technical Report - Task 2C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jing, L.; Stephansson, O. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Boergesson, L. [Clay Technology AB, IDEON Research Center, Lund (Sweden); Chijimatzu, M. [Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Inst., Ibaraki (Japan). Waste Management and Fuel Cycle Research Center; Kautsky, F. [Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), Stockholm (Sweden); Tsang, C.F. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Science Div.

1999-05-01

The DECOVALEX II project is an international co-operative research project supported by a number of national radioactive waste management organizations of different countries. The project studied four tasks: Task 1: numerical simulation of the RCF3 pump test at Sellafield, UK; Task 2: numerical simulation of the in situ T-H-M experiment at Kamaishi Mine, Japan; Task 3: monitoring of current development in rock fracture research; and Task 4: report on treatment ofT-H-M processes in Performance Assessment works for nuclear waste repositories. The project started in 1995 and is scheduled to be finalised in March, 1999. This report concerns the Task 2 of the DECOVALEX H project. Task 2 of the DECOVALEX II project is the numerical modelling of the in-situ T-H-M experiment of a fractured rock - buffer - heater system at Kamaishi Mine, Japan. The experiment was carried out inside a test pit drilled in the floor of a 5 x 7 m alcove excavated near an existing drift at the 550 m level. The test pit has a circular cross section of diameter 1.7 m and a depth of 5 m, filled with bentonite which contains an electric heater. Four research teams studied Task 2 with different computational models. The task is divided into three sub-tasks: Task 2A, Task 2B and Task 2C. Task 2A was defined as a blind prediction to the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of the fractured rocks due to the excavation of the test pit. The calibration of the numerical models against measured results of pore pressures, flow rates and rock deformation before filling up of the test pit formed Task 2B. These two sub-tasks were performed to establish well calibrated fields of hydraulic conductivity and mechanical deformability of the fractured rocks at the test site. They were necessary for further simulations on interactions between the rock and buffer materials during heating experiments, as required for Task 2C, with a higher level of confidence on rock mass models. Presented in this report is the definition

Secondary task for full flight simulation incorporating tasks that commonly cause pilot error: Time estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Rosch, E.

1975-01-01

The task of time estimation, an activity occasionally performed by pilots during actual flight, was investigated with the objective of providing human factors investigators with an unobtrusive and minimally loading additional task that is sensitive to differences in flying conditions and flight instrumentation associated with the main task of piloting an aircraft simulator. Previous research indicated that the duration and consistency of time estimates is associated with the cognitive, perceptual, and motor loads imposed by concurrent simple tasks. The relationships between the length and variability of time estimates and concurrent task variables under a more complex situation involving simulated flight were clarified. The wrap-around effect with respect to baseline duration, a consequence of mode switching at intermediate levels of concurrent task distraction, should contribute substantially to estimate variability and have a complex effect on the shape of the resulting distribution of estimates.

Evaluating the Effects of Formal Corrective Feedback on Off-Task/On-Task Behavior of Mild Intellectually Disabled Students: An Action Research Study

Science.gov (United States)

George, Kevin

2016-01-01

The off-task behavior demonstrated by the study participants appears to interfere with classroom instruction, contribute to poor academic performance and in many instances lead to disciplinary actions such as suspension. The purpose of the study entailed determining if formal corrective feedback has an effect on the off-task/on-task behavior of…

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TASK AVERSIVENESS AND ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magvirasari Lestari Linra

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Academic procrastination occurs when certain tasks are considered unpleasant, an unpleasant task and the usual delayed them is the task of writing, reading, studying for the exam, meetings, and administrative. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of the task aversiveness with academic procrastination. Subject of the study were 100 students out of a population of 516 students of the Faculty of Psychology class of 2012-2014. The method used in this research is quantitative by using Spearman rho as data analysis techniques. The research instrument consists of academic procrastination scale and the scale of the task aversiveness. Based on the results of correlation is known that there is a positive relationship between task aversiveness with academic procrastination with a correlation coefficient r = 0.508; p = 0.000. The results showed that of the 100 students of the Faculty of Psychology University of Makassar has a degree of relationship between task aversiveness with academic procrastination is on the very low category (25, 8%. Area / types of tasks delayed is not necessarily an unpleasant task and otherwise unpleasant task may not be postponed. Area task the highest level of aversive and delays are areas the task of writing and reading. This study illustrates that academic procrastination can be lowered by a change in the mindset of an unpleasant task.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

On the importance of Task 1 and error performance measures in PRP dual-task studies

Science.gov (United States)

Strobach, Tilo; Schütz, Anja; Schubert, Torsten

2015-01-01

The psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm is a dominant research tool in the literature on dual-task performance. In this paradigm a first and second component task (i.e., Task 1 and Task 2) are presented with variable stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) and priority to perform Task 1. The main indicator of dual-task impairment in PRP situations is an increasing Task 2-RT with decreasing SOAs. This impairment is typically explained with some task components being processed strictly sequentially in the context of the prominent central bottleneck theory. This assumption could implicitly suggest that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing, i.e., decreasing SOAs do not increase reaction times (RTs) and error rates of the first task. The aim of the present review is to assess whether PRP dual-task studies included both RT and error data presentations and statistical analyses and whether studies including both data types (i.e., RTs and error rates) show data consistent with this assumption (i.e., decreasing SOAs and unaffected RTs and/or error rates in Task 1). This review demonstrates that, in contrast to RT presentations and analyses, error data is underrepresented in a substantial number of studies. Furthermore, a substantial number of studies with RT and error data showed a statistically significant impairment of Task 1 performance with decreasing SOA. Thus, these studies produced data that is not primarily consistent with the strong assumption that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing in the context of PRP dual-task situations; this calls for a more careful report and analysis of Task 1 performance in PRP studies and for a more careful consideration of theories proposing additions to the bottleneck assumption, which are sufficiently general to explain Task 1 and Task 2 effects. PMID:25904890

On the importance of Task 1 and error performance measures in PRP dual-task studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Strobach, Tilo; Schütz, Anja; Schubert, Torsten

2015-01-01

The psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm is a dominant research tool in the literature on dual-task performance. In this paradigm a first and second component task (i.e., Task 1 and Task 2) are presented with variable stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) and priority to perform Task 1. The main indicator of dual-task impairment in PRP situations is an increasing Task 2-RT with decreasing SOAs. This impairment is typically explained with some task components being processed strictly sequentially in the context of the prominent central bottleneck theory. This assumption could implicitly suggest that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing, i.e., decreasing SOAs do not increase reaction times (RTs) and error rates of the first task. The aim of the present review is to assess whether PRP dual-task studies included both RT and error data presentations and statistical analyses and whether studies including both data types (i.e., RTs and error rates) show data consistent with this assumption (i.e., decreasing SOAs and unaffected RTs and/or error rates in Task 1). This review demonstrates that, in contrast to RT presentations and analyses, error data is underrepresented in a substantial number of studies. Furthermore, a substantial number of studies with RT and error data showed a statistically significant impairment of Task 1 performance with decreasing SOA. Thus, these studies produced data that is not primarily consistent with the strong assumption that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing in the context of PRP dual-task situations; this calls for a more careful report and analysis of Task 1 performance in PRP studies and for a more careful consideration of theories proposing additions to the bottleneck assumption, which are sufficiently general to explain Task 1 and Task 2 effects.

Focus on Form in task-based language teaching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Guchte, M.

2015-01-01

This dissertation presents research on the way in which learners focus on grammar in task-based language teaching (TBLT). Such a focus on grammar during meaningful task performance is called a Focus on Form (FonF). For this PhD research project we conducted three experimental studies which

Research study on the effects of illumination on performance of control room tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silverman, E.B.; Horst, R.L.; Parris, H.L.; O'Brien, J.

1990-01-01

The illumination in the control rooms of many operating nuclear plants falls below the levels specified in the NUREG-0700 guidelines. However, these guidelines are based on human perception and performance data which were acquired under laboratory conditions and with tasks very different from those typically found in control rooms. The objective of the present studies was to gather empirical data regarding the levels of illumination sufficient for performing tasks analogous to those performed in control rooms. Several tasks were designed to engage the perceptual and cognitive processes that are representative of actual control room performance. In a computerized laboratory test-bed, subjects scanned edgewise meters, examined hard-copy X-Y plots to discern the value of the displayed function at specific coordinates, and proofread hard-copy plant procedures. In a power plant control room simulator, data were likewise collected in a meter reading task and similar tasks representing elements of specific job-performance measures. For each task, response time and accuracy were measured under a range of illumination levels. Subjective comfort ratings were also obtained for each illumination level. The results from both settings indicated that with decreasing illumination, increased errors and/or longer response times occurred only for levels below ten footcandles, if at all. These data suggest that adequate performance in control room tasks can be achieved at illumination levels below those recommended in NUREG-0700

Research on air and missile defense task allocation based on extended contract net protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunzhi; Wang, Gang

2017-10-01

Based on the background of air and missile defense distributed element corporative engagement, the interception task allocation problem of multiple weapon units with multiple targets under network condition is analyzed. Firstly, a mathematical model of task allocation is established by combat task decomposition. Secondly, the initialization assignment based on auction contract and the adjustment allocation scheme based on swap contract were introduced to the task allocation. Finally, through the simulation calculation of typical situation, the model can be used to solve the task allocation problem in complex combat environment.

On the importance of Task 1 and error performance measures in PRP dual-task studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tilo eStrobach

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The Psychological Refractory Period (PRP paradigm is a dominant research tool in the literature on dual-task performance. In this paradigm a first and second component task (i.e., Task 1 and 2 are presented with variable stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs and priority to perform Task 1. The main indicator of dual-task impairment in PRP situations is an increasing Task 2-RT with decreasing SOAs. This impairment is typically explained with some task components being processed strictly sequentially in the context of the prominent central bottleneck theory. This assumption could implicitly suggest that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing, i.e. decreasing SOAs do not increase RTs and error rates of the first task. The aim of the present review is to assess whether PRP dual-task studies included both RT and error data presentations and statistical analyses and whether studies including both data types (i.e., RTs and error rates show data consistent with this assumption (i.e., decreasing SOAs and unaffected RTs and/ or error rates in Task 1. This review demonstrates that, in contrast to RT presentations and analyses, error data is underrepresented in a substantial number of studies. Furthermore, a substantial number of studies with RT and error data showed a statistically significant impairment of Task 1 performance with decreasing SOA. Thus, these studies produced data that is not primarily consistent with the strong assumption that processes of Task 1 are unaffected by Task 2 and bottleneck processing in the context of PRP dual-task situations; this calls for a more careful report and analysis of Task 1 performance in PRP studies and for a more careful consideration of theories proposing additions to the bottleneck assumption, which are sufficiently general to explain Task 1 and Task 2 effects.

A design space of visualization tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Hans-Jörg; Nocke, Thomas; Heitzler, Magnus; Schumann, Heidrun

2013-12-01

Knowledge about visualization tasks plays an important role in choosing or building suitable visual representations to pursue them. Yet, tasks are a multi-faceted concept and it is thus not surprising that the many existing task taxonomies and models all describe different aspects of tasks, depending on what these task descriptions aim to capture. This results in a clear need to bring these different aspects together under the common hood of a general design space of visualization tasks, which we propose in this paper. Our design space consists of five design dimensions that characterize the main aspects of tasks and that have so far been distributed across different task descriptions. We exemplify its concrete use by applying our design space in the domain of climate impact research. To this end, we propose interfaces to our design space for different user roles (developers, authors, and end users) that allow users of different levels of expertise to work with it.

Atypical subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures: report of a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shane, Elizabeth; Burr, David; Ebeling, Peter R

2010-01-01

Reports linking long-term use of bisphosphonates (BPs) with atypical fractures of the femur led the leadership of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) to appoint a task force to address key questions related to this problem. A multidisciplinary expert group reviewed pertinent...... published reports concerning atypical femur fractures, as well as preclinical studies that could provide insight into their pathogenesis. A case definition was developed so that subsequent studies report on the same condition. The task force defined major and minor features of complete and incomplete...

A Comparative Study of Task-based vs. Task- supported Teaching Approaches in an EFL Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdieh Shafipoor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In spite of the numerous merits of task-based language instruction as claimed by its supporters in the last few decades, task-supported teaching approach as an alternative was introduced. Since then, there have been controversial debates over the superiority of each of these two approaches. Thus, in the current research project, the purpose was to consider these two teaching approaches in the scope of English language teaching, with the purpose of exploring the most efficient one in an Iranian EFL context. To this end, 120 sophomore students, majoring in English language translation course at Islamic Azad University, Shar-e-Qods branch were selected among 4 intact reading comprehension II classes. Next, they were divided into two experimental groups. The first experimental group received task-based instruction and for the second experimental group, task-trusted teaching approach was applied. The results of the data analyses turned out that task-trusted teaching approach was superior to task-based teaching in teaching reading to EFL learners.

Mining Tasks from the Web Anchor Text Graph: MSR Notebook Paper for the TREC 2015 Tasks Track

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-20

Mining Tasks from the Web Anchor Text Graph: MSR Notebook Paper for the TREC 2015 Tasks Track Paul N. Bennett Microsoft Research Redmond, USA pauben...anchor text graph has proven useful in the general realm of query reformulation [2], we sought to quantify the value of extracting key phrases from...anchor text in the broader setting of the task understanding track. Given a query, our approach considers a simple method for identifying a relevant

Preliminary Research on the Verification Task of North Korea's Plutonium Declaration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyun Chul; Park, Il Jin

2009-01-01

The denuclearization of North Korea seems challenging. North Korea has recognized itself as a nuclear weapon state by carrying out two nuclear tests while many other nations including South Korea have opposed North Korea's nuclear proliferation. As a result of longstanding negotiations, North Korea provided nearly 19,000 pages of operation history of three Yongbyon nuclear facilities on May 8, 2008 and a 60-page declaration of its nuclear activities and programs on June 26, 2008. However, one should notice that declaration documents are by themselves meaningless without their verification. To completely dismantle North Korea's nuclear programs, the verification task based on its declaration documents should be performed very thoroughly, considering the possibility of the presence of the undeclared nuclear materials and facilities. The verification task of North Korea's nuclear declaration consists of many broad themes to deal with, such as the review of declaration documents, the interview with facility operators, the sampling in the field, the laboratory analysis of the sample, data interpretation, and so on. One of the important themes is to verify North Korea's declared plutonium stockpile by comparing the declaration documents with measurement data which can be obtained from the sampling in the field and laboratory analysis. To prepare for the possible future verification of the declared plutonium stockpile, it is meaningful to give a thought on what data can be compared and what samples need to be taken and analyzed. In this study, we focus on the data to be compared and samples to be taken and analyzed for the plutonium accounting, as a preliminary research. To give a quantitative example, the nuclear material of the most recent North Korea's spent fuel rods discharged from the 5 MWe reactor is analyzed. On June 13, 2009, North Korea declared that more than one-third of the spent fuel rods had been reprocessed

The Importance of Team Sex Composition in Team-Training Research Employing Complex Psychomotor Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarrett, Steven M; Glaze, Ryan M; Schurig, Ira; Arthur, Winfred

2017-08-01

The relationship between team sex composition and team performance on a complex psychomotor task was examined because these types of tasks are commonly used in the lab-based teams literature. Despite well-documented sex-based differences on complex psychomotor tasks, the preponderance of studies-mainly lab based-that use these tasks makes no mention of the sex composition of teams across or within experimental conditions. A sample of 123 four-person teams with varying team sex composition learned and performed a complex psychomotor task, Steal Beasts Pro PE. Each team completed a 5-hr protocol whereby they conducted several performance missions. The results indicated significant large mean differences such that teams with larger proportions of males had higher performance scores. These findings demonstrate the potential effect of team sex composition on the validity of studies that use complex psychomotor tasks to explore and investigate team performance-related phenomena when (a) team sex composition is not a focal variable of interest and (b) it is not accounted for or controlled. Given the proclivity of complex psychomotor action-based tasks used in lab-based team studies, it is important to understand and control for the impact of team sex composition on team performance. When team sex composition is not controlled for, either methodologically or statistically, it may affect the validity of the results in teams studies using these types of tasks.

Complementary Theoretical Perspectives on Task-Based Classroom Realities

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Daniel O.; Burch, Alfred Rue

2017-01-01

Tasks are viewed as a principled foundation for classroom teaching, social interaction, and language development. This special issue sheds new light on how task-based classroom practices are supported by a diverse range of principles. This introduction describes current trends in classroom practice and pedagogic research in relation to task-based…

Efficient multitasking: parallel versus serial processing of multiple tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Rico; Plessow, Franziska

2015-01-01

In the context of performance optimizations in multitasking, a central debate has unfolded in multitasking research around whether cognitive processes related to different tasks proceed only sequentially (one at a time), or can operate in parallel (simultaneously). This review features a discussion of theoretical considerations and empirical evidence regarding parallel versus serial task processing in multitasking. In addition, we highlight how methodological differences and theoretical conceptions determine the extent to which parallel processing in multitasking can be detected, to guide their employment in future research. Parallel and serial processing of multiple tasks are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, questions focusing exclusively on either task-processing mode are too simplified. We review empirical evidence and demonstrate that shifting between more parallel and more serial task processing critically depends on the conditions under which multiple tasks are performed. We conclude that efficient multitasking is reflected by the ability of individuals to adjust multitasking performance to environmental demands by flexibly shifting between different processing strategies of multiple task-component scheduling.

San Joaquin River Up-Stream DO TMDL Project Task 4: MonitoringStudy Interim Task Report #3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stringfellow, William; Borglin, Sharon; Dahlgren, Randy; Hanlon,Jeremy; Graham, Justin; Burks, Remie; Hutchinson, Kathleen

2007-03-30

The purpose of the Dissolved Oxygen Total Maximum Daily LoadProject (DO TMDLProject) is to provide a comprehensive understanding ofthe sources and fate of oxygen consuming materials in the San JoaquinRiver (SJR) watershed between Channel Point and Lander Avenue (upstreamSJR). When completed, this study will provide the stakeholders anunderstanding of the baseline conditions of the basin, provide input foran allocation decision, and provide the stakeholders with a tool formeasuring the impact of any waterquality management program that may beimplemented as part of the DO TMDL process. Previous studies haveidentified algal biomass as the most significant oxygen-demandingsubstance in the DO TMDL Project study-area between of Channel Point andLander Ave onthe SJR. Other oxygen-demanding substances found in theupstream SJR include ammonia and organic carbon from sources other thanalgae. The DO TMDL Project study-area contains municipalities, dairies,wetlands, cattle ranching, irrigated agriculture, and industries thatcould potentially contribute biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to the SJR.This study is designed to discriminate between algal BOD and othersources of BOD throughout the entire upstream SJR watershed. Algalbiomass is not a conserved substance, but grows and decays in the SJR;hence, characterization of oxygen-demanding substances in the SJR isinherently complicated and requires an integrated effort of extensivemonitoring, scientific study, and modeling. In order to achieve projectobjectives, project activities were divided into a number of Tasks withspecific goals and objectives. In this report, we present the results ofmonitoring and research conducted under Task 4 of the DO TMDL Project.The major objective of Task 4 is to collect sufficient hydrologic (flow)and water quality (WQ) data to characterize the loading of algae, otheroxygen-demanding materials, and nutrients fromindividual tributaries andsub-watersheds of the upstream SJR between Mossdale and

Preferential processing of task-irrelevant beloved-related information and task performance: Two event-related potential studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Langeslag, Sandra J E; van Strien, Jan W

2017-09-18

People who are in love have better attention for beloved-related information, but report having trouble focusing on other tasks, such as (home)work. So, romantic love can both improve and hurt cognition. Emotional information is preferentially processed, which improves task performance when the information is task-relevant, but hurts task performance when it is task-irrelevant. Because beloved-related information is highly emotional, the effects of romantic love on cognition may resemble these effects of emotion on cognition. We examined whether beloved-related information is preferentially processed even when it is task-irrelevant and whether this hurts task performance. In two event-related potential studies, participants who had recently fallen in love performed a visuospatial short-term memory task. Task-irrelevant beloved, friend, and stranger faces were presented during maintenance (Study 1), or encoding (Study 2). The Early Posterior Negativity (EPN) reflecting early automatic attentional capturing and the Late Positive Potential (LPP) reflecting sustained motivated attention were largest for beloved pictures. Thus, beloved pictures are preferentially processed even when they are task-irrelevant. Task performance and reaction times did not differ between beloved, friend, and stranger conditions. Nevertheless, self-reported obsessive thinking about the beloved tended to correlate negatively with task performance, and positively with reaction times, across conditions. So, although task-irrelevant beloved-related information does not impact task performance, more obsessive thinking about the beloved might relate to poorer and slower overall task performance. More research is needed to clarify why people experience trouble focusing on beloved-unrelated tasks and how this negative effect of love on cognition could be reduced. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Three tasks for mediatization research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekstrøm, Mats; Fornäs, Johan; Jansson, André

2016-01-01

Based on the interdisciplinary experience of a Swedish research committee, this article discusses critical conceptual issues raised by the current debate on mediatization – a concept that holds great potential to constitute a space for synthesized understandings of media-related social transforma......Based on the interdisciplinary experience of a Swedish research committee, this article discusses critical conceptual issues raised by the current debate on mediatization – a concept that holds great potential to constitute a space for synthesized understandings of media-related social...... that mediatization researchers have sometimes formulated too grand claims as to mediatization’s status as a unitary approach, a meta-theory or a paradigm. Such claims have led to problematic confusions around the concept and should be abandoned in favour of a more open agenda. In line with such a call for openness...

Advantages and disadvantages of intraoperative language tasks in awake surgery: a three-task approach for prefrontal tumors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rofes, A; Spena, G; Miozzo, A; Fontanella, M M; Miceli, G

2015-12-01

Multidisciplinary efforts are being made to provide surgical teams with sensitive and specific tasks for language mapping in awake surgery. Researchers and clinicians have elaborated different tasks over time. A fair amount of work has been directed to study the neurofunctional correlates of some of these tasks, and there is recent interest in their standardization. However, little discussion exists on the advantages and disadvantages that each task poses from the perspective of the cognitive neuroscience of language. Such an approach may be a relevant step to assess task validity, to avoid using tasks that tap onto similar processes, and to provide patients with a surgical treatment that ensures maximal tumor resection while avoiding postoperative language deficits. An understanding of the language components that each task entails may also be relevant to improve the current assessments and the ways in which tasks are administered, and to disentangle neurofunctional questions. We reviewed 17 language mapping tasks that have been used in awake surgery. Overt production tasks have been a preferred choice over comprehension tasks. Tasks tapping lexico-semantic processes, particularly object-naming, maintain their role as gold standards. Automated speech tasks are used to detect speech errors and to set the amplitude of the stimulator. Comprehension tasks, reading and writing tasks, and tasks that assess grammatical aspects of language may be regularly administered in the near future. We provide examples of a three-task approach we are administering to patients with prefrontal lesions. We believe that future advances in this area are contingent upon reviewing gold standards and introducing new assessment tools.

Interference between a fast-paced spatial puzzle task and verbal memory demands.

Science.gov (United States)

Epling, Samantha L; Blakely, Megan J; Russell, Paul N; Helton, William S

2017-06-01

Research continues to provide evidence that people are poor multi-taskers. Cognitive resource theory is a common explanation for the inability to efficiently perform multiple tasks at the same time. This theory proposes that one's limited supply of cognitive resources can be utilized faster than it is replenished, which results in a performance decline, particularly when these limited resources must be allocated among multiple tasks. Researchers have proposed both domain-specific, for example, spatial versus verbal processing resources, and domain general cognitive resources. In the present research, we investigated whether a spatial puzzle task performed simultaneously with a verbal recall task would impair performance in either task or both tasks, compared to performance on the tasks individually. As hypothesized, a reduction in word recall was found when dual-tasking, though performance on the puzzle task did not significantly differ between the single- and dual-task conditions. This is consistent, in part, with both a general resource theory and a Multiple Resource Theory, but further work is required to better understand the cognitive processing system. The employment of the recall task in the dual-task paradigm with a variety of secondary tasks will help to continue mapping out the specificity (or lack thereof) of cognitive resources utilized in various mental and physical tasks.

Teachers’ teaching practices and beliefs regarding context-based tasks and their relation with students’ difficulties in solving these tasks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijaya, Ariyadi; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M.; Doorman, Michiel

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated teachers’ teaching practices and their underlying beliefs regarding context-based tasks to find a possible explanation for students’ difficulties with these tasks. The research started by surveying 27 Junior High School teachers from seven schools in Indonesia through

Decision paths in complex tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Galanter, Eugene

1991-01-01

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

Task-Modality and L1 Use in EFL Oral Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Azkarai, Agurtzane; del Pilar García Mayo, María

2015-01-01

This study examines whether task-modality (speaking vs. speaking+writing) influences first language (L1) use in task-based English as a foreign language (EFL) learner-learner interaction. Research on the topic has shown that different task-modality triggers different learning opportunities with collaborative speaking tasks drawing learners'…

Asymmetrical learning between a tactile and visual serial RT task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abrahamse, E.L.; van der Lubbe, Robert Henricus Johannes; Verwey, Willem B.

2007-01-01

According to many researchers, implicit learning in the serial reaction-time task is predominantly motor based and therefore should be independent of stimulus modality. Previous research on the task, however, has focused almost completely on the visual domain. Here we investigated sequence learning

Interleaved Practice in Multi-Dimensional Learning Tasks: Which Dimension Should We Interleave?

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, Martina A.; Aleven, Vincent; Rummel, Nikol

2013-01-01

Research shows that multiple representations can enhance student learning. Many curricula use multiple representations across multiple task types. The temporal sequence of representations and task types is likely to impact student learning. Research on contextual interference shows that interleaving learning tasks leads to better learning results…

An Exploratory Study of Teaching Tasks in English as a Foreign Language Education. Research Report. ETS RR-17-56

Science.gov (United States)

Turkan, Sultan; Timpe-Laughlin, Veronika; Papageorgiou, Spiros

2017-01-01

Due to rising demand for qualified teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), interest in issues pertaining to the language proficiency of these teachers has increased. However, research focusing on the teaching tasks that EFL teachers engage in for the purposes of EFL instruction is scant. The present study aims to address this gap in the…

Social Network Analysis as an Analytic Tool for Task Group Research: A Case Study of an Interdisciplinary Community of Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Lockhart, Naorah C.

2017-01-01

Group counselors commonly collaborate in interdisciplinary settings in health care, substance abuse, and juvenile justice. Social network analysis is a methodology rarely used in counseling research yet has potential to examine task group dynamics in new ways. This case study explores the scholarly relationships among 36 members of an…

Are women better than men at multi-tasking?

OpenAIRE

Stoet, Gijsbert; O’Connor, Daryl B.; Conner, Mark; Laws, Keith R.

2013-01-01

Background: There seems to be a common belief that women are better in multi-tasking than men, but there is practically no scientific research on this topic. Here, we tested whether women have better multi-tasking skills than men.\\ensuremath\\ensuremath Methods: In Experiment 1, we compared performance of 120 women and 120 men in a computer-based task-switching paradigm. In Experiment 2, we compared a different group of 47 women and 47 men on "paper-and-pencil" multi-tasking tests.\\ensuremath\\...

Microevaluating Learners' Task-Specific Motivation in a Task-Based Business Spanish Course

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Julio; Serafini, Ellen J.

2016-01-01

Scholars of task-based language teaching (TBLT) advocate for the identification of learners' communicative needs to inform syllabus design, particularly in language for specific purposes contexts (e.g., Long 2015). However, little research has applied TBLT principles in designing Spanish for specific purposes curricula. Moreover, despite the…

Middle School Teachers' Views and Approaches to Implement Mathematical Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Yesildere-Imre, Sibel; Basturk-Sahin, Burcu Nur

2016-01-01

This research examines middle school mathematics teachers' views regarding implementation of mathematical tasks and their enactments. We compare their views on tasks and their implementation, and determine the causes of difference between the two using qualitative research methods. We interview sixteen middle school mathematics teachers based on…

How different types of participant payments alter task performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary L. Brase

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Researchers typically use incentives (such as money or course credit in order to obtain participants who engage in the specific behaviors of interest to the researcher. There is, however, little understanding or agreement on the effects of different types and levels of incentives used. Some results in the domain of statistical reasoning suggest that performance differences --- previously deemed theoretically important --- may actually be due to differences in incentive types across studies. 704 participants completed one of five variants of a statistical reasoning task, for which they received either course credit, flat fee payment, or performance-based payment incentives. Successful task completion was more frequent with performance-based incentives than with either of the other incentive types. Performance on moderately difficult tasks (compared to very easy and very hard tasks was most sensitive to incentives. These results can help resolve existing debates about inconsistent findings, guide more accurate comparisons across studies, and be applied beyond research settings.

Teachers' Teaching Practices and Beliefs Regarding Context-Based Tasks and Their Relation with Students' Difficulties in Solving These Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Wijaya, Ariyadi; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja; Doorman, Michiel

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated teachers' teaching practices and their underlying beliefs regarding context-based tasks to find a possible explanation for students' difficulties with these tasks. The research started by surveying 27 Junior High School teachers from seven schools in Indonesia through a written questionnaire. Then, to further examine…

Wind power forecasting: IEA Wind Task 36 & future research issues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Giebel, Gregor; Cline, J.; Frank, Helmut Paul

2016-01-01

the weather prediction side and from the usage of the forecasts. The new International Energy Agency (IEA) Task on Forecasting for Wind Energy tries to organise international collaboration, among national meteorological centres with an interest and/or large projects on wind forecast improvements (NOAA, DWD...

Modeling good research practices--overview: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Caro, J Jaime; Briggs, Andrew H; Siebert, Uwe; Kuntz, Karen M

2012-01-01

Models-mathematical frameworks that facilitate estimation of the consequences of health care decisions-have become essential tools for health technology assessment. Evolution of the methods since the first ISPOR modeling task force reported in 2003 has led to a new task force, jointly convened with the Society for Medical Decision Making, and this series of seven papers presents the updated recommendations for best practices in conceptualizing models; implementing state-transition approaches, discrete event simulations, or dynamic transmission models; dealing with uncertainty; and validating and reporting models transparently. This overview introduces the work of the task force, provides all the recommendations, and discusses some quandaries that require further elucidation. The audience for these papers includes those who build models, stakeholders who utilize their results, and, indeed, anyone concerned with the use of models to support decision making.

Identification and Analysis of Multi-tasking Product Information Search Sessions with Query Logs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang Zhou

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This research aims to identify product search tasks in online shopping and analyze the characteristics of consumer multi-tasking search sessions. Design/methodology/approach: The experimental dataset contains 8,949 queries of 582 users from 3,483 search sessions. A sequential comparison of the Jaccard similarity coefficient between two adjacent search queries and hierarchical clustering of queries is used to identify search tasks. Findings: (1 Users issued a similar number of queries (1.43 to 1.47 with similar lengths (7.3-7.6 characters per task in mono-tasking and multi-tasking sessions, and (2 Users spent more time on average in sessions with more tasks, but spent less time for each task when the number of tasks increased in a session. Research limitations: The task identification method that relies only on query terms does not completely reflect the complex nature of consumer shopping behavior. Practical implications: These results provide an exploratory understanding of the relationships among multiple shopping tasks, and can be useful for product recommendation and shopping task prediction. Originality/value: The originality of this research is its use of query clustering with online shopping task identification and analysis, and the analysis of product search session characteristics.

Integrated Task And Data Parallel Programming: Language Design

Science.gov (United States)

Grimshaw, Andrew S.; West, Emily A.

1998-01-01

his research investigates the combination of task and data parallel language constructs within a single programming language. There are an number of applications that exhibit properties which would be well served by such an integrated language. Examples include global climate models, aircraft design problems, and multidisciplinary design optimization problems. Our approach incorporates data parallel language constructs into an existing, object oriented, task parallel language. The language will support creation and manipulation of parallel classes and objects of both types (task parallel and data parallel). Ultimately, the language will allow data parallel and task parallel classes to be used either as building blocks or managers of parallel objects of either type, thus allowing the development of single and multi-paradigm parallel applications. 1995 Research Accomplishments In February I presented a paper at Frontiers '95 describing the design of the data parallel language subset. During the spring I wrote and defended my dissertation proposal. Since that time I have developed a runtime model for the language subset. I have begun implementing the model and hand-coding simple examples which demonstrate the language subset. I have identified an astrophysical fluid flow application which will validate the data parallel language subset. 1996 Research Agenda Milestones for the coming year include implementing a significant portion of the data parallel language subset over the Legion system. Using simple hand-coded methods, I plan to demonstrate (1) concurrent task and data parallel objects and (2) task parallel objects managing both task and data parallel objects. My next steps will focus on constructing a compiler and implementing the fluid flow application with the language. Concurrently, I will conduct a search for a real-world application exhibiting both task and data parallelism within the same program m. Additional 1995 Activities During the fall I collaborated

A Validated Task Analysis of the Single Pilot Operations Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Wolter, Cynthia A.; Gore, Brian F.

2015-01-01

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

Applications of Task-Based Learning in TESOL

Science.gov (United States)

Shehadeh, Ali, Ed.; Coombe, Christine, Ed.

2010-01-01

Why are many teachers around the world moving toward task-based learning (TBL)? This shift is based on the strong belief that TBL facilitates second language acquisition and makes second language learning and teaching more principled and effective. Based on insights gained from using tasks as research tools, this volume shows how teachers can use…

Fluctuations in work motivation: tasks do not matter!

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Jose; Curioso, Fernando; Gomes, Duarte; Arrieta, Carlos; Cortes, Mauricio

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown that work motivation fluctuates considerably and in a nonlinear way over time. In the present research, we are interested in studying if the task at hand does or does not influence the presence of these fluctuations. We gathered daily registers from 69 workers during 21 consecutive working days (7036 registers) of task developed and levels of motivation, self-efficacy beliefs and instrumentalities perception. These registers were then categorized into a list of labor activities in main tasks and subtasks by means of three judges with a high level of agreement (97.47% for tasks, and 98.64% for subtasks). Taking the MSSD statistic (mean squared successive difference) of the average of motivation, self-efficacy and instrumentality, and using hierarchical regression analysis we have found that tasks (beta = .03; p = .188) and subtasks (beta = .10; p = .268) do not affect the presence of fluctuations in motivation. These results reveal instability in work motivation independently from the tasks and subtasks that the workers do. We proceed to find that fluctuations in work motivation show a fractal structure across the different tasks we do in a working day. Implications of these results to motivational theory will be discussed as well as possible explanations (e.g. the influence of affect in work motivation) and directions for future research are provided.

NASA's Big Data Task Force

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

When Task Conflict Becomes Personal

Science.gov (United States)

Guenter, Hannes; van Emmerik, Hetty; Schreurs, Bert; Kuypers, Tom; van Iterson, Ad; Notelaers, Guy

2016-01-01

Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict. PMID:28190944

Designing Task-Based Syllabus For Writing Class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sundari Hanna

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Writing is viewed as the most complex skill to learn and to teach. Beside learner factors, teacher, materials and syllabus may also affect the process of learning language as foreign language. Syllabus, in general, can be defined as a set of what is taught (content and the way it is taught (procedure. This current research aims to design a task-based syllabus for writing class at university level. This study was conducted by qualitative descriptive design with 92 students and 4 lecturers as respondents. As part of research and development project in one private university in Jakarta, a developed task-based syllabus was based on need analysis and the principles of task-based language teaching. Students’ proficiency levels are fair with sentence patterns and grammar as the most difficult aspects. Academic writing is more preferable orientation with the small portions of creative writing. Then, the developed task-based syllabus has been proposed for writing class which covers the components of goal (learning outcome, course description and objectives, a set of writing tasks, features of content focus and language focus and course evaluation. The developed syllabus, then, can guide the lecturers in designing lesson plan and selecting materials for writing class.

Thoughts in flight: automation use and pilots' task-related and task-unrelated thought.

Science.gov (United States)

Casner, Stephen M; Schooler, Jonathan W

2014-05-01

The objective was to examine the relationship between cockpit automation use and task-related and task-unrelated thought among airline pilots. Studies find that cockpit automation can sometimes relieve pilots of tedious control tasks and afford them more time to think ahead. Paradoxically, automation has also been shown to lead to lesser awareness. These results prompt the question of what pilots think about while using automation. A total of 18 airline pilots flew a Boeing 747-400 simulator while we recorded which of two levels of automation they used. As they worked, pilots were verbally probed about what they were thinking. Pilots were asked to categorize their thoughts as pertaining to (a) a specific task at hand, (b) higher-level flight-related thoughts (e.g.,planning ahead), or (c) thoughts unrelated to the flight. Pilots' performance was also measured. Pilots reported a smaller percentage of task-at-hand thoughts (27% vs. 50%) and a greater percentage of higher-level flight-related thoughts (56% vs. 29%) when using the higher level of automation. However, when all was going according to plan, using either level of automation, pilots also reported a higher percentage of task-unrelated thoughts (21%) than they did when in the midst of an unsuccessful performance (7%). Task-unrelated thoughts peaked at 25% when pilots were not interacting with the automation. Although cockpit automation may provide pilots with more time to think, it may encourage pilots to reinvest only some of this mental free time in thinking flight-related thoughts. This research informs the design of human-automation systems that more meaningfully engage the human operator.

Trait Mindfulness and Cognitive Task Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emalee J. W. Quickel

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Mindfulness meditation (MM training has been shown to have positive effects on working memory and focused attention tasks. Clarifying the construct of mindfulness is important so that mindfulness can be studied effectively in individual differences and cognition research. The current study tested whether trait mindfulness alone explains any of the variability on task performance. Five commonly used mindfulness scales, as well as six standardized and experimental attention and working memory tasks were administered to 164 participants with no meditation experience. Confirmatory factor analysis found that the common variance denoted by measures of trait mindfulness is unrelated to the common variance among tasks requiring focused attention. These results indicate that mindfulness scales may not be capturing the attentional aspects of mindfulness. Individuals who score high on mindfulness scales do not perform better on focused attention tasks than those who score lower on mindfulness scales. These results have implications for defining and operationalizing mindfulness.

Serial or overlapping processing in multitasking as individual preference: Effects of stimulus preview on task switching and concurrent dual-task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Reissland, Jessika; Manzey, Dietrich

2016-07-01

Understanding the mechanisms and performance consequences of multitasking has long been in focus of scientific interest, but has been investigated by three research lines more or less isolated from each other. Studies in the fields of the psychological refractory period, task switching, and interruptions have scored with a high experimental control, but usually do not give participants many degrees of freedom to self-organize the processing of two concurrent tasks. Individual strategies as well as their impact on efficiency have mainly been neglected. Self-organized multitasking has been investigated in the field of human factors, but primarily with respect to overall performance without detailed investigation of how the tasks are processed. The current work attempts to link aspects of these research lines. All of them, explicitly or implicitly, provide hints about an individually preferred type of task organization, either more cautious trying to work strictly serially on only one task at a time or more daring with a focus on task interleaving and, if possible, also partially overlapping (parallel) processing. In two experiments we investigated different strategies of task organization and their impact on efficiency using a new measure of overall multitasking efficiency. Experiment 1 was based on a classical task switching paradigm with two classification tasks, but provided one group of participants with a stimulus preview of the task to switch to next, enabling at least partial overlapping processing. Indeed, this preview led to a reduction of switch costs and to an increase of dual-task efficiency, but only for a subgroup of participants. They obviously exploited the possibility of overlapping processing, while the others worked mainly serially. While task-sequence was externally guided in the first experiment, Experiment 2 extended the approach by giving the participants full freedom of task organization in concurrent performance of the same tasks. Fine

The Influence of Math Anxiety, Math Performance, Worry, and Test Anxiety on the Iowa Gambling Task and Balloon Analogue Risk Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Buelow, Melissa T; Barnhart, Wesley R

2017-01-01

Multiple studies have shown that performance on behavioral decision-making tasks, such as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), is influenced by external factors, such as mood. However, the research regarding the influence of worry is mixed, and no research has examined the effect of math or test anxiety on these tasks. The present study investigated the effects of anxiety (including math anxiety) and math performance on the IGT and BART in a sample of 137 undergraduate students. Math performance and worry were not correlated with performance on the IGT, and no variables were correlated with BART performance. Linear regressions indicated math anxiety, physiological anxiety, social concerns/stress, and test anxiety significantly predicted disadvantageous selections on the IGT during the transition from decision making under ambiguity to decision making under risk. Implications for clinical evaluation of decision making are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Embedded interruptions and task complexity influence schema-related cognitive load progression in an abstract learning task.

Science.gov (United States)

Wirzberger, Maria; Esmaeili Bijarsari, Shirin; Rey, Günter Daniel

2017-09-01

Cognitive processes related to schema acquisition comprise an essential source of demands in learning situations. Since the related amount of cognitive load is supposed to change over time, plausible temporal models of load progression based on different theoretical backgrounds are inspected in this study. A total of 116 student participants completed a basal symbol sequence learning task, which provided insights into underlying cognitive dynamics. Two levels of task complexity were determined by the amount of elements within the symbol sequence. In addition, interruptions due to an embedded secondary task occurred at five predefined stages over the task. Within the resulting 2x5-factorial mixed between-within design, the continuous monitoring of efficiency in learning performance enabled assumptions on relevant resource investment. From the obtained results, a nonlinear change of learning efficiency over time seems most plausible in terms of cognitive load progression. Moreover, different effects of the induced interruptions show up in conditions of task complexity, which indicate the activation of distinct cognitive mechanisms related to structural aspects of the task. Findings are discussed in the light of evidence from research on memory and information processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation. Final reports by task

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

von Reis, K.; Waegel, A.S.; Totten, M.

1997-12-10

This document contains final reports for the following tasks: kiosk for the children`s museum renewable energy exhibit and display, internet promotional and educational material, Aurora renewable energy science and engineering, CD-ROM training materials, presentations and traveling display, radio show `Energy Matters`, and newspaper articles and weekly news column.

Promising high monetary rewards for future task performance increases intermediate task performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire M Zedelius

Full Text Available In everyday life contexts and work settings, monetary rewards are often contingent on future performance. Based on research showing that the anticipation of rewards causes improved task performance through enhanced task preparation, the present study tested the hypothesis that the promise of monetary rewards for future performance would not only increase future performance, but also performance on an unrewarded intermediate task. Participants performed an auditory Simon task in which they responded to two consecutive tones. While participants could earn high vs. low monetary rewards for fast responses to every second tone, their responses to the first tone were not rewarded. Moreover, we compared performance under conditions in which reward information could prompt strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented for a relatively long duration to conditions preventing strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented very briefly. Results showed that high (vs. low rewards sped up both rewarded and intermediate, unrewarded responses, and the effect was independent of the duration of reward presentation. Moreover, long presentation led to a speed-accuracy trade-off for both rewarded and unrewarded tones, whereas short presentation sped up responses to rewarded and unrewarded tones without this trade-off. These results suggest that high rewards for future performance boost intermediate performance due to enhanced task preparation, and they do so regardless whether people respond to rewards in a strategic or non-strategic manner.

Promising high monetary rewards for future task performance increases intermediate task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zedelius, Claire M; Veling, Harm; Bijleveld, Erik; Aarts, Henk

2012-01-01

In everyday life contexts and work settings, monetary rewards are often contingent on future performance. Based on research showing that the anticipation of rewards causes improved task performance through enhanced task preparation, the present study tested the hypothesis that the promise of monetary rewards for future performance would not only increase future performance, but also performance on an unrewarded intermediate task. Participants performed an auditory Simon task in which they responded to two consecutive tones. While participants could earn high vs. low monetary rewards for fast responses to every second tone, their responses to the first tone were not rewarded. Moreover, we compared performance under conditions in which reward information could prompt strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented for a relatively long duration) to conditions preventing strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented very briefly). Results showed that high (vs. low) rewards sped up both rewarded and intermediate, unrewarded responses, and the effect was independent of the duration of reward presentation. Moreover, long presentation led to a speed-accuracy trade-off for both rewarded and unrewarded tones, whereas short presentation sped up responses to rewarded and unrewarded tones without this trade-off. These results suggest that high rewards for future performance boost intermediate performance due to enhanced task preparation, and they do so regardless whether people respond to rewards in a strategic or non-strategic manner.

Not all choices are created equal: Task-relevant choices enhance motor learning compared to task-irrelevant choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Michael J; Ste-Marie, Diane M

2017-12-01

Lewthwaite et al. (2015) reported that the learning benefits of exercising choice (i.e., their self-controlled condition) are not restricted to task-relevant features (e.g., feedback). They found that choosing one's golf ball color (Exp. 1) or choosing which of two tasks to perform at a later time plus which of two artworks to hang (Exp. 2) resulted in better retention than did being denied these same choices (i.e., yoked condition). The researchers concluded that the learning benefits derived from choice, whether irrelevant or relevant to the to-be-learned task, are predominantly motivational because choice is intrinsically rewarding and satisfies basic psychological needs. However, the absence of a group that made task-relevant choices and the lack of psychological measures significantly weakened their conclusions. Here, we investigated how task-relevant and task-irrelevant choices affect motor-skill learning. Participants practiced a spatiotemporal motor task in either a task-relevant group (choice over feedback schedule), a task-irrelevant group (choice over the color of an arm-wrap plus game selection), or a no-choice group. The results showed significantly greater learning in the task-relevant group than in both the task-irrelevant and no-choice groups, who did not differ significantly. Critically, these learning differences were not attributed to differences in perceptions of competence or autonomy, but instead to superior error-estimation abilities. These results challenge the perspective that motivational influences are the root cause of self-controlled learning advantages. Instead, the findings add to the growing evidence highlighting that the informational value gained from task-relevant choices makes a greater relative contribution to these advantages than motivational influences do.

Good research practices for comparative effectiveness research: approaches to mitigate bias and confounding in the design of nonrandomized studies of treatment effects using secondary data sources: the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Good Research Practices for Retrospective Database Analysis Task Force Report--Part II.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Emily; Martin, Bradley C; Van Staa, Tjeerd; Garbe, Edeltraut; Siebert, Uwe; Johnson, Michael L

2009-01-01

The goal of comparative effectiveness analysis is to examine the relationship between two variables, treatment, or exposure and effectiveness or outcome. Unlike data obtained through randomized controlled trials, researchers face greater challenges with causal inference with observational studies. Recognizing these challenges, a task force was formed to develop a guidance document on methodological approaches to addresses these biases. The task force was commissioned and a Chair was selected by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Board of Directors in October 2007. This report, the second of three reported in this issue of the Journal, discusses the inherent biases when using secondary data sources for comparative effectiveness analysis and provides methodological recommendations to help mitigate these biases. The task force report provides recommendations and tools for researchers to mitigate threats to validity from bias and confounding in measurement of exposure and outcome. Recommendations on design of study included: the need for data analysis plan with causal diagrams; detailed attention to classification bias in definition of exposure and clinical outcome; careful and appropriate use of restriction; extreme care to identify and control for confounding factors, including time-dependent confounding. Design of nonrandomized studies of comparative effectiveness face several daunting issues, including measurement of exposure and outcome challenged by misclassification and confounding. Use of causal diagrams and restriction are two techniques that can improve the theoretical basis for analyzing treatment effects in study populations of more homogeneity, with reduced loss of generalizability.

Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside clinical trials II-An ISPOR Good Research Practices Task Force report.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Scott D; Willke, Richard J; Glick, Henry; Reed, Shelby D; Augustovski, Federico; Jonsson, Bengt; Briggs, Andrew; Sullivan, Sean D

2015-03-01

Clinical trials evaluating medicines, medical devices, and procedures now commonly assess the economic value of these interventions. The growing number of prospective clinical/economic trials reflects both widespread interest in economic information for new technologies and the regulatory and reimbursement requirements of many countries that now consider evidence of economic value along with clinical efficacy. As decision makers increasingly demand evidence of economic value for health care interventions, conducting high-quality economic analyses alongside clinical studies is desirable because they broaden the scope of information available on a particular intervention, and can efficiently provide timely information with high internal and, when designed and analyzed properly, reasonable external validity. In 2005, ISPOR published the Good Research Practices for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Alongside Clinical Trials: The ISPOR RCT-CEA Task Force report. ISPOR initiated an update of the report in 2014 to include the methodological developments over the last 9 years. This report provides updated recommendations reflecting advances in several areas related to trial design, selecting data elements, database design and management, analysis, and reporting of results. Task force members note that trials should be designed to evaluate effectiveness (rather than efficacy) when possible, should include clinical outcome measures, and should obtain health resource use and health state utilities directly from study subjects. Collection of economic data should be fully integrated into the study. An incremental analysis should be conducted with an intention-to-treat approach, complemented by relevant subgroup analyses. Uncertainty should be characterized. Articles should adhere to established standards for reporting results of cost-effectiveness analyses. Economic studies alongside trials are complementary to other evaluations (e.g., modeling studies) as information for decision

Canadian safeguards research and development in support of the IAEA program document outlining the various tasks which comprise the program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-12-01

Canada has established a safeguards research and development program, the purpose of which is to supplement the resources of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The program of support is a coordinated effort for the development and application of safeguards techniques and instruments to facilities safeguarded by the IAEA. This document sets forth those tasks which comprise the program

Relationship between Occupational Maladjustment and Task ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Consequently the present researchers motivated by this fact set out to determine the level of relationship between occupational maladjustment and task performance of civil servants in Anambra state. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The design for the study is correlational survey used to ...

Rehabilitation at Nabarlek: erosion assessment 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, K.G.; Saynor, M.J.; Hancock, G.R.

2001-01-01

Decommissioning work and the rehabilitation at the Nabarlek minesite were completed at the end of 1995. Site description, mining history, environmental management and rehabilitation have been summarised elsewhere (Prendergast et al 1999, Martin 2000, Waggitt 2001). Tailings were buried in the mined-out pit and capped with waste rock. An erosion assessment of the cap design, using a combination of modelling and analogue estimates, indicated that denudation rates on the cap would be -1 (Riley 1995). Riley (1995) suggested minor design modifications to reduce slope length on the pit cap to improve stability and provide structural integrity for several thousand years. Riley (1995) observed that roads were areas of most severe rill development in the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) and suggested that rill development (0.2-0.3 m depth) on the pit cap would occur in the early stages of adjustment toward equilibrium but not persist in the long term. Consequently, as part of the process of assessing rehabilitation success, erosion at the former minesite was examined by ERISS in August and October 1999. A ground assessment of the perimeter of the evaporation ponds, pit and waste rock dump (WRD), unsealed roads to the north and east of the site and infrastructure area was conducted in August 1999. This survey described, quantified (using a tape and rule) and photographed erosion features. No transects were undertaken. In October 1999, a qualitative (descriptive and photographic) survey of the airstrip, constructed drains, unsealed roads to the west of the site, the pit and WRD was conducted. On this occasion, transects of the WRD and pit were taken but the locations of the transects were not surveyed

Advert saliency distracts children's visual attention during task-oriented internet use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nils eHolmberg

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The general research question of the present study was to assess the impact of visually salient online adverts on children's task-oriented internet use. In order to answer this question, an experimental study was constructed in which 9-year-old and 12-year-old Swedish children were asked to solve a number of tasks while interacting with a mockup website. In each trial, web adverts in several saliency conditions were presented. By both measuring children's task accuracy, as well as the visual processing involved in solving these tasks, this study allows us to infer how two types of visual saliency affect children's attentional behavior, and whether such behavioral effects also impacts their task performance. Analyses show that low-level visual features and task relevance in online adverts have different effects on performance measures and process measures respectively. Whereas task performance is stable with regard to several advert saliency conditions, a marked effect is seen on children's gaze behavior. On the other hand, task performance is shown to be more sensitive to individual differences such as age, gender and level of gaze control. The results provide evidence about cognitive and behavioral distraction effects in children's task-oriented internet use caused by visual saliency in online adverts. The experiment suggests that children to some extent are able to compensate for behavioral effects caused by distracting visual stimuli when solving prospective memory tasks. Suggestions are given for further research into the interdiciplinary area between media research and cognitive science.

Pediatric patient-reported outcome instruments for research to support medical product labeling: report of the ISPOR PRO good research practices for the assessment of children and adolescents task force.

Science.gov (United States)

Matza, Louis S; Patrick, Donald L; Riley, Anne W; Alexander, John J; Rajmil, Luis; Pleil, Andreas M; Bullinger, Monika

2013-06-01

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for children and adolescents are often included in clinical trials with the intention of collecting data to support claims in a medical product label. The purpose of the current task force report is to recommend good practices for pediatric PRO research that is conducted to inform regulatory decision making and support claims made in medical product labeling. The recommendations are based on the consensus of an interdisciplinary group of researchers who were assembled for a task force associated with the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). In those areas in which supporting evidence is limited or in which general principles may not apply to every situation, this task force report identifies factors to consider when making decisions about the design and use of pediatric PRO instruments, while highlighting issues that require further research. Five good research practices are discussed: 1) Consider developmental differences and determine age-based criteria for PRO administration: Four age groups are discussed on the basis of previous research (<5 years old, 5-7 years, 8-11 years, and 12-18 years). These age groups are recommended as a starting point when making decisions, but they will not fit all PRO instruments or the developmental stage of every child. Specific age ranges should be determined individually for each population and PRO instrument. 2) Establish content validity of pediatric PRO instruments: This section discusses the advantages of using children as content experts, as well as strategies for concept elicitation and cognitive interviews with children. 3) Determine whether an informant-reported outcome instrument is necessary: The distinction between two types of informant-reported measures (proxy vs. observational) is discussed, and recommendations are provided. 4) Ensure that the instrument is designed and formatted appropriately for the target age group. Factors to

Entering into dialogue about the mathematical value of contextual mathematising tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Caroline; Chin, Sze Looi; Moala, John Griffith; Choy, Ban Heng

2018-03-01

Our project seeks to draw attention to the rich mathematical thinking that is generated when students work on contextual mathematising tasks. We use a design-based research approach to create ways of reporting that raise the visibility of this rich mathematical thinking while retaining and respecting its complexity. These reports will be aimed for three classroom stakeholders: (1) students, who wish to reflect on and enhance their mathematical learning; (2) teachers, who wish to integrate contextual mathematising tasks into their teaching practice and (3) researchers, who seek rich tasks for generating observable instances of mathematical thinking and learning. We anticipate that these reports and the underlying theoretical framework for creating them will contribute to greater awareness of and appreciation for the mathematical value of contextual mathematising tasks in learning, teaching and research.

Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanbonmatsu, David M; Strayer, David L; Medeiros-Ward, Nathan; Watson, Jason M

2013-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants' perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation--high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking--reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control--low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity--tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity.

Who multi-tasks and why? Multi-tasking ability, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David M Sanbonmatsu

Full Text Available The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants' perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation--high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking--reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control--low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity--tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity.

Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking

Science.gov (United States)

Sanbonmatsu, David M.; Strayer, David L.; Medeiros-Ward, Nathan; Watson, Jason M.

2013-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants’ perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation – high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking – reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control - low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity - tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity. PMID:23372720

Ego Depletion in Real-Time: An Examination of the Sequential-Task Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Arber, Madeleine M; Ireland, Michael J; Feger, Roy; Marrington, Jessica; Tehan, Joshua; Tehan, Gerald

2017-01-01

Current research into self-control that is based on the sequential task methodology is currently at an impasse. The sequential task methodology involves completing a task that is designed to tax self-control resources which in turn has carry-over effects on a second, unrelated task. The current impasse is in large part due to the lack of empirical research that tests explicit assumptions regarding the initial task. Five studies test one key, untested assumption underpinning strength (finite resource) models of self-regulation: Performance will decline over time on a task that depletes self-regulatory resources. In the aftermath of high profile replication failures using a popular letter-crossing task and subsequent criticisms of that task, the current studies examined whether depletion effects would occur in real time using letter-crossing tasks that did not invoke habit-forming and breaking, and whether these effects were moderated by administration type (paper and pencil vs. computer administration). Sample makeup and sizes as well as response formats were also varied across the studies. The five studies yielded a clear and consistent pattern of increasing performance deficits (errors) as a function of time spent on task with generally large effects and in the fifth study the strength of negative transfer effects to a working memory task were related to individual differences in depletion. These results demonstrate that some form of depletion is occurring on letter-crossing tasks though whether an internal regulatory resource reservoir or some other factor is changing across time remains an important question for future research.

Ego Depletion in Real-Time: An Examination of the Sequential-Task Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madeleine M. Arber

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Current research into self-control that is based on the sequential task methodology is currently at an impasse. The sequential task methodology involves completing a task that is designed to tax self-control resources which in turn has carry-over effects on a second, unrelated task. The current impasse is in large part due to the lack of empirical research that tests explicit assumptions regarding the initial task. Five studies test one key, untested assumption underpinning strength (finite resource models of self-regulation: Performance will decline over time on a task that depletes self-regulatory resources. In the aftermath of high profile replication failures using a popular letter-crossing task and subsequent criticisms of that task, the current studies examined whether depletion effects would occur in real time using letter-crossing tasks that did not invoke habit-forming and breaking, and whether these effects were moderated by administration type (paper and pencil vs. computer administration. Sample makeup and sizes as well as response formats were also varied across the studies. The five studies yielded a clear and consistent pattern of increasing performance deficits (errors as a function of time spent on task with generally large effects and in the fifth study the strength of negative transfer effects to a working memory task were related to individual differences in depletion. These results demonstrate that some form of depletion is occurring on letter-crossing tasks though whether an internal regulatory resource reservoir or some other factor is changing across time remains an important question for future research.

A hugh marketing research task: birth control.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, J L

1968-02-01

Research in underdeveloped countries to sell family planning is discussed. The article also aims at pinpointing other possible research areas. Census reports were actually the earliest work relevant to birth control. Later came the research on psychosocial factors affecting family size in developed countries. After World War I, client oriented research into family planning began. The history of this type of research is discussed with more emphasis on the surveys of the knowledge, attitude and contraception practices (KAP) in various countries. The author claims the KAP surveys to be the largest worldwide market research job ever done. Propagands campaigns, contraceptive costs, bonuses for contraceptive practices, and effectiveness of persuasion techniques are discussed.

The task-to-task communication between computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Shuzi; Zhang Bingyun; Zhao Weiren

1992-01-01

The task-to-task communication is used in the Institute of High Energy Physics. The BES (Beijing Spectrometer) uses the communication mode to take some of the BEPC (Beijing Electron Positron Collider) running parameters needed by BES experiments in a periodic time. The authors describe the principle of transparent task-to-task communication and how to use it in BES on-line data acquisition system

Biomedical applications engineering tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Laenger, C. J., Sr.

1976-01-01

The engineering tasks performed in response to needs articulated by clinicians are described. Initial contacts were made with these clinician-technology requestors by the Southwest Research Institute NASA Biomedical Applications Team. The basic purpose of the program was to effectively transfer aerospace technology into functional hardware to solve real biomedical problems.

Are gamers better crossers? An examination of action video game experience and dual task effects in a simulated street crossing task.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspar, John G; Neider, Mark B; Crowell, James A; Lutz, Aubrey; Kaczmarski, Henry; Kramer, Arthur F

2014-05-01

A high-fidelity street crossing simulator was used to test the hypothesis that experienced action video game players are less vulnerable than non-gamers to dual task costs in complex tasks. Previous research has shown that action video game players outperform nonplayers on many single task measures of perception and attention. It is unclear, however, whether action video game players outperform nonplayers in complex, divided attention tasks. Experienced action video game players and nongamers completed a street crossing task in a high-fidelity simulator. Participants walked on a manual treadmill to cross the street. During some crossings, a cognitively demanding working memory task was added. Dividing attention resulted in more collisions and increased decision making time. Of importance, these dual task costs were equivalent for the action video game players and the nongamers. These results suggest that action video game players are equally susceptible to the costs of dividing attention in a complex task. Perceptual and attentional benefits associated with action video game experience may not translate to performance benefits in complex, real-world tasks.

Research on Evaluation Model for Secondary Task Driving Safety Based on Driver Eye Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisheng Jin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to gain insight into the influence of performing different types of secondary task while driving on driver eye movements and to build a safety evaluation model for secondary task driving. Eighteen young drivers were selected and completed the driving experiment on a driving simulator. Measures of fixations, saccades, and blinks were analyzed. Based on measures which had significant difference between the baseline and secondary tasks driving conditions, the evaluation index system was built. Method of principal component analysis (PCA was applied to analyze evaluation indexes data in order to obtain the coefficient weights of indexes and build the safety evaluation model. Based on evaluation scores, the driving safety was grouped into five levels (very high, high, average, low, and very low using K-means clustering algorithm. Results showed that secondary task driving severely distracts the driver and the evaluation model built in this study could estimate driving safety effectively under different driving conditions.

Within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance across trials. Effect of task objective and task type.

Science.gov (United States)

Hepler, Teri J; Ritchie, Jason; Hill, Christopher R

2017-07-05

Self-efficacy has been shown to be a consistent, positive predictor of between-persons performance in sport. However, there have been equivocal results regarding the influence of self-efficacy on a person's performance over time. This study investigated the influence of self-efficacy on motor skill performance across trials with respect to two different task objectives and task types. Participants (N=84) performed 4 blocks of 10 trials of a dart throwing (closed skill) and a hitting (open skill) task under 2 different task objectives: competitive and goal-striving. For the goal-striving condition, success was defined as reaching a pre-determined performance level. The competitive condition involved competing against an opponent. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the influence of past performance and self-efficacy on the within-person performance across multiple trials. Previous performance was negatively related with subsequent performance on all conditions. Self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of performance on any of the conditions. While task objective and task type did not moderate the efficacy-performance relationship in the current study, it is important to consider the role of other moderators in future research.

THE SPECIFIC AND GENERAL NATURE OF LOGISTICS TASKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beáta Sz. G. Pató

2016-12-01

Full Text Available There are many ways to define and to describe jobs and assigning to people. This is a key issue in both blue collar and in white collar jobs. This analysis focuses on the work content of jobs in logistics. However, the methodology allows the exploration of closely related issues to determine competence requirements as well. Jobs can be seen to have bearing on many areas including effectiveness, efficiency of individual and organizational level, social and political issues. The purpose of the research carried out by authors was to identify the necessary competencies in logistics jobs. It included the analysis of the tasks using company document (job description analysis in order to identify the tasks and required competencies. Researchers extracted and then standardized the verb - noun pairs which described the tasks. The frequency of these pairs gave the weight of the task in a job. This method allowed the researchers to determine the overlapping rate of activities in different fields (trade, transport, comprehensive activities. It was found that the most different/independent field in the terms of similarities is warehousing. Results suggest the rethinking of the training content in order to find the right balance between the general and specific competencies. They also help organizations to optimize the composition of cross-functional staff.

Differential facilitative effects of glucose administration on Stroop task conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Karen R; Gibson, E Leigh; Rackie, James M

2013-12-01

Previous research has demonstrated that glucose administration improves memory performance. These glucose facilitation effects have been most reliably demonstrated in medial temporal lobe tasks with the greatest effects found for cognitively demanding tasks. The aim of the proposed research was to first explore whether such effects might be demonstrated in a frontal lobe task. A second aim was to investigate whether any beneficial effects of glucose may arise more prominently under tasks of increasing cognitive demand. To achieve these aims, the Stroop Task was administered to participants and effects of a drink of glucose (25 g) were compared with an aspartame-sweetened control drink on performance in young adults. Results demonstrated that glucose ingestion significantly reduced RTs in the congruent and incongruent conditions. No effect on error rates was observed. Of most importance was the finding that this glucose facilitative effect was significantly greatest in the most cognitively demanding task, that is, the incongruent condition. The present results support the contention that the glucose facilitation effect is most robust under conditions of enhanced task difficulty and demonstrate that such benefits extend to frontal lobe function.

Task analysis and support for problem solving tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bainbridge, L.

1987-01-01

This paper is concerned with Task Analysis as the basis for ergonomic design to reduce human error rates, rather than for predicting human error rates. Task Analysis techniques usually provide a set of categories for describing sub tasks, and a framework describing the relations between sub-tasks. Both the task type categories and their organisation have implications for optimum interface and training design. In this paper, the framework needed for considering the most complex tasks faced by operators in process industries is discussed such as fault management in unexpected situations, and what is likely to minimise human error in these circumstances. (author)

Final Technical Report Transport Task Force Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

P.W. Terry

2006-01-01

The Transport Task Force has functioned as the primary scientific organization in the area of magnetic-fusion confinement and transport since its inception in 1988. It has defined and set research directions, coordinated broad research efforts, advocated new funding initiatives, and created a highly successful and widely admired interactive culture between experiment, theory and modeling. The Transport Task Force carries out its activities under the direction of its chair and the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of the leaders and deputy leaders of the scientific working groups. The working groups are structured and organized according to research needs and priorities and have been organized around the areas of Core Transport, H Mode and Pedestal, Fast Particle Transport, Transient Transport Phenomena, and Modeling and Simulation. A steering committee provides advise on TTF activities. Further information on the working groups and the structure and management of the TTF can be found at http://psfcwww2.psfc.mit.edu/ttf/index.html. The TTF holds an annual workshop. A summary of the workshops held during the period of this report is given in Appendix I. During the period of this report the Transport Task Force was involved in several significant activities. Foremost of these was a sweeping review of the status of transport science, the key research tasks for progress during the next 5-10 years, and a proposal for a funding initiative to ensure application of adequate resources to these problems. The conclusions of this study were incorporated into a white paper, which is copied below in Appendix II. Other significant activities have included the introduction of an extended, ongoing discussion on verification and validation as a requisite for defining and codifying the path toward predictive capability, the orchestration of a gradual shift of focus from ion thermal confinement to electron thermal confinement, and a joining of efforts on edge

A Note on the Factor Structure of Some Piagetian Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Anton E.; Nordland, Floyd H.

Some evidence supports the hypothesis that formal operational reasoning ability (at least that measured by Piagetian tasks) is a unified process. The purpose of this research was to determine: (1) if conservation tasks, such as conservation of number, liquid amount, weight and volume, are unifactor; and (2) if conservation tasks form a scale of…

Form-based Approaches vs. Task-Based Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Talebi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating whether task-based approaches bear any superiority to that of more traditional ones evident in presentation-practice- and production phase .to fulfill the purpose of the study, the participants within the age range of 11-19, took part in the study. Following a pretest, treatment, and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA to examine the effects of the variables. The results of the analysis showed that participants in the PPP group did significantly better in the grammar recognition of the posttest than that of the task group. However, their counterparts in the task group gained better scores in the writing section of the test .this research study provided evidence in support of task proponents' claim in the merit of task-based activity in raising learners' implicit knowledge claiming to play the primary role in spontaneous speech.

A Roadmap Towards Intelligent and Autonomous Object Manipulation for assembly Tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Polydoros, Athanasios; Nalpantidis, Lazaros; Krüger, Volker

Despite the large scientific interest on robot learning for object picking tasks, the research on object placing is too limited. Commonly, placing is simplistically considered as a trivial task, but real life manipulation problems indicate the exact opposite. A placing task can have different...

Atypical subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures: report of a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shane, Elizabeth; Burr, David; Ebeling, Peter R

2010-01-01

Reports linking long-term use of bisphosphonates (BPs) with atypical fractures of the femur led the leadership of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) to appoint a task force to address key questions related to this problem. A multidisciplinary expert group reviewed pertinent...... to designate a femoral fracture as atypical. Minor features include their association with cortical thickening, a periosteal reaction of the lateral cortex, prodromal pain, bilaterality, delayed healing, comorbid conditions, and concomitant drug exposures, including BPs, other antiresorptive agents...... published reports concerning atypical femur fractures, as well as preclinical studies that could provide insight into their pathogenesis. A case definition was developed so that subsequent studies report on the same condition. The task force defined major and minor features of complete and incomplete...

Survival Processing and the Stroop Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie A. Kazanas

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to investigate the impact of survival processing with a novel task for this paradigm: the Stroop color-naming task. As the literature is mixed with regard to task generalizability, with survival processing promoting better memory for words, but not better memory for faces or paired associates, these types of task investigations are important to a growing field of research. Using the Stroop task provides a unique contribution, as identifying items by color is an important evolutionary adaptation and not specific to humans as is the case with word recall. Our results indicate that survival processing, with its accompanying survival-relevance rating task, remains the best mnemonic strategy for word memory. However, our results also indicate that presenting the survival passage does not motivate better color-naming performance than color-naming alone. In addition, survival processing led to a larger amount of Stroop interference, though not significantly larger than the other conditions. Together, these findings suggest that considering one’s survival when performing memory and attention-based tasks does not enhance cognitive performance generally, although greater allocation of attentional resources to color-incongruent concrete objects could be considered adaptive. These findings support the notion that engaging in deeper processing via survival-relevance ratings may preserve these words across a variety of experimental manipulations.

Clinical judgment research on economic topics: Role of congruence of tasks in clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Huttin, Christine C

2017-01-01

This paper discusses what can ensure the performance of judgment studies with an information design that integrates economics of medical systems, in the context of digitalization of healthcare. It is part of a series of 5 methodological papers on statistical procedures and problems to implement judgment research designs and decision models, especially to address cost of care, and ways to measure conversation on cost of care between physicians and patients, with unstructured data such as economic narratives to complement billing and financial information (e.g. cost cognitive cues in conjoint or reversed conjoint designs). The paper discusses how congruence of tasks can increase the reliability of data. It uses some results of two Meta reviews of judgment studies in different fields of applications: psychology, business, medical sciences and education. It compares tests for congruence in judgment studies and efficiency tests in econometric studies.

Effect of pre-task music on sports or exercise performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Smirmaul, Bruno P

2017-01-01

Pre-task music is a very common strategy among sports competitors. However, as opposed to in-task music, the scientific evidence to support its ergogenic effects on either sports or exercise performance is limited. This brief review critically addresses the existing literature investigating the effects of pre-task music on sports and exercise performance, focusing on the methods and results of experimental studies, and offers basic and practical recommendations. In July 2015, a comprehensive literature search was performed in Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar using the following key words in combination: "pre-task music," "pre-test music," "pre-exercise music," "exercise performance," "sports performance." The literature search was further expanded by both hand searching review articles on the topic and by searching the reference lists from the articles retrieved for any relevant references. Overall, a total of 15 studies in 14 articles were included. Pre-task music research has been unsystematic, methodologically limited and infrequent. Using this review as a starting point to overcome previous methodological limitations when designing future experiments may contribute to the development of pre-task music research, which is still in its infancy. Currently, there is no sufficient evidence to support the overall ergogenic effects of pre-task music on sports or exercise performance. Nonetheless, pre-task music has showed a likely ergogenic effect on shorter and predominantly anaerobic tasks such as grip strength, Wingate test, and short-duration sports or sports-like tasks, in contrast to longer and predominantly aerobic tasks.

Quantitative analysis of task selection for brain-computer interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-10-01

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

REINA at CLEF 2007 Robust Task

OpenAIRE

Zazo Rodríguez, Ángel Francisco; Figuerola, Carlos G.; Alonso Berrocal, José Luis

2007-01-01

This paper describes our work at CLEF 2007 Robust Task. We have participated in the monolingual (English, French and Portuguese) and the bilingual (English to French) subtask. At CLEF 2006 our research group obtained very good results applying local query expansion using windows of terms in the robust task. This year we have used the same expansion technique, but taking into account some criteria of robustness: MAP, GMAP, MMR, GS@10, P@10, number of failed topics, number of topics bellow 0.1 ...

Errors and conflict at the task level and the response level.

Science.gov (United States)

Desmet, Charlotte; Fias, Wim; Hartstra, Egbert; Brass, Marcel

2011-01-26

In the last decade, research on error and conflict processing has become one of the most influential research areas in the domain of cognitive control. There is now converging evidence that a specific part of the posterior frontomedian cortex (pFMC), the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ), is crucially involved in the processing of errors and conflict. However, error-related research has focused primarily on a specific error type, namely, response errors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether errors on the task level rely on the same neural and functional mechanisms. Here we report a dissociation of both error types in the pFMC: whereas response errors activate the RCZ, task errors activate the dorsal frontomedian cortex. Although this last region shows an overlap in activation for task and response errors on the group level, a closer inspection of the single-subject data is more in accordance with a functional anatomical dissociation. When investigating brain areas related to conflict on the task and response levels, a clear dissociation was perceived between areas associated with response conflict and with task conflict. Overall, our data support a dissociation between response and task levels of processing in the pFMC. In addition, we provide additional evidence for a dissociation between conflict and errors both at the response level and at the task level.

Designing Prediction Tasks in a Mathematics Software Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Brunström, Mats; Fahlgren, Maria

2015-01-01

There is a recognised need in mathematics teaching for new kinds of tasks which exploit the affordances provided by new technology. This paper focuses on the design of prediction tasks to foster student reasoning about exponential functions in a mathematics software environment. It draws on the first iteration of a design based research study…

Generic cognitive adaptations to task interference in task switching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poljac, E.; Bekkering, H.

2009-01-01

The present study investigated how the activation of previous tasks interferes with the execution of future tasks as a result of temporal manipulations. Color and shape matching tasks were organized in runs of two trials each. The tasks were specified by a cue presented before a task run, cueing

Motivation, Intentionality, and Mind Wandering: Implications for Assessments of Task-Unrelated Thought

Science.gov (United States)

Seli, Paul; Cheyne, James Allan; Xu, Mengran; Purdon, Christine; Smilek, Daniel

2015-01-01

Researchers of mind wandering frequently assume that (a) participants are motivated to do well on the tasks they are given, and (b) task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) that occur during task performance reflect unintentional, unwanted thoughts that occur despite participants' best intentions to maintain task-focus. Given the relatively boring and…

Sleep deprivation and time-on-task performance decrement in the rat psychomotor vigilance task.

Science.gov (United States)

Oonk, Marcella; Davis, Christopher J; Krueger, James M; Wisor, Jonathan P; Van Dongen, Hans P A

2015-03-01

The rat psychomotor vigilance task (rPVT) was developed as a rodent analog of the human psychomotor vigilance task (hPVT). We examined whether rPVT performance displays time-on-task effects similar to those observed on the hPVT. The rPVT requires rats to respond to a randomly presented light stimulus to obtain a water reward. Rats were water deprived for 22 h prior to each 30-min rPVT session to motivate performance. We analyzed rPVT performance over time on task and as a function of the response-stimulus interval, at baseline and after sleep deprivation. The study was conducted in an academic research vivarium. Male Long-Evans rats were trained to respond to a 0.5 sec stimulus light within 3 sec of stimulus onset. Complete data were available for n = 20 rats. Rats performed the rPVT for 30 min at baseline and after 24 h total sleep deprivation by gentle handling. Compared to baseline, sleep deprived rats displayed increased performance lapses and premature responses, similar to hPVT lapses of attention and false starts. However, in contrast to hPVT performance, the time-on-task performance decrement was not significantly enhanced by sleep deprivation. Moreover, following sleep deprivation, rPVT response times were not consistently increased after short response-stimulus intervals. The rPVT manifests similarities to the hPVT in global performance outcomes, but not in post-sleep deprivation effects of time on task and response-stimulus interval. © 2015 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

DECOVALEX II PROJECT. Technical report - Task 1A and 1B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanru Jing; Stephansson, Ove; Kautsky, F.

1998-08-01

DECOVALEX II project started in November 1995 as a continuation of the DECOVALEX I project, which was completed at the end of 1994. The project was initiated by recognizing the fact that a proper evaluation of the current capacities of numerical modelling of the coupled T-H-M processes in fractured media is needed not only for small scale, well controlled laboratory test cases such as those studied in DECOVALEX I, but also for less characterised, more complex and realistic in-situ experiments. This will contribute to validation and confidence building in the current mathematical models, numerical methods and computer codes. Four tasks were defined in the DECOVALEX II project: TASK 1 - numerical study of the RCF3 pumping test and shaft excavation at Sellafield by Nirex, UK; TASK 2 - numerical study of the in-situ T-H-M experiments at Kamaishi Mine by PNC, Japan; TASK 3 - review of current state-of-the-art of rock joint research and TASK 4 - report on the coupled T-H-M issues related to repository design and performance assessment. This report is one of the technical reports of the DECOVALEX II project, describing the work performed for TASK 1A and 1B - the predictions and model calibrations for the RCF 3 pumping test at Sellafield. Presented in this report are the descriptions of the project, tasks, approaches, methods and results of numerical modelling work carried out by the research teams. The report is a summary of the research reports written by the research teams and submitted to the project secretariat, and the discussions held during project workshops and task force group meetings. The opinions and conclusions in this report, however, reflect only ideas of the authors, not necessarily a collective representation of the funding organisations of the project

Working Memory Training Improves Dual-Task Performance on Motor Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Takehide; Kaneko, Fuminari; Nagahata, Keita; Shibata, Eriko; Aoki, Nobuhiro

2017-01-01

The authors investigated whether working memory training improves motor-motor dual-task performance consisted of upper and lower limb tasks. The upper limb task was a simple reaction task and the lower limb task was an isometric knee extension task. 45 participants (age = 21.8 ± 1.6 years) were classified into a working memory training group (WM-TRG), dual-task training group, or control group. The training duration was 2 weeks (15 min, 4 times/week). Our results indicated that working memory capacity increased significantly only in the WM-TRG. Dual-task performance improved in the WM-TRG and dual-task training group. Our study provides the novel insight that working memory training improves dual-task performance without specific training on the target motor task.

An FMRI-compatible Symbol Search task.

Science.gov (United States)

Liebel, Spencer W; Clark, Uraina S; Xu, Xiaomeng; Riskin-Jones, Hannah H; Hawkshead, Brittany E; Schwarz, Nicolette F; Labbe, Donald; Jerskey, Beth A; Sweet, Lawrence H

2015-03-01

Our objective was to determine whether a Symbol Search paradigm developed for functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive processing speed (CPS) in healthy older adults. As all older adults are expected to experience cognitive declines due to aging, and CPS is one of the domains most affected by age, establishing a reliable and valid measure of CPS that can be administered inside an MR scanner may prove invaluable in future clinical and research settings. We evaluated the reliability and construct validity of a newly developed FMRI Symbol Search task by comparing participants' performance in and outside of the scanner and to the widely used and standardized Symbol Search subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). A brief battery of neuropsychological measures was also administered to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the FMRI Symbol Search task. The FMRI Symbol Search task demonstrated high test-retest reliability when compared to performance on the same task administered out of the scanner (r=.791; pSymbol Search (r=.717; pSymbol Search task were also observed. The FMRI Symbol Search task is a reliable and valid measure of CPS in healthy older adults and exhibits expected sensitivity to the effects of age on CPS performance.

Calibration and Validation of Inertial Measurement Unit for Wave Resolving Drifters

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-01

B. NAVAL RELEVANCE Safety and cost effectiveness are concerns for the U.S. Navy, as well. Investing significant capital and man-hours into...insulation, and Velcro ) are non-magnetic, which will be noteworthy later as we discuss the sensors. The WRD-B is a hollow spherical buoy 0.254m (10”) in

Shortcuts to Excellence: Techniques To Increase Personal Productivity, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Michael H.

This document presents a case history of an 80-hour consulting contract undertaken in 1984 whereby a human resources consultant provided training in team building, communication skills, and creative problem solving to the management team of the Water Revenue Department (WRD) of the government of the District of Columbia. The troubled history of…

The Attentional Dependence of Emotion Cognition is Variable with the Competing Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Chen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The relationship between emotion and attention has fascinated researchers for decades. Many previous studies have used eye-tracking, ERP, MEG and fMRI to explore this issue but have reached different conclusions: some researchers hold that emotion cognition is an automatic process and independent of attention, while some others believed that emotion cognition is modulated by attentional resources and is a type of controlled processing. The present research aimed to investigate this controversy, and we hypothesized that the attentional dependence of emotion cognition is variable with the competing task. Eye-tracking technology and a dual-task paradigm were adopted, and subjects’ attention was manipulated to fixate at the central task to investigate whether subjects could detect the emotional faces presented in the peripheral area with a decrease or near-absence of attention. The results revealed that when the peripheral task was emotional face discrimination but the central attention-demanding task was different, subjects performed well in the peripheral task, which means that emotional information can be processed in parallel with other stimuli, and there may be a specific channel in the human brain for processing emotional information. However, when the central and peripheral tasks were both emotional face discrimination, subjects could not perform well in the peripheral task, indicating that the processing of emotional information required attentional resources and that it is a type of controlled processing. Therefore, we concluded that the attentional dependence of emotion cognition varied with the competing task.

Task Switching in a Hierarchical Task Structure: Evidence for the Fragility of the Task Repetition Benefit

Science.gov (United States)

Lien, Mei-Ching; Ruthruff, Eric

2004-01-01

This study examined how task switching is affected by hierarchical task organization. Traditional task-switching studies, which use a constant temporal and spatial distance between each task element (defined as a stimulus requiring a response), promote a flat task structure. Using this approach, Experiment 1 revealed a large switch cost of 238 ms.…

Task analysis methods applicable to control room design review (CDR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moray, N.P.; Senders, J.W.; Rhodes, W.

1985-06-01

This report presents the results of a research study conducted in support of the human factors engineering program of the Atomic Energy Control Board in Canada. It contains five products which may be used by the Atomic Enegy Control Board in relation to Task Analysis of jobs in CANDU nuclear power plants: 1. a detailed method for preparing for a task analysis; 2. a Task Data Form for recording task analysis data; 3. a detailed method for carrying out task analyses; 4. a guide to assessing alternative methods for performing task analyses, if such are proposed by utilities or consultants; and 5. an annotated bibliography on task analysis. In addition, a short explanation of the origins, nature and uses of task analysis is provided, with some examples of its cost effectiveness. 35 refs

Task difficulty, risk, effort and comfort in a simulated driving task--Implications for Risk Allostasis Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis-Evans, Ben; Rothengatter, Talib

2009-09-01

Risk Allostasis Theory states that drivers seek to maintain a feeling of risk within a preferred range [Fuller, R., 2008. What drives the driver? Surface tensions and hidden consensus. In: Keynote at the 4th International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology, Washington, DC, August 31-September 4, 2008]. Risk Allostasis Theory is the latest version of Task-Difficulty Homeostasis theory, and is in part based on the findings of experiments where participants were asked to rate the task difficulty, feeling of risk and chance of collision of scenes shown in digitally altered video clips [Fuller, R., McHugh, C., Pender, S., 2008b. Task difficulty and risk in the determination of driver behaviour. Revue européenne de psychologie appliqée 58, 13-21]. The focus of the current research was to expand upon the previous video based experiments using a driving simulator. This allowed participants to be in control of the vehicle rather than acting as passive observers, as well as providing additional speed cues. The results support previous findings that ratings of task difficulty and feeling of risk are related, and that they are also highly related to ratings of effort and moderately related to ratings of comfort and habit. However, the linearly increasing trend for task difficulty and feeling of risk described by the previous research was not observed: instead the findings of this experiment support a threshold effect where ratings of risk (feeling of and chance of loss of control/collision), difficulty, effort, and comfort go through a period of stability and only start to increase once a certain threshold has been crossed. It is within the period of stability where subjective experience of risk and difficulty is low, or absent, that drivers generally prefer to operate.

The Effect of MALL-Based Tasks on EFL Learners' Grammar Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Khodabandeh, Farzaneh; Alian, Jalal ed-din; Soleimani, Hassan

2017-01-01

Many studies have confirmed the importance of tasks on language learning. Nowadays, many teachers apply different kinds of tasks in their classrooms. The current study investigated the effect of mobile assisted language learning tasks (MALL) on participants' English grammar learning. The researcher administered a pre-validated grammar test to 90…

Creation of the Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks (NEST) distracted driving dataset.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Justin M; Angell, Linda; Hankey, Jonathan M; Foley, James; Ebe, Kazutoshi

2015-09-01

Distracted driving has become a topic of critical importance to driving safety research over the past several decades. Naturalistic driving data offer a unique opportunity to study how drivers engage with secondary tasks in real-world driving; however, the complexities involved with identifying and coding relevant epochs of naturalistic data have limited its accessibility to the general research community. This project was developed to help address this problem by creating an accessible dataset of driver behavior and situational factors observed during distraction-related safety-critical events and baseline driving epochs, using the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) naturalistic dataset. The new NEST (Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks) dataset was created using crashes and near-crashes from the SHRP2 dataset that were identified as including secondary task engagement as a potential contributing factor. Data coding included frame-by-frame video analysis of secondary task and hands-on-wheel activity, as well as summary event information. In addition, information about each secondary task engagement within the trip prior to the crash/near-crash was coded at a higher level. Data were also coded for four baseline epochs and trips per safety-critical event. 1,180 events and baseline epochs were coded, and a dataset was constructed. The project team is currently working to determine the most useful way to allow broad public access to the dataset. We anticipate that the NEST dataset will be extraordinarily useful in allowing qualified researchers access to timely, real-world data concerning how drivers interact with secondary tasks during safety-critical events and baseline driving. The coded dataset developed for this project will allow future researchers to have access to detailed data on driver secondary task engagement in the real world. It will be useful for standalone research, as well as for integration with additional SHRP2 data to enable the

Detecting gait abnormalities after concussion or mild traumatic brain injury: A systematic review of single-task, dual-task, and complex gait.

Science.gov (United States)

Fino, Peter C; Parrington, Lucy; Pitt, Will; Martini, Douglas N; Chesnutt, James C; Chou, Li-Shan; King, Laurie A

2018-05-01

While a growing number of studies have investigated the effects of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on gait, many studies use different experimental paradigms and outcome measures. The path for translating experimental studies for objective clinical assessments of gait is unclear. This review asked 2 questions: 1) is gait abnormal after concussion/mTBI, and 2) what gait paradigms (single-task, dual-task, complex gait) detect abnormalities after concussion. Data sources included MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) accessed on March 14, 2017. Original research articles reporting gait outcomes in people with concussion or mTBI were included. Studies of moderate, severe, or unspecified TBI, and studies without a comparator were excluded. After screening 233 articles, 38 studies were included and assigned to one or more sections based on the protocol and reported outcomes. Twenty-six articles reported single-task simple gait outcomes, 24 reported dual-task simple gait outcomes, 21 reported single-task complex gait outcomes, and 10 reported dual-task complex gait outcomes. Overall, this review provides evidence for two conclusions: 1) gait is abnormal acutely after concussion/mTBI but generally resolves over time; and 2) the inconsistency of findings, small sample sizes, and small number of studies examining homogenous measures at the same time-period post-concussion highlight the need for replication across independent populations and investigators. Future research should concentrate on dual-task and complex gait tasks, as they showed promise for detecting abnormal locomotor function outside of the acute timeframe. Additionally, studies should provide detailed demographic and clinical characteristics to enable more refined comparisons across studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Reda, Naglaa M; Tawfik, A; Marzok, Mohamed A; Khamis, Soheir M

2015-11-01

Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan.

Tasks of physicists and graduated engineers in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angerstein, W.

1987-01-01

The tasks of physicists and engineers in diagnostic radiology are compiled and trends of development are discussed. Specific duties can be selected from these tasks for each department and physicist individually. An attempt is made to characterize the specific tasks of medical physics. The most important tasks are concerning subjects of (1) investment planning, (2) quality control and quality assurance, (3) service and maintenance, (4) radiation protection and electrical safety, (5) development, testing and adaption of equipment, (6) assistance in running the radiologic department, (7) research, (8) pre- and postgraduate training, (9) educational training, (10) miscellaneous. (author)

Task-set inertia and memory-consolidation bottleneck in dual tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Iring; Rumiati, Raffaella I

2006-11-01

Three dual-task experiments examined the influence of processing a briefly presented visual object for deferred verbal report on performance in an unrelated auditory-manual reaction time (RT) task. RT was increased at short stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) relative to long SOAs, showing that memory consolidation processes can produce a functional processing bottleneck in dual-task performance. In addition, the experiments manipulated the spatial compatibility of the orientation of the visual object and the side of the speeded manual response. This cross-task compatibility produced relative RT benefits only when the instruction for the visual task emphasized overlap at the level of response codes across the task sets (Experiment 1). However, once the effective task set was in place, it continued to produce cross-task compatibility effects even in single-task situations ("ignore" trials in Experiment 2) and when instructions for the visual task did not explicitly require spatial coding of object orientation (Experiment 3). Taken together, the data suggest a considerable degree of task-set inertia in dual-task performance, which is also reinforced by finding costs of switching task sequences (e.g., AC --> BC vs. BC --> BC) in Experiment 3.

Reaping the benefits of task conflict in teams: the critical role of team psychological safety climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Bret H; Postlethwaite, Bennett E; Klotz, Anthony C; Hamdani, Maria R; Brown, Kenneth G

2012-01-01

Past research suggests that task conflict may improve team performance under certain conditions; however, we know little about these specific conditions. On the basis of prior theory and research on conflict in teams, we argue that a climate of psychological safety is one specific context under which task conflict will improve team performance. Using evidence from 117 project teams, the present research found that psychological safety climate moderates the relationship between task conflict and performance. Specifically, task conflict and team performance were positively associated under conditions of high psychological safety. The results support the conclusion that psychological safety facilitates the performance benefits of task conflict in teams. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The Scintillation Prediction Observations Research Task (SPORT): an International Science Mission Using a Cubesat

Science.gov (United States)

Spann, James; Swenson, Charles; Durao, Otavio; Loures, Luis; Heelis, Rod; Bishop, Rebecca; Le, Guan; Abdu, Mangalathayil; Krause, Linda; Fry, Craig;

Designing the Widget: A Group Decision and Negotiation Task

Science.gov (United States)

Delise, Lisa A.; Mello, Abby L.

2017-01-01

The Widget design task is an in-class, experiential exercise that affords students the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills in group negotiation. Students engage in new product design in committees of two dyads where one dyad represents Consumer Research and the other represents Strategic Management. Task information creates different…

Challenges of animal models in SCI research: Effects of pre-injury task-specific training in adult rats before lesion.

Science.gov (United States)

May, Zacnicte; Fouad, Karim; Shum-Siu, Alice; Magnuson, David S K

2015-09-15

A rarely explored subject in animal research is the effect of pre-injury variables on behavioral outcome post-SCI. Low reporting of such variables may underlie some discrepancies in findings between laboratories. Particularly, intensive task-specific training before a SCI might be important, considering that sports injuries are one of the leading causes of SCI. Thus, individuals with SCI often underwent rigorous training before their injuries. In the present study, we asked whether training before SCI on a grasping task or a swimming task would influence motor recovery in rats. Swim pre-training impaired recovery of swimming 2 and 4 weeks post-injury. This result fits with the idea of motor learning interference, which posits that learning something new may disrupt learning of a new task; in this case, learning strategies to compensate for functional loss after SCI. In contrast to swimming, grasp pre-training did not influence grasping ability after SCI at any time point. However, grasp pre-trained rats attempted to grasp more times than untrained rats in the first 4 weeks post-injury. Also, lesion volume of grasp pre-trained rats was greater than that of untrained rats, a finding which may be related to stress or activity. The increased participation in rehabilitative training of the pre-trained rats in the early weeks post-injury may have potentiated spontaneous plasticity in the spinal cord and counteracted the deleterious effect of interference and bigger lesions. Thus, our findings suggest that pre-training plays a significant role in recovery after CNS damage and needs to be carefully controlled for. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A profile-aware microtasking approach for improving task assignment in crowdsourcing services

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mtsweni, Jabu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available into the diversity of the unknown crowd. Nevertheless, there are still a number of research challenges that are found in various microtasking initiatives, such as lack of user profiling, quality of task submissions, poor task design and assignment, ambiguous task...

Measuring language lateralisation with different language tasks: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abigail R. Bradshaw

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Language lateralisation refers to the phenomenon in which one hemisphere (typically the left shows greater involvement in language functions than the other. Measurement of laterality is of interest both to researchers investigating the neural organisation of the language system and to clinicians needing to establish an individual’s hemispheric dominance for language prior to surgery, as in patients with intractable epilepsy. Recently, there has been increasing awareness of the possibility that different language processes may develop hemispheric lateralisation independently, and to varying degrees. However, it is not always clear whether differences in laterality across language tasks with fMRI are reflective of meaningful variation in hemispheric lateralisation, or simply of trivial methodological differences between paradigms. This systematic review aims to assess different language tasks in terms of the strength, reliability and robustness of the laterality measurements they yield with fMRI, to look at variability that is both dependent and independent of aspects of study design, such as the baseline task, region of interest, and modality of the stimuli. Recommendations are made that can be used to guide task design; however, this review predominantly highlights that the current high level of methodological variability in language paradigms prevents conclusions as to how different language functions may lateralise independently. We conclude with suggestions for future research using tasks that engage distinct aspects of language functioning, whilst being closely matched on non-linguistic aspects of task design (e.g., stimuli, task timings etc; such research could produce more reliable and conclusive insights into language lateralisation. This systematic review was registered as a protocol on Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/5vmpt/.

Lessons in Financial Literacy Task Design: Authentic, Imaginable, Useful

Science.gov (United States)

Sawatzki, Carly

2017-01-01

As part of ongoing design-based research exploring financial literacy teaching and learning, 10 tasks termed "financial dilemmas" were trialled by 14 teachers and more than 300 year 5 and 6 students in four government primary schools in urban Darwin. Drawing on data related to three tasks--"Catching the bus," "Laser…

Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking

OpenAIRE

Sanbonmatsu, David M.; Strayer, David L.; Medeiros-Ward, Nathan; Watson, Jason M.

2013-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are ...

Tracking the impact of depression in a perspective-taking task

OpenAIRE

Ferguson, Heather J.; Cane, James

2017-01-01

Research has identified impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in depressed patients, particularly in relation to tasks involving empathetic responses and belief reasoning. We aimed to build on this research by exploring the relationship between depressed mood and cognitive ToM, specifically visual perspective-taking ability. High and low depressed participants were eye-tracked as they completed a perspective-taking task, in which they followed the instructions of a ‘director’ to move ...

Astroinformatics as a New Research Field. UkrVO Astroinformation Resources: Tasks and Prospective

Science.gov (United States)

Vavilova, I. B.

The data-oriented astronomy has allowed classifying the Astroinformatics as a new academic research field, which covers various multi-disciplinary applications of the e-Astronomy. Among them are the data modeling, data mining, metadata standards development, data access, digital astronomical databases, image archives and visualization, machine learning, statistics and other computational methods and software for work with astronomical survey and catalogues with their teta- topeta-scale astroinformation resource. In this review we describe briefly the astroinformatics applications and software/services performed for different astronomical tasks in frame of the VIrtual Roentgen and Gamma Observatory (VIRGO) and Ukrainian VirtualObservatory (UkrVO). Among them there are projects based on the archival space-born data of X-ray and gamma space observatories and on the Joint Digitized Archive (JDA) database of astroplate network collections. The UkrVO JDA DR1 deals with the star catalogues (FON, Polar zone, open clusters, GRB star fields) as well as the UkrVO JDA DR2 deals with the Solar System bodies (giant and small planets, satellites, astronomical heritage images).

[Plasma properties research: Task 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The principal research activities of the Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division relate to magnetic fusion plasma physics. In addition, there is a modest amount of work in closely related areas, including space plasma physics, fluid dynamics, and dynamical systems. Members of the Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division maintain close contacts with fusion researchers in the US and abroad. Some of the work of the Division is clearly directed towards ITER and TPX, while other problems relate to the broader development of fusion plasma physics and to the support of other issues arising in the many experimental programs. Topics of some note in the last year that are discussed in this report are: Application of sophisticated statistical techniques to tokamak data reduction, including time series analysis of TFTR fluctuation data and spline analysis of profile data. Continuing development of edge plasma and divertor modelling, including initial ergodic divertor studies. Analysis of energetic fusion products losses from TFTR plasmas. Examination of anomalous transport in dynamical systems induced by chaotic-like Hamiltonian motion. Numerical simulation of the development of singular MHD equilibria. Exploration of the validity of moment expansions of kinetic equations for weakly collisional systems. Studies of RF- and ripple-induced helium ash removal. Ballooning mode studies in fluids and rotating stars. Studies in dynamical systems, including explosive instabilities, development of chaos, and motion of collisionless particles in a domain with overlapping islands

Challenging tasks: The role of employees' and supervisors' goal orientations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Preenen, P.; van Vianen, A.; de Pater, I.

2014-01-01

Research shows that challenging jobs stimulate employee learning and retention. Nevertheless, empirical knowledge on what influences the amount of challenging tasks employees perform in their job is lacking. In this study, we examined the extent to which the performance of challenging tasks is

Behavioral Assessment of Listening Effort Using a Dual-Task Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Pierre Gagné

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Published investigations (n = 29 in which a dual-task experimental paradigm was employed to measure listening effort during speech understanding in younger and older adults were reviewed. A summary of the main findings reported in the articles is provided with respect to the participants’ age-group and hearing status. Effects of different signal characteristics, such as the test modality, on dual-task outcomes are evaluated, and associations with cognitive abilities and self-report measures of listening effort are described. Then, several procedural issues associated with the use of dual-task experiment paradigms are discussed. Finally, some issues that warrant future research are addressed. The review revealed large variability in the dual-task experimental paradigms that have been used to measure the listening effort expended during speech understanding. The differences in experimental procedures used across studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions concerning the optimal choice of dual-task paradigm or the sensitivity of specific paradigms to different types of experimental manipulations. In general, the analysis confirmed that dual-task paradigms have been used successfully to measure differences in effort under different experimental conditions, in both younger and older adults. Several research questions that warrant further investigation in order to better understand and characterize the intricacies of dual-task paradigms were identified.

Using Task-based Materials in Teaching Writing for EFL Classes in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna Sundari

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Task-based language teaching has been widely used for language classroom. Using tasks as main activities, task-based materials was developed particularly for writing class. This article is intended to present the study of effectiveness of task-based materials in improving writing class for university. To accommodate the research purposes, mixed method approach was carried out by using quasi experimental research and content analysis of sentence complexity. The respondents were 210 students from writing classes as experiment and control with writing test as instrument. The results of data analysis showed that there were significant differences of writing skill to those who taught using developed task-based materials. Despite the fact that the score did not significantly differ on the aspect of writing mechanics, a developed task-based material has been proved to improve students’ writing skill in the aspect of format, content, organization and grammar. Moreover, the levels of lexical complexity and accuracy from the students whose materials use task-based design are higher than those who do not use it. Then, it can be drawn a conclusion that the use of developed task-based materials brings significant effects toward writing performance.

Relationship between Usefulness Assessments and Perceptions of Work Task Complexity and Search Topic Specificity: An Exploratory Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingwersen, Peter; Wang, Peiling

2012-01-01

This research investigates the relations between the usefulness assessments of retrieved documents and the perceptions of task complexity and search topic specificity. Twenty-three academic researchers submitted 65 real task-based information search topics. These task topics were searched...... in an integrated document collection consisting of full text research articles in PDFs, abstracts, and bibliographic records (the iSearch Test Collection in Physics). The search results were provided to the researchers who, as task performers, made assessments of usefulness using a four-point sale (highly, fairly......, marginally, or not useful). In addition, they also assessed the perceived task complexity (highly, fairly, and routine/low) and the perceived specificity of the search topic (highly, fairly, and generic/low). It is found that highly specific topics associate with all degrees of task complexity, whereas...

Task-Based Listening Assessment and the Influence of Construct-Irrelevant Variance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arshya Keyvanfar

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Task-based listening tests such as IELTS require testees to listen to some information on a CD and simultaneously answer the related items. To answer such items, testees are expected to comprehend, analyze, compare and infer pieces of information while listening to the incoming audio material. The present research attempted to investigate whether the two major characteristics of question type and consecutive/simultaneous performance have any impact on the listening performance of Iranian EFL learners. Findings indicated that participants had a significantly better performance when they tackled the tasks consecutively, and performed even better in listening MC items rather than in listening task-based items. The researchers, thus, concluded that task-based listening tests such as IELTS listening module may be under the influence of construct-irrelevant variance.

Dynamics of the central bottleneck: dual-task and task uncertainty.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariano Sigman

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Why is the human brain fundamentally limited when attempting to execute two tasks at the same time or in close succession? Two classical paradigms, psychological refractory period (PRP and task switching, have independently approached this issue, making significant advances in our understanding of the architecture of cognition. Yet, there is an apparent contradiction between the conclusions derived from these two paradigms. The PRP paradigm, on the one hand, suggests that the simultaneous execution of two tasks is limited solely by a passive structural bottleneck in which the tasks are executed on a first-come, first-served basis. The task-switching paradigm, on the other hand, argues that switching back and forth between task configurations must be actively controlled by a central executive system (the system controlling voluntary, planned, and flexible action. Here we have explicitly designed an experiment mixing the essential ingredients of both paradigms: task uncertainty and task simultaneity. In addition to a central bottleneck, we obtain evidence for active processes of task setting (planning of the appropriate sequence of actions and task disengaging (suppression of the plan set for the first task in order to proceed with the next one. Our results clarify the chronometric relations between these central components of dual-task processing, and in particular whether they operate serially or in parallel. On this basis, we propose a hierarchical model of cognitive architecture that provides a synthesis of task-switching and PRP paradigms.

United States Strategic Military Access in Northeast Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-12-01

port in Mombasa, Kenya and Nairobi. 45 LIBYA EGYPT RED L NASSEC SIA Port Sucan Suak~in Bert~erS Albara Omdurma FiqWrd 3. Sudan Ed~uei G enein El~t d...dependability or reli- ability of access agreements with these four states, and how relaible the current recimes are from Washington’s perspective

Mind Wandering in Text Comprehension under Dual-Task Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter eDixon

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In two experiments, subjects responded to on-task probes while reading under dual-task conditions. The secondary task was to monitor the text for occurrences of the letter e. In Experiment 1, reading comprehension was assessed with a multiple-choice recognition test; in Experiment 2, subjects recalled the text. In both experiments, the secondary task replicated the well-known missing-letter effect in which detection of e’s was less effective for the word the. Letter detection was also more effective when subjects were on task, but this effect did not interact with the missing-letter effect. Comprehension was assessed in both the dual-task conditions and in a control single-task conditions. In the single-task conditions, both recognition (Experiment 1 and recall (Experiment 2 was better when subjects were on task, replicating previous research on mind wandering. Surprisingly, though, comprehension under dual-task conditions only showed an effect of being on task when measured with recall; there was no effect on recognition performance. Our interpretation of this pattern of results is that subjects generate their response to on-task probes on the basis of a retrospective assessment of the contents of working memory. Further, we argue that under dual-task conditions, the contents of working memory is not related to the reading processes required for accurate recognition performance. These conclusions have implications for models of text comprehension and for the interpretation of on-task probe responses.

Aligning Mathematical Tasks to the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice

OpenAIRE

Johnson, Raymond

2016-01-01

How do algebra teachers align mathematical tasks to the CCSSM Standards of Mathematical Practice? Using methods of design-based implementation research, we identified difficulties of alignment to practices and developed strategies identifying high-quality tasks.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina eGathmann

2015-02-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

Task Analysis Assessment on Intrastate Bus Traffic Controllers

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-11-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Weingart, Laurie R

2003-08-01

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

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naglaa M. Reda

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan.

Human factors interventions to reduce human errors and improve productivity in maintenance tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isoda, Hachiro; Yasutake, J.Y.

1992-01-01

This paper describes work in progress to develop interventions to reduce human errors and increase maintenance productivity in nuclear power plants. The effort is part of a two-phased Human Factors research program being conducted jointly by the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) in Japan and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the United States. The overall objective of this joint research program is to identify critical maintenance tasks and to develop, implement and evaluate interventions which have high potential for reducing human errors or increasing maintenance productivity. As a result of the Phase 1 effort, ten critical maintenance tasks were identified. For these tasks, over 25 candidate interventions were identified for potential development. After careful analysis, seven interventions were selected for development during Phase 2. This paper describes the methodology used to analyze and identify the most critical tasks, the process of identifying and developing selected interventions and some of the initial results. (author)

Exploring Primary Student’s Problem-Solving Ability by Doing Tasks Like PISA's Question

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Novita

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Problem solving plays an important role in mathematics and should have a prominent role in the mathematics education. The term “problem solving” refers to mathematics tasks that have the potential to provide intellectual challenges for enhancing students’ mathematical understanding and development. In addition, the contextual problem that requires students to connect their mathematical knowledge in solving mathematical situational problem is believed to be an impact on the development students’ problem-solving ability. The tasks that have been developed by PISA meet both of these criteria. As stated by the NCTM, that problem-solving skill and ability should be developed to students when they were in primary school (K5-8, therefore, it is important to do an effort to guide students in developing problem-solving ability from primary school such as accustom students to do some mathematical solving-problem tasks. Thus, in this research we tried to investigate how to develop mathematical problem-solving tasks like PISA’s question that have potential effect toward students’ mathematical problem-solving abilities?. We used a  formative evaluation type of development research as an mean  to achieve this research goal. This type of research is conducted in two steps, namely preliminary stage and formative evaluation stage covering self evaluation, prototyping (expert reviews, one-to-one, and small group, and  field test. This research involve four primary schools in Palembang, there are SD Muhammadiyah 6 Palembang, MIN 1 & MIN 2 Palembang, and SDN 179 Palembang. The result of this research showed that the mathematical problem-solving tasks  that have been developed have potential effect in exploring mathematical problem-solving ability of the primary school students. It  is shown from their work in solving problem where all of the indicators of problem solving competency have emerged quite well category. In addition, based on interview

An Exploratory Study into Perceived Task Complexity, Topic Specificity and Usefulness for Integrated Search

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingwersen, Peter; Lioma, Christina; Larsen, Birger

2012-01-01

We investigate the relations between user perceptions of work task complexity, topic specificity, and usefulness of retrieved results. 23 academic researchers submitted detailed descriptions of 65 real-life work tasks in the physics domain, and assessed documents retrieved from an integrated...... collection consisting of full text research articles in PDF, abstracts, and bibliographic records [6]. Bibliographic records were found to be more precise than full text PDFs, regardless of task complexity and topic specificity. PDFs were found to be more useful. Overall, for higher task complexity and topic...

Resolving task rule incongruence during task switching by competitor rule suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Meiran, Nachshon; Hsieh, Shulan; Dimov, Eduard

2010-07-01

Task switching requires maintaining readiness to execute any task of a given set of tasks. However, when tasks switch, the readiness to execute the now-irrelevant task generates interference, as seen in the task rule incongruence effect. Overcoming such interference requires fine-tuned inhibition that impairs task readiness only minimally. In an experiment involving 2 object classification tasks and 2 location classification tasks, the authors show that irrelevant task rules that generate response conflicts are inhibited. This competitor rule suppression (CRS) is seen in response slowing in subsequent trials, when the competing rules become relevant. CRS is shown to operate on specific rules without affecting similar rules. CRS and backward inhibition, which is another inhibitory phenomenon, produced additive effects on reaction time, suggesting their mutual independence. Implications for current formal theories of task switching as well as for conflict monitoring theories are discussed. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Conference-EC-US Task Force Joint US-EU Workshop on Metabolomics and Environmental Biotechnology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

PI: Lily Y. Young

2009-06-04

Since 1990, the EC-US Task Force on Biotechnology Research has been coordinating transatlantic efforts to guide and exploit the ongoing revolution in biotechnology and the life sciences. The Task Force was established in June 1990 by the European Commission and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Task Force has acted as an effective forum for discussion, coordination, and development of new ideas for the last 18 years. Task Force members are European Commission and US Government science and technology administrators who meet annually to enhance communication across the Atlantic, and to encourage collaborative research. Through sponsoring workshops, and other activities, the Task Force also brings together scientific leaders and early career researchers from both sides of the Atlantic to forecast research challenges and opportunities and to promote better links between researchers. Over the years, by keeping a focus on the future of science, the Task Force has played a key role in establishing a diverse range of emerging scientific fields, including biodiversity research, neuroinformatics, genomics, nanobiotechnology, neonatal immunology, transkingdom molecular biology, biologically-based fuels, and environmental biotechnology. The EC-US Task Force has sponsored a number of Working Groups on topics of mutual transatlantic interest. The idea to create a Working Group on Environmental Biotechnology research was discussed in the Task Force meeting of October 1993. The EC-US Working Group on Environmental Biotechnology set as its mission 'To train the next generation of leaders in environmental biotechnology in the United States and the European Union to work collaboratively across the Atlantic.' Since 1995, the Working Group supported three kinds of activities, all of which focus one early career scientists: (1) Workshops on the use of molecular methods and genomics in environmental biotechnology; (2) Short courses with theoretical

Autonomous Task Primitives for Complex Manipulation Operations

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this research effort is to enable robots to autonomously perform the complex manipulation tasks that are necessary to maintain a spacecraft. Robots, like...

Developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing in task-switching situations: the impact of task practice and task-sequencing demands

Science.gov (United States)

Kray, Jutta; Gaspard, Hanna; Karbach, Julia; Blaye, Agnès

2013-01-01

In this study we examined whether developmental changes in using verbal self-cueing for task-goal maintenance are dependent on the amount of task practice and task-sequencing demands. To measure task-goal maintenance we applied a switching paradigm in which children either performed only task A or B in single-task blocks or switched between them on every second trial in mixed-task blocks. Task-goal maintenance was determined by comparing the performance between both blocks (mixing costs). The influence of verbal self-cueing was measured by instructing children to either name the next task aloud or not to verbalize during task preparation. Task-sequencing demands were varied between groups whereas one group received spatial task cues to support keeping track of the task sequence, while the other group did not. We also varied by the amount of prior practice in task switching while one group of participants practiced task switching first, before performing the task naming in addition, and the other group did it vice versa. Results of our study investigating younger (8–10 years) and older children (11–13 years) revealed no age differences in beneficial effects of verbal self-cueing. In line with previous findings, children showed reduced mixing costs under task-naming instructions and under conditions of low task-sequence demands (with the presence of spatial task cues). Our results also indicated that these benefits were only obtained for those groups of children that first received practice in task switching alone with no additional verbalization instruction. These findings suggest that internal task-cueing strategies can be efficiently used in children but only if they received prior practice in the underlying task so that demands on keeping and coordinating various instructions are reduced. Moreover, children benefitted from spatial task cues for better task-goal maintenance only if no verbal task-cueing strategy was introduced first. PMID:24381566

Fostering a student's skill for analyzing test items through an authentic task

Science.gov (United States)

Setiawan, Beni; Sabtiawan, Wahyu Budi

2017-08-01

Analyzing test items is a skill that must be mastered by prospective teachers, in order to determine the quality of test questions which have been written. The main aim of this research was to describe the effectiveness of authentic task to foster the student's skill for analyzing test items involving validity, reliability, item discrimination index, level of difficulty, and distractor functioning through the authentic task. The participant of the research is students of science education study program, science and mathematics faculty, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, enrolled for assessment course. The research design was a one-group posttest design. The treatment in this study is that the students were provided an authentic task facilitating the students to develop test items, then they analyze the items like a professional assessor using Microsoft Excel and Anates Software. The data of research obtained were analyzed descriptively, such as the analysis was presented by displaying the data of students' skill, then they were associated with theories or previous empirical studies. The research showed the task facilitated the students to have the skills. Thirty-one students got a perfect score for the analyzing, five students achieved 97% mastery, two students had 92% mastery, and another two students got 89% and 79% of mastery. The implication of the finding was the students who get authentic tasks forcing them to perform like a professional, the possibility of the students for achieving the professional skills will be higher at the end of learning.

Improving our understanding of multi-tasking in healthcare: Drawing together the cognitive psychology and healthcare literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Heather E; Raban, Magdalena Z; Walter, Scott R; Westbrook, Johanna I

2017-03-01

Multi-tasking is an important skill for clinical work which has received limited research attention. Its impacts on clinical work are poorly understood. In contrast, there is substantial multi-tasking research in cognitive psychology, driver distraction, and human-computer interaction. This review synthesises evidence of the extent and impacts of multi-tasking on efficiency and task performance from health and non-healthcare literature, to compare and contrast approaches, identify implications for clinical work, and to develop an evidence-informed framework for guiding the measurement of multi-tasking in future healthcare studies. The results showed healthcare studies using direct observation have focused on descriptive studies to quantify concurrent multi-tasking and its frequency in different contexts, with limited study of impact. In comparison, non-healthcare studies have applied predominantly experimental and simulation designs, focusing on interleaved and concurrent multi-tasking, and testing theories of the mechanisms by which multi-tasking impacts task efficiency and performance. We propose a framework to guide the measurement of multi-tasking in clinical settings that draws together lessons from these siloed research efforts. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Common data elements for preclinical epilepsy research: Standards for data collection and reporting. A TASK3 report of the AES/ILAE Translational Task Force of the ILAE.

Science.gov (United States)

Harte-Hargrove, Lauren C; French, Jacqueline A; Pitkänen, Asla; Galanopoulou, Aristea S; Whittemore, Vicky; Scharfman, Helen E

2017-11-01

The major objective of preclinical translational epilepsy research is to advance laboratory findings toward clinical application by testing potential treatments in animal models of seizures and epilepsy. Recently there has been a focus on the failure of preclinical discoveries to translate reliably, or even to be reproduced in different laboratories. One potential cause is a lack of standardization in preclinical data collection. The resulting difficulties in comparing data across studies have led to high cost and missed opportunity, which in turn impede clinical trials and advances in medical care. Preclinical epilepsy research has successfully brought numerous antiseizure treatments into the clinical practice, yet the unmet clinical needs have prompted the reconsideration of research strategies to optimize epilepsy therapy development. In the field of clinical epilepsy there have been successful steps to improve such problems, such as generation of common data elements (CDEs) and case report forms (CRFs and standards of data collection and reporting) by a team of leaders in the field. Therefore, the Translational Task Force was appointed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the American Epilepsy Society (AES), in partnership with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to define CDEs for animal epilepsy research studies and prepare guidelines for data collection and experimental procedures. If adopted, the preclinical CDEs could facilitate collaborative epilepsy research, comparisons of data across different laboratories, and promote rigor, transparency, and impact, particularly in therapy development. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International League Against Epilepsy.

Similar Task Features Shape Judgment and Categorization Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Janina A.; von Helversen, Bettina; Rieskamp, Jörg

2016-01-01

The distinction between similarity-based and rule-based strategies has instigated a large body of research in categorization and judgment. Within both domains, the task characteristics guiding strategy shifts are increasingly well documented. Across domains, past research has observed shifts from rule-based strategies in judgment to…

Student Off-Task Electronic Multitasking Predictors: Scale Development and Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Yuxia; Li, Li

2017-01-01

In an attempt to better understand factors contributing to students' off-task electronic multitasking behavior in class, the research included two studies that developed a scale of students' off-task electronic multitasking predictors (the SOTEMP scale), and explored relationships between the scale and various classroom communication processes and…

Task driven optimal leg trajectories in insect-scale legged microrobots

Science.gov (United States)

Doshi, Neel; Goldberg, Benjamin; Jayaram, Kaushik; Wood, Robert

Origami inspired layered manufacturing techniques and 3D-printing have enabled the development of highly articulated legged robots at the insect-scale, including the 1.43g Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR). Research on these platforms has expanded its focus from manufacturing aspects to include design optimization and control for application-driven tasks. Consequently, the choice of gait selection, body morphology, leg trajectory, foot design, etc. have become areas of active research. HAMR has two controlled degrees-of-freedom per leg, making it an ideal candidate for exploring leg trajectory. We will discuss our work towards optimizing HAMR's leg trajectories for two different tasks: climbing using electroadhesives and level ground running (5-10 BL/s). These tasks demonstrate the ability of single platform to adapt to vastly different locomotive scenarios: quasi-static climbing with controlled ground contact, and dynamic running with un-controlled ground contact. We will utilize trajectory optimization methods informed by existing models and experimental studies to determine leg trajectories for each task. We also plan to discuss how task specifications and choice of objective function have contributed to the shape of these optimal leg trajectories.

Generalizability of carry-over effects in the emotional Stroop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Andrew J; Sayette, Michael A; Franken, Ingmar H A; Schwartz, Joseph E

2005-06-01

The emotional Stroop task has been the most widely used task to examine attentional bias to emotionally salient stimuli. In one format of this task, words are presented to participants in a mixed randomized or quasi-randomized sequence. Using a mixed smoking Stroop task, we have previously demonstrated that smokers are slower to respond to words which follow smoking-related words than words which follow neutral words. Here we show that this carry-over effect is present in heroin addicts-but not control subjects-in a heroin Stroop task, and in normal subjects in a stress Stroop task. Thus, the effect generalizes to other populations. In addition, an examination of the studies that have collected data from both mixed and blocked formats provides converging evidence for the presence of carry-over effects. We discuss the implications of the carry-over effect for research using the emotional Stroop task.

Research on Scheduling Algorithm for Multi-satellite and Point Target Task on Swinging Mode

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, M.; Dai, G.; Peng, L.; Song, Z.; Chen, G.

2012-12-01

Nowadays, using satellite in space to observe ground is an important and major method to obtain ground information. With the development of the scientific technology in the field of space, many fields such as military and economic and other areas have more and more requirement of space technology because of the benefits of the satellite's widespread, timeliness and unlimited of area and country. And at the same time, because of the wide use of all kinds of satellites, sensors, repeater satellites and ground receiving stations, ground control system are now facing great challenge. Therefore, how to make the best value of satellite resources so as to make full use of them becomes an important problem of ground control system. Satellite scheduling is to distribute the resource to all tasks without conflict to obtain the scheduling result so as to complete as many tasks as possible to meet user's requirement under considering the condition of the requirement of satellites, sensors and ground receiving stations. Considering the size of the task, we can divide tasks into point task and area task. This paper only considers point targets. In this paper, a description of satellite scheduling problem and a chief introduction of the theory of satellite scheduling are firstly made. We also analyze the restriction of resource and task in scheduling satellites. The input and output flow of scheduling process are also chiefly described in the paper. On the basis of these analyses, we put forward a scheduling model named as multi-variable optimization model for multi-satellite and point target task on swinging mode. In the multi-variable optimization model, the scheduling problem is transformed the parametric optimization problem. The parameter we wish to optimize is the swinging angle of every time-window. In the view of the efficiency and accuracy, some important problems relating the satellite scheduling such as the angle relation between satellites and ground targets, positive

New social tasks for cognitive psychology; or, new cognitive tasks for social psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wettersten, John

2014-01-01

To elucidate how differing theories of rationality lead to differing practices, their social rules must be analyzed. This is true not merely in science but also in society at large. This analysis of social thinking requires both the identification of innate cognitive social psychological processes and explanations of their relations with differing rules of rational practice. These new tasks can enable social psychologists to contribute to the study of how social situations facilitate or inhibit rational practice and enable cognitive psychologists to improve social psychological theory. In contrast to dominant current research strategies, social and cognitive psychologists can integrate social studies of rational practices and their consequences with studies of underlying cognitive psychological processes. In this article I do not attempt to carry out these tasks but rather point to both their lack of recognition and their importance.

Task based design of a digital work environment (DWE for an academic community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narayanan Meyyappan

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Task based design is considered one of the effective ways of designing functional software. It is generally accepted that tasks play an important role in system and user interface design. Identifying the user's tasks enables the designer to construct user interfaces reflecting the tasks' properties, including efficient usage patterns, easy-to-use interaction sequences, and powerful assistance features. In this paper, we present a prototype of a Digital Work Environment (DWE to support a task-oriented design to information access in a typical community of academic users. The resources in DWE are organized according to specific tasks performed by the research students and staff in the Division of Information Studies of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The tasks and resources were elicited based on the needs of faculty and students through interviews and focus groups. Examples of these tasks include preparation of a new course outline, setting of examination papers, preparation of reading lists and assignments, conducting literature reviews and writing dissertations. This paper discusses the problems of digital library users in an academic environment, highlights task oriented projects and focuses on the task of preparing and writing a Master dissertation. It highlights the importance of task based design in assisting and helping students and instructors from the time of selecting the research project to the time of submitting the final bound copies of the dissertation.

Task switching costs in preschool children and adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Anna; Kirkham, Natasha Z; Mareschal, Denis

2018-08-01

Past research investigating cognitive flexibility has shown that preschool children make many perseverative errors in tasks that require switching between different sets of rules. However, this inflexibility might not necessarily hold with easier tasks. The current study investigated the developmental differences in cognitive flexibility using a task-switching procedure that compared reaction times and accuracy in 4- and 6-year-olds with those in adults. The experiment involved simple target detection tasks and was intentionally designed in a way that the stimulus and response conflicts were minimal together with a long preparation window. Global mixing costs (performance costs when multiple tasks are relevant in a context), and local switch costs (performance costs due to switching to an alternative task) are typically thought to engage endogenous control processes. If this is the case, we should observe developmental differences with both of these costs. Our results show, however, that when the accuracy was good, there were no age differences in cognitive flexibility (i.e., the ability to manage multiple tasks and to switch between tasks) between children and adults. Even though preschool children had slower reaction times and were less accurate, the mixing and switch costs associated with task switching were not reliably larger for preschool children. Preschool children did, however, show more commission errors and greater response repetition effects than adults, which may reflect differences in inhibitory control. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Principles for designing mathematical tasks that enhance imitative and creative reasoning

OpenAIRE

Lithner, Johan

2017-01-01

The design research programme Learning by Imitative and Creative Reasoning (LICR) studies whether, how and why tasks and teaching that enhance creative reasoning lead to a more productive struggle and more efficient learning than the common but inefficient task designs based on imitating given solution procedures. The purpose of this paper is to synthesise the research outcomes determined to date by providing the following: a conceptual framework for key concepts and relationships among teach...

Measuring pilot workload in a motion base simulator. III - Synchronous secondary task

Science.gov (United States)

Kantowitz, Barry H.; Bortolussi, Michael R.; Hart, Sandra G.

1987-01-01

This experiment continues earlier research of Kantowitz et al. (1983) conducted in a GAT-1 motion-base trainer to evaluate choice-reaction secondary tasks as measures of pilot work load. The earlier work used an asynchronous secondary task presented every 22 sec regardless of flying performance. The present experiment uses a synchronous task presented only when a critical event occurred on the flying task. Both two- and four-choice visual secondary tasks were investigated. Analysis of primary flying-task results showed no decrement in error for altitude, indicating that the key assumption necessary for using a choice secondary task was satisfied. Reaction times showed significant differences between 'easy' and 'hard' flight scenarios as well as the ability to discriminate among flight tasks.

Taking Teacher Education to Task: Exploring the Role of Faculty Education in Promoting Values and Moral Education of Task-Based Language Teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Gabriel C. Delariarte

2014-02-01

Full Text Available - This study aimed to determine the taking teacher education to task: exploring the role of teacher education in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching in the college of education of West Visayas State University Calinog-Campus for the school year 2012-2013. Descriptive research method was utilized in the study. The findings revealed that the respondents perceived highly observable Teachers’ role in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching; the entire group of respondents has perceived highly observable Teachers’ role in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching; both male and female respondent have perceived a highly observable Teachers’ role in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching; all age brackets have perceived a highly observable Teachers’ role in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching except 19 to 20 brackets that perceived very highly observable Teachers’ role in promoting values and moral education of taskbased language teaching. Finally, there is no significant difference in the perceived teacher’s role in promoting values and moral education of task-based language teaching when classified as to sex and age.

Research into Practice: The Task-Based Approach to Instructed Second Language Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

East, Martin

2017-01-01

This article discusses the phenomenon of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in instructed additional language settings. It begins from the premise that, despite considerable theoretical and empirical support, TBLT remains a contested endeavour. Critics of TBLT argue that, particularly with regard to time-limited foreign language instructional…

Game elements improve performance in a working memory training task

OpenAIRE

Manuel Ninaus; Gonçalo Pereira; René Stefitz; Rui Prada; Ana Paiva; Christa Neuper; Guilherme Wood

2015-01-01

The utilization of game elements in a non-game context is currently used in a vast range of different domains. However, research on game elements’ effects in cognitive tasks is still sparse. Thus, in this study we implemented three game elements, namely, progress bar, level indicator, and a thematic setting, in a working memory training task. We evaluated the impact of game elements on user performance and perceived state of flow when compared to a conventional version of the task. Participan...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2009-10-01

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

Computer-mediated communication: task performance and satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Andrew F

2006-06-01

The author assessed satisfaction and performance on 3 tasks (idea generation, intellective, judgment) among 75 dyads (N = 150) working through 1 of 3 modes of communication (instant messaging, videoconferencing, face to face). The author based predictions on the Media Naturalness Theory (N. Kock, 2001, 2002) and on findings from past researchers (e.g., D. M. DeRosa, C. Smith, & D. A. Hantula, in press) of the interaction between tasks and media. The present author did not identify task performance differences, although satisfaction with the medium was lower among those dyads communicating through an instant-messaging system than among those interacting face to face or through videoconferencing. The findings support the Media Naturalness Theory. The author discussed them in relation to the participants' frequent use of instant messaging and their familiarity with new communication media.

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG)

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG) 36 refs.

Distinguishing Reconfiguration and Compound-cue Retrieval in Task Switching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon D Logan

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Many researchers claim that task switching requires reconfiguration of the cognitive system. Others claim that task switching involves cue-based memory retrieval processes and not reconfiguration. We evaluate these competing claims by developing both reconfiguration and cue-based memory models in a common theoretical framework and by fitting the models to' target functions', which show how performance on individual target stimuli varies depending on the task subjects perform on the targets. Our analyses show that the process of compound-cue retrieval – using the task cue and the target as joint retrieval cues to select a response from memory – is sufficient to explain target functions for parity and magnitude judgments of digits and that reconfiguration does not seem to add anything to the explanation. We address the generality of this conclusion and speculate about the conditions under which reconfiguration may be necessary for task switching.

Language Tasks Using Touch Screen and Mobile Technologies: Reconceptualizing Task-Based CALL for Young Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Pellerin, Martine

2014-01-01

This article examines how the use of mobile technologies (iPods and tablets) in language classrooms contributes to redesigning task-based approaches for young language learners. The article is based on a collaborative action research (CAR) project in Early French Immersion classrooms in the province of Alberta, Canada. The data collection included…

Cognitive task analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schraagen, J.M.C.

2000-01-01

Cognitive task analysis is defined as the extension of traditional task analysis techniques to yield information about the knowledge, thought processes and goal structures that underlie observable task performance. Cognitive task analyses are conducted for a wide variety of purposes, including the

A Virtual Reality Task Based on Animal Research - Spatial Learning and Memory in Patients after the First Episode of Schizophrenia

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Iveta eFajnerova

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: Cognitive deficit is considered to be a characteristic feature of schizophrenia disorder. A similar cognitive dysfunction was demonstrated in animal models of schizophrenia. However, the poor comparability of methods used to assess cognition in animals and humans could be responsible for low predictive validity of current animal models. In order to assess spatial abilities in schizophrenia and compare our results with the data obtained in animal models we designed a virtual analogue of the Morris water maze (MWM, the virtual Four Goals Navigation (vFGN task.Method: Twenty-nine patients after the first psychotic episode with schizophrenia symptoms and a matched group of healthy volunteers performed the vFGN task. They were required to find and remember four hidden goal positions in an enclosed virtual arena. The task consisted of two parts. The Reference memory (RM session with a stable goal position was designed to test spatial learning. The Delayed-matching-to-place (DMP session presented a modified working memory protocol designed to test the ability to remember a sequence of three hidden goal positions.Results: Data obtained in the RM session show impaired spatial learning in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls in pointing and navigation accuracy. The DMP session showed impaired spatial memory in schizophrenia during the recall of spatial sequence and similar deficit in spatial bias in probe trials. The pointing accuracy and the quadrant preference showed higher sensitivity toward the cognitive deficit than the navigation accuracy. Direct navigation to the goal was affected by sex and age of the tested subjects. Age affected spatial performance only in healthy controls. Conclusions: Despite some limitations of the study, our results correspond well to previous studies in animal models of schizophrenia and support the decline of spatial cognition in schizophrenia, indicating the usefulness of the vFGN task in

Task 4.2.2: Task report prepared for the second CRP meeting 5-8 October 1993, Budapest, Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Yushi

1993-01-01

This is a preliminary report on Task 4.2.2. of IAEA Coordinated Research Program on Operator Support Systems in Nuclear Power Plants. The purposes of Task 4.2.2 are defined as follows: evaluate functions assigned to operators, maintenance personnel, or plant management staff; identify where operator support systems (OSS) can support those functions in a productive way. In this report, discussion is made of (i) a framework for evaluating functions assigned to operators, maintenance personnel, or plant management staff, and (ii) where OSS can be most beneficial to support these functions. In addition, recommendations for future efforts are made

Task-based language teaching: how it is implemented effectively?

Science.gov (United States)

Somawati, N. P.; Wahyu Astuti, N. W.; Kanca, I. N.; Widanta, I. M. R. J.; Ardika, I. W. D.

2018-01-01

There have been a number of ideas on how task-based language teaching (TBLT) is applied in English instruction. This research attempted to investigate how the task-based language teaching (TBLT) should appropriately be implemented in vocational college. A group of twenty eight students majoring in tourism were involved as research participant. Prior to treatment, they were given pre-test (Tl) to see their basic level. The test, assessment rubric, learning materials, and learning syntax were developed and validated by an expert judge prior to their use. The treatment using task-based learning materials and learning syntax stages of “leading in - enriching - activating - naturalizing” (LEAN) was undertaken for three times. The post test (T2) was then given two days upon treatment to avoid their being able to answer the test because they just still remember of the materials during the learning. The analysis result of T1 and T2 using paired sample t-test showed that there was significant difference between means of T1 (M=6.14) and T2 (M=15.46), indicated by t (27) = -54.51, p development is recommended to use other English for specific purposes’ materials and different research participant.

Research Award: Advisory Committee on Research Ethics Deadline ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Jean-Claude Dumais

2012-09-12

Sep 12, 2012 ... Research Award: Advisory Committee on Research Ethics. Deadline: ... The Research Awardee will spend one year at IDRC and work approximately 50% of the time on her/his own research and 50% on ACRE-related tasks.

A Spatial Queuing-Based Algorithm for Multi-Robot Task Allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Lenagh

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Multi-robot task allocation (MRTA is an important area of research in autonomous multi-robot systems. The main problem in MRTA is to allocate a set of tasks to a set of robots so that the tasks can be completed by the robots while ensuring that a certain metric, such as the time required to complete all tasks, or the distance traveled, or the energy expended by the robots is reduced. We consider a scenario where tasks can appear dynamically and a task needs to be performed by multiple robots to be completed. We propose a new algorithm called SQ-MRTA (Spatial Queueing-MRTA that uses a spatial queue-based model to allocate tasks between robots in a distributed manner. We have implemented the SQ-MRTA algorithm on accurately simulated models of Corobot robots within the Webots simulator for different numbers of robots and tasks and compared its performance with other state-of-the-art MRTA algorithms. Our results show that the SQ-MRTA algorithm is able to scale up with the number of tasks and robots in the environment, and it either outperforms or performs comparably with respect to other distributed MRTA algorithms.

Children's Task Engagement during Challenging Puzzle Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force, December 1990--February 1991; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, April--June 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiedemann, H.A. (ed.) (USDOE Bartlesville Project Office, OK (USA))

1991-03-01

The Oil Implementation Task Force was appointed to implement the US DOE's new oil research program directed toward increasing domestic oil production by expanded research on near- or mid-term enhanced oil recovery methods. An added priority is to preserve access to reservoirs that have the largest potential for oil recovery, but that are threatened by the large number of wells abandoned each year. This report describes the progress of research activities in the following areas: chemical flooding; gas displacement; thermal recovery; resource assessment; microbial technology; geoscience technology; and environmental technology. (CK)

The Multi-Attribute Task Battery II (MATB-II) Software for Human Performance and Workload Research: A User's Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago-Espada, Yamira; Myer, Robert R.; Latorella, Kara A.; Comstock, James R., Jr.

2011-01-01

The Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MAT Battery). is a computer-based task designed to evaluate operator performance and workload, has been redeveloped to operate in Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.MATB-II includes essentially the same tasks as the original MAT Battery, plus new configuration options including a graphical user interface for controlling modes of operation. MATB-II can be executed either in training or testing mode, as defined by the MATB-II configuration file. The configuration file also allows set up of the default timeouts for the tasks, the flow rates of the pumps and tank levels of the Resource Management (RESMAN) task. MATB-II comes with a default event file that an experimenter can modify and adapt

The Emergence of Individual and Collective Leadership in Task Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paunova, Minna

2015-01-01

leader emergence in task groups as influenced by individual traits, states, and behaviors. However, current approaches to leadership in groups rely on functional achievement explanations of how collective leadership emerges, influenced by positive states and behaviors. Attention to ascription......This review synthesizes conceptual and empirical research on the emergence of individual and collective leadership in task groups, and proposes avenues for leadership research. To advance multilevel study of leadership emergence, including emergence of distributed and shared leadership, the paper...... reviews research on individual leader emergence, structured around two identified theoretical mechanisms—one of leadership achievement (i.e., based on functional behaviors) and another of leadership ascription (i.e., based on nominal characteristics). These approaches compete to elucidate individual...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVITY IN PRESCHOOLERS’ DRAWINGS THROUGH TASK-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai-Bogdan Iovu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to plan working task for preschool children in order to deliver original and creative outputs. The theoretical background of the paper is set in defining creativity as the capacity to create something new, original, and adequate to reality (Roco, 2004; Jaoui, 1975; Roşca, 1981; Boden, 1992. The research hypothesis states that if preschoolers are asked to comply with some predefined working rules in drawing they will deliver original outputs. The independent variable is the working task and the dependent variable is the output. The empirical research involved children enrolled in preparatory group from Floreşti Kindergarten (Cluj. The learning content involved elements from Math, Biology, and Decorative Art: circle, square, triangle, leaves, flowers. Children were involved 13 comparative experimental contexts. Therefore, their progress for each output was monitored. Preschoolers delivered original drawings, different from their peers’ but similar in using the same decorative element. The research hypothesis confirmed. Results are to be judged with caution as future researches should use fewer tasks as the independent variable

Automatic intersection map generation task 10 report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-29

This report describes the work conducted in Task 10 of the V2I Safety Applications Development Project. The work was performed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) under contract to the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partn...

The Canadian minimum dataset for chronic low back pain research: a cross-cultural adaptation of the National Institutes of Health Task Force Research Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacasse, Anaïs; Roy, Jean-Sébastien; Parent, Alexandre J; Noushi, Nioushah; Odenigbo, Chúk; Pagé, Gabrielle; Beaudet, Nicolas; Choinière, Manon; Stone, Laura S; Ware, Mark A

2017-01-01

To better standardize clinical and epidemiological studies about the prevalence, risk factors, prognosis, impact and treatment of chronic low back pain, a minimum data set was developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain. The aim of the present study was to develop a culturally adapted questionnaire that could be used for chronic low back pain research among French-speaking populations in Canada. The adaptation of the French Canadian version of the minimum data set was achieved according to guidelines for the cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported measures (double forward-backward translation, expert committee, pretest among 35 patients with pain in the low back region). Minor cultural adaptations were also incorporated into the English version by the expert committee (e.g., items about race/ethnicity, education level). This cross-cultural adaptation provides an equivalent French-Canadian version of the minimal data set questionnaire and a culturally adapted English-Canadian version. Modifications made to the original NIH minimum data set were minimized to facilitate comparison between the Canadian and American versions. The present study is a first step toward the use of a culturally adapted instrument for phenotyping French- and English-speaking low back pain patients in Canada. Clinicians and researchers will recognize the importance of this standardized tool and are encouraged to incorporate it into future research studies on chronic low back pain.

Observational Measures of Parenting in Anxious and Nonanxious Mothers: Does Type of Task Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Ginsburg, Golda S.; Grover, Rachel L.; Cord, Jennalee J.; Ialongo, Nick

2012-01-01

This study examined the relation between type of parent–child interaction task and parenting behaviors among a predominantly African American community-based sample. Twenty-five anxious and matched nonanxious (N = 50) mothers were videotaped with their children (Mage = 5.8 years) engaging in both a structured and unstructured task. Blind raters coded 3 parent behaviors hypothesized to play a role in the development of child anxiety: overcontrol, anxious behavior, and criticism. Results indicated that higher levels of overcontrol, anxious behavior, and criticism were found in the structured compared to unstructured task. Levels of criticism, among anxious mothers only, were significantly correlated across tasks. Results suggest that situation specific aspects of parent–child interaction tasks may influence parenting behaviors. These findings help explain variations in observational research in the anxiety literature and highlight the need for careful selection ofparent–child tasks in future research. PMID:16597228

Product evaluation based in the association between intuition and tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida e Silva, Caio Márcio; Okimoto, Maria Lúcia L R; Albertazzi, Deise; Calixto, Cyntia; Costa, Humberto

2012-01-01

This paper explores the importance of researching the intuitiveness in the product use. It approaches the intuitiveness influence for users that already had a visual experience of the product. Finally, it is suggested the use of a table that relates the tasks performed while using a product, the features for an intuitive use and the performance metric "task success".

2.5-Year-Olds Succeed at a Verbal Anticipatory-Looking False-Belief Task

Science.gov (United States)

He, Zijing; Bolz, Matthias; Baillargeon, Renee

2012-01-01

Recent research suggests that infants and toddlers succeed at a wide range of non-elicited-response false-belief tasks (i.e., tasks that do not require children to answer a direct question about a mistaken agent's likely behaviour). However, one exception to this generalization comes from verbal anticipatory-looking tasks, which have produced…

Cockpit task management: A preliminary, normative theory

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Ken

1991-01-01

Cockpit task management (CTM) involves the initiation, monitoring, prioritizing, and allocation of resources to concurrent tasks as well as termination of multiple concurrent tasks. As aircrews have more tasks to attend to due to reduced crew sizes and the increased complexity of aircraft and the air transportation system, CTM will become a more critical factor in aviation safety. It is clear that many aviation accidents and incidents can be satisfactorily explained in terms of CTM errors, and it is likely that more accidents induced by poor CTM practice will occur in the future unless the issue is properly addressed. The first step in understanding and facilitating CTM behavior was the development of a preliminary, normative theory of CTM which identifies several important CTM functions. From this theory, some requirements for pilot-vehicle interfaces were developed which are believed to facilitate CTM. A prototype PVI was developed which improves CTM performance and currently, a research program is under way that is aimed at developing a better understanding of CTM and facilitating CTM performance through better equipment and procedures.

Blue or red? Exploring the effect of color on cognitive task performances.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Ravi; Zhu, Rui Juliet

2009-02-27

Existing research reports inconsistent findings with regard to the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Some research suggests that blue or green leads to better performances than red; other studies record the opposite. Current work reconciles this discrepancy. We demonstrate that red (versus blue) color induces primarily an avoidance (versus approach) motivation (study 1, n = 69) and that red enhances performance on a detail-oriented task, whereas blue enhances performance on a creative task (studies 2 and 3, n = 208 and 118). Further, we replicate these results in the domains of product design (study 4, n = 42) and persuasive message evaluation (study 5, n = 161) and show that these effects occur outside of individuals' consciousness (study 6, n = 68). We also provide process evidence suggesting that the activation of alternative motivations mediates the effect of color on cognitive task performances.

E-learning, dual-task, and cognitive load: The anatomy of a failed experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Nuland, Sonya E; Rogers, Kem A

2016-01-01

The rising popularity of commercial anatomy e-learning tools has been sustained, in part, due to increased annual enrollment and a reduction in laboratory hours across educational institutions. While e-learning tools continue to gain popularity, the research methodologies used to investigate their impact on learning remain imprecise. As new user interfaces are introduced, it is critical to understand how functionality can influence the load placed on a student's memory resources, also known as cognitive load. To study cognitive load, a dual-task paradigm wherein a learner performs two tasks simultaneously is often used, however, its application within educational research remains uncommon. Using previous paradigms as a guide, a dual-task methodology was developed to assess the cognitive load imposed by two commercial anatomical e-learning tools. Results indicate that the standard dual-task paradigm, as described in the literature, is insensitive to the cognitive load disparities across e-learning tool interfaces. Confounding variables included automation of responses, task performance tradeoff, and poor understanding of primary task cognitive load requirements, leading to unreliable quantitative results. By modifying the secondary task from a basic visual response to a more cognitively demanding task, such as a modified Stroop test, the automation of secondary task responses can be reduced. Furthermore, by recording baseline measures for the primary task as well as the secondary task, it is possible for task performance tradeoff to be detected. Lastly, it is imperative that the cognitive load of the primary task be designed such that it does not overwhelm the individual's ability to learn new material. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Learning and transfer of category knowledge in an indirect categorization task.

Science.gov (United States)

Helie, Sebastien; Ashby, F Gregory

2012-05-01

Knowledge representations acquired during category learning experiments are 'tuned' to the task goal. A useful paradigm to study category representations is indirect category learning. In the present article, we propose a new indirect categorization task called the "same"-"different" categorization task. The same-different categorization task is a regular same-different task, but the question asked to the participants is about the stimulus category membership instead of stimulus identity. Experiment 1 explores the possibility of indirectly learning rule-based and information-integration category structures using the new paradigm. The results suggest that there is little learning about the category structures resulting from an indirect categorization task unless the categories can be separated by a one-dimensional rule. Experiment 2 explores whether a category representation learned indirectly can be used in a direct classification task (and vice versa). The results suggest that previous categorical knowledge acquired during a direct classification task can be expressed in the same-different categorization task only when the categories can be separated by a rule that is easily verbalized. Implications of these results for categorization research are discussed.

Assessing executive functions in preschoolers using Shape School Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Nieto

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Over the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in the study of the development of executive functions in preschool children due to their relationship with different cognitive, psychological, social and academic domains. Early detection of individual differences in executive functioning can have major implications for basic and applied research. Consequently, there is a key need for assessment tools adapted to preschool skills: Shape School has been shown to be a suitable task for this purpose. Our study uses Shape School as the main task to analyze development of inhibition, task-switching and working memory in a sample of 304 preschoolers (age range 3.25-6.50 years. Additionally, we include cognitive tasks for the evaluation of verbal variables (vocabulary, word reasoning and short-term memory and performance variables (picture completion and symbol search, so as to analyze their relationship with executive functions. Our results show age-associated improvements in executive functions and the cognitive variables assessed. Furthermore, correlation analyses reveal positive relationships between executive functions and the other cognitive variables. More specifically, using structural equation modeling and including age direct and indirect effects, our results suggest that executive functions explain to a greater extent performance on verbal and performance tasks. These findings provide further information to support research that considers preschool age to be a crucial period for the development of executive functions and their relationship with other cognitive processes

Functional Activation during the Rapid Visual Information Processing Task in a Middle Aged Cohort: An fMRI Study

OpenAIRE

Neale, Chris; Johnston, Patrick; Hughes, Matthew; Scholey, Andrew

2015-01-01

The Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) task, a serial discrimination task where task performance believed to reflect sustained attention capabilities, is widely used in behavioural research and increasingly in neuroimaging studies. To date, functional neuroimaging research into the RVIP has been undertaken using block analyses, reflecting the sustained processing involved in the task, but not necessarily the transient processes associated with individual trial performance. Furthermore...

75 FR 24781 - Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-06

... economic and workforce-development efforts through a Task Force composed of senior-level Administration... officials on existing committees or task forces addressing technological development, research, or aerospace... Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) This...

Exploring methodological frameworks for a mental task-based near-infrared spectroscopy brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyand, Sabine; Takehara-Nishiuchi, Kaori; Chau, Tom

2015-10-30

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) enable users to interact with their environment using only cognitive activities. This paper presents the results of a comparison of four methodological frameworks used to select a pair of tasks to control a binary NIRS-BCI; specifically, three novel personalized task paradigms and the state-of-the-art prescribed task framework were explored. Three types of personalized task selection approaches were compared, including: user-selected mental tasks using weighted slope scores (WS-scores), user-selected mental tasks using pair-wise accuracy rankings (PWAR), and researcher-selected mental tasks using PWAR. These paradigms, along with the state-of-the-art prescribed mental task framework, where mental tasks are selected based on the most commonly used tasks in literature, were tested by ten able-bodied participants who took part in five NIRS-BCI sessions. The frameworks were compared in terms of their accuracy, perceived ease-of-use, computational time, user preference, and length of training. Most notably, researcher-selected personalized tasks resulted in significantly higher accuracies, while user-selected personalized tasks resulted in significantly higher perceived ease-of-use. It was also concluded that PWAR minimized the amount of data that needed to be collected; while, WS-scores maximized user satisfaction and minimized computational time. In comparison to the state-of-the-art prescribed mental tasks, our findings show that overall, personalized tasks appear to be superior to prescribed tasks with respect to accuracy and perceived ease-of-use. The deployment of personalized rather than prescribed mental tasks ought to be considered and further investigated in future NIRS-BCI studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CHANGE@CERN:Task Force 1: finding the least painful cuts

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

This week sees the first in our series of reports on the work of the Task Forces By 2004, COMPASS will be the main experiment at the SPS, but the LHC experiments will also be calibrating detectors. 'It was a painful task, with which we had to proceed in the least damaging way', says Dieter Schlatter, Head of the EP Division, when describing his experience as Convenor of Task Force 1. This Task Force was charged with responsibility for advising on how money could be saved within CERN's research programme, in order to help deal with the increased cost to completion of the LHC project. Their role, as with the other Task Forces, was to suggest where savings could be made, and in most cases their suggestions have been incorporated in the Management's draft Long Term Plan. The pain of the task was to some extent alleviated by developments within the LHC project itself. Delays in the delivery of superconducting cable meant that the start up of the LHC would be delayed by a year, to 2007, and this gave Task Force ...

Measuring pilot workload in a moving-base simulator. I Asynchronous secondary choice-reaction task

Science.gov (United States)

Kantowitz, B. H.; Hart, S. G.; Bortolussi, M. R.

1983-01-01

The de facto method for measuring airplane pilot workload is based upon subjective ratings. While researchers agree that such subjective data should be bolstered by using objective behavioral measures, results to date have been mixed. No clear objective technique has surfaced as the metric of choice. It is believed that this difficulty is in part due to neglect of theoretical work in psychology that predicts some of the difficulties that are inherent in a futile search for 'the one and only' best secondary task to measure workload. An initial study that used both subjective ratings and an asynchronous choice-reaction secondary task was conducted to determine if such a secondary task could indeed meet the methodological constraints imposed by current theories of attention. Two variants of a flight scenario were combined with two levels of the secondary task. Appropriate single-task control conditions were also included. Results give grounds for cautious optimism but indicate that future research should use synchronous secondary tasks where possible.

Time- and task-dependent non-neural effects of real and sham TMS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Duecker

Full Text Available Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS is widely used in experimental brain research to manipulate brain activity in humans. Next to the intended neural effects, every TMS pulse produces a distinct clicking sound and sensation on the head which can also influence task performance. This necessitates careful consideration of control conditions in order to ensure that behavioral effects of interest can be attributed to the neural consequences of TMS and not to non-neural effects of a TMS pulse. Surprisingly, even though these non-neural effects of TMS are largely unknown, they are often assumed to be unspecific, i.e. not dependent on TMS parameters. This assumption is inherent to many control strategies in TMS research but has recently been challenged on empirical grounds. Here, we further develop the empirical basis of control strategies in TMS research. We investigated the time-dependence and task-dependence of the non-neural effects of TMS and compared real and sham TMS over vertex. Critically, we show that non-neural TMS effects depend on a complex interplay of these factors. Although TMS had no direct neural effects, both pre- and post-stimulus TMS time windows modulated task performance on both a sensory detection task and a cognitive angle judgment task. For the most part, these effects were quantitatively similar across tasks but effect sizes were clearly different. Moreover, the effects of real and sham TMS were almost identical with interesting exceptions that shed light on the relative contribution of auditory and somato-sensory aspects of a TMS pulse. Knowledge of such effects is of critical importance for the interpretation of TMS experiments and helps deciding what constitutes an appropriate control condition. Our results broaden the empirical basis of control strategies in TMS research and point at potential pitfalls that should be avoided.

Evaluating low-resolution tomography neurofeedback by single dissociation of mental grotation task from stop signal task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Getter, Nir; Kaplan, Zeev; Todder, Doron

2015-10-01

Electroencephalography source localization neurofeedback, i.e Standardized low-resolution tomography (sLORETA) neurofeedback are non-invasive method for altering region specific brain activity. This is an improvement over traditional neurofeedback which were based on recordings from a single scalp-electrode. We proposed three criteria clusters as a methodological framework to evaluate electroencephalography source localization neurofeedback and present relevant data. Our objective was to evaluate standardized low resolution EEG tomography neurofeedback by examining how training one neuroanatomical area effects the mental rotation task (which is related to the activity of bilateral Parietal regions) and the stop-signal test (which is related to frontal structures). Twelve healthy participants were enrolled in a single session sLORETA neurofeedback protocol. The participants completed both the mental rotation task and the stop-signal test before and after one sLORETA neurofeedback session. During sLORETA neurofeedback sessions participants watched one sitcom episode while the picture quality co-varied with activity in the superior parietal lobule. Participants were rewarded for increasing activity in this region only. Results showed a significant reaction time decrease and an increase in accuracy after sLORETA neurofeedback on the mental rotation task but not after stop signal task. Together with behavioral changes a significant activity increase was found at the left parietal brain after sLORETA neurofeedback compared with baseline. We concluded that activity increase in the parietal region had a specific effect on the mental rotation task. Tasks unrelated to parietal brain activity were unaffected. Therefore, sLORETA neurofeedback could be used as a research, or clinical tool for cognitive disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Walking modality, but not task difficulty, influences the control of dual-task walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Wrightson, J G; Smeeton, N J

2017-10-01

During dual-task gait, changes in the stride-to-stride variability of stride time (STV) are suggested to represent the allocation of cognitive control to walking [1]. However, contrasting effects have been reported for overground and treadmill walking, which may be due to differences in the relative difficulty of the dual task. Here we compared the effect of overground and treadmill dual-task walking on STV in 18 healthy adults. Participants walked overground and on a treadmill for 120s during single-task (walking only) and dual-task (walking whilst performing serial subtractions in sevens) conditions. Dual-task effects on STV, cognitive task (serial subtraction) performance and perceived task difficulty were compared between walking modalities. STV was increased during overground dual-task walking, but was unchanged during treadmill dual-task walking. There were no differences in cognitive task performance or perceived task difficulty. These results show that gait is controlled differently during overground and treadmill dual-task walking. However, these differences are not solely due to differences in task difficulty, and may instead represent modality dependent control strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Snapshots of mathematics teacher noticing during task design

Science.gov (United States)

Choy, Ban Heng

2016-09-01

Designing a mathematically worthwhile task is critical for promoting students' reasoning. To improve task design skills, teachers often engage in collaborative lesson planning activities such as lesson study. However, to learn from the process of lesson study, it is important for teachers to notice productively the concepts, students' confusion and the design of the task. But what researchers mean by productive noticing varies. In this article, I present the FOCUS Framework which highlights two characteristics of productive noticing: having an explicit focus for noticing and focusing noticing through pedagogical reasoning. Using these two characteristics, I develop snapshots of noticing as a representation of practice to present a fine-grained analysis of teacher noticing. Through vignettes of teachers discussing the design of a task to teach fractions, I illustrate how two teachers' noticing can be analysed and represented using snapshots of noticing. To conclude, I highlight what snapshots of noticing tell us about a teacher's noticing and suggest ways to use these snapshots in future studies of noticing.

DECOVALEX II PROJECT. Technical report - Task 2A and 2B. (Revised edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanru Jing; Stephansson, Ove

1998-08-01

DECOVALEX II project started in November 1995 as a continuation of the DECOVALEX I project, which was completed at the end of 1994. The project was initiated by recognizing the fact that a proper evaluation of the current capacities of numerical modelling of the coupled T-H-M processes in fractured media is needed not only for small scale, well controlled laboratory test cases such as those studied in DECOVALEX 1, but also for less characterised, more complex and realistic in-situ experiments. This will contribute to validation and confidence building in the current mathematical models, numerical methods and computer codes. Four tasks were defined in the DECOVALEX II project: TASK 1 - numerical study of the RCF3 pumping test and shaft excavation at Sellafield by Nirex, UK; TASK 2 - numerical study of the in-situ T-H-M experiments at Kamaishi Mine by PNC, Japan; TASK 3 - review of current state-of-the-art of rock joint research and TASK 4 - report on the coupled T-H-M issues related to repository design and performance assessment. This report is one of the technical reports of the DECOVALEX II project, describing the work performed for TASK 2A and 2B - the predictions and model calibration for the hydro-mechanical effect of the excavation of the test pit for the in-situ T-H-M experiments at Kamaishi Mine by PNC, Japan. Presented in this report are the descriptions of the project, definition of Task 2, and approaches, methods and results of numerical modelling work carried out by the research teams. The report is a summary of the research reports written by the research teams and the discussions held during project workshops and task force group meetings. The opinions and conclusions in this report, however, reflect only ideas of the authors, not necessarily a collective representation of the funding organisations of the project

Acquisition and production of skilled behavior in dynamic decision-making tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Kirlik, Alex

1990-01-01

Ongoing research investigating perceptual and contextual influences on skilled human performance in dynamic decision making environments is discussed. The research is motivated by two general classes of findings in recent decision making research. First, many studies suggest that the concrete context in which a task is presented has strong influences on the psychological processes used to perform the task and on subsequent performance. Second, studies of skilled behavior in a wide variety of task environments typically implicate the perceptual system as an important contributor to decision-making performance, either in its role as a mediator between the current decision context and stored knowledge, or as a mechanism capable of directly initiating activity through the development of a 'trained eye.' Both contextual and perceptual influences place limits on the ability of traditional utility-theoretic accounts of decision-making to guide display design, as variance in behavior due to contextual factors or the development of a perceptual skill is left unexplained. The author outlines a framework in which to view questions of perceptual and contextual influences on behavior and describe an experimental task and analysis technique which will be used to diagnose the possible role of perception in skilled decision making performance.

Heimdall System for MSSS Sensor Tasking

Science.gov (United States)

Herz, A.; Jones, B.; Herz, E.; George, D.; Axelrad, P.; Gehly, S.

In Norse Mythology, Heimdall uses his foreknowledge and keen eyesight to keep watch for disaster from his home near the Rainbow Bridge. Orbit Logic and the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) at the University of Colorado (CU) have developed the Heimdall System to schedule observations of known and uncharacterized objects and search for new objects from the Maui Space Surveillance Site. Heimdall addresses the current need for automated and optimized SSA sensor tasking driven by factors associated with improved space object catalog maintenance. Orbit Logic and CU developed an initial baseline prototype SSA sensor tasking capability for select sensors at the Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) using STK and STK Scheduler, and then added a new Track Prioritization Component for FiSST-inspired computations for predicted Information Gain and Probability of Detection, and a new SSA-specific Figure-of-Merit (FOM) for optimized SSA sensor tasking. While the baseline prototype addresses automation and some of the multi-sensor tasking optimization, the SSA-improved prototype addresses all of the key elements required for improved tasking leading to enhanced object catalog maintenance. The Heimdall proof-of-concept was demonstrated for MSSS SSA sensor tasking for a 24 hour period to attempt observations of all operational satellites in the unclassified NORAD catalog, observe a small set of high priority GEO targets every 30 minutes, make a sky survey of the GEO belt region accessible to MSSS sensors, and observe particular GEO regions that have a high probability of finding new objects with any excess sensor time. This Heimdall prototype software paves the way for further R&D that will integrate this technology into the MSSS systems for operational scheduling, improve the software's scalability, and further tune and enhance schedule optimization. The Heimdall software for SSA sensor tasking provides greatly improved performance over manual tasking, improved

78 FR 2996 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-15

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

77 FR 56845 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-14

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

78 FR 27969 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-13

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

Task and Interruption Management in Activity-Centric Computing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeuris, Steven

to address these not in isolation, but by fundamentally reevaluating the current computing paradigm. To this end, activity-centric computing has been brought forward as an alternative computing paradigm, addressing the increasing strain put on modern-day computing systems. Activity-centric computing follows...... the scalability and intelligibility of current research prototypes. In this dissertation, I postulate that such issues arise due to a lack of support for the full set of practices which make up activity management. Most notably, although task and interruption management are an integral part of personal...... information management, they have thus far been neglected in prior activity-centric computing systems. Advancing the research agenda of activity-centric computing, I (1) implement and evaluate an activity-centric desktop computing system, incorporating support for interruptions and long-term task management...

Automatic Retrieval of Newly Instructed Cue-Task Associations Seen in Task-Conflict Effects in the First Trial after Cue-Task Instructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Meiran, Nachshon; Pereg, Maayan

2017-01-01

Novel stimulus-response associations are retrieved automatically even without prior practice. Is this true for novel cue-task associations? The experiment involved miniblocks comprising three phases and task switching. In the INSTRUCTION phase, two new stimuli (or familiar cues) were arbitrarily assigned as cues for up-down/right-left tasks performed on placeholder locations. In the UNIVALENT phase, there was no task cue since placeholder's location afforded one task but the placeholders were the stimuli that we assigned as task cues for the following BIVALENT phase (involving target locations affording both tasks). Thus, participants held the novel cue-task associations in memory while executing the UNIVALENT phase. Results show poorer performance in the first univalent trial when the placeholder was associated with the opposite task (incompatible) than when it was compatible, an effect that was numerically larger with newly instructed cues than with familiar cues. These results indicate automatic retrieval of newly instructed cue-task associations.

Good research practices for measuring drug costs in cost-effectiveness analyses: a societal perspective: the ISPOR Drug Cost Task Force report--Part II.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrison, Louis P; Mansley, Edward C; Abbott, Thomas A; Bresnahan, Brian W; Hay, Joel W; Smeeding, James

2010-01-01

Major guidelines regarding the application of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) have recommended the common and widespread use of the "societal perspective" for purposes of consistency and comparability. The objective of this Task Force subgroup report (one of six reports from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research [ISPOR] Task Force on Good Research Practices-Use of Drug Costs for Cost Effectiveness Analysis [Drug Cost Task Force (DCTF)]) was to review the definition of this perspective, assess its specific application in measuring drug costs, identify any limitations in theory or practice, and make recommendations regarding potential improvements. Key articles, books, and reports in the methodological literature were reviewed, summarized, and integrated into a draft review and report. This draft report was posted for review and comment by ISPOR membership. Numerous comments and suggestions were received, and the report was revised in response to them. The societal perspective can be defined by three conditions: 1) the inclusion of time costs, 2) the use of opportunity costs, and 3) the use of community preferences. In practice, very few, if any, published CEAs have met all of these conditions, though many claim to have taken a societal perspective. Branded drug costs have typically used actual acquisition cost rather than the much lower social opportunity costs that would reflect only short-run manufacturing and distribution costs. This practice is understandable, pragmatic, and useful to current decision-makers. Nevertheless, this use of CEA focuses on static rather than dynamic efficacy and overlooks the related incentives for innovation. Our key recommendation is that current CEA practice acknowledge and embrace this limitation by adopting a new standard for the reference case as one of a "limited societal" or "health systems" perspective, using acquisition drug prices while including indirect costs and community preferences. The

The Role of Task and Listener Characteristics in Second Language Listening

Science.gov (United States)

Brunfaut, Tineke; Révész, Andrea

2015-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between second language (L2) listening and a range of task and listener characteristics. More specifically, for a group of 93 nonnative English speakers, the researchers examined the extent to which linguistic complexity of the listening task input and response, and speed and explicitness of the input, were…

Task Demands in OSCEs Influence Learning Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lafleur, Alexandre; Laflamme, Jonathan; Leppink, Jimmie; Côté, Luc

2017-01-01

Models on pre-assessment learning effects confirmed that task demands stand out among the factors assessors can modify in an assessment to influence learning. However, little is known about which tasks in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) improve students' cognitive and metacognitive processes. Research is needed to support OSCE designs that benefit students' metacognitive strategies when they are studying, reinforcing a hypothesis-driven approach. With that intent, hypothesis-driven physical examination (HDPE) assessments ask students to elicit and interpret findings of the physical exam to reach a diagnosis ("Examine this patient with a painful shoulder to reach a diagnosis"). When studying for HDPE, students will dedicate more time to hypothesis-driven discussions and practice than when studying for a part-task OSCE ("Perform the shoulder exam"). It is expected that the whole-task nature of HDPE will lead to a hypothesis-oriented use of the learning resources, a frequent use of adjustment strategies, and persistence with learning. In a mixed-methods study, 40 medical students were randomly paired and filmed while studying together for two hypothetical OSCE stations. Each 25-min study period began with video cues asking to study for either a part-task OSCE or an HDPE. In a crossover design, sequences were randomized for OSCEs and contents (shoulder or spine). Time-on-task for discussions or practice were categorized as "hypothesis-driven" or "sequence of signs and maneuvers." Content analysis of focus group interviews summarized students' perception of learning resources, adjustment strategies, and persistence with learning. When studying for HDPE, students allocate significantly more time for hypothesis-driven discussions and practice. Students use resources contrasting diagnoses and report persistence with learning. When studying for part-task OSCEs, time-on-task is reversed, spent on rehearsing a sequence of signs and maneuvers. OSCEs with

The BOLD Response during Stroop Task-Like Inhibition Paradigms: Effects of Task Difficulty and Task-Relevant Modality

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Rachel L. C.

2005-01-01

Previous studies of the Stroop task propose two key mediators: the prefrontal and cingulate cortices but hints exist of functional specialization within these regions. This study aimed to examine the effect of task modality upon the prefrontal and cingulate response by examining the response to colour, number, and shape Stroop tasks whilst BOLD…

Task Experience as a Boundary Condition for the Negative Effects of Irrelevant Information on Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rop, Gertjan; van Wermeskerken, Margot; de Nooijer, Jacqueline A.; Verkoeijen, Peter P. J. L.; van Gog, Tamara

2018-01-01

Research on multimedia learning has shown that learning is hampered when a multimedia message includes extraneous information that is not relevant for the task, because processing the extraneous information uses up scarce attention and working memory resources. However, eye-tracking research suggests that task experience might be a boundary…

Classification of visual and linguistic tasks using eye-movement features.

Science.gov (United States)

Coco, Moreno I; Keller, Frank

2014-03-07

The role of the task has received special attention in visual-cognition research because it can provide causal explanations of goal-directed eye-movement responses. The dependency between visual attention and task suggests that eye movements can be used to classify the task being performed. A recent study by Greene, Liu, and Wolfe (2012), however, fails to achieve accurate classification of visual tasks based on eye-movement features. In the present study, we hypothesize that tasks can be successfully classified when they differ with respect to the involvement of other cognitive domains, such as language processing. We extract the eye-movement features used by Greene et al. as well as additional features from the data of three different tasks: visual search, object naming, and scene description. First, we demonstrated that eye-movement responses make it possible to characterize the goals of these tasks. Then, we trained three different types of classifiers and predicted the task participants performed with an accuracy well above chance (a maximum of 88% for visual search). An analysis of the relative importance of features for classification accuracy reveals that just one feature, i.e., initiation time, is sufficient for above-chance performance (a maximum of 79% accuracy in object naming). Crucially, this feature is independent of task duration, which differs systematically across the three tasks we investigated. Overall, the best task classification performance was obtained with a set of seven features that included both spatial information (e.g., entropy of attention allocation) and temporal components (e.g., total fixation on objects) of the eye-movement record. This result confirms the task-dependent allocation of visual attention and extends previous work by showing that task classification is possible when tasks differ in the cognitive processes involved (purely visual tasks such as search vs. communicative tasks such as scene description).

Teachers' Perspectives on Second Language Task Difficulty: Insights From Think-Alouds and Eye Tracking

OpenAIRE

Révész, A.; Gurzynski-Weiss, L.

2016-01-01

The majority of empirical studies that have so far investigated task features in order to inform task grading and sequencing decisions have been grounded in hypothesis-testing research. Few studies have attempted to adopt a bottom-up approach in order to explore what task factors might contribute to task difficulty. The aim of this study was to help fill this gap by eliciting teachers’ perspectives on sources of task difficulty. We asked 16 English as a second language (ESL) teachers to judge...

Maryland controlled fusion research program. Volume I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

This renewal proposal describes the University of Maryland research program on Magnetic Fusion Energy for a three-year period beginning January 1, 1986. This program consists of five tasks: (I) Plasma Theory; (II) Electron Cyclotron Emission Diagnostics for Mirror Machines; (III) Electron Cyclotron Emission Diagnostics on TFTR; (IV) Atomic Physics; and (V) Magnetic Field Measurement by Ion Beams. The four separate tasks of continuing research (Tasks I to IV) and the new experimental task (Task V) are described in detail. The task descriptions contain estimated budgets for CY 86, 87, and 88

Training Self-Regulated Learning Skills with Video Modeling Examples: Do Task-Selection Skills Transfer?

Science.gov (United States)

Raaijmakers, Steven F.; Baars, Martine; Schaap, Lydia; Paas, Fred; van Merriënboer, Jeroen; van Gog, Tamara

2018-01-01

Self-assessment and task-selection skills are crucial in self-regulated learning situations in which students can choose their own tasks. Prior research suggested that training with video modeling examples, in which another person (the model) demonstrates and explains the cyclical process of problem-solving task performance, self-assessment, and…

Formal Derivation of Lotka-Volterra-Haken Amplitude Equations of Task-Related Brain Activity in Multiple, Consecutively Performed Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, T. D.

The Lotka-Volterra-Haken equations have been frequently used in ecology and pattern formation. Recently, the equations have been proposed by several research groups as amplitude equations for task-related patterns of brain activity. In this theoretical study, the focus is on the circular causality aspect of pattern formation systems as formulated within the framework of synergetics. Accordingly, the stable modes of a pattern formation system inhibit the unstable modes, whereas the unstable modes excite the stable modes. Using this circular causality principle it is shown that under certain conditions the Lotka-Volterra-Haken amplitude equations can be derived from a general model of brain activity akin to the Wilson-Cowan model. The model captures the amplitude dynamics for brain activity patterns in experiments involving several consecutively performed multiple-choice tasks. This is explicitly demonstrated for two-choice tasks involving grasping and walking. A comment on the relevance of the theoretical framework for clinical psychology and schizophrenia is given as well.

Multi-task learning with group information for human action recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Li; Wu, Song; Pu, Nan; Xu, Shulin; Xiao, Guoqiang

2018-04-01

Human action recognition is an important and challenging task in computer vision research, due to the variations in human motion performance, interpersonal differences and recording settings. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task learning framework with group information (MTL-GI) for accurate and efficient human action recognition. Specifically, we firstly obtain group information through calculating the mutual information according to the latent relationship between Gaussian components and action categories, and clustering similar action categories into the same group by affinity propagation clustering. Additionally, in order to explore the relationships of related tasks, we incorporate group information into multi-task learning. Experimental results evaluated on two popular benchmarks (UCF50 and HMDB51 datasets) demonstrate the superiority of our proposed MTL-GI framework.

The baby or the bath water? Lessons learned from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis Molock, Sherry; Heekin, Janet M; Matlin, Samantha G; Barksdale, Crystal L; Gray, Ekwenzi; Booth, Chelsea L

2014-09-01

The Research Prioritization Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention conducted a comprehensive literature review of suicide prevention/intervention trials to assess the quality of the scientific evidence. A literature "review of reviews" was conducted by searching the most widely used databases for mental health and public health research. The quality of the reviews was evaluated using the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews system; the quality of the scientific evidence for the suicide preventions/interventions was assessed using U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria. The reviews were limited to peer-reviewed publications with human subjects published in English. Ninety-eight systematic reviews and 45 primary sources on suicide prevention/interventions published between January 2000 and September 2012 were evaluated. The results suggest that the quality of both the systematic reviews and the scientific evidence for suicide preventions/interventions were mixed. The majority of the systematic reviews and prevention/interventions were evaluated as fair to poor in quality. There are many promising suicide prevention/intervention trials, but research findings are often inconclusive because of methodologic problems. Methodologic problems across systematic reviews include not conducting hand searches, not surveying gray literature, and being unable to aggregate data across studies. Methodologic problems with the scientific quality of the prevention/intervention trials include paucity of information on sample demographic characteristics, poorly defined outcomes, and excluding actively suicidal participants. Suggestions for ways to improve the quality of the systematic reviews and suicide preventions/interventions are provided. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Subjective task complexity in the control room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braarud, Per Oeivind

2000-05-01

Understanding of what makes a control room situation difficult to handle is important when studying operator performance, both with respect to prediction as well as improvement of the human performance. Previous exploratory work on complexity showed a potential for prediction and explanation of operator performance. This report investigates in further detail the theoretical background and the structure of operator rated task complexity. The report complements the previous work on complexity to make a basis for development of operator performance analysis tools. The first part of the report outlines an approach for studying the complexity of the control room crew's work. The approach draws upon man-machine research as well as problem solving research. The approach identifies five complexity-shaping components: 'task work characteristics', 'teamwork characteristics', 'individual skill', 'teamwork skill', and 'interface and support systems'. The crew's work complexity is related to concepts of human performance quality and human error. The second part of the report is a post-hoc exploratory analysis of four empirical HRP studies, where operators' conception of the complexity of control room work is assessed by questionnaires. The analysis deals with the structure of complexity questionnaire ratings, and the relationship between complexity ratings and human performance measures. The main findings from the analysis of structure was the identification of three task work factors which were named Masking, Information load and Temporal demand, and in addition the identification of one interface factor which was named Navigation. Post-hoc analysis suggests that operator's subjective complexity, which was assessed by questionnaires, is related to workload, task and system performance, and operator's self-rated performance. (Author). 28 refs., 47 tabs

Applying genetic algorithms for programming manufactoring cell tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Efredy Delgado

2005-05-01

Full Text Available This work was aimed for developing computational intelligence for scheduling a manufacturing cell's tasks, based manily on genetic algorithms. The manufacturing cell was modelled as beign a production-line; the makespan was calculated by using heuristics adapted from several libraries for genetic algorithms computed in C++ builder. Several problems dealing with small, medium and large list of jobs and machinery were resolved. The results were compared with other heuristics. The approach developed here would seem to be promising for future research concerning scheduling manufacturing cell tasks involving mixed batches.

Implications of ICD-10 for Sarcopenia Clinical Practice and Clinical Trials: Report by the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Vellas, B; Fielding, R A; Bens, C; Bernabei, R; Cawthon, P M; Cederholm, T; Cruz-Jentoft, A J; Del Signore, S; Donahue, S; Morley, J; Pahor, M; Reginster, J-Y; Rodriguez Mañas, L; Rolland, Y; Roubenoff, R; Sinclair, A; Cesari, M

2018-01-01

Establishment of an ICD-10-CM code for sarcopenia in 2016 was an important step towards reaching international consensus on the need for a nosological framework of age-related skeletal muscle decline. The International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research Task Force met in April 2017 to discuss the meaning, significance, and barriers to the implementation of the new code as well as strategies to accelerate development of new therapies. Analyses by the Sarcopenia Definitions and Outcomes Consortium are underway to develop quantitative definitions of sarcopenia. A consensus conference is planned to evaluate this analysis. The Task Force also discussed lessons learned from sarcopenia trials that could be applied to future trials, as well as lessons from the osteoporosis field, a clinical condition with many constructs similar to sarcopenia and for which ad hoc treatments have been developed and approved by regulatory agencies.

Models for Understanding Student Thinking using Data from Complex Computerized Science Tasks

OpenAIRE

LaMar, Michelle

2014-01-01

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) define performance targets which will require assessment tasks that can integrate discipline knowledge and cross-cutting ideas with the practices of science. Complex computerized tasks will likely play a large role in assessing these standards, but many questions remain about how best to make use of such tasks within a psychometric framework (National Research Council, 2014). This dissertation explores the use of a more extensive...

What limits dual-tasking in working memory? An investigation of the effect of sub-task demand on maintenance mechanisms employed during dual-tasking

OpenAIRE

Doherty, Jason Michael

2016-01-01

A number of models of working memory have been proposed since the seminal work of Baddeley and Hitch (1974) on the Multiple Component Model (MCM). Subsequent MCM research focussed on developing a theoretical framework based on modality-specific stores that can operate in parallel during dual-tasking. The MCM can be contrasted with theories of working memory that assume an attention-based domain-general shared resource responsible for both short term retention as well as on-line...

Report on US-DOE/OHER Task Group on modelling and scaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mewhinney, J.A.; Griffith, W.C.

1989-01-01

In early 1986, the DOE/OHER Task Group on Modeling and Scaling was formed. Membership on the Task Group is drawn from staff of several laboratories funded by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Health and Environmental Research. The primary goal of the Task Group is to promote cooperation among the laboratories in analysing mammalian radiobiology studies with emphasis on studies that used beagle dogs in linespan experiments. To assist in defining the status of modelling and scaling in animal data, the Task Group served as the programme committee for the 26th Hanford Life Sciences symposium entitled Modeling for Scaling to Man held in October 1987. This symposium had over 60 oral presentations describing current research in dosimetric, pharmacokinetic, and dose-response modelling and scaling of results from animal studies to humans. A summary of the highlights of this symposium is presented. The Task Group also is in the process of developing recommendations for analyses of results obtained from dog lifespan studies. The goal is to provide as many comparisons as possible between these studies and to scale the results to humans to strengthen limited epidemiological data on exposures of humans to radiation. Several methods are discussed. (author)

“Astronomy for a Better World”: IAU/OAD Task Force One Activities to Develop Astronomy Education and Research at Universities in the Developing World

Science.gov (United States)

Guinan, Edward Francis; Kolenberg, Katrien

2015-08-01

The Task Force (1) on Astronomy for Universities & Research (TF-1) was established in 2012 as part of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). This Task Force drives activities related to astronomy education and research at universities mainly in the developing world. Astronomy is used to stimulate research and education in STEM fields and to develop and promote astronomy in regions of the world where there is little or no astronomy. There is also potential for developing research in the historical and cultural aspects of astronomy which may prove important for stimulating an interest in the subject in communities where there is yet no established interest in the science.Since the establishment of the OAD, over 25 TF-1 programs have been funded (or partially funded) to support a wide variety of interesting and innovative astronomy programs in Africa, Asia, South-East Asia, Middle-East, and in South & Central America. Nearly every aspect of development has been supported. These programs include supporting: regional astronomy training schools, specialized workshops, research visits, university twinning programs, distance learning projects, university astronomy curriculum development, as well as small telescope and equipment grants. In addition, a large new program - Astrolab - was introduced (by J-P De Greve and Michele Gerbaldi) to bring starlight” into the class room. In the Astrolab program students carry out and reduce CCD photometry secured by them using remotely controlled telescopes. Results from pilot programs will be discussed.OAD TF-1 programs will be discussed along with future plans for improving and expanding these programs to bring astronomy education and research to a greater number of people and indeed to use Astronomy for a Better World. Information and advice will also be provided about applying for support in the future.

Investigating Antecedents of Task Commitment and Task Attraction in Service Learning Team Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Schaffer, Bryan S.; Manegold, Jennifer G.

2018-01-01

The authors investigated the antecedents of team task cohesiveness in service learning classroom environments. Focusing on task commitment and task attraction as key dependent variables representing cohesiveness, and task interdependence as the primary independent variable, the authors position three important task action phase processes as…

78 FR 59939 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-30

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... September 17, 2013, announcing the next meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force... the Task Force to consider the findings of systematic reviews and issue findings and recommendations...

Motivating Learning in Mathematics Through Collaborative Problem Solving: A Focus on Using Rich Tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasreen Hussain

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on the concept that lively and interactive math classes are possible by incorporating rich tasks to meet the needs of students operating at different levels in the classrooms. A study was carried out to find out the impact on learning and motivation of using rich tasks at secondary level in the maths class by incorporating co-operative learning. Qualitative research paradigm was opted for the study using an action research approach and the data were collected through two semi-structured interviews conducted at the onset of the research and after the intervention. Few important findings indicate that rich tasks demand different levels of challenge and extend opportunities to those students who need them.

CHANGE@CERN:Task Force 4: Matching personnel to activities

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

Our series on the work of the Task Forces moves on to Human Ressources at CERN. Staff mobility and topics related to contract policy were the main personnel issues to be considered by Task Force 4, led by John Ferguson, head of AS Division. The aim, as with the other Task Forces, was to find ways to focus resources on the LHC, and once again the recommendations recognise the opportunity to make constructive changes, in this case in Human Resources policy at CERN. Movement of staff between divisions at CERN has generally not been easy, with 'staff complements' (total numbers) set for each sector (research, accelerator, technical and administration). However, the restructuring of the accelerator sector (proposed by Task Force 5 and already agreed in principle) should allow some staff to move to LHC activities. More generally, Task Force 4 recommends that the Laboratory carries out a review of all activities, at a relatively detailed level, so as to identify the resources required to achieve specific goals (t...

Decision Making in Concurrent Multitasking: Do People Adapt to Task Interference?

Science.gov (United States)

Nijboer, Menno; Taatgen, Niels A.; Brands, Annelies; Borst, Jelmer P.; van Rijn, Hedderik

2013-01-01

While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the trials. This primary task had to be combined with a secondary task requiring either working memory or visual attention, resulting in different types of interference. Before each trial, participants were asked to choose which secondary task they wanted to perform concurrently with the primary task. We predicted that if people seek to maximize performance or minimize effort required to perform the dual task, they choose task combinations that minimize interference. While performance data showed that the predicted optimal task combinations indeed resulted in minimal interference between tasks, the preferential choice data showed that a third of participants did not show any adaptation, and for the remainder it took a considerable number of trials before the optimal task combinations were chosen consistently. On the basis of these results we argue that, while in principle people are able to adapt their behavior according to multitasking demands, selection of the most efficient combination of strategies is not an automatic process. PMID:24244527

Decision making in concurrent multitasking: do people adapt to task interference?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Menno Nijboer

Full Text Available While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the trials. This primary task had to be combined with a secondary task requiring either working memory or visual attention, resulting in different types of interference. Before each trial, participants were asked to choose which secondary task they wanted to perform concurrently with the primary task. We predicted that if people seek to maximize performance or minimize effort required to perform the dual task, they choose task combinations that minimize interference. While performance data showed that the predicted optimal task combinations indeed resulted in minimal interference between tasks, the preferential choice data showed that a third of participants did not show any adaptation, and for the remainder it took a considerable number of trials before the optimal task combinations were chosen consistently. On the basis of these results we argue that, while in principle people are able to adapt their behavior according to multitasking demands, selection of the most efficient combination of strategies is not an automatic process.

Children's Sleep, Sleepiness, and Performance on Cognitive Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckhalt, Joseph A

2011-01-01

While causal connections between sleep deprivation and attention, learning, and memory have been well established in adults, much less research has been done with children. Relations between the amount and quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness have been found for a number of cognitive and academic tasks in several groups of children. These relations have been found for children who have sleep disorders, for children with disorders involving cognitive impairment, and for typically developing children with no known disorders. The research is reviewed here with a focus on the types of cognitive and academic tasks that have been related to insufficient sleep. A series of studies is described that relates sleep parameters to the Woodcock-Johnson® III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and other, similar measures. Implications for educators and psychologists who work with children are discussed.

Sex differences in task distribution and task exposures among Danish house painters:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heilskov-Hansen, Thomas; Svendsen, Susanne Wulff; Thomsen, Jane Frølund

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Sex differences in occupational biomechanical exposures may be part of the explanation why musculoskeletal complaints and disorders tend to be more common among women than among men. We aimed to determine possible sex differences in task distribution and task-specific postures...... correction were used to evaluate sex differences. RESULTS: Statistically significant (psex differences were revealed in task proportions, but the proportions differed by less than 4%. For task exposures, no statistically significant sex differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Only minor sex differences...... and movements of the upper extremities among Danish house painters, and to establish sex-specific task exposure matrices. METHODS: To obtain task distributions, we sent out a questionnaire to all members of the Painters' Union in Denmark (N = 9364), of whom 53% responded. Respondents reported their task...

Research report on the users' needs for next research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Tamura, Itaru; Hosoya, Toshiaki; Horiguchi, Hironori

2015-03-01

JRR-3 has been operated for more than 25 years for that it is time to investigate the role of a next research reactor. A task force under the Committee for Promotion of JRR-3 Neutron Beam Application has been organized by Department of Research Reactor and Tandem Accelerator to survey neutron beam application trends in the future. This is a report on the survey results and users' requirements for the next research reactor have been summarized in this report carried by the task force. (author)

The Effect of a Workload-Preview on Task-Prioritization and Task-Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Minotra, Dev

2012-01-01

With increased volume and sophistication of cyber attacks in recent years, maintaining situation awareness and effective task-prioritization strategy is critical to the task of cybersecurity analysts. However, high levels of mental-workload associated with the task of cybersecurity analyst's limits their ability to prioritize tasks.…

Patterns of Sympathetic Responses Induced by Different Stress Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Fechir, M; Schlereth, T; Purat, T; Kritzmann, S; Geber, C; Eberle, T; Gamer, M; Birklein, F

2008-01-01

Stress tasks are used to induce sympathetic nervous system (SNS) arousal. However, the efficacy and the patterns of SNS activation have not been systematically compared between different tasks. Therefore, we analyzed SNS activation during the following stress tasks: Presentation of negative, positive, and – as a control – neutral affective pictures, Color-Word interference test (CWT), mental arithmetic under time limit, singing a song aloud, and giving a spontaneous talk. We examined 11 healthy subjects and recorded the following SNS parameters: Activation of emotional sweating by quantitative sudometry, skin vasoconstriction by laser-Doppler flowmetry, heart rate by ECG, blood pressure by determination of pulse wave transit time (PWTT), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trapezius muscle. Moreover, subjective stress ratings were acquired for each task using a visual analog scale. All tasks were felt significantly stressful when compared to viewing neutral pictures. However, SNS activation was not reliable: Affective pictures did not induce a significant SNS response; singing, giving a talk and mental arithmetic selectively increased heart rate and emotional sweating. Only the CWT globally activated the SNS. Regarding all tasks, induction of emotional sweating, increase of heart rate and blood pressure significantly correlated with subjective stress ratings, in contrast to EMG and skin vasoconstriction. Our results show that the activation of the SNS widely varies depending on the stress task. Different stress tasks differently activate the SNS, which is an important finding when considering sympathetic reactions - in clinical situations and in research. PMID:19018304

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-03-01

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

Distracted in a Demanding Task : A Classification Study with Artificial Neural Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huijser, Stefan; Taatgen, Niels; van Vugt, Marieke; Verheij, Bart; Wiering, Marco

An important issue in cognitive science research is to know what your subjects are thinking about. In this paper, we trained multiple artificial Neural Network (ANN) classifiers to predict whether subjects’ thoughts were focused on the task (i.e., on-task) or if they were distracted (i.e.,

Exploring relations between task conflict and informational conflict in the Stroop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Entel, Olga; Tzelgov, Joseph; Bereby-Meyer, Yoella; Shahar, Nitzan

2015-11-01

In this study, we tested the proposal that the Stroop task involves two conflicts--task conflict and informational conflict. Task conflict was defined as the latency difference between color words and non-letter neutrals, and manipulated by varying the proportion of color words versus non-letter neutrals. Informational conflict was defined as the latency difference between incongruent and congruent trials and manipulated by varying the congruent-to-incongruent trial ratio. We replicated previous findings showing that increasing the ratio of incongruent-to-congruent trials reduces the latency difference between the incongruent and congruent condition (i.e., informational conflict), as does increasing the proportion of color words (i.e., task conflict). A significant under-additive interaction between the two proportion manipulations (congruent vs. incongruent and color words vs. neutrals) indicated that the effects of task conflict and informational conflict were not additive. By assessing task conflict as the contrast between color words and neutrals, we found that task conflict existed in all of our experimental conditions. Under specific conditions, when task conflict dominated behavior by explaining most of the variability between congruency conditions, we also found negative facilitation, thus demonstrating that this effect is a special case of task conflict.

Investigating Perfect Timesharing: The Relationship between IM-Compatible Tasks and Dual-Task Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Halvorson, Kimberly M.; Ebner, Herschel; Hazeltine, Eliot

2013-01-01

Why are dual-task costs reduced with ideomotor (IM) compatible tasks (Greenwald & Shulman, 1973; Lien, Proctor & Allen, 2002)? In the present experiments, we first examine three different measures of single-task performance (pure single-task blocks, mixed blocks, and long stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA] trials in dual-task blocks) and two…

Interagency task force on the health effects of ionizing radiation. final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-06-01

This is the final report of the task force and incorporates the findings and recommendations of six smaller work groups, each with a more specific focus; i.e., science, privacy, care and benefits, exposure reduction, public information, and institutional arrangements. A research agenda that could provide some answers to questions about the effects of low-level radiation is proposed, along with recommendations to facilitate research. A public information program is outlined. Recommendations are advanced to improve systems that deliver care and benefits to those who may have been injured by exposure to radiation, and proposals for steps that might reduce unnecessary radiation exposure in the future are identified. The task force also recommends measures to institutionalize the interagency cooperation that characterized the task force. Three tables and one figure show the collective estimates of the U.S. general population, Federal research financing, cancer linked to radiation in particular populations, and a general dose-response model

Microprocessor multi-task monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludemann, C.A.

1983-01-01

This paper describes a multi-task monitor program for microprocessors. Although written for the Intel 8085, it incorporates features that would be beneficial for implementation in other microprocessors used in controlling and monitoring experiments and accelerators. The monitor places permanent programs (tasks) arbitrarily located throughout ROM in a priority ordered queue. The programmer is provided with the flexibility to add new tasks or modified versions of existing tasks, without having to comply with previously defined task boundaries or having to reprogram all of ROM. Scheduling of tasks is triggered by timers, outside stimuli (interrupts), or inter-task communications. Context switching time is of the order of tenths of a milllisecond

Integrating gender medicine into the workplace health and safety policy in the scientific research institutions: a mandatory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Giammarioli, Anna Maria; Siracusano, Alessandra; Sorrentino, Eugenio; Bettoni, Monica; Malorni, Walter

2012-01-01

Gender medicine is a multi-faceted field of investigation integrating various aspects of psycho-social and biological sciences but it mainly deals with the impact of the gender on human physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical features of diseases. In Italy, the Decree Law 81/2008 recently introduced the gender issue in the risk assessment at the workplaces. This review briefly describes our current knowledge on gender medicine and on the Italian legislation in risk management. Public or private scientific institutions should be the first to pay attention to the safety of their workers, who are simultaneously subjected to biological, chemical and physical agents. Main tasks of risk management in scientific research institutions are here analyzed and discussed in a gender perspective.

Integrating gender medicine into the workplace health and safety policy in the scientific research institutions: a mandatory task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Maria Giammarioli

2012-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Gender medicine is a multi-faceted field of investigation integrating various aspects of psycho-social and biological sciences but it mainly deals with the impact of the gender on human physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical features of diseases. In Italy, the Decree Law 81/2008 recently introduced the gender issue in the risk assessment at the workplaces. AIMS: This review briefly describes our current knowledge on gender medicine and on the Italian legislation in risk management. CONCLUSIONS: Public or private scientific institutions should be the first to pay attention to the safety of their workers, who are simultaneously subjected to biological, chemical and physical agents. Main tasks of risk management in scientific research institutions are here analyzed and discussed in a gender perspective.

Feasibility of developing a portable driver performance data acquisition system for human factors research: Technical tasks. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carter, R.J.; Barickman, F.S.; Spelt, P.F.; Schmoyer, R.L.; Kirkpatrick, J.R.

1998-01-01

A two-phase, multi-year research program entitled ``development of a portable driver performance data acquisition system for human factors research`` was recently completed. The primary objective of the project was to develop a portable data acquisition system for crash avoidance research (DASCAR) that will allow drive performance data to be collected using a large variety of vehicle types and that would be capable of being installed on a given vehicle type within a relatively short-time frame. During phase 1 a feasibility study for designing and fabricating DASCAR was conducted. In phase 2 of the research DASCAR was actually developed and validated. This technical memorandum documents the results from the feasibility study. It is subdivided into three volumes. Volume one (this report) addresses the last five items in the phase 1 research and the first issue in the second phase of the project. Volumes two and three present the related appendices, and the design specifications developed for DASCAR respectively. The six tasks were oriented toward: identifying parameters and measures; identifying analysis tools and methods; identifying measurement techniques and state-of-the-art hardware and software; developing design requirements and specifications; determining the cost of one or more copies of the proposed data acquisition system; and designing a development plan and constructing DASCAR. This report also covers: the background to the program; the requirements for the project; micro camera testing; heat load calculations for the DASCAR instrumentation package in automobile trunks; phase 2 of the research; the DASCAR hardware and software delivered to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and crash avoidance problems that can be addressed by DASCAR.

Frontal subregions mediating Elevator Counting task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

MacPherson, Sarah E; Turner, Martha S; Bozzali, Marco; Cipolotti, Lisa; Shallice, Tim

2010-10-01

Deficits in sustained attention may lead to action slips in everyday life as irrelevant action sequences are inappropriately triggered internally or by the environment. While deficits in sustained attention have been associated with damage to the frontal lobes of the brain, little is known about the role of the frontal lobes in the Elevator Counting subtest of the Test of Everyday Attention. In the current study, 55 frontal patients subdivided into medial, orbital and lateral subgroups, 18 patients with posterior lesions and 82 healthy controls performed the Elevator Counting task. The results revealed that patients with medial and left lateral prefrontal lesions were significantly impaired on the task compared to healthy controls. Research suggests that patients with medial lesions are susceptible to competition from task irrelevant schema; whereas the left lateral group in the current study may fail to keep track of the tones already presented. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IEA SHC Task 38 'Solar air-conditioning and refrigeration'. Danish participation 2007-2010. Appendix; IEA SHC Task 38 'Solar air-conditioning and refrigeration'. Dansk deltagelse 2007-2010. Bilag

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellehauge, K [Ellehauge og Kildemoes, Aarhus (Denmark); Muenster, E [PlanEnergi, Skoerping (Denmark); Reinholdt, L [Teknologisk Institut, Aarhus (Denmark); Munds, S [AC-Sun Aps, Horsens (Denmark)

2011-03-15

IEA SHC Task 38 'Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration' ran from October 2006 to December 2010. Denmark was represented in the task from January 2007 to December 2010. The aim of the task was to encourage use of solar powered refrigeration and air conditioning systems in particular at residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Furthermore, the aim was to contribute to new research and development activities on new systems and concepts. The appendix contains the publications prepared by the Danish project group.(LN)

Strategic Adaptation to Task Characteristics, Incentives, and Individual Differences in Dual-Tasking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian P Janssen

Full Text Available We investigate how good people are at multitasking by comparing behavior to a prediction of the optimal strategy for dividing attention between two concurrent tasks. In our experiment, 24 participants had to interleave entering digits on a keyboard with controlling a randomly moving cursor with a joystick. The difficulty of the tracking task was systematically varied as a within-subjects factor. Participants were also exposed to different explicit reward functions that varied the relative importance of the tracking task relative to the typing task (between-subjects. Results demonstrate that these changes in task characteristics and monetary incentives, together with individual differences in typing ability, influenced how participants choose to interleave tasks. This change in strategy then affected their performance on each task. A computational cognitive model was used to predict performance for a wide set of alternative strategies for how participants might have possibly interleaved tasks. This allowed for predictions of optimal performance to be derived, given the constraints placed on performance by the task and cognition. A comparison of human behavior with the predicted optimal strategy shows that participants behaved near optimally. Our findings have implications for the design and evaluation of technology for multitasking situations, as consideration should be given to the characteristics of the task, but also to how different users might use technology depending on their individual characteristics and their priorities.

78 FR 63208 - UPDATE-Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-23

... of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force). The in-person Task Force meeting is being replaced by... CDC's ability to complete the necessary scientific and logistical support for the meeting. The Task...

The effectiveness of robotic training depends on motor task characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Rappo, Nicole; Riener, Robert

2017-12-01

Previous research suggests that the effectiveness of robotic training depends on the motor task to be learned. However, it is still an open question which specific task's characteristics influence the efficacy of error-modulating training strategies. Motor tasks can be classified based on the time characteristics of the task, in particular the task's duration (discrete vs. continuous). Continuous tasks require movements without distinct beginning or end. Discrete tasks require fast movements that include well-defined postures at the beginning and the end. We developed two games, one that requires a continuous movement-a tracking task-and one that requires discrete movements-a fast reaching task. We conducted an experiment with thirty healthy subjects to evaluate the effectiveness of three error-modulating training strategies-no guidance, error amplification (i.e., repulsive forces proportional to errors) and haptic guidance-on self-reported motivation and learning of the continuous and discrete games. Training with error amplification resulted in better motor learning than haptic guidance, besides the fact that error amplification reduced subjects' interest/enjoyment and perceived competence during training. Only subjects trained with error amplification improved their performance after training the discrete game. In fact, subjects trained without guidance improved the performance in the continuous game significantly more than in the discrete game, probably because the continuous task required greater attentional levels. Error-amplifying training strategies have a great potential to provoke better motor learning in continuous and discrete tasks. However, their long-lasting negative effects on motivation might limit their applicability in intense neurorehabilitation programs.

A Task-Based Approach to Organization: Knowledge, Communication and Structure

OpenAIRE

Luis Garicano; Yanhui Wu

2010-01-01

We bridge a gap between organizational economics and strategy research by developing a task-based approach to analyze organizational knowledge, process and structure, and deriving testable implications for the relation between production and organizational structure. We argue that organization emerges to integrate disperse knowledge and to coordinate talent in production and is designed to complement the limitations of human ability. The complexity of the tasks undertaken determines the optim...

Influence of time pressure in a simple response task, a choice-by-location task, and the Simon task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Lubbe, Robert Henricus Johannes; Jaśkowski, Piotr; Wauschkuhn, Bernd; Verleger, Rolf

2001-01-01

Examined the influence of strategy for a simple response task, a choice-by-location task, and the Simon task by varying time pressure in 11 Ss (mean age 28 yrs). Besides reaction time (RT) and accuracy, we measured response force and derived two measures from the event-related EEG potential to form

Manipulating perceptual parameters in a continuous performance task.

Science.gov (United States)

Shalev, Nir; Humphreys, Glyn; Demeyere, Nele

2018-02-01

Sustained attention (SA) is among the most studied faculties of human cognition, and thought to be crucial for many aspects of behavior. Measuring SA often relies on performance on a continuous, low-demanding task. Such continuous performance tasks (CPTs) have many variations, and sustained attention is typically estimated based on variability in reaction times. While relying on reaction times may be useful in some cases, it can pose a challenge when working with clinical populations. To increase interpersonal variability in task parameters that do not rely on speed, researchers have increased demands for memory and response inhibition. These approaches, however, may be confounded when used to assess populations that suffer from multiple cognitive deficits. In the current study, we propose a new approach for increasing task variability by increasing the attentional demands. In order to do so, we created a new variation of a CPT - a masked version, where inattention is more likely to cause misidentifying a target. After establishing that masking indeed decreases target detection, we further investigated which task parameter may influence response biases. To do so, we contrasted two versions of the CPT with different target/distractor ratio. We then established how perceptual parameters can be controlled independently in a CPT. Following the experimental manipulations, we tested the MCCPT with aging controls and chronic stroke patients to assure the task can be used with target populations. The results confirm the MCCPT as a task providing high sensitivity without relying on reaction speed, and feasible for patients.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-03-01

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

The functional neuroanatomy of multitasking: combining dual tasking with a short term memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Deprez, Sabine; Vandenbulcke, Mathieu; Peeters, Ron; Emsell, Louise; Amant, Frederic; Sunaert, Stefan

2013-09-01

Insight into the neural architecture of multitasking is crucial when investigating the pathophysiology of multitasking deficits in clinical populations. Presently, little is known about how the brain combines dual-tasking with a concurrent short-term memory task, despite the relevance of this mental operation in daily life and the frequency of complaints related to this process, in disease. In this study we aimed to examine how the brain responds when a memory task is added to dual-tasking. Thirty-three right-handed healthy volunteers (20 females, mean age 39.9 ± 5.8) were examined with functional brain imaging (fMRI). The paradigm consisted of two cross-modal single tasks (a visual and auditory temporal same-different task with short delay), a dual-task combining both single tasks simultaneously and a multi-task condition, combining the dual-task with an additional short-term memory task (temporal same-different visual task with long delay). Dual-tasking compared to both individual visual and auditory single tasks activated a predominantly right-sided fronto-parietal network and the cerebellum. When adding the additional short-term memory task, a larger and more bilateral frontoparietal network was recruited. We found enhanced activity during multitasking in components of the network that were already involved in dual-tasking, suggesting increased working memory demands, as well as recruitment of multitask-specific components including areas that are likely to be involved in online holding of visual stimuli in short-term memory such as occipito-temporal cortex. These results confirm concurrent neural processing of a visual short-term memory task during dual-tasking and provide evidence for an effective fMRI multitasking paradigm. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IEA Task 32: Wind Lidar Systems for Wind Energy Deployment (LIDAR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuhn, Martin; Trabucchi, Davide; Clifton, Andrew; Courtney, Mike; Rettenmeier, Andreas

2016-05-25

Under the International Energy Agency Wind Implementing Agreement (IEA Wind) Task 11, researchers started examining novel applications for remote sensing and the issues around them during the 51st topical expert meeting about remote sensing in January 2007. The 59th topical expert meeting organized by Task 11 in October 2009 was also dedicated to remote sensing, and the first draft of the Task's recommended practices on remote sensing was published in January 2013. The results of the Task 11 topical expert meetings provided solid groundwork for a new IEA Wind Task 32 on wind lidar technologies. Members of the wind community identified the need to consolidate the knowledge about wind lidar systems to facilitate their use, and to investigate how to exploit the advantages offered by this technology. This was the motivation that led to the start of IEA Wind Task 32 'Lidar Application for Wind Energy Deployment' in November 2011. The kick-off was meeting was held in May 2012.

Task force on modelling of groundwater flow and transport of solutes. Task 5 Summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhen, Ingvar; Smellie, John

2003-02-01

The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is located in the Simpevarp area, southeast Sweden, some 35 km north of Oskarshamn. Construction of the underground laboratory commenced in 1990 and was completed in 1995, consisting of a 3.6 km. long tunnel excavated in crystalline rock to a depth of approximately 460 m. Prior to, during and subsequent to completion, research concerning the deep geological disposal of nuclear waste in fractured crystalline rock has been carried out. Central to this research has been the characterisation of the groundwater flow system and the chemistry of the groundwaters at Aespoe prior to excavation (Pre-investigation Phase) and subsequently to monitor changes in these parameters during the evolution of laboratory construction (Construction Phase). The principle aim of the Aespoe Task 5 modelling exercise has been to compare and ultimately integrate hydrogeochemistry and hydrogeology using the input data from the pre-investigation and construction phases. The main objectives were: to assess the consistency of groundwater-flow models and hydrogeochemical mixing-reaction models through integration and comparison of hydraulic and hydrogeochemical data obtained before and during tunnel construction, and to develop a procedure for integration of hydrological and hydrogeochemical information which could be used for disposal site assessments. Task 5 commenced in 1998 and was finalised in 2002. Participating modelling teams in the project represented ANDRA (France; three modelling teams - ANTEA, ITASCA, CEA), BMWi/BGR (Germany), ENRESA (Spain), JNC (Japan), CRIEPI (Japan), Posiva (Finland) and SKB (Sweden; two modelling teams - CFE and Intera (now GeoPoint)). Experience from Task 5 has highlighted several important aspects for site investigations facilitating the possibilities for mathematically integrated modelling and consistency checks that should be taken into account for future repository performance assessments. Equally important is that Task 5 has

Task force on modelling of groundwater flow and transport of solutes. Task 5 Summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhen, Ingvar [SWECO VIAK AB, Goeteborg (Sweden); Smellie, John [Conterra AB, Uppsala (Sweden)

2003-02-01

The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is located in the Simpevarp area, southeast Sweden, some 35 km north of Oskarshamn. Construction of the underground laboratory commenced in 1990 and was completed in 1995, consisting of a 3.6 km. long tunnel excavated in crystalline rock to a depth of approximately 460 m. Prior to, during and subsequent to completion, research concerning the deep geological disposal of nuclear waste in fractured crystalline rock has been carried out. Central to this research has been the characterisation of the groundwater flow system and the chemistry of the groundwaters at Aespoe prior to excavation (Pre-investigation Phase) and subsequently to monitor changes in these parameters during the evolution of laboratory construction (Construction Phase). The principle aim of the Aespoe Task 5 modelling exercise has been to compare and ultimately integrate hydrogeochemistry and hydrogeology using the input data from the pre-investigation and construction phases. The main objectives were: to assess the consistency of groundwater-flow models and hydrogeochemical mixing-reaction models through integration and comparison of hydraulic and hydrogeochemical data obtained before and during tunnel construction, and to develop a procedure for integration of hydrological and hydrogeochemical information which could be used for disposal site assessments. Task 5 commenced in 1998 and was finalised in 2002. Participating modelling teams in the project represented ANDRA (France; three modelling teams - ANTEA, ITASCA, CEA), BMWi/BGR (Germany), ENRESA (Spain), JNC (Japan), CRIEPI (Japan), Posiva (Finland) and SKB (Sweden; two modelling teams - CFE and Intera (now GeoPoint)). Experience from Task 5 has highlighted several important aspects for site investigations facilitating the possibilities for mathematically integrated modelling and consistency checks that should be taken into account for future repository performance assessments. Equally important is that Task 5 has

The relationship between explicit learning and consciousness-raising tasks within a communicative language context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roscioli, Deise Caldart

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims at investigating whether consciousness-raising tasks, used in a communicative learning environment of EFL, can be considered a valid instrument for eliciting explicit learning in that context. Five participants enrolled in the second level of a language course answered a cycle of tasks that intended to teach the use of comparatives. The materials used in this study consisted of a pre-task, consciousness-raising tasks, an untimed grammaticality judgment test, and a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the instruments used in this research were of a valid nature for eliciting explicit learning. The findings also provide empirical support regarding the importance of consciousness-raising tasks to assist students’ second language learning in a communicative classroom environment. Despite being a small scale research, this study may contribute to a greater understanding of the SLA processes within a communicative context and highlight the importance of explicit knowledge learning within a meaning focused approach

Improving Sensitivity to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment: Cognitive Load Dual-Task Gait Speed Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

MacAulay, Rebecca K; Wagner, Mark T; Szeles, Dana; Milano, Nicholas J

2017-07-01

Longitudinal research indicates that cognitive load dual-task gait assessment is predictive of cognitive decline and thus might provide a sensitive measure to screen for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, research among older adults being clinically evaluated for cognitive concerns, a defining feature of MCI, is lacking. The present study investigated the effect of performing a cognitive task on normal walking speed in patients presenting to a memory clinic with cognitive complaints. Sixty-one patients with a mean age of 68 years underwent comprehensive neuropsychological testing, clinical interview, and gait speed (simple- and dual-task conditions) assessments. Thirty-four of the 61 patients met criteria for MCI. Repeated measure analyses of covariance revealed that greater age and MCI both significantly associated with slower gait speed, pscognitive dual task within a clinically representative population. Cognitive load dual-task gait assessment may provide a cost efficient and sensitive measure to detect older adults at high risk of a dementia disorder. (JINS, 2017, 23, 493-501).

"FACILS 2014: Microbially-driven facilitation systems in environmental biotechnology" (hereafter "FACILS") presented here by the European Commission (EC)-United States (US) Task Force on Biotechnology Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Methe, Barbara

2016-02-03

As we enter the 21st century, the sustainability of the biosphere is a global challenge that can best be met with a global response. This includes how we train and promote our next generation of research scientists in the emerging arenas of genome-enabled biology and a bio-based economy. It is this fundamental issue that formed the motivation for designing and conducting a shortcourse entitled “FACILIS 2014: Microbially-driven facilitation systems in environmental biotechnology” (hereafter “FACILIS”) presented here by the European Commission (EC)-United States (US) Task Force on Biotechnology Research. This WG was established in 1994 under the umbrella of the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology Research, a transatlantic collaborative group overseen by the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the EC. The Environmental Biotechnology Working Group maintains several goals, including establishing research links between scientists in EU countries and the US and fostering the careers of junior scientists from both sides of the Atlantic to the global nature of scientific cooperation. To that end, a shortcourse was held at the University of Milan in Italy on July 12-25 2014 organized around cross-cutting themes of genomic science and designed to attract a stellar group of interdisciplinary early carrier researchers. A total of 22 students, 10 from the US and 12 from the EU participated. The course provided them with hands-on experience with the latest scientific methods in genomics and bioinformatics; using a format that combines lectures, laboratory research and field work with the final goal to enable researchers to finally turn data into knowledge.

The Impact of Task-supported Interactive Feedback on the Accuracy, Fluency, and Organization of Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Seifoori

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Controversy has not been yet resolved among researchers in second language research over the pedagogical efficacy of feedback in enhancing various features of learners’ writing skill. Research findings highlighting the significance of interactive tasks and learners’ engagement in improving the learning process stimulated the present study, the purpose of which was to explore the effect of task-supported interactive feedback on the accuracy, fluency, and organization of seventy two Iranian English major sophomores at Islamic Azad University-Mashhad Branch. It was hypothesized that engaging learners in both tasks and providing feedback would enhance their writing performance. The participants in three intact classes were randomly assigned to three groups: a control group, with no task (NTG, and two experimental groups: the task-supported group (TG, and the task-supported group with interactive feedback (TFG. Four one way analyses of variance tests were run on the research data indicated that the apparent gain in the task-supported interactive group over the other groups did not reach significance level. However, the TG group outperformed the control group in all three aspects of writing. The findings have pedagogical implications and can be interpreted in terms of socio-cultural characteristics of Iranian students.

Pedagogical directions to design and support collaborative knowledge building on-line tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid Noguera Fructuoso

2013-02-01

Full Text Available 0 0 1 187 1034 USAL 8 2 1219 14.0 Normal 0 21 false false false ES JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} Research on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL demonstrates that proposing that students work in groups does not improve their learning or increase their motivation. It is essential to design appropriate learning tasks and suitable pedagogical and technological support. The aim of this research is to identify pedagogical directions to design and support collaborative knowledge building tasks in on-line education. We conducted a case study at the Open University of Catalonia where we carried out two experiments: the first focusing on how teachers design and support collaborative on-line learning tasks and, the second, based on the control exerted over the tasks. As a result of the investigation we characterize the type of tasks that promote collaborative knowledge building, the teachers’ role and functions supporting these types of tasks, and we identify different stages in task regulation. Based on these results, we propose pedagogical directions to design and support collaborative on-line tasks divided into 4 stages: 1 Task design and individual preparation, 2 Task organization and group negotiation, 3 Task performance and collaborative knowledge building, and 4 Critical evaluation.

Correlates of academic procrastination: discomfort, task aversiveness, and task capability.

Science.gov (United States)

Milgram, N; Marshevsky, S; Sadeh, C

1995-03-01

The relationships among five aspects of academic procrastination--behavioral delay, personal upset about the delay, task aversiveness, task capability, and the desire to reduce behavioral delay--were investigated in 10th-grade Israeli students (N = 195). Upset about delay was weakly related to delay itself, and--unlike delay--was strongly related to perceived capability to perform academic tasks and to the desire to change delaying behavior. Students delayed more on academic tasks labeled unpleasant than pleasant, were neutral in between, and were correspondingly more upset about the former than the latter. They more frequently acknowledged reasons for academic procrastination that were less threatening to their self-image (e.g., problems in time management) than reasons that were more threatening (e.g., lack of ability). Interest in reducing delay is related more to self-perceived ability to handle tasks than to time spent procrastinating or reasons given for procrastinating.

Dual-Tasking in Multiple Sclerosis - Implications for a Cognitive Screening Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Beste, Christian; Mückschel, Moritz; Paucke, Madlen; Ziemssen, Tjalf

2018-01-01

The monitoring of cognitive functions is central to the assessment and consecutive management of multiple sclerosis (MS). Though, especially cognitive processes that are central to everyday behavior like dual-tasking are often neglected. We examined dual-task performance using a psychological-refractory period (PRP) task in N = 21 patients and healthy controls and conducted standard neuropsychological tests. In dual-tasking, MS patients committed more erroneous responses when dual-tasking was difficult. In easier conditions, performance of MS patients did not differ to controls. Interestingly, the response times were generally not affected by the difficulty of the dual task, showing that the deficits observed do not reflect simple motor deficits or deficits in information processing speed but point out deficits in executive control functions and response selection in particular. Effect sizes were considerably large with d ∼0.80 in mild affected patients and the achieved power was above 99%. There are cognitive control and dual tasking deficits in MS that are not attributable to simple motor speed deficits. Scaling of the difficulty of dual-tasking makes the test applied suitable for a wide variety of MS-patients and may complement neuropsychological assessments in clinical care and research setting.

Building a Framework for a Dual Task Taxonomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tara L. McIsaac

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The study of dual task interference has gained increasing attention in the literature for the past 35 years, with six MEDLINE citations in 1979 growing to 351 citations indexed in 2014 and a peak of 454 cited papers in 2013. Increasingly, researchers are examining dual task cost in individuals with pathology, including those with neurodegenerative diseases. While the influence of these papers has extended from the laboratory to the clinic, the field has evolved without clear definitions of commonly used terms and with extreme variations in experimental procedures. As a result, it is difficult to examine the interference literature as a single body of work. In this paper we present a new taxonomy for classifying cognitive-motor and motor-motor interference within the study of dual task behaviors that connects traditional concepts of learning and principles of motor control with current issues of multitasking analysis. As a first step in the process we provide an operational definition of dual task, distinguishing it from a complex single task. We present this new taxonomy, inclusive of both cognitive and motor modalities, as a working model; one that we hope will generate discussion and create a framework from which one can view previous studies and develop questions of interest.

"Photographing money" task pricing

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Zhongxiang

2018-05-01

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

The Influence of Levels of Processing on Recall from Working Memory and Delayed Recall Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Loaiza, Vanessa M.; McCabe, David P.; Youngblood, Jessie L.; Rose, Nathan S.; Myerson, Joel

2011-01-01

Recent research in working memory has highlighted the similarities involved in retrieval from complex span tasks and episodic memory tasks, suggesting that these tasks are influenced by similar memory processes. In the present article, the authors manipulated the level of processing engaged when studying to-be-remembered words during a reading…

Board Task Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minichilli, Alessandro; Zattoni, Alessandro; Nielsen, Sabina

2012-01-01

identify three board processes as micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Specifically, we focus on effort norms, cognitive conflicts and the use of knowledge and skills as determinants of board control and advisory task performance. Further, we consider how two different institutional settings....... The findings show that: (i) Board processes have a larger potential than demographic variables to explain board task performance; (ii) board task performance differs significantly between boards operating in different contexts; and (iii) national context moderates the relationships between board processes...... and board task performance....

Tritium tasks for the net fusion technology program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hircq, B.

1990-01-01

Six Tritium Technology tasks have been undertaken in the BRUYERES-LE-CHATEL Research Center of the French Atomic Energy Commission, in June 1986, as part of the NET Tritium Technology Program. Four of these six studies concern the torus exhaust gas purification and two of them are more specific of the involved materials. In 1988, the studies themselves have begun and the objective of this document is to indicate, for each task, the main results which have been obtained during the period 1988-89, for allowing a global valuation of the progress state as well as an anticipation for carrying out the works

Mathematical Tasks without Words and Word Problems: Perceptions of Reluctant Problem Solvers

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Holbert, Sydney Margaret

2013-01-01

This qualitative research study used a multiple, holistic case study approach (Yin, 2009) to explore the perceptions of reluctant problem solvers related to mathematical tasks without words and word problems. Participants were given a choice of working a mathematical task without words or a word problem during four problem-solving sessions. Data…

Parent-Child Positive Touch: Gender, Age, and Task Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Aznar, Ana; Tenenbaum, Harriet R

2016-01-01

This study examined gender, age, and task differences in positive touch and physical proximity during mother-child and father-child conversations. Sixty-five Spanish mothers and fathers and their 4- ( M  = 53.50 months, SD  = 3.54) and 6-year-old ( M  = 77.07 months, SD  = 3.94) children participated in this study. Positive touch was examined during a play-related storytelling task and a reminiscence task (conversation about past emotions). Fathers touched their children positively more frequently during the play-related storytelling task than did mothers. Both mothers and fathers were in closer proximity to their 6-year-olds than their 4-year-olds. Mothers and fathers touched their children positively more frequently when reminiscing than when playing. Finally, 6-year-olds remained closer to their parents than did 4-year-olds. Implications of these findings for future research on children's socioemotional development are discussed.

Mood states determine the degree of task shielding in dual-task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwosta, Katharina; Hommel, Bernhard; Goschke, Thomas; Fischer, Rico

2013-01-01

Current models of multitasking assume that dual-task performance and the degree of multitasking are affected by cognitive control strategies. In particular, cognitive control is assumed to regulate the amount of shielding of the prioritised task from crosstalk from the secondary task. We investigated whether and how task shielding is influenced by mood states. Participants were exposed to two short film clips, one inducing high and one inducing low arousal, of either negative or positive content. Negative mood led to stronger shielding of the prioritised task (i.e., less crosstalk) than positive mood, irrespective of arousal. These findings support the assumption that emotional states determine the parameters of cognitive control and play an important role in regulating dual-task performance.

Between Christianity and secularity: counselling and psychotherapy provision in Scotland

OpenAIRE

Bondi, Liz

2013-01-01

Counselling and psychotherapy services have become increasingly prominent within modern urban welfare. Although often perceived to be intrinsically secular, since psychoanalytic thinking and practice arrived in Scotland it has been shaped by the Christian culture it encountered. Early Scottish-born contributors to psychoanalytic theory, including Ian Suttie and W.R.D. Fairbairn, reframed Freud’s ideas in ways that incorporated Scottish Presbyterian understandings of what it is to be human. A ...

Structural Design of HRA Database using generic task for Quantitative Analysis of Human Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seung Hwan; Kim, Yo Chan; Choi, Sun Yeong; Park, Jin Kyun; Jung Won Dea [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

This paper describes a design of generic task based HRA database for quantitative analysis of human performance in order to estimate the number of task conductions. The estimation method to get the total task conduction number using direct counting is not easy to realize and maintain its data collection framework. To resolve this problem, this paper suggests an indirect method and a database structure using generic task that enables to estimate the total number of conduction based on instructions of operating procedures of nuclear power plants. In order to reduce human errors, therefore, all information on the human errors taken by operators in the power plant should be systematically collected and examined in its management. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is carrying out a research to develop a data collection framework to establish a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) database that could be employed as technical bases to generate human error probabilities (HEPs) and performance shaping factors (PSFs)]. As a result of the study, the essential table schema was designed to the generic task database which stores generic tasks, procedure lists and task tree structures, and other supporting tables. The number of task conduction based on the operating procedures for HEP estimation was enabled through the generic task database and framework. To verify the framework applicability, case study for the simulated experiments was performed and analyzed using graphic user interfaces developed in this study.

Structural Design of HRA Database using generic task for Quantitative Analysis of Human Performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seung Hwan; Kim, Yo Chan; Choi, Sun Yeong; Park, Jin Kyun; Jung Won Dea

2016-01-01

This paper describes a design of generic task based HRA database for quantitative analysis of human performance in order to estimate the number of task conductions. The estimation method to get the total task conduction number using direct counting is not easy to realize and maintain its data collection framework. To resolve this problem, this paper suggests an indirect method and a database structure using generic task that enables to estimate the total number of conduction based on instructions of operating procedures of nuclear power plants. In order to reduce human errors, therefore, all information on the human errors taken by operators in the power plant should be systematically collected and examined in its management. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is carrying out a research to develop a data collection framework to establish a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) database that could be employed as technical bases to generate human error probabilities (HEPs) and performance shaping factors (PSFs)]. As a result of the study, the essential table schema was designed to the generic task database which stores generic tasks, procedure lists and task tree structures, and other supporting tables. The number of task conduction based on the operating procedures for HEP estimation was enabled through the generic task database and framework. To verify the framework applicability, case study for the simulated experiments was performed and analyzed using graphic user interfaces developed in this study.

Brain activations during bimodal dual tasks depend on the nature and combination of component tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma eSalo

2015-02-01

Full Text Available We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activations during nine different dual tasks in which the participants were required to simultaneously attend to concurrent streams of spoken syllables and written letters. They performed a phonological, spatial or simple (speaker-gender or font-shade discrimination task within each modality. We expected to find activations associated specifically with dual tasking especially in the frontal and parietal cortices. However, no brain areas showed systematic dual task enhancements common for all dual tasks. Further analysis revealed that dual tasks including component tasks that were according to Baddeley’s model modality atypical, that is, the auditory spatial task or the visual phonological task, were not associated with enhanced frontal activity. In contrast, for other dual tasks, activity specifically associated with dual tasking was found in the left or bilateral frontal cortices. Enhanced activation in parietal areas, however, appeared not to be specifically associated with dual tasking per se, but rather with intermodal attention switching. We also expected effects of dual tasking in left frontal supramodal phonological processing areas when both component tasks required phonological processing and in right parietal supramodal spatial processing areas when both tasks required spatial processing. However, no such effects were found during these dual tasks compared with their component tasks performed separately. Taken together, the current results indicate that activations during dual tasks depend in a complex manner on specific demands of component tasks.

The predictive value of general movement tasks in assessing occupational task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; McGill, Stuart M; Callaghan, Jack P

2015-01-01

Within the context of evaluating individuals' movement behavior it is generally assumed that the tasks chosen will predict their competency to perform activities relevant to their occupation. This study sought to examine whether a battery of general tasks could be used to predict the movement patterns employed by firefighters to perform select job-specific skills. Fifty-two firefighters performed a battery of general and occupation-specific tasks that simulated the demands of firefighting. Participants' peak lumbar spine and frontal plane knee motion were compared across tasks. During 85% of all comparisons, the magnitude of spine and knee motion was greater during the general movement tasks than observed during the firefighting skills. Certain features of a worker's movement behavior may be exhibited across a range of tasks. Therefore, provided that a movement screen's tasks expose the motions of relevance for the population being tested, general evaluations could offer valuable insight into workers' movement competency or facilitate an opportunity to establish an evidence-informed intervention.

Report of the HDA building Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheerer, Ernest W

2006-01-01

The Building Task Force, after researching the many options, recommended to the Board of Trustees that, at this time, it is in the best interest of the association and its members to keep the building. In addition to the reasons outlined in the preceding paragraphs, the conclusions drawn by the Task Force can be summarized as follows: 1) This is not the time to make a change as both land and construction costs are high; 2) There is little inventory at this time that would provide a significant improvement over the present building; 3) There is no urgent need to act now; and 4) Cost-effective changes can be made to make the building more valuable to the association.

Summary of Chernobyl followup research activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-06-01

In NUREG-1251, ''Implications of the Accident at Chernobyl for Safety Regulation of Commercial Nuclear Power Plants in the United States,'' April 1989, the NRC staff concluded that no immediate changes in NRC's regulations regarding design or operation of US commercial reactors were needed; however, it recommended that certain issues be considered further. NRC's Chernobyl followup research program consisted of the research tasks undertaken in response to the recommendations in NUREG-1251. It included 23 tasks that addressed potential lessons to be learned from the Chernobyl accident. This report presents summaries of NRC's Chernobyl followup research tasks. For each task, the Chernobyl-related issues are indicated, the work is described, and the staff's findings and conclusions are presented. More detailed reports concerning the work are referenced where applicable. This report closes out NRC's Chernobyl followup research program as such, but additional research will be conducted on some issues as needed. The report includes remarks concerning significant further activity with respect to the issues addressed

Combined factors effect of menstrual cycle and background noise on visual inspection task performance: a simulation-based task.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijayanto, Titis; Tochihara, Yutaka; Wijaya, Andi R; Hermawati, Setia

2009-11-01

It is well known that women are physiologically and psychologically influenced by the menstrual cycle. In addition, the presence of background noise may affect task performance. So far, it has proven difficult to describe how the menstrual cycle and background noise affect task performance; some researchers have found an increment of performance during menstruation or during the presence of noise, others found performance deterioration, while other still have reported no dominant effect either of the menstrual cycle in performance or of the presence of noise. However, no study to date has investigated the combinational effect between the menstrual cycle and the presence of background noise in task performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the combined factor effect of menstrual cycle and background noise on visual inspection task performance indices by Signal Detection Theory (SDT) metrics: sensitivity index (d') and response criteria index (beta). For this purpose, ten healthy female students (21.5+/-1.08 years) with a regular menstrual cycle participated in this study. A VDT-based visual inspection task was used for the experiment in 3x2 factorial designs. Two factors, menstrual phase, pre-menstruation (PMS), menstruation (M), and post-menstruation (PM) and background noise, with 80 dB(A) background noise and without noise, were analyzed as the main factors in this study. The results concluded that the sensitivity index (d') of SDT was affected in all the menstrual cycle conditions (pbackground noise (pbackground noise was found in this study. On the other hand, no significant effect was observed in the subject's tendency in visual inspection, shown by beta along the menstrual cycle and the presence of background noise. According to the response criteria for each individual subject, the presence of noise affected the tendency of some subjects in detecting the object and making decision during the visual inspection task.

Conflict Management at School: An Unavoidable Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Bondesio, Mike J.

Conflict management has become an integral part of a headmaster's tasks. Headmasters are not required to suppress or resolve conflict, but to manage it. Since 1976, conflict in black schools has increased, and headmasters have had to manage serious and dangerous situations. Unfortunately, there has been little research in conflict management in…

Designing Spreadsheet-Based Tasks for Purposeful Algebra

Science.gov (United States)

Ainley, Janet; Bills, Liz; Wilson, Kirsty

2005-01-01

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

Research and development of a heat-pump water heater. Volume 2. R and D task reports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunning, R.L.; Amthor, F.R.; Doyle, E.J.

1978-08-01

The heat pump water heater is a device that works much like a window air conditioner except that heat from the home is pumped into a water tank rather than to the outdoors. The objective established for the device is to operate with a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 3 or, an input of one unit of electric energy would create three units of heat energy in the form of hot water. With such a COP, the device would use only one-third the energy and at one-third the cost of a standard resistance water heater. This Volume 2 contains the final reports of the three major tasks performed in Phase I. In Task 2, a market study identifies the future market and selects an initial target market and channel of distribution, all based on an analysis of the parameters affecting feasibility of the device and the factors that will affect its market acceptance. In the Task 3 report, the results of a design and test program to arrive at final designs of heat pumps for both new water heaters and for retrofitting existing water heaters are presented. In the Task 4 report, a plan for an extensive field demonstration involving use in actual homes is presented. Volume 1 contains a final summary report of the information in Volume 2.

Accelerator research studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Accelerator Research Studies program at the University of Maryland, sponsored by the Department of Energy under grant number DE-FG05-91ER40642, is currently in the first year of a three-year funding cycle. The program consists of the following three tasks: TASK A, Study of Transport and Longitudinal Compression of Intense, High-Brightness Beams, TASK B, Study of Collective Ion Acceleration by Intense Electron Beams and Pseudospark Produced High Brightness Electron Beams; TASK C, Study of a Gyroklystron High-power Microwave Source for Linear Colliders. In this report we document the progress that has been made during the past year for each of the three tasks

Manual lateralization in macaques: handedness, target laterality and task complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Regaiolli, Barbara; Spiezio, Caterina; Vallortigara, Giorgio

2016-01-01

Non-human primates represent models to understand the evolution of handedness in humans. Despite several researches have been investigating non-human primates handedness, few studies examined the relationship between target position, hand preference and task complexity. This study aimed at investigating macaque handedness in relation to target laterality and tastiness, as well as task complexity. Seven pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were involved in three different "two alternative choice" tests: one low-level task and two high-level tasks (HLTs). During the first and the third tests macaques could select a preferred food and a non-preferred food, whereas by modifying the design of the second test, macaques were presented with no-difference alternative per trial. Furthermore, a simple-reaching test was administered to assess hand preference in a social context. Macaques showed hand preference at individual level both in simple and complex tasks, but not in the simple-reaching test. Moreover, target position seemed to affect hand preference in retrieving an object in the low-level task, but not in the HLT. Additionally, individual hand preference seemed to be affected from the tastiness of the item to be retrieved. The results suggest that both target laterality and individual motivation might influence hand preference of macaques, especially in simple tasks.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2008-03-01

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

Relations between task delegation and job satisfaction in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riisgaard, Helle; Nexøe, Jørgen; Videbæk Le, Jette

2016-01-01

practitioners' and their staff's job satisfaction appears to be sparse even though job satisfaction is acknowledged as an important factor associated with both patient satisfaction and medical quality of care. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was 1) to review the current research on the relation between...... task delegation and general practitioners' and their staff's job satisfaction and, additionally, 2) to review the evidence of possible explanations for this relation. METHODS: A systematic literature review. We searched the four databases PubMed, Cinahl, Embase, and Scopus systematically. The immediate...... attitude towards task delegation was positive and led to increased job satisfaction, probably because task delegation comprised a high degree of work autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: The few studies included in our review suggest that task delegation within general practice may be seen by the staff as an overall...

The Applicability of Rhythm-Motor Tasks to a New Dual Task Paradigm for Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soo Ji Kim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Given the interplay between cognitive and motor functions during walking, cognitive demands required during gait have been investigated with regard to dual task performance. Along with the needs to understand how the type of concurrent task while walking affects gait performance, there are calls for diversified dual tasks that can be applied to older adults with varying levels of cognitive decline. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how rhythm-motor tasks affect dual task performance and gait control, compared to a traditional cognitive-motor task. Also, it examined whether rhythm-motor tasks are correlated with traditional cognitive-motor task performance and cognitive measures. Eighteen older adults without cognitive impairment participated in this study. Each participant was instructed to walk at self-paced tempo without performing a concurrent task (single walking task and walk while separately performing two types of concurrent tasks: rhythm-motor and cognitive-motor tasks. Rhythm-motor tasks included instrument playing (WalkIP, matching to rhythmic cueing (WalkRC, and instrument playing while matching to rhythmic cueing (WalkIP+RC. The cognitive-motor task involved counting forward by 3s (WalkCount.f3. In each condition, dual task costs (DTC, a measure for how dual tasks affect gait parameters, were measured in terms of walking speed and stride length. The ratio of stride length to walking speed, a measure for dynamic control of gait, was also examined. The results of this study demonstrated that the task type was found to significantly influence these measures. Rhythm-motor tasks were found to interfere with gait parameters to a lesser extent than the cognitive-motor task (WalkCount.f3. In terms of ratio measures, stride length remained at a similar level, walking speed greatly decreased in the WalkCount.f3 condition. Significant correlations between dual task-related measures during rhythm-motor and cognitive-motor tasks support the

Single-task and dual-task tandem gait test performance after concussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, David R; Osternig, Louis R; Chou, Li-Shan

2017-07-01

To compare single-task and dual-task tandem gait test performance between athletes after concussion with controls on observer-timed, spatio-temporal, and center-of-mass (COM) balance control measurements. Ten participants (19.0±5.5years) were prospectively identified and completed a tandem gait test protocol within 72h of concussion and again 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months post-injury. Seven uninjured controls (20.0±4.5years) completed the same protocol in similar time increments. Tandem gait test trials were performed with (dual-task) and without (single-task) concurrently performing a cognitive test as whole-body motion analysis was performed. Outcome variables included test completion time, average tandem gait velocity, cadence, and whole-body COM frontal plane displacement. Concussion participants took significantly longer to complete the dual-task tandem gait test than controls throughout the first 2 weeks post-injury (mean time=16.4 [95% CI: 13.4-19.4] vs. 10.1 [95% CI: 6.4-13.7] seconds; p=0.03). Single-task tandem gait times were significantly lower 72h post-injury (p=0.04). Dual-task cadence was significantly lower for concussion participants than controls (89.5 [95% CI: 68.6-110.4] vs. 127.0 [95% CI: 97.4-156.6] steps/minute; p=0.04). Moderately-high to high correlations between tandem gait test time and whole-body COM medial-lateral displacement were detected at each time point during dual-task gait (r s =0.70-0.93; p=0.03-0.001). Adding a cognitive task during the tandem gait test resulted in longer detectable deficits post-concussion compared to the traditional single-task tandem gait test. As a clinical tool to assess dynamic motor function, tandem gait may assist with return to sport decisions after concussion. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When predictions take control: The effect of task predictions on task switching performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wout eDuthoo

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we aimed to investigate the role of self-generated predictions in the flexible control of behaviour. Therefore, we ran a task switching experiment in which participants were asked to try to predict the upcoming task in three conditions varying in switch rate (30%, 50% and 70%. Irrespective of their predictions, the colour of the target indicated which task participants had to perform. In line with previous studies (Mayr, 2006; Monsell & Mizon, 2006, the switch cost was attenuated as the switch rate increased. Importantly, a clear task repetition bias was found in all conditions, yet the task repetition prediction rate dropped from 78% over 66% to 49% with increasing switch probability in the three conditions. Irrespective of condition, the switch cost was strongly reduced in expectation of a task alternation compared to the cost of an unexpected task alternation following repetition predictions. Hence, our data suggest that the reduction in the switch cost with increasing switch probability is caused by a diminished expectancy for the task to repeat. Taken together, this paper highlights the importance of predictions in the flexible control of behaviour, and suggests a crucial role for task repetition expectancy in the context-sensitive adjusting of task switching performance.

Functional Activation during the Rapid Visual Information Processing Task in a Middle Aged Cohort: An fMRI Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Neale, Chris; Johnston, Patrick; Hughes, Matthew; Scholey, Andrew

2015-01-01

The Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) task, a serial discrimination task where task performance believed to reflect sustained attention capabilities, is widely used in behavioural research and increasingly in neuroimaging studies. To date, functional neuroimaging research into the RVIP has been undertaken using block analyses, reflecting the sustained processing involved in the task, but not necessarily the transient processes associated with individual trial performance. Furthermore, this research has been limited to young cohorts. This study assessed the behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) outcomes of the RVIP task using both block and event-related analyses in a healthy middle aged cohort (mean age = 53.56 years, n = 16). The results show that the version of the RVIP used here is sensitive to changes in attentional demand processes with participants achieving a 43% accuracy hit rate in the experimental task compared with 96% accuracy in the control task. As shown by previous research, the block analysis revealed an increase in activation in a network of frontal, parietal, occipital and cerebellar regions. The event related analysis showed a similar network of activation, seemingly omitting regions involved in the processing of the task (as shown in the block analysis), such as occipital areas and the thalamus, providing an indication of a network of regions involved in correct trial performance. Frontal (superior and inferior frontal gryi), parietal (precuenus, inferior parietal lobe) and cerebellar regions were shown to be active in both the block and event-related analyses, suggesting their importance in sustained attention/vigilance. These networks and the differences between them are discussed in detail, as well as implications for future research in middle aged cohorts.

Functional Activation during the Rapid Visual Information Processing Task in a Middle Aged Cohort: An fMRI Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Neale

Full Text Available The Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP task, a serial discrimination task where task performance believed to reflect sustained attention capabilities, is widely used in behavioural research and increasingly in neuroimaging studies. To date, functional neuroimaging research into the RVIP has been undertaken using block analyses, reflecting the sustained processing involved in the task, but not necessarily the transient processes associated with individual trial performance. Furthermore, this research has been limited to young cohorts. This study assessed the behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI outcomes of the RVIP task using both block and event-related analyses in a healthy middle aged cohort (mean age = 53.56 years, n = 16. The results show that the version of the RVIP used here is sensitive to changes in attentional demand processes with participants achieving a 43% accuracy hit rate in the experimental task compared with 96% accuracy in the control task. As shown by previous research, the block analysis revealed an increase in activation in a network of frontal, parietal, occipital and cerebellar regions. The event related analysis showed a similar network of activation, seemingly omitting regions involved in the processing of the task (as shown in the block analysis, such as occipital areas and the thalamus, providing an indication of a network of regions involved in correct trial performance. Frontal (superior and inferior frontal gryi, parietal (precuenus, inferior parietal lobe and cerebellar regions were shown to be active in both the block and event-related analyses, suggesting their importance in sustained attention/vigilance. These networks and the differences between them are discussed in detail, as well as implications for future research in middle aged cohorts.

Evaluation of OPPS model for plant operator's task simulation with Micro-SAINT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Kazuo

1991-03-01

The development of a computer simulation method for cognitive behavior of operators under emergency conditions in nuclear power plant are being conducted at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). As one of activities in this project, the task network modeling and simulation method has been evaluated with reproduced OPPS model using Micro-SAINT which is a PC software for task network analysis. OPPS is an operator's task simulation model developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Operator's tasks under the condition of failure open of a safety relief valve in a BWR power plant has been analyzed as a sample problem with Micro-SAINT version of OPPS for the evaluation of task network analysis method. Furthermore, the fundamental capabilities of Micro-SAINT has been evaluated, and the task network in OPPS model has been also examined. As the results of this study, it has been clarified that random seed numbers in Micro-SAINT affect the probabilistic branching ratio and the distribution of task execution time calculated by Monte Carlo simulations, and the expression of network for a repeated task in the OPPS model leads to incorrect standard deviation in the case that a task execution time has some distribution. (author)

The Use of Dual Task Paradigms in Memory Research: A Methodological Assessment and an Evaluation of Effort as a Measure of Levels of Processing.

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1982-03-01

sustained monitoring tasks. Human Factors, 1979, 21, 647-653. Craik , F. I. M., & Lockhart , R. Levels of processing : A framework for memory research...original levels approach to human memory ( Craik & Lockhart , 1972) contended that verbal stimuli could be classified along a continuum ranging from...AND AN EVALUATION OF EFFORT AS A MEASURr OF LEVELS OF PROCESSING Arthur D. Fisk, William L. Derrick, and Walter Schneider REPORT HARL-ONR-8105 E. C

Scheduling technicians and tasks in a telecommunications company

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cordeau, J. F.; Laporte, G.; Pasin, F.

2010-01-01

This paper proposes a construction heuristic and an adaptive large neighborhood search heuristic for the technician and task scheduling problem arising in a large telecommunications company. This problem was solved within the framework of the 2007 challenge set up by the French Operational Research...

Effects of dual-task conditions on cervical spine movement variability.

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Niederer, Daniel; Vogt, Lutz; Vogel, Johanna; Banzer, Winfried

2017-09-22

The potential to accurately perform cervical movements during more challenging tasks might be of importance to prevent dysfunctional motion characteristics. Although sensorimotor function during dual-task conditions are of increasing interest in biomedical and rehabilitation research, effects of such conditions on movement consistency of the neck have not yet been investigated. In this crossover MiSpEx(Medicine in Spine Exercise)-diagnostic study, we aimed to explore differences between single and dual-task conditions on cervical movement variability. Nineteen healthy participants (9 male; 24.5 ± 3.3 y) performed 10 repetitive maximal cervical movements in (1) flexion/extension and (2) lateral flexion, during one single- and during two dual-task test conditions (cognitive, motor) in a randomised and cross-over sequence. Latter consisted of a working memory n-back task (n= 2) and a repetitive ankle movement task. Range of motion (RoM) was assessed using an external three-dimensional ultrasonic movement analysis system. Coefficient of variation (CV) for repetitive RoM was analysed for differences between conditions and controlled for variances in intra-individual movement characteristics. Friedman and post-hoc Bonferroni-adjusted confidence intervals for differences from single- to dual-task values revealed changes in CV in flexion/extension from single-task to motor dual-task (+0.02 ± 0.02 (97.5%CI: 0.01; 0.03); pdual-task condition (+0.01 ± 0.02 (97.5%CI: 0.003; 0.02)) nor for lateral flexion (p> 0.05). Pearson regression analyses revealed a linear negative (pdual-task (R=2 0.55). Results for lateral flexion are comparable, baseline CV negatively impacts differences to cognitive (R=2 0.2) and motor dual-task performance (R=2 0.76; pdual-task conditions while participants with a higher variability remained almost stable or showed a decrease. The results point toward a complex interrelationship of motion patterns and adaptation processes during challenging tasks

Acute physical exercise affected processing efficiency in an auditory attention task more than processing effectiveness.

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Dutke, Stephan; Jaitner, Thomas; Berse, Timo; Barenberg, Jonathan

2014-02-01

Research on effects of acute physical exercise on performance in a concurrent cognitive task has generated equivocal evidence. Processing efficiency theory predicts that concurrent physical exercise can increase resource requirements for sustaining cognitive performance even when the level of performance is unaffected. This hypothesis was tested in a dual-task experiment. Sixty young adults worked on a primary auditory attention task and a secondary interval production task while cycling on a bicycle ergometer. Physical load (cycling) and cognitive load of the primary task were manipulated. Neither physical nor cognitive load affected primary task performance, but both factors interacted on secondary task performance. Sustaining primary task performance under increased physical and/or cognitive load increased resource consumption as indicated by decreased secondary task performance. Results demonstrated that physical exercise effects on cognition might be underestimated when only single task performance is the focus.

Recommendations on evidence needed to support measurement equivalence between electronic and paper-based patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures: ISPOR ePRO Good Research Practices Task Force report.

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Coons, Stephen Joel; Gwaltney, Chad J; Hays, Ron D; Lundy, J Jason; Sloan, Jeff A; Revicki, Dennis A; Lenderking, William R; Cella, David; Basch, Ethan

2009-06-01

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are the consequences of disease and/or its treatment as reported by the patient. The importance of PRO measures in clinical trials for new drugs, biological agents, and devices was underscored by the release of the US Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance for industry titled "Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Use in Medical Product Development to Support Labeling Claims." The intent of the guidance was to describe how the FDA will evaluate the appropriateness and adequacy of PRO measures used as effectiveness end points in clinical trials. In response to the expressed need of ISPOR members for further clarification of several aspects of the draft guidance, ISPOR's Health Science Policy Council created three task forces, one of which was charged with addressing the implications of the draft guidance for the collection of PRO data using electronic data capture modes of administration (ePRO). The objective of this report is to present recommendations from ISPOR's ePRO Good Research Practices Task Force regarding the evidence necessary to support the comparability, or measurement equivalence, of ePROs to the paper-based PRO measures from which they were adapted. The task force was composed of the leadership team of ISPOR's ePRO Working Group and members of another group (i.e., ePRO Consensus Development Working Group) that had already begun to develop recommendations regarding ePRO good research practices. The resulting task force membership reflected a broad array of backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise that enriched the development of this report. The prior work became the starting point for the Task Force report. A subset of the task force members became the writing team that prepared subsequent iterations of the report that were distributed to the full task force for review and feedback. In addition, review beyond the task force was sought and obtained. Along with a presentation and discussion period at an ISPOR meeting

The composite complex span: French validation of a short working memory task.

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Gonthier, Corentin; Thomassin, Noémylle; Roulin, Jean-Luc

2016-03-01

Most studies in individual differences in the field of working memory research use complex span tasks to measure working memory capacity. Various complex span tasks based on different materials have been developed, and these tasks have proven both reliable and valid; several complex span tasks are often combined to provide a domain-general estimate of working memory capacity with even better psychometric properties. The present work sought to address two issues. Firstly, having participants perform several full-length complex span tasks in succession makes for a long and tedious procedure. Secondly, few complex span tasks have been translated and validated in French. We constructed a French working memory task labeled the Composite Complex Span (CCS). The CCS includes shortened versions of three classic complex span tasks: the reading span, symmetry span, and operation span. We assessed the psychometric properties of the CCS, including test-retest reliability and convergent validity, with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and with an alpha span task; the CCS demonstrated satisfying qualities in a sample of 1,093 participants. This work provides evidence that shorter versions of classic complex span tasks can yield valid working memory estimates. The materials and normative data for the CCS are also included.

Left preference for sport tasks does not necessarily indicate left-handedness: sport-specific lateral preferences, relationship with handedness and implications for laterality research in behavioural sciences.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Loffing

Full Text Available In the elite domain of interactive sports, athletes who demonstrate a left preference (e.g., holding a weapon with the left hand in fencing or boxing in a 'southpaw' stance seem overrepresented. Such excess indicates a performance advantage and was also interpreted as evidence in favour of frequency-dependent selection mechanisms to explain the maintenance of left-handedness in humans. To test for an overrepresentation, the incidence of athletes' lateral preferences is typically compared with an expected ratio of left- to right-handedness in the normal population. However, the normal population reference values did not always relate to the sport-specific tasks of interest, which may limit the validity of reports of an excess of 'left-oriented' athletes. Here we sought to determine lateral preferences for various sport-specific tasks (e.g., baseball batting, boxing in the normal population and to examine the relationship between these preferences and handedness. To this end, we asked 903 participants to indicate their lateral preferences for sport-specific and common tasks using a paper-based questionnaire. Lateral preferences varied considerably across the different sport tasks and we found high variation in the relationship between those preferences and handedness. In contrast to unimanual tasks (e.g., fencing or throwing, for bimanually controlled actions such as baseball batting, shooting in ice hockey or boxing the incidence of left preferences was considerably higher than expected from the proportion of left-handedness in the normal population and the relationship with handedness was relatively low. We conclude that (i task-specific reference values are mandatory for reliably testing for an excess of athletes with a left preference, (ii the term 'handedness' should be more cautiously used within the context of sport-related laterality research and (iii observation of lateral preferences in sports may be of limited suitability for the

Left preference for sport tasks does not necessarily indicate left-handedness: sport-specific lateral preferences, relationship with handedness and implications for laterality research in behavioural sciences.

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Loffing, Florian; Sölter, Florian; Hagemann, Norbert

2014-01-01

In the elite domain of interactive sports, athletes who demonstrate a left preference (e.g., holding a weapon with the left hand in fencing or boxing in a 'southpaw' stance) seem overrepresented. Such excess indicates a performance advantage and was also interpreted as evidence in favour of frequency-dependent selection mechanisms to explain the maintenance of left-handedness in humans. To test for an overrepresentation, the incidence of athletes' lateral preferences is typically compared with an expected ratio of left- to right-handedness in the normal population. However, the normal population reference values did not always relate to the sport-specific tasks of interest, which may limit the validity of reports of an excess of 'left-oriented' athletes. Here we sought to determine lateral preferences for various sport-specific tasks (e.g., baseball batting, boxing) in the normal population and to examine the relationship between these preferences and handedness. To this end, we asked 903 participants to indicate their lateral preferences for sport-specific and common tasks using a paper-based questionnaire. Lateral preferences varied considerably across the different sport tasks and we found high variation in the relationship between those preferences and handedness. In contrast to unimanual tasks (e.g., fencing or throwing), for bimanually controlled actions such as baseball batting, shooting in ice hockey or boxing the incidence of left preferences was considerably higher than expected from the proportion of left-handedness in the normal population and the relationship with handedness was relatively low. We conclude that (i) task-specific reference values are mandatory for reliably testing for an excess of athletes with a left preference, (ii) the term 'handedness' should be more cautiously used within the context of sport-related laterality research and (iii) observation of lateral preferences in sports may be of limited suitability for the verification of

Left Preference for Sport Tasks Does Not Necessarily Indicate Left-Handedness: Sport-Specific Lateral Preferences, Relationship with Handedness and Implications for Laterality Research in Behavioural Sciences

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Loffing, Florian; Sölter, Florian; Hagemann, Norbert

2014-01-01

In the elite domain of interactive sports, athletes who demonstrate a left preference (e.g., holding a weapon with the left hand in fencing or boxing in a ‘southpaw’ stance) seem overrepresented. Such excess indicates a performance advantage and was also interpreted as evidence in favour of frequency-dependent selection mechanisms to explain the maintenance of left-handedness in humans. To test for an overrepresentation, the incidence of athletes' lateral preferences is typically compared with an expected ratio of left- to right-handedness in the normal population. However, the normal population reference values did not always relate to the sport-specific tasks of interest, which may limit the validity of reports of an excess of ‘left-oriented’ athletes. Here we sought to determine lateral preferences for various sport-specific tasks (e.g., baseball batting, boxing) in the normal population and to examine the relationship between these preferences and handedness. To this end, we asked 903 participants to indicate their lateral preferences for sport-specific and common tasks using a paper-based questionnaire. Lateral preferences varied considerably across the different sport tasks and we found high variation in the relationship between those preferences and handedness. In contrast to unimanual tasks (e.g., fencing or throwing), for bimanually controlled actions such as baseball batting, shooting in ice hockey or boxing the incidence of left preferences was considerably higher than expected from the proportion of left-handedness in the normal population and the relationship with handedness was relatively low. We conclude that (i) task-specific reference values are mandatory for reliably testing for an excess of athletes with a left preference, (ii) the term ‘handedness’ should be more cautiously used within the context of sport-related laterality research and (iii) observation of lateral preferences in sports may be of limited suitability for the

A functional approach for research on cognitive control: Analysing cognitive control tasks and their effects in terms of operant conditioning.

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Liefooghe, Baptist; De Houwer, Jan

2016-02-01

Cognitive control is an important mental ability that is examined using a multitude of cognitive control tasks and effects. The present paper presents the first steps in the elaboration of a functional approach, which aims to uncover the communalities and differences between different cognitive control tasks and their effects. Based on the idea that responses in cognitive control tasks qualify as operant behaviour, we propose to reinterpret cognitive control tasks in terms of operant contingencies and cognitive control effects as instances of moderated stimulus control. We illustrate how our approach can be used to uncover communalities between topographically different cognitive control tasks and can lead to novel questions about the processes underlying cognitive control. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Spatial effects, sampling errors, and task specialization in the honey bee.

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Johnson, B R

2010-05-01

Task allocation patterns should depend on the spatial distribution of work within the nest, variation in task demand, and the movement patterns of workers, however, relatively little research has focused on these topics. This study uses a spatially explicit agent based model to determine whether such factors alone can generate biases in task performance at the individual level in the honey bees, Apis mellifera. Specialization (bias in task performance) is shown to result from strong sampling error due to localized task demand, relatively slow moving workers relative to nest size, and strong spatial variation in task demand. To date, specialization has been primarily interpreted with the response threshold concept, which is focused on intrinsic (typically genotypic) differences between workers. Response threshold variation and sampling error due to spatial effects are not mutually exclusive, however, and this study suggests that both contribute to patterns of task bias at the individual level. While spatial effects are strong enough to explain some documented cases of specialization; they are relatively short term and not explanatory for long term cases of specialization. In general, this study suggests that the spatial layout of tasks and fluctuations in their demand must be explicitly controlled for in studies focused on identifying genotypic specialists.

Social importance enhances prospective memory: evidence from an event-based task.

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Walter, Stefan; Meier, Beat

2017-07-01

Prospective memory performance can be enhanced by task importance, for example by promising a reward. Typically, this comes at costs in the ongoing task. However, previous research has suggested that social importance (e.g., providing a social motive) can enhance prospective memory performance without additional monitoring costs in activity-based and time-based tasks. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of social importance in an event-based task. We compared four conditions: social importance, promising a reward, both social importance and promising a reward, and standard prospective memory instructions (control condition). The results showed enhanced prospective memory performance for all importance conditions compared to the control condition. Although ongoing task performance was slowed in all conditions with a prospective memory task when compared to a baseline condition with no prospective memory task, additional costs occurred only when both the social importance and reward were present simultaneously. Alone, neither social importance nor promising a reward produced an additional slowing when compared to the cost in the standard (control) condition. Thus, social importance and reward can enhance event-based prospective memory at no additional cost.

Dual Task of Fine Motor Skill and Problem Solving in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study.

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Goverover, Y; Sandroff, B M; DeLuca, J

2018-04-01

To (1) examine and compare dual-task performance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls (HCs) using mathematical problem-solving questions that included an everyday competence component while performing an upper extremity fine motor task; and (2) examine whether difficulties in dual-task performance are associated with problems in performing an everyday internet task. Pilot study, mixed-design with both a within and between subjects' factor. A nonprofit rehabilitation research institution and the community. Participants (N=38) included persons with MS (n=19) and HCs (n=19) who were recruited from a nonprofit rehabilitation research institution and from the community. Not applicable. Participant were presented with 2 testing conditions: (1) solving mathematical everyday problems or placing bolts into divots (single-task condition); and (2) solving problems while putting bolts into divots (dual-task condition). Additionally, participants were required to perform a test of everyday internet competence. As expected, dual-task performance was significantly worse than either of the single-task tasks (ie, number of bolts into divots or correct answers, and time to answer the questions). Cognitive but not motor dual-task cost was associated with worse performance in activities of everyday internet tasks. Cognitive dual-task cost is significantly associated with worse performance of everyday technology. This was not observed in the motor dual-task cost. The implications of dual-task costs on everyday activity are discussed. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differences in perceptual learning transfer as a function of training task.

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Green, C Shawn; Kattner, Florian; Siegel, Max H; Kersten, Daniel; Schrater, Paul R

2015-01-01

A growing body of research--including results from behavioral psychology, human structural and functional imaging, single-cell recordings in nonhuman primates, and computational modeling--suggests that perceptual learning effects are best understood as a change in the ability of higher-level integration or association areas to read out sensory information in the service of particular decisions. Work in this vein has argued that, depending on the training experience, the "rules" for this read-out can either be applicable to new contexts (thus engendering learning generalization) or can apply only to the exact training context (thus resulting in learning specificity). Here we contrast learning tasks designed to promote either stimulus-specific or stimulus-general rules. Specifically, we compare learning transfer across visual orientation following training on three different tasks: an orientation categorization task (which permits an orientation-specific learning solution), an orientation estimation task (which requires an orientation-general learning solution), and an orientation categorization task in which the relevant category boundary shifts on every trial (which lies somewhere between the two tasks above). While the simple orientation-categorization training task resulted in orientation-specific learning, the estimation and moving categorization tasks resulted in significant orientation learning generalization. The general framework tested here--that task specificity or generality can be predicted via an examination of the optimal learning solution--may be useful in building future training paradigms with certain desired outcomes.

Validating a visual version of the metronome response task.

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Laflamme, Patrick; Seli, Paul; Smilek, Daniel

2018-02-12

The metronome response task (MRT)-a sustained-attention task that requires participants to produce a response in synchrony with an audible metronome-was recently developed to index response variability in the context of studies on mind wandering. In the present studies, we report on the development and validation of a visual version of the MRT (the visual metronome response task; vMRT), which uses the rhythmic presentation of visual, rather than auditory, stimuli. Participants completed the vMRT (Studies 1 and 2) and the original (auditory-based) MRT (Study 2) while also responding to intermittent thought probes asking them to report the depth of their mind wandering. The results showed that (1) individual differences in response variability during the vMRT are highly reliable; (2) prior to thought probes, response variability increases with increasing depth of mind wandering; (3) response variability is highly consistent between the vMRT and the original MRT; and (4) both response variability and depth of mind wandering increase with increasing time on task. Our results indicate that the original MRT findings are consistent across the visual and auditory modalities, and that the response variability measured in both tasks indexes a non-modality-specific tendency toward behavioral variability. The vMRT will be useful in the place of the MRT in experimental contexts in which researchers' designs require a visual-based primary task.

Multisensory perceptual learning is dependent upon task difficulty.

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De Niear, Matthew A; Koo, Bonhwang; Wallace, Mark T

2016-11-01

There has been a growing interest in developing behavioral tasks to enhance temporal acuity as recent findings have demonstrated changes in temporal processing in a number of clinical conditions. Prior research has demonstrated that perceptual training can enhance temporal acuity both within and across different sensory modalities. Although certain forms of unisensory perceptual learning have been shown to be dependent upon task difficulty, this relationship has not been explored for multisensory learning. The present study sought to determine the effects of task difficulty on multisensory perceptual learning. Prior to and following a single training session, participants completed a simultaneity judgment (SJ) task, which required them to judge whether a visual stimulus (flash) and auditory stimulus (beep) presented in synchrony or at various stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) occurred synchronously or asynchronously. During the training session, participants completed the same SJ task but received feedback regarding the accuracy of their responses. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three levels of difficulty during training: easy, moderate, and hard, which were distinguished based on the SOAs used during training. We report that only the most difficult (i.e., hard) training protocol enhanced temporal acuity. We conclude that perceptual training protocols for enhancing multisensory temporal acuity may be optimized by employing audiovisual stimuli for which it is difficult to discriminate temporal synchrony from asynchrony.

WHY ADULTS LEARN: INTERPRETING ADULTS’ REASONS TO PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATION IN TERMS OF ECCLES’ SUBJECTIVE TASK VALUE

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Julia Gorges

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Psychological research shows that subjective task value, a basic component of expectancyvalue theory as outlined by Eccles, predicts task choice (e.g., going to graduate school. However, Eccles’ approach has not been used to investigate adult learning so far. Therefore, the present study investigated a specific form of subjective task value and task choice, namely adults’ subjective task value of participation in education. Based on expectancy-value theory, qualitative content analyses of 16 interviews with adult learners (aged between 21 and 67 from varying age groups and educational backgrounds show a differentiation of positive value according to points of reference and a revised conceptualisation of cost as an independent component of subjective task value with four subcomponents. Apparently people estimate positive value and cost separately at first and only later weigh these components against each other to arrive at an overall evaluation of subjective task value, which, in turn, predicts participation in education. Moreover, results suggest a distinction between anticipated subjective task value prior to participation and subjective task value based on experience (i.e., in hindsight. Benefits of using expectancy-value theory for future research on adults’ participation in education are discussed.

Cognitive task load analysis : Allocating tasks and designing support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neerincx, M.A.

2003-01-01

We present a method for Cognitive Task Analysis that guides the early stages of software development, aiming at an optimal cognitive load for operators of process control systems. The method is based on a practical theory of cognitive task load and support. In addition to the classical measure

Understanding Performance Decrements in a Letter-Canceling Task: Overcoming Habits or Inhibition of Reading.

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Myers, Larry; Downie, Steven; Taylor, Grant; Marrington, Jessica; Tehan, Gerald; Ireland, Michael J

2018-01-01

The importance of self-regulation in human behavior is readily apparent and diverse theoretical accounts for explaining self-regulation failures have been proposed. Typically, these accounts are based on a sequential task methodology where an initial task is presented to deplete self-regulatory resources, and carryover effects are then examined on a second outcome task. In the aftermath of high profile replication failures using a popular letter-crossing task as a means of depleting self-regulatory resources and subsequent criticisms of that task, current research into self-control is currently at an impasse. This is largely due to the lack of empirical research that tests explicit assumptions regarding the initial task. One such untested assumption is that for resource depletion to occur, the initial task must first establish an habitual response and then this habitual response must be inhibited, with behavioral inhibition being the causal factor in inducing depletion. This study reports on four experiments exploring performance on a letter-canceling task, where the rules for target identification remained constant but the method of responding differed (Experiment 1) and the coherence of the text was manipulated (Experiments 1-4). Experiment 1 established that habit forming and behavioral inhibition did not produce any performance decrement when the targets were embedded in random letter strings. Experiments 2-4 established that target detection was sensitive to language characteristics and the coherence of the background text, suggesting that participants' automatic reading processes is a key driver of performance in the letter-e task.

The Task-Based Approach in Language Teaching

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Sánchez, Aquilino

2004-01-01

The Task-Based Approach (TBA) has gained popularity in the field of language teaching since the last decade of the 20th Century and significant scholars have joined the discussion and increased the amount of analytical studies on the issue. Nevertheless experimental research is poor, and the tendency of some of the scholars is nowadays shifting…

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

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Pyysalo Sampo

2012-06-01

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

Active listening: task-dependent plasticity of spectrotemporal receptive fields in primary auditory cortex.

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Fritz, Jonathan; Elhilali, Mounya; Shamma, Shihab

2005-08-01

Listening is an active process in which attentive focus on salient acoustic features in auditory tasks can influence receptive field properties of cortical neurons. Recent studies showing rapid task-related changes in neuronal spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) in primary auditory cortex of the behaving ferret are reviewed in the context of current research on cortical plasticity. Ferrets were trained on spectral tasks, including tone detection and two-tone discrimination, and on temporal tasks, including gap detection and click-rate discrimination. STRF changes could be measured on-line during task performance and occurred within minutes of task onset. During spectral tasks, there were specific spectral changes (enhanced response to tonal target frequency in tone detection and discrimination, suppressed response to tonal reference frequency in tone discrimination). However, only in the temporal tasks, the STRF was changed along the temporal dimension by sharpening temporal dynamics. In ferrets trained on multiple tasks, distinctive and task-specific STRF changes could be observed in the same cortical neurons in successive behavioral sessions. These results suggest that rapid task-related plasticity is an ongoing process that occurs at a network and single unit level as the animal switches between different tasks and dynamically adapts cortical STRFs in response to changing acoustic demands.

Standards for the Reporting of Genetic Counseling Interventions in Research and Other Studies (GCIRS): an NSGC Task Force Report.

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Hooker, Gillian W; Babu, D; Myers, M F; Zierhut, H; McAllister, M

2017-06-01

As the demand for evidence to support the value of genetic counseling increases, it is critical that reporting of genetic counseling interventions in research and other types of studies (e.g. process improvement or service evaluation studies) adopt greater rigor. As in other areas of healthcare, the appraisal, synthesis, and translation of research findings into genetic counseling practice are likely to be improved if clear specifications of genetic counseling interventions are reported when studies involving genetic counseling are published. To help improve reporting practices, the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) convened a task force in 2015 to develop consensus standards for the reporting of genetic counseling interventions. Following review by the NSGC Board of Directors, the NSGC Practice Guidelines Committee and the editorial board of the Journal of Genetic Counseling, 23 items across 8 domains were proposed as standards for the reporting of genetic counseling interventions in the published literature (GCIRS: Genetic Counseling Intervention Reporting Standards). The authors recommend adoption of these standards by authors and journals when reporting studies involving genetic counseling interventions.

Mechanisms of Practice-Related Reductions of Dual-Task Interference with Simple Tasks: Data and Theory

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Strobach, Tilo; Torsten, Schubert

2017-01-01

In dual-task situations, interference between two simultaneous tasks impairs performance. With practice, however, this impairment can be reduced. To identify mechanisms leading to a practice-related improvement in sensorimotor dual tasks, the present review applied the following general hypothesis: Sources that impair dual-task performance at the beginning of practice are associated with mechanisms for the reduction of dual-task impairment at the end of practice. The following types of processes provide sources for the occurrence of this impairment: (a) capacity-limited processes within the component tasks, such as response-selection or motor response stages, and (b) cognitive control processes independent of these tasks and thus operating outside of component-task performance. Dual-task practice studies show that, under very specific conditions, capacity-limited processes within the component tasks are automatized with practice, reducing the interference between two simultaneous tasks. Further, there is evidence that response-selection stages are shortened with practice. Thus, capacity limitations at these stages are sources for dual-task costs at the beginning of practice and are overcome with practice. However, there is no evidence demonstrating the existence of practice-related mechanisms associated with capacity-limited motor-response stages. Further, during practice, there is an acquisition of executive control skills for an improved allocation of limited attention resources to two tasks as well as some evidence supporting the assumption of improved task coordination. These latter mechanisms are associated with sources of dual-task interference operating outside of component task performance at the beginning of practice and also contribute to the reduction of dual-task interference at its end. PMID:28439319

The facilitative effects of glucose ingestion on memory retrieval in younger and older adults: is task difficulty or task domain critical?

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Riby, Leigh M; McMurtrie, Hazel; Smallwood, Jonathan; Ballantyne, Carrie; Meikle, Andrew; Smith, Emily

2006-02-01

The ingestion of a glucose-containing drink has been shown to improve cognitive performance, particularly memory functioning. However, it remains unclear as to the extent to which task domain and task difficulty moderate the glucose enhancement effect. The aim of this research was to determine whether boosts in performance are restricted to particular classes of memory (episodic v. semantic) or to tasks of considerable cognitive load. A repeated measures (25 g glucose v. saccharin), counterbalanced, double-blind design was used with younger and older adults. Participants performed a battery of episodic (e.g. paired associate learning) and semantic memory (e.g. category verification) tasks under low and high cognitive load. Electrophysiological measures (heart rate and galvanic skin response) of arousal and mental effort were also gathered. The results indicated that whilst glucose appeared to aid episodic remembering, cognitive load did not exaggerate the facilitative effect. For semantic memory, there was little evidence to suggest that glucose can boost semantic memory retrieval even when the load was manipulated. One exception was that glucose facilitated performance during the difficult category fluency task. Regardless, the present findings are consistent with the domain-specific account in which glucose acts primarily on the hippocampal region, which is known to support episodic memory. The possible contribution of the hippocampus in semantic memory processing is also discussed.

Supplement B: Research Networking Systems Characteristics Profiles. A Companion to the OCLC Research Report, Registering Researchers in Authority Files

Science.gov (United States)

Smith-Yoshimura, Karen; Altman, Micah; Conlon, Michael; Cristán, Ana Lupe; Dawson, Laura; Dunham, Joanne; Hickey, Thom; Hill, Amanda; Hook, Daniel; Horstmann, Wolfram; MacEwan, Andrew; Schreur, Philip; Smart, Laura; Wacker, Melanie; Woutersen, Saskia

2014-01-01

The OCLC Research Report, "Registering Researchers in Authority Files", [Accessible in ERIC as ED564924] summarizes the results of the research conducted by the OCLC Research Registering Researchers in Authority Files Task Group in 2012-2014. Details of this research are in supplementary data sets: (1) "Supplement A: Use Cases. A…

Measuring attention in rodents: comparison of a modified signal detection task and the 5-choice serial reaction time task

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Karly Maree Turner

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Neuropsychiatric research has utilised cognitive testing in rodents to improve our understanding of cognitive deficits and for preclinical drug development. However, more sophisticated cognitive tasks have not been as widely exploited due to low throughput and the extensive training time required. We developed a modified signal detection task (SDT based on the growing body of literature aimed at improving cognitive testing in rodents. This study directly compares performance on the modified SDT with the traditional test for measuring attention, the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained on either the 5CSRTT or the SDT. Briefly, the 5CSRTT required rodents to pay attention to a spatial array of 5 apertures and respond with a nose poke when an aperture was illuminated. The SDT required the rat to attend to a light panel and respond either left or right to indicate the presence of a signal. In addition, modifications were made to the reward delivery, timing, control of body positioning and the self-initiation of trials. It was found that less training time was required for the SDT, with both sessions to criteria and daily session duration significantly reduced. Rats performed with a high level of accuracy (>87% on both tasks, however omissions were far more frequent on the 5CSRTT. The signal duration was reduced on both tasks as a manipulation of task difficulty relevant to attention and a similar pattern of decreasing accuracy was observed on both tasks. These results demonstrate some of the advantages of the SDT over the traditional 5CSRTT as being higher throughput with reduced training time, fewer omission responses and their body position at stimulus onset was controlled. In addition, rats performing the SDT had comparable high levels of accuracy. These results highlight the differences and similarities between the 5CSRTT and a modified SDT as tools for assessing attention in preclinical animal

USING TASK LIKE PISA’S PROBLEM TO SUPPORT STUDENT’S CREATIVITY IN MATHEMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Novita

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Creativity is one of keys to success in the evolving global economy and also be a fundamental skill that is absolutely necessary in the 21st century. Also In mathematics, creativity or thinking creatively is important to be developed because creativity is an integral part of mathematics. However, limiting the use of creativity in the classroom reduces mathematics to a set of skills to master and rules to memorize. Doing so causes many children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for mathematics to disappear as they get older, creating a tremendous problem for mathematics educators who are trying to instil these very qualities. In order to investigate the increase in awareness of elementary school students’ creativity in solving mathematics’ problems by using task like PISA’s Question, a qualitative research emphasizing on holistic description was conducted. We used a formative evaluation type of development research as a mean to develop mathematical tasks like PISA’s question that have potential effect to support students’ creativity in mathematics. Ten elementary school students of grade 6 in Palembang were involved in this research. They judged the task given for them is very challenging and provokes their curiosity. The result showed that task like PISA’s question can encourage students to more creatively in mathematics.

Report of the Task Force on Clinical Research in Dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Journal of Dental Education, 1994

1994-01-01

A report on clinical dental research reviews current conditions and makes recommendations for increased funding, improved peer review for research proposals, establishment of a well-defined training track for clinical researchers, and better institutional integration of and support for research and teaching. Projected need for researchers is also…

Self-Efficacy, Task Complexity and Task Performance: Exploring Interactions in Two Versions of Vocabulary Learning Tasks

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

2012-01-01

The present study aimed for better understanding of the interactions between task complexity and students' self-efficacy beliefs and students' use of learning strategies, and finally their interacting effects on task performance. This investigation was carried out in the context of Chinese students learning English as a foreign language in a…

Fine and gross motor skills: The effects on skill-focused dual-tasks.

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Raisbeck, Louisa D; Diekfuss, Jed A

2015-10-01

Dual-task methodology often directs participants' attention towards a gross motor skill involved in the execution of a skill, but researchers have not investigated the comparative effects of attention on fine motor skill tasks. Furthermore, there is limited information about participants' subjective perception of workload with respect to task performance. To examine this, the current study administered the NASA-Task Load Index following a simulated shooting dual-task. The task required participants to stand 15 feet from a projector screen which depicted virtual targets and fire a modified Glock 17 handgun equipped with an infrared laser. Participants performed the primary shooting task alone (control), or were also instructed to focus their attention on a gross motor skill relevant to task execution (gross skill-focused) and a fine motor skill relevant to task execution (fine skill-focused). Results revealed that workload was significantly greater during the fine skill-focused task for both skill levels, but performance was only affected for the lesser-skilled participants. Shooting performance for the lesser-skilled participants was greater during the gross skill-focused condition compared to the fine skill-focused condition. Correlational analyses also demonstrated a significant negative relationship between shooting performance and workload during the gross skill-focused task for the higher-skilled participants. A discussion of the relationship between skill type, workload, skill level, and performance in dual-task paradigms is presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Connecting Lines of Research on Task Model Variables, Automatic Item Generation, and Learning Progressions in Game-Based Assessment

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Graf, Edith Aurora

2014-01-01

In "How Task Features Impact Evidence from Assessments Embedded in Simulations and Games," Almond, Kim, Velasquez, and Shute have prepared a thought-provoking piece contrasting the roles of task model variables in a traditional assessment of mathematics word problems to their roles in "Newton's Playground," a game designed…

Brief Report: Impaired Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST) in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Yerys, Benjamin E.; Wolff, Brian C.; Moody, Eric; Pennington, Bruce F.; Hepburn, Susan L.

2012-01-01

Cognitive flexibility has been measured with inductive reasoning or explicit rule tasks in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The "Flexible Item Selection Task" (FIST) differs from previous cognitive flexibility tasks in ASD research by giving children an abstract, ambiguous rule to switch. The ASD group (N = 22; Mean age = 8.28…

Nuclear power plant control room crew task analysis database: SEEK system. Users manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgy, D.; Schroeder, L.

1984-05-01

The Crew Task Analysis SEEK Users Manual was prepared for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is designed for use with the existing computerized Control Room Crew Task Analysis Database. The SEEK system consists of a PR1ME computer with its associated peripherals and software augmented by General Physics Corporation SEEK database management software. The SEEK software programs provide the Crew Task Database user with rapid access to any number of records desired. The software uses English-like sentences to allow the user to construct logical sorts and outputs of the task data. Given the multiple-associative nature of the database, users can directly access the data at the plant, operating sequence, task or element level - or any combination of these levels. A complete description of the crew task data contained in the database is presented in NUREG/CR-3371, Task Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Crews (Volumes 1 and 2)

Adaptive strategy changes as a function of task demands : a study of car drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cnossen, Fokie; Meijman, Theo; Rothengatter, Talib

2004-01-01

When drivers perform additional tasks while driving, research shows conflicting results: primary driving performance may deteriorate but adaptive changes such as reducing driving speed have also been noted. We hypothesized that the nature of the secondary task may be important: drivers may give more